<p>Emeraldkity4, the book chronicals the behaviors and other data points of true “balance sheet” millionaires - not merely those who earn that amount annually…</p>
<p>My grandparents left over a million , not counting real estate, to my mom, which was at least 15 years ago. Their maxim was " watch the pennies, and the dollars will watch themselves", which enabled them to accumulate so much, despite having little education and modest careers.</p>
<p>Unfortunately my mothers maxim is “spend today, like tomorrow will never come!”, which is also more my brother and sisters philosophy. Thankfully, I paid more attention to my grandparents, and while we do spend more on education than others in our tax bracket, we also don’t feel the need to live on our credit cards.
( I also don’t feel the need to accumulate more paper towels and canned goods than I will use in my lifetime)</p>
<p>Laserbrother, this might be an opportunity for you to figure out just what it is that you really want, what make you happy. Not everyone wants a red convertible or a week at a fancy resort. When I passed 50 a few (OK, more than just a few) years ago, I realized that what made me happy was building things. So that’s what I do. You may find that painting, or being outdoors, or studying calculus, or any of a million other things might be what actually makes you happy. But it’s worth spending some time figuring out what really makes you smile. Maybe it is a red convertible; maybe its something else. But it’s worth taking some time to figure it out.</p>
<p>Yeah, what’s up with the consumer products goods collecting and hoarding? I have some friends who are like that - family of four, they have three freezers, two fridges, and their garage is a storage area full of all manner of canned goods, paper towls etc., more than a family of, say, 10, would use over 10 years, while the $50K automobiles sit in the driveway since the garage is used to store paper towns and canned goods…I totally get taking advantage of sales etc. or buying in bulk but this is ridiculous…</p>
<p>Laser, Kluge makes a good point. When the child(ren) are young there simply isn’t time to do a lot of the “fun” stuff that can be exclusively our own and doesn’t have to be shared. It’s easy to reach for the check book and buy something because, well, we CAN, and after all most parents do without or go the most inexpensive route possible with regard to cars etc. in order to make sure there’s going to be enough money for college, etc. Once the financial goals are surpassed though it’s really fun to go spend. I think that’s o.k. as long as you know what you’re doing, and why. </p>
<p>But it can also be hobbys, sports, etc. I bought some oil paints, canvas, etc. and have been playing with paint - for $ < $200 I have endless entertainment and get to play with toys that are all mine, and I don’t have to share them with anyone or paint with any particular degree of skill - I can just have fun. Other people go back to school, travel, etc. and some all of the above. I did buy a sports car too - but - I’d been wanting a new car and researching it for a while, and, I had been driving very inexpensive cars all my life, so, I felt I earned the new sports car.</p>
<p>Started a family rather late, not by choice. Celebrated 50 by trading the very old and worn minivan in for a VW bug convertible.<br>
Sorry jmmom, it was brand new. But in my community, it was actually considered a frugal purchase!</p>
<p>I think it will be a frugal one if I keep it as long as I plan to…</p>
<p>I do admit driving a fast car can be fun, but I really don’t like driving H’s supercoupe- I can’t see out the back windshield and it sticks out too far in front to see where I am going.</p>
<p>I think I am also too used to driving the Jeep, when I sit lower, it feels like I am dragging my sitz bones on the pavement. Maybe if I had somewhere to go, where I could be guaranteed to be able to take it above 70 mph 
<a href=“http://www.chuckanutdrive.com/[/url]”>http://www.chuckanutdrive.com/</a></p>
<p>I live vicarously through the occasional drive in my wife’s mini cooper convertible. She’s older, so she gets the mid life crisis first…</p>
<p>One friend made the observation that, in every couple, only one person gets to occupy the midlife crisis.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>Is the above one at a time?</p>
<p>I’m 50. If a hot blonde saw me drive a convertible sportscar down the street, she’d say " Hey, look at the old fat guy driving the nice car; hope he doesn’t hurt himself"</p>
<p>Some of us are busy raising the kids, living frugally and being involved with the schools, while the one with the midlife crisis takes off with a young girlfriend and buys a new car every few years. Now this was years ago, mid 40s, and he has grown up since. But I haven’t felt I entitled to the luxury of a midlife crisis, post divorce. Maybe an old age crisis?</p>
<p>Yup–one and only one spouse gets to throw their toys and have a wobbly. The other is too busy cleaning up.</p>
<p>Dadguy…depends how fat your wallet is…not your tummy. Think Onassis.</p>
<p>great lakes…ouch.</p>
<p>
Can I get some clarification, in what ways do these two conflict with each other? Would buying a sports car not leave enough money for “responsibility”?</p>
<p>
Lol, I’m a guy in my mid-20s and that’s exactly what I would think, too.
However, some guys look like they’re in their 30’s for a long time afterward.</p>
<p>H has a vintage convertible – the kind other old guys envy. I like the way it looks, but it’s really hard for me to get in and out of it, and I hate to drive it. He jokes about all the cute young things admiring the car, but I always point out that it’s only all the other guys his age who take a second look. I will say that every time any service person comes to the house, they want to talk about the car. But it’s always just men.</p>
<p>inkbottle, it is the idea of parking $50,000 in the garage and only drive it occasionally bothers me. </p>
<p>I am 30 miles away from my job so drive the sport car to work every day will depreciate the value very fast. But paying insurance and park it in garage does not make any sense. </p>
<p>From personal enjoyment point of view, I should not worry about the two points above. Heck, I work hard and make enough for me to enjoy. From family responsibility point of view, I need to think about retirement and children’s colleges. </p>
<p>I guess at the end of the day, it is about not having enough money. Being poor sucks.</p>
<p>As a 46 years old, I guess I am not doing too bad per se. If I continue to work for another 19 years, the 401K and pension from my current employer is estimated to provide $72K/yr. SS benefits for both of us should be around $30K/yr. DW has pension from her state job and I have that from my 7 years at GE. So, our retirement is pretty much set and anything else should be icing on the cake.</p>
<p>The only debt we have is the $120K mortgage on our $300K house. We just purchased a lot of mutual fund (a lump sum to get the load from 5.75% to 2.5%). And we still have enough cash to purchase a $50K sport car + 6 month emergency fund.</p>
<p>I call it the Porsche paradox. The only people with enough money to afford cool cars are old farts who look ridiculous driving them. I see a lot of old guys driving around in Ferraris and Lamborghinis - saw one in a Pantera the other day - and SJMom is right -the only heads turning are just as grey and male as the drivers’.</p>
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<p>jmmom: I have one also although I’ve owned it since before I got old (I’ve been driving it for about 25 years and it was a classic when I bought it). What does your H have?</p>