Drishtikone
An old post from my earlier blog that just came online – (Thanks again to Raj!!).. I think it is fairly interesting and informative post.. read and enjoy!
this is what the millionaires do
In fact, the financially fabulous — real-life millionaires — are a pretty low-key bunch. They don’t have drawbridges for driveways or drive Hummers to the gourmet grocery store. You’ve probably crossed paths with one of the fabs today already without even realizing it.
How did they get to be so fabulous? According to the book The Millionaire Next Door…
* On average, they invest 20% of their income every year.
* They work hard for each paycheck and make everyday decisions to keep their credit cards securely in their wallets.
* They didn’t wait around for a long-lost rich relative to leave them a fortune. Less than half ever received a penny of inheritance.
* A full 80% are college grads, and 38% have advanced degrees.
and this is what the rest of us do!!
….If that’s all it takes — spend less than you make (and make your leftover cash work hard for you), why aren’t the halls teeming with millionaires? What exactly is everyone else doing with their dough?
Pretty much the opposite:
* They’re using credit cards as a financial planning tool — buying what they want, when they want, and worrying about paying it off later (or never). Twenty percent of credit cards are maxed out, and the average household pays $1,000 in interest every year to The Man.
* According to the Fed, two out of five families spend more than they earn.
* With all that spending, it’s no wonder the un-rich and financially un-fabulous are saving less money now than at any other time in history. The country’s personal savings rate is a runway-model-thin 1.8%. Recent studies show that fewer than 20% of workers age 21 to 24 sock away even one dime in their work retirement plan when just $50 a month (only about $1.75 per day) earning the stock market’s historical return could become $80,000 in 25 years.
* One out of every 73 households files for bankruptcy — that’s more people than graduated from college last year.
* Those flashy wheels and fly duds they’re wearing? The car — most likely financed — is worth 20% less than that number on the price tag the minute it’s driven off the lot. And the threads will look better on you when you borrow them from your broke pal for that big night out you’ve been planning.
What not to do is pretty clear. So why not vow today to make me and everyone else ugly-jealous of your good fortune? Pay off that credit card. Use your lender’s free float to your advantage for a short-term free loan. Stash some short-term cash for the occasional emergency.
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