Small world? I know SClass hates when I say that. My first "mentor" fit your description to a t. Ford trucks (with rusted out floor pans), polyester shirt (wore two at a time because seperated were too holey), and non-assumingly worth millions.
Hate, nah. I also read about people like this in Millionaire Next Door where they profiled millionaire vehicles. There must be something to it. Probably it’s easy to write off as a business vehicle.
But what’s frustrating is that many of them bitch about their jobs. But when I ask if they’ve modeled the possibility of quitting, they haven’t. Just keep working and bitching. Oh well.
Yeah, I can recall a lot of work lunches like this. A lot of money complaining but no real solutions. When I’d propose my plan I’d get the cognitive dissonance. I’m not sure what those guys were thinking. Maybe it was therapy. At the end of lunch they’d conclude “wait for Social Security at 70” then we’d go back to the office. It was kind of defeatist.
So it was a mistake to talk about money. I should have been talking about hardwood vs. parquet flooring or leather vs. fabric couches.
@Illinidave I am sorry about the dumb money comments. No shame in indexing this year. Happy New Year!
I am quite fond of my eccentric old multi-millionaire friend, and I do enjoy conversing with him about financial matters. However, I am also very often struck by how his extreme high functioning in the realms of health and wealth, contrasts with his below normal functioning in other realms. For instance, just yesterday he showed me a Christmas card he received from a younger brother, which had a picture of what my friend himself described as a "perfect family." The brother, lovely wife, three lovely grown daughters, three handsome sons-in-law, and 8 healthy, attractive young grandchildren. Also, he often reminisces about his life as a poor farm boy, and the things he liked then that he can never have again. I ask him "Why don't you just buy a farm?", and he actually offers "too much liability" as one of his reasons. So, in addition to learning more about such interesting matters as why zero interest bonds represent giant bubble from him, there is unfortunately also object lesson along the lines of the fable of King Midas.
IOW, there are at least two reasons why the fact that half my current social circle (inclusive of this forum representing one social unit) is much better financial functioning than me actually makes me less likely to strive to further improve my financial functioning. The second reason being that according to the principles of perma-culture it is waste of human resources to plant one pear tree in your backyard when two of your next door neighbors already have pear orchards. You should just strive to get over your shyness and go ring on their doorbells with something you have to trade instead.
Yeah. One of my mentors had nothing but money. I didn’t say I was replicating his life. He just helped me fast forward the money side of my freedom chase.
I was just saying he was a person I was glad I discussed money with. For some reason I recall telling him how much I had. I went that far. He’d smile...not condescending but the way a father smiles at a precocious child. I can still remember how reckless I felt telling somebody how much I was worth. I was willing to expose myself to fast track things.
With anyone else this move would have been a big mistake. Just telling my god mother I was retiring, not mentioning numbers, has ruined a lifelong relationship that was precious to me. She hates me now and tells our people what a schmuck I’ve become. Big mistake opening up. I thought she’d be proud of me but I wasn’t thinking of her own kids...guys I grew up with who are living paycheck to paycheck.
Just saying, keep things to yourself unless you can really benefit from opening up.
