When you think about the super-rich, you think of the typical ‘rich-person’ lifestyle most of the time.

Mansions, fancy parties, ridiculously expensive vehicles, megayachts, vacations in 5-star locations, being waited on hand and foot…

In essence, things the average person will never get to experience.

True, many of the super wealthy do live this way, but there are some examples of frugality even among the top of the 1%.

Worth over $85 billion, Warren Buffet is the 4th richest person in the world. Gaining this legendary status doesn’t mean that he felt compelled to upgrade to keep up with the Jones’. He still lives in the house he bought for $31,500 in the 1950s – that’s about $297,000 today with inflation. No mansion for this guy, even though he can clearly afford it.

Heard of Ikea? Of course you have. Ingvar Kamprad, the king of assemble-it-yourself college furniture, is worth an insane $58 billion, but he doesn’t flaunt it. He lives in a modest home, decked out in his own company’s furniture, flies coach, eats in inexpensive restaurants, drives an average car, and even takes the bus.

Chuck Feeny, the Duty-Free founder, was worth nearly $10 billion, yet he lives in a rental apartment, doesn’t have a car, and flies economy class. He might be the most philanthropic person in the world, he’s given away over $8 billion of his fortune.

The point? You don’t need to waste your money on status symbols.

In fact, our quest for the materialistic is damaging to our bottom line in a way that few other things are. If you want to be like our super-rich friends above, imitate them. Go for quality, not for show. One way to build wealth is to get a qualified financial planner in your corner, and (spoiler!) you already know at least one!

Call 513-563-PLAN (7526) or just head here to chat with me for 15 minutes about building out your own financial future. You’ll be glad you did.

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®