“He who dies with the most toys wins” makes no sense, but “He who dies with the biggest emergency fund (or the biggest overall investment portfolio)” makes even less sense. Toys, at least, can bring you some enjoyment. Money that you’re not spending doesn’t even do that, unless you like rolling around in it Scrooge McDuck style.

I’m not saying that everyone should spend every penny they make on toys and ignore things like retirement and emergency savings. But once you’re saving adequately for those things, find some things that you want to buy, and buy them. There’s nothing wrong with that.

It seems to completely overlook all the people who spend their entire lives working as hard as they can, producing as much as they can, completely convinced that they will be rewarded, while all the while their boss is reaping the benefit and the hard worker gets fired at 55 because they can get a guy right out of college for less than half the price who’ll happily work himself into the same fate while he shops at the WalMart where the old hard worker is forced to work because no one will hire somebody so close to retirement age.

Just saying, it seems a little unrealistically optimistic.

In Steve’s world, money is just a way to mark the contribution a person makes to society. And yes, he does believe that a baseball player who makes $10,000,000 adds more value than a social worker who makes $40,000 – in part this is because of the number of people each reaches. Trent (obviously) is much more into buckling down and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. In my opinion, these are both valid world views.

From my reading, Steve was not implying that you should spend money as fast as you can. He was suggesting that you take steps to live your ideal lifestyle in small increments as a way of accelerating your mindset. For example, if you envision a day when you can purchase all organic foods (which it seems that Trent aspires to), you can start by buying a few organic items and gradually increasing that ratio as your income increases. By doing this, you’ll better position yourself to be “worthy” to receive the amount of money you need to eat 100% organic.

I don’t think this is much different from the popular advice to dress for the next job you’d like to have. It’s just a way to keep moving in the direction of your dreams.

He also had an expensive watch that we joked cost more than my entire outfit ($10 Puritan trousers from Wally World, $10 shirt at Penny’s and $30 black Sketchers shoes at the Shoe Dept. plus figure maybe a couple dollars for socks and underwear if that) Heck, I could set up my entire wardrobe for work (5 pairs of slacks, 1 pair of Jeans for BizCasFri and maybe 5 or 6 shirts from the clearance racks at Pennys and Sears) for probably what he paid for that suit, shoes, watch and tie.

I do believe once you master the control of these desire, then you can achieve your financial goal of having a better life.

How would you feel to go to the doctor’s office to find him wearing dirty overalls and covered in tattoos? How would you feel to go to your bank and find the vice president wearing jeans and a tshirt? How would you feel to pick up your child from school, and the teacher is wearing daisy duke shorts, flip flops and a halter top with no bra?

We all hope and pray that the professionals we depend on daily have their personal act together. We hope that our surgeons have enough money so they aren’t thinking about how to pay off the loan shark while they’ve got us cut open on the table. We hope our accountant can keep his personal finances in order well enough that he won’t steal from us. We hope that our school teachers are nice people who are clean and neat mentally, spiritually and socially.

So I can understand exactly what this guy is trying to say about looking the part before getting there… BUT… these suggestions about clearance clothes racks at retailers isn’t cutting corners enough. Sorry.. but I’ll never set foot in a mall. Their idea of clearance is still way farther than what I’m willing to spend.

I say go to the local thrift and get a nice suit that fits well, or one that is a year or two old and still in fashion that can be taken to an alteration shop and be custom tailored to fit. No one pulls your collar down to look at the label or sneaks into your pants to see who your tailor is. I shop K-mart a lot for disposable fashions–things that are in season for a year or maybe two, or things that I know will get stained. (I’m a teacher)

Get a sewing machine and learn to put darts into your shirts and skirts/pants if you don’t like paying for alterations. A cheap 9.00 shirt will look like a custom tailored one for 15 minutes worth of sewing.

And jewelry– forget wearing trendy baubles when one or two or three really good expensive pieces will last you a life time and make wonderful heirlooms to your family. A lot of people judge you more on your jewelry and watches than on your shirt, tie and pants. I’ve worn 4.99 used sun dresses from thrift stores with really good jewelry and no one ever notices. They’re too busy gawking at the bling.

A 500.00 suit looks nice.. but if you’re wearing a cheap 15.00 timex with it.. people are going to notice something is off.
Aggie

I think it wise to be frugal with much and be happy rather than wasteful with your wealth and always stressed out with lots of debt!

Unfortunately, his article seems to be about climbing the financial ladder of success and not really caring about how you get there. The last paragraph of section 5 seems to be reverse Noblesse Oblige. You have a million dollars in the bank and somehow it’s because you contributed so much to society that society now owes you? Someone whose income stagnates is lazy and selfish? Good Lord, has this man thought of the countless thousands who work for modest salaries to help the impoverished or assist those who are less fortunate (oh, he thinks they’re lazy and selfish for taking too much from society and being in debt). We can all name lots of obscenely rich celebrities who have done nothing to benefit society, and in some cases have drained public resources with their illegal activities. Certainly they are not owed more just because they have millions in the bank. And surely those who are stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty are not to be left behind because they no longer fit into your new financial equilibrium.

I also though it interesting that he closes the article talking about how money wasn’t the reward, but it’s the loving connections to people whose lives were made better by his presence. Apparently it’s not the friends he dumped back in step 3 as he was climbing his financial ladder of success. But his book will be released on October 15th so we can all get it and help him feel that he has made a valuable “deposit” to society and he’s owed more money!

I feel the need to go donate some money to charity now. That is the debt I owe society for having the good fortune of education, a steady job, good health, and personal financial freedom – regardless of how much is or isn’t in my bank account.

There a some things I would love to have, that I’m sure I could get financed to buy, and that would basically just add stress to my life. More is just more at some point.

More money for me would allow me to do more of the same things I’m already doing. Spend more family time, travel, launch more business ventures etc. Being able to do more of this is living the dream.

Ultimately though it comes down to what financial success means to oneself. Financial success to me wouldn’t lead to accumulating “stuff.” Instead it would allow me to enjoy activities that bring a sense of joy to my life. Expensive slick threads and a fancy watch wouldn’t make me any happier than I am now. Daytrips with my family to explore the state that I live in, and going to farmers’ markets, would make me happy.