Are you well off?

somefeen wrote: »

With that ingrained in you, as soon as you start earning decent money its spend spend spend.

And understandably too SF. Like you say if you've eff all and a windfall drops in your lap... Many years ago I knew of a lad who won a couple of million on the Irish lottery. "Ordinary" working class bloke who naturally was ecstatic. Who wouldn't be? I'd be running through the streets naked, covered in honey, shouting "lick me peasants!" Blew almost all of it within five years with little to show for it. I remember chatting with him in the pub and trying to get it into his head that when "money" reaches a certain level it generates more money by virtue of its very existence, that he should leave the principle alone and leverage purchases against it and invest sensibly so that he'd have a helluva "wage" coming in and the winnings would remain there.

He just couldn't get that. It was something to be spent and something to show off. The latter isn't reserved for folks like you and me though, the stupidly rich can be worse for that. If you're so wealthy that you can buy near anything, exclusivity really kicks in. Hence auctions for fine art, watches, jewels, antiques, rare cars, etc, anything that is so rare nobody else can have it, can go to mad money. That need to say "I have this and you don't". It's a willie measuring competition. The difference being the extremely rich usually don't end up sleeping on benches to do it. Though a few have. Having known a few of said rich in my time, they can actually be more scatter brained. Triply so for the newly minted rich. That competitive streak and confidence and energy that got them to where they are, can also be their downfall.


FWIW what I have learned so far from life is that it is fleeting and all that willie waving and "stuff" and worry will be after you, and most of it will be thrown to the winds soon after you're gone. There are no pockets in a shroud and you don't see a moving van behind a hearse. I have seen that a few times in my life up close and personal. Only last year an elderly chap I knew passed away after a good innings. He had some nice kit and was worth a few bob and like us all had been at times worried about all that. Within a week of his death the house was being stripped for sale. Some of his things went to family and friends, but when his rellies advertised the rest of his stuff on Donedeal/Adverts, they had zero takers. The vast majority of his things ended up unwanted and destined for the dump(as the guys who did this stuff for a living said; mostly people don't want "old" stuff anymore). That's a sobering thought.

For me? Being "well off", beyond being able to feed, clothe and house you and yours, is far more about the "investments" and "returns" you get from friends, family and your wider community. And that's something we all can strive to earn.