Recently a report on the world’s billionaires was released and some astonishing facts were revealed! Presently there are over 1,011 who, quite literally, cannot spend all of their money in one lifetime. Is this what I have been talking about in all my articles for the past two years?!?
As a leading real estate mentor and founder of the real estate investing resource center, invesdoor.com, I have consistently spoken and written about achieving financial independence through intelligent investment. My vision of financial freedom has more to do with personal development than having copious amounts of cash lying around waiting for some fat cat to spend it. Financial independence starts with frugality and the report I am about to share with you substantiates this fact.
A common thread among the billionaires polled were 5 money-saving habits that even the richest have adopted as a way of life. This is where personal development goals come in. As Warren Buffet put it: “Most toys are a pain in the neck.” Now I want to share the following points from ultra wealthy individuals from various parts of the world.
1) Keep your home simple. Buffet still lives in a five-bedroom house in Omaha that he purchased in 1957. And Carlos Slim ($60B strong) has lived in the same house 40 years.
2) Use Self-Powered or Public transportation. Some billionaires like David Cheriton, John Caudwell and Chuck Feeney actually prefer to use the legs God gave them and walk! I guess the lesson is to think green and it will help your bank account, too.
3) Buy your clothes off the rack. Spending one’s wealth on designer clothes is for the “wanna-bees.” That is a sure way to blow through a fortune and for what?!?
4) Drive a regular car. Jim Walton of Wal-Mart fame drives a 15 year old pick-up. Azim Premji drives a Toyota Corolla. And Ingvar Kamprad of IKEA drives a 10 year old Volvo. There’s no need to impress the neighbors. They opt for driving a car into the ground before spending more on a new model.
5) Pass on the luxury items. The truth is that reducing the amount we spend on unnecessary things is the easiest way to achieve financial freedom quicker! Not every billionaire owns a helicopter, a yacht or a Bugatti.
Whether or not the frugality of the world’s wealthy has helped them get to that point or not, it is worthy of note that they CAN live without all of the material “stuff” that the world’s merchants would love to sell them.
With this information I suggest to you that a good personal development plan along with professional development goals will, if adhered to, head you towards financial independence. Rather than fantasize about champagne and caviar, I suggest focusing on living a life of purpose, free of worry about paying the bills. Now that’s living!