Secretly Rich

I am, by nature, a frugal person. Having spent a good chunk of the last 20 years as a Stay at Home Mom, and then returning to the work force very part time, money has always been a precious commodity, and I hold on very tight to what we earn, and stretch it out just as far as I can. I've never thought of us as "rich". We live in a 1970's rancher, we have a decent size yard, we buy used cars and drive them into the ground, and we refuse to take on debt to send our kids through college.

Imagine my surprise when I ran across this article the other day online: 10 Habits of the Rich and Famous, published on the website of AARP: http://www.aarp.org/money/budgeting-saving/info-2014/frugal-spending-habits-of-the-rich-photo.html#slide1

Many of the points in here were fascinating, even more so because we already practice many of these habits in our own home.


 1) Drive a Safe, Practical Car.
OK, I'm not sure, but I think that our 2002 Honda Civic with 198,000 miles qualifies.  We have maintained our car according to the manufacturer's directions for the last 12 years. All told, we've spent less than $3,000 in maintenance on that car.  The biggest expense?  Replacing tires.

Up until last year, we also had a Honda Accord, which finally gave up at 200,000 miles.  We bought it used, with 50,000 miles on it for $10,000 in 2004.

We do have a mini-van.  We also bought it used, from my Father in Law. 

2) Don't Go Anywhere With Money in Your Pocket Looking for Something to Buy.

This one's easy to do when you don't have a lot of spare cash sitting around.

3) Keep Clipping Those Coupons
I don't buy many processed or prepared foods, which is unfortunately what most coupons are for.  I do use coupons for trash bags, toilet paper, paper towels, and shampoo though.

Wait, I grow some of our own food.  Where does this count?

4) Live on (WAY) Less Than You Earn.

We live on less than we earn.  Right now, we are using up any excess cash to put towards textbooks for the kids in college, and paying down the mortgage on the house.  Considering that our Honda has almost 200,000 miles on it, we've begun shifting some of that money over to an account to make a down payment on a new to us car.

5) Dress Fashionably Frugal

We shop at Goodwill.  After we hit up Goodwill and the yard sales, we will fill in what we need on sale at other stores.  I have been known to sew clothes, but having had boys, there's not a lot that I could ever have sewn for them that they would have worn!  I do knit them a dress sweater or vest every couple of years that they can wear to church or to work.

6) Don't Spoil Your Kids

Quote from the article: "Warren Buffet says "I would give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing."

We've never been able to give our kids everything that they want, and we've told them to go out and find jobs when they want more than we feel we can give them.  Now that all 3 kids are employed - and earning their own spending money - I feel that we have succeeded.

7) Remember What's Really Important

Family.

Take time to make the memories for your kids of your times together.  Take a trip together, or take advantage of an opportunity.  Whatever you take the time to do together, it will make a difference in the lives of your kids.

8) Cook More at Home

OK, the article is quoting that Taylor Swift and Emma Stone enjoy cooking parties at each other's houses. Somehow, I don't think that this "cooking party" is low key or frugal.

I think it means cooking things at home, from scratch, that are not processed.  I do post ideas on here from time to time about easy, quick dinners to make that are easy on the budget.  Not only are these meals healthier for you, if you are cooking dinner from raw ingredients, it is much easier on the pocket book.

Taking our family of 5 out for dinner can quickly bring our tab up to $100.  For one meal. 
For that same $100, I can buy groceries for a week.

9) When in Doubt, Let Your Wife Control the Money

Actually, I know some women who are horrible with money, and handing them the keys to the bank account could put you in the poor house faster than you know.  I think the person who controls and budgets the money should be the person who has the best head for numbers and is a saver by nature.

10) Drink Cheap Wine.. and Die Broke
I'm just going to quote this directly from the article here.  It deserves some serious meditation on your part:
"It may not be boxed wine, but Chuck Feeney, co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers Group, always chooses the second cheapest wine from the list.  A biography about Feeney, The Billionare Who Wasn't, How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing, chronicles Feeney's goal of giving away his fortune to charity before he dies.  A 2012 New York Times article estimated that he has already given away about $6 billion, and was working on getting rid of the last $1.5 billion by 2016.


Food for thought.

How are you doing with this list of goals?