What rich people won’t tell you
Most of the world's mega-rich weren't always rolling in it. Here's how to become a money magnet...
We’re cheapskates and proud of it
“I think about it this way: not spending money is the same as making money. So if I save $2000 by not flying first class, that’s the same as someone paying me $2000. Wouldn’t you sit in an uncomfortable chair for three hours for $2000?” says a successful US plastic surgeon
“When you open up the paper and you see those coupons, it looks like dollar bills staring you in the face … It’s how I grew up. Why not?” agrees Hilary Swank to talk show host Kelly Ripa, on clipping coupons
“People are always surprised that I don’t have a closetful of suits. I buy three suits every five or so years and own only ten in total. That’s all I need.” T. Boone Pickens, oil billionaire, explains in an interview with Kiplinger’s magazine in 2012
“I go to the ATM only once a week and pay for everything with cash. That way, I’m forced to stay on a budget without counting pennies and saving receipts. I can spend only what is in my wallet. I turn it into a game where each week, I reduce my ATM withdrawal amount by $20 to determine how low I can really go,” recommends Alan Corey, author of A Million Bucks by 30
“We have neighbours who are billionaires, but you would never know it. The really wealthy are usually not the ones who wear the most expensive clothes, have the latest handbags, or drive flashy cars. In Martha’s Vineyard, you see a lot of people who live in houses that sell for $10 million driving ten-year-old Toyotas,” says a successful US plastic surgeon
We’re just like you
“Many of the super-wealthy have huge homes with specific rooms dedicated to entertaining. Your home might not have a ballroom, but you can save yourself stress by creating an off-limits area when entertaining. Bonus: you can shove the ‘I don’t know what to do with this stuff’ pile into one of those rooms and shut the door,” a real estate broker from Million Dollar Listing New York on television explained.
“Contrary to popular belief, the rich do pay taxes – a lot of taxes. And they don’t all have teams of high-priced lawyers and accountants to do the paperwork. Many of them do their own with [US tax software] TurboTax, just like the rest of the world,” recommends a partner at a prestigious law firm
“Millionaires tend to pay about $16– including tip – for a haircut at a traditional barbershop.” Researchers from the University of Georgia Survey Research Institute discovered.
We loathe waste
“I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from not wasting things. I still collect all the tiny pieces of soap and put them together into one bar. I still squeeze the toothpaste tube dry. And I grow a lot of my own vegetables,” laughs August Turak, founder of two successful software companies and author of Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks
“One time my granddaughter was filling out all this paperwork, and there were several paper clips. I told her to take them off so she could reuse them. She said, ‘Grandma, do you know how cheap paper clips are?’ I said, ‘Do you know how far a penny can stretch when you need it to?’” Pat Brennan, co-owner of Brennan Builders, a US building company specialising in custom homes at an average price of $500,000, remembers teaching her daughter.
Written by Michelle Crouch. This article first appeared in Reader’s Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.