Article first published as Millionaires Gone Bankrupt on Technorati (written by me, of course).
Do you dream of having millions? Hitting the “big one” or achieving Rock Star status so that dollars will grow on trees and flow in the rivers surrounding your 13,000 square foot home? It is probably safe to assume that unless you are a millionaire that you have dreamt of becoming one.
When I hear stories of celebrities, athletes, and business moguls going bankrupt it takes several moments of breathing into a paper bag, putting my head between my knees and a slap in the face to bring me back to life. To understand what having millions and throwing it away means.
For some, having money means having multiple homes – winter, summer and vacation. It means living a lavish lifestyle with fancy cars, nice jewelry, couture clothing, a personal driver, and beautiful friends. Living like you are entitled to the world and demanding whatever tickles your fancy to be delivered on a silver platter, at any given moment.
Not all millionaires spend money like it is going out of style, but most of them do. Some of them even go bankrupt. I admit that the sight of Donald Trump sets off visions of big gold nuggets dancing in my head, but even he has filed for bankruptcy. Sure he has made his millions by working hard, investing and building businesses but let’s face it he lives a lavish lifestyle. He can site failed business ventures as the reason of his bankruptcy, but the fact of the matter is that he has a few too many expensive things in his life.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not picking on Donald Trump because I admire him for his strong personality and solid business background. In fact, I am a little envious of the empire he has built. I would just like to build a piece of what he has and I promise I will not live a lavish lifestyle. Unless that means buying four pairs of shoes (at Kohl’s) in one year. And I will not buy a summer or a vacation home, I would just like to go on a summer vacation.
In truth, I don’t think the manner in which millionaires-gone-bankrupt gained their millions matters much, whether it was lavish lifestyle, silver spoon theory, winning the lottery or working hard, it is HOW they lost it that matters. They bought too many, too big and too expensive. Over and over and over.
It takes an incredible amount of bad decisions and a good length of time for a millionaire to go bankrupt. It doesn’t just sneak up out of nowhere. You don’t have to be a millionaire to make bad decisions though, because it is only natural that when you make more you spend more.
The bottom-line is that just because you have more doesn’t mean you should spend more. Even if you have millions, or hundreds, or twenties every single penny matters.
End of article on Technorati.
The morale of this money saving tip is to SPEND WISELY! You do not need 10 new pairs of shoes per month, you don’t need a brand new car, you don’t need to go out every single weekend. BE SMART!!!
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