Maybe I am already rich?
I saw this post by Retire by 40 the other day, and liked the concept enough to rip it off 🙂
From his list, I agree with four items, completely disagree with another four, and we already have the other two… see if you can guess which are which, and I’ll tell you at the end of this post.
First of all, let’s define rich. I think rich is a net worth over $5m, giving a passive income of $100,000-200,000. We are a very long way from this, although there is a small chance we will get there at some point, particularly if Ray Kurzweil is right.
Also, I don’t think being rich is something you need to be happy. I think happiness comes from purpose, from connection, from health, and from freedom. Being rich might help a little with some of those, but not necessarily. We’re already rich in experiences and opportunities.
But back to the task at hand. What ten things would I buy if money was less of an issue than it is now?
1. Driver
I hate driving and am not good at it. I keep having minor accidents. The first thing I would do is stop driving and use taxis. This is likely to be cheaper than owning a car fairly soon anyway, so I predict this will happen whether I end up rich or not.
2. Gym/trainer
I actually enjoy working out, but don’t like sharing squat racks with others. A personal gym and a trainer to help keep me accountable are a luxury I would be happy to splurge on.
3. Housing
I would probably buy/build a new house in a beautiful location. Failing that, I might consider renovating our manshon. A manshon is basically a concrete box, so you can rip out everything and remake the interior layout from scratch. It would be nice to have a room design that perfectly matched our needs.
4. Clothes
I would get some nice clothes and shoes. I don’t think much about clothes but enjoy wearing comfortable ones. Getting some help with this would be a good investment. Ideally I’d end up with a few outfits that I wouldn’t have to think too much about.
5. Furniture/house stuff
Well made things are a pleasure to have around and to use. I have some saucepans I got from my grandmother. I have no idea how old they are but they ooze quality and are a pleasure to use. Buying some quality furniture and kitchen stuff seems like a no-brainer if you can afford it.
6. ​…
​I can’t really think of anything else.
The funny thing is that we could buy all the stuff on that list already, it’s just not a priority at the moment (I’d rather have more cash flow before increasing our spending).
From RetireBy40s list, we already have a cleaning lady who comes in once a week and does a couple of hours, and we travel first class on airplanes every so often using air miles. Both of these are well worth it to us.
I much prefer to borrow things (hotels, taxis) than buy them and pay the associated costs (houses, cars).
How about you? Any unmet needs? What would you buy if money was no object?
–more time
–health
–the best fresh veggies I can splurge on
–a bicycle tech, to clean & maintain & do the things I put off
–good weather (so I can go riding)
–more, and more easily found, good music (and less fluff)
–a range of shoes in larger sizes, available for try-on
–a few more good walks to do from home
I read that Bill Gates was on Helen recently, and his splurges when he became a billionaire were a porche and a private jet. For a billionaire, buying a porche is like me splurging on a new bicycle, but if not then, then now he does have a really nice Bombardier jet–small but long range.
“…but enjoy wearing comfortable ones”
You’re English aren’t you? You could take a lead from your fellow countrymen and stick to track suits. Most comfortable clothing there is, and probably the cheapest….. Though you can also go all designer if you really wanted to spend the money…
There is also the local version: Shimamura ‘yankee’ trackies worn with sandals. I’d need to dye my hair to really pull it off though… 😉
1. House in the country, with a hinoki-buro, roten-buro, full-on solar energy, and home gym /dojo (can that all be one thing?)
2. A lot of travel with my family
3. Really good furniture / house stuff (heirloom quality)
4. Really good clothes and shoes (not a lot of them, just top quality)
5. A couple more really nice Japanese swords to add to my collection.
6. Tesla Model X
7. Really good camping gear
8. Well-stocked, properly conditioned wine cellar
9. A pottery studio and kiln
10. … & yeah, some help around the house.
The finer things in life 🙂
Whats the best way to be able to afford first class? Its like three times the price!
Air miles.
Buying with cash, business is about 4x economy, and first is 10x.
With air miles, business is 1.5x economy and first is 2x or so. No brainer in my opinion 😉
Nothing in RB40’s list is something I want, or would buy if I were richer. I guess my wife would be happy with better clothes and nicer furniture.
Me, as far as I’m concerned:
– Would buy a house twice as expensive as what I’m targeting right now, just so I could be closer to Tokyo.
– Probably pay someone to do my taxes
– a self driving car, (or a driver/taxi if self driving cars fail to take off soon) for the same reasons as Ben: I suck at driving and ca’t wait for the day all cars are self driving and everything on the road gets finally efficient.
Regarding help around the house: I’m hopeful that being rich means I would not have to go to work, and I would magically get an extra 40 ours a week to help around the house myself. Thoughts?
Not sure I would be using my current work hours as housework hours in the future…
Might ask our cleaning lady to come in twice a week though 😉