Over the weekend, Kevin and Nathaniel both sent me an article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that tells the story of Jane M. Buri, an 84-year-old social worker who quietly amassed a $1.4 million fortune. How did she do it? She practiced the art of thrift. From the article:
In retrospect, friends say Buri’s savings made sense. They say she drove a 30-year-old car, watched an ancient TV, lived four decades in a house bought with cash in 1969, and just kept stacking charity donation envelopes in her sun room, until, once a year, she sent them all in.
They say she gave of herself and asked little in return. Nobody’s disputing that generosity. But it’s not the whole story. Because this isn’t about someone who selflessly saved so others could have. It’s about someone who saved because spending more just didn’t occur to her.
I love these sorts of stories, but when I share them, I invariably hear from readers who say they would hate to live the frugal lifestyle necessary to build so much wealth. Yet the article makes it clear that although Buri pinched pennies, she also spent on the things that were important to her:
Nor did she deny herself small indulgences. Some weeks, she ate out three meals a day, friends said. She traveled to Europe, and to the Rose Parade in California. She bought a baby grand piano.
There was nothing she wanted and didn’t buy, said [a] co-worker. “She was frugal because she didn’t need anything else,” she said. “She wanted that old car. She dressed the way she wanted to dress.”
It’s not having what you want that’s important — it’s wanting what you have.
In recent years, I’ve had the privilege to meet several people just like Buri (including my real millionaire next door, who has agreed to let me interview him). Their stories are always the same. They’ve amassed wealth on modest salaries by living lives of thrift, and by choosing to spend only on the things that make them happy.
[St. Louis Today: How social worker Jane M. Buri saved $1.4 million, then gave it all way]
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Great story. She lived near where my wife lived when we met. Although definitely middle-class, it’s a very nice area. There’s a nice park within walking distance, and you can walk to the grocery store if you feel like it, and a world famous frozen custard joint is a reasonable walk away too.
See what you have for what it is (many people would look right past that neighborhood despite its niceties), want what you have, and spend carefully–wait for sales, stuff like that.
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OK, so she has $1.4 million. At the age of 84. Now what?
She likely won’t be able to enjoy the money, because, well, she’s old.
She can give it to charity, and it seems like that’s exactly what she’s doing. Very admirable. But most nonprofits have problems with day-to-day cashflow – making payroll, buying supplies, that sort of thing. There’s a reason that most fundraisers encourage planned giving. Not to mention the fact that inflation has surely eaten into the value of her savings considerably. So, she’s doing right in giving the money away, but she’s not having nearly the impact she could have had if she had taken her monthly surplus and given it away then.
Again, your main point of living simply and spending on the on the things you enjoy is well taken and relevant. But irrationally squirreling away money that could be put to better use somewhere else?
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It’s a simple story that works (much like eating healthy and exercise) but it doesn’t sell books.
I like to think of my parents as frugal (more like cheap), but then I realize they do all the things they love to do and they did it on modest college salaries. Dad buys all the good wine he wants, they both travel internationally, they sent both of us kids to good schools, and mom never wants for nice clothes. But they paid off their house in 5 years, keep cars at least 10 years, and have only remodeled the house when things break.
They started saving early, took advantage of retirement matching, lived well below their means and today they are retired millionaires. And they still don’t spend more than they ever did. They are my role models.
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Great story. My parents have a comfortable nest egg, not with brilliant insight into the stock market, but by saving more than they spent. Neither of them have college degrees. They bought a house, paid it off in 15 year, and still live in it 15 years later. They never financed a car – they paid in cash. They never carried a balance on their credit cards, never paid an extra dime of interest. They are retired comfortably now, even in this economy. Like Ian, they are my role models.
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@Corey, that’s exactly how I would do it, keep a good chunk until I died and was sure I wasn’t going to need it. It sounds like she DID give her money away, just not all of it. I would rather this woman have saved the money just in case she needed medical care or a nursing home as she aged than give it all away via “planned giving” and be a burden on the rest of us because she didn’t have anything left.
I find myself frequently in the “enough” mindset. Sure there are things I would like but I don’t get the gimmes that often. When I think of getting a windfall and ask myself what I would spend it on I come up blank, so I save it.
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Hi J.D.,
You got me thinking about this statement:
“It’s not having what you want that’s important — it’s wanting what you have.”
If you mean “wanting what I have” as in appreciation and being thankful for what I have, then I would say you’ve nailed it…. what happens is that most people have it reversed and therefore think…
“I’ll be happy when I get what I want.”
….so I’m starting to see your point;
just be happy with what you have or in your own words,
“wanting what you have”…. is more important than…”having what you want.”
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@ Corey, Post # 2.
But irrationally squirreling away money that could be put to better use somewhere else?
Would you rather she waste her money by impulsively buying things she doesn’t need in order to “stimulate the economy”? That’s just stupid.
Kudos to her, and anyone else who doesn’t buy into that nonsense.
@ JD, when can we expect to read that interview with your neighbour next door? I check every day, waiting anxiously to read that post. I love reading stories like that, and the one you posted today. Thank you!
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@Mike, post 7 – that’s not at all what I said. I agree with the lady in question and J.D. that one shouldn’t spend money on unnecessary things. But since she clearly has a proclivity toward charitable giving, it’s worth noting that the value of her contributed dollar, because of inflation and the vagaries of the nonprofit sector, was much higher in 1977 or whenever than it is now.
I’ll reiterate that it’s ridiculous to let money pile up if there’s a better use for it somewhere else. “Better use” doesn’t mean unnecessary spending.
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Yeah..
That’s all very nice but I would honestly consider it pretty extreme.
Time = money
I much rather be young and live comfortably all of my life, with great experiences (not things) with my family (and I mean all of my life by being a more wise spender) then amassing a small fortune and not really doing anything with it.
My goal is to leave this earth with a spent body (naturally) not looking like a ken doll, great memories, and enough money to pay for my funeral and enough to help a great-niece or nephew with college.
I know, she lived how she wanted. Kudos to her!..and it’s a good lesson in loving what you have and not being over materialistic
but IMO, I feel that this is taken a little too far..
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I still think people are missing the point. She lived EXACTLY AS SHE WANTED TO. She was careful – and fortunate – enough to have a lot left over when she was done, and she left it to those who mattered to her. Though I might not duplicate her life, I admire it.
And Corey, she DID give money away, every year. Not knowing in advance the exact moment or means of her death, she gave away what was right for her at the time, and the rest when she was sure she wouldn’t need it. I think that’s the best possible way to do it, lacking psychic vision.
I love these stories, JD – bring ‘em on!
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Now that is a life to aspire to! She enjoyed indulgences that made her happy but didn’t waste her money on things that didn’t and she ended up saving an impressive sum!
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Happiness doesn’t come from chasing and/or getting things . The “he who dies with the most toys wins” mentality is one reason why this society is so screwed up.
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My dad is classic baby boomer, “he who dies with the most toys wins,” but he’s been unhappy and dissatisfied for most of his life. He’s spent, spent, spent and is staring at retirement with nothing to show but a garage full of expensive “toys” that are now worth next to nothing. Clearly, these possessions are what makes him feel worthwhile, which makes me sad; he’s spent so much time on them, and so little on the things that matter.
It’s hard to go against the flow, to drive the old car and not buy the flashy clothes when there is money in the bank. This woman showed courage in her choices as well as thrift. Sure, she could have tried to predict the future and sent an additional 20% of her earnings to charity every year, but how was she to know? Besides, that isn’t the point: the point is that she lived life on her terms, buying what SHE wanted and not what others thought she needed to have.
Now that’s a success story, and one I’d like to follow.
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Wow, those two bolded comments put shivers down me a bit.
Very good story. I agree she should have definitely have kept a fair chunk of it in case she encountered some type of medical problem or something. Also, if I accumulated 1.4 million dollars and had nothing to do with it I would definitely help out family rather than give it all to charity.
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“Besides, that isn’t the point: the point is that she lived life on her terms, buying what SHE wanted and not what others thought she needed to have.”
Playing devil’s advocate, but that advice sounds like it could also be used in your case.
Switch out the ‘she’ with a ‘he’ and ‘needed to have’ to ‘didn’t need’.
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Corey sort of totally misses the point: “She likely won’t be able to enjoy the money, because, well, she’s old.”
Guess what? She has already enjoyed the money! It has made her feel safe and satisfied at her ability to take care of herself, pretty much whatever comes along, and it has given her the opportunity to contribute to charity when she is able, without denying her own needs. Sounds pretty good to me.
As an addition, and I have no reason to believe that this applies to Corey him or herself (I know Coreys of both genders), there is a tendency for those of us in the not-for-profit world to believe we are owed support because we work so hard and our cause is so important. Wrong. We have to earn the support of our contributors just as we would earn the support of venture capitalists in a for-profit-setting: by doing good things really, really well.
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The shocking part of this story is that it IS a story. Most people with any decent type of job should be able to accumulate that much wealth in their lifetime. But most people don’t because they frivolously spend it away. So when someone does save that much, it makes headlines.
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It’s an interesting story, precisely because she was able to save all that money *after* she bought everything that she wanted. It’s easy to save money if you’ve already fulfilled all your desires. If you can only think of $50,000 worth of purchases you care to make every year, but you bring home $60,000 a year, then saving $10,000 doesn’t take a massive feat of willpower.
Unfortunately, this same thing is what, in a way, makes this story irrelevant for a lot of people. What do you do when you *can’t* afford all your desires? You have to pick and choose, you have to make sacrifices. It’s a lot harder that way, and that’s the challenge that so many of us face. If we want X and Y. (where X or Y might be a car, or a vacation, or a TV), but we only have enough money for one of them, how do we choose? How do we control ourselves so that we don’t borrow money for the second item?
Those are the hard questions. When you buy everything you care about and still have money left over, saving is the easy choice. If we were all content with what we already have, personal finance would be easy. You (hypothetically, of course) wouldn’t need to worry about saving for a Mini Cooper, you’d just keep driving a Ford Focus until it actually stopped working, then you’d buy another one for $1000. Meanwhile, you’d b $15,000 closer to having $1.4 million in the bank.
How do you curtail your desires, and is that even something you’d want to do if you could?
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Great story! Someone like that could be my role model.
One crucial point, though: she never had children (and therefore grandchildren) to spend money on.
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Tyler, I think you bring up a good point, the difference between having everything and having enough. There is always more to want. I could be a billionaire with my own private island and could still want a bigger island with a bigger house and my very own gorilla habitat, and maybe my own currency with my picture on it…
you’re right. It’s healthy to want. But can you be satisfied with not having? Do you have enough and are you happy with it?
My husband asked me if I want an “X” (doesn’t matter what and I don’t remember) for Christmas. I had been admiring it from all angles for a while. But I pointed out to him that the reason I didn’t buy it wasn’t because I didn’t have the money, but because what it cost wasn’t worth the price to me. To me that is when your wants meet “enough”. You won’t pay $100 for something if it’s only worth $50 to you. It’s part of a mindset.
I hope this makes sense, and I know this only covers part of your question, but it’s a really big question. And one worth exploring.
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Stories like this make me grin ear to ear. She definitely had the last laugh! Hardly sounds like she was miserable with deprivation. No mention that she did any investing, which makes it all the more remarkable.
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Regardless of the intentions of the article or the social worker, placing the amount she’s saved beside her age projects the idea that her behavior is something to aspire to. I don’t really see it that way. If I live to 84, I’m sure there will be other things to think about besides my bank account.
Personal finance is well and good, but I’m never impressed by articles suggesting really old people with really big bank accounts are examples of lives well lived.
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This is a great story because it sounds like she had everything she wanted and is happily donating to causes she believes in. Those godawful stories that come up every so often of people dying with millions and living lonely and in squalor, which I initially thought this was, make me sad.
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To clarify my above post, I’m not implying there’s anything wrong with the woman or with how she’s lived her life. However, navelgazing at the wealthy elderly is something almost exclusively done by younger people who miss the crucial fact that the money matters much less by that stage of life.
The lady in question would likely be the first to tell you that her bank account hardly affects her sense of who she is; the fact that she has $1.4 mil is probably of far less importance than the fact that she’s seen 84 years on this earth. This is why it irritates me when pop journalists tell us to gasp! at how much she’s saved over a lifetime. *By the time you’re her age, the money doesn’t matter.*
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She was able to take advantage of incredibly low median house to median income ratios, something that has all-but-vanished over the last couple decades. Even with the implosion and resulting collapse of the housing market in America it is still considerably higher than it was for her in the 60s.
Once a person no longer has to worry about house payments (the largest investment they will ever have), it’s all coasting.
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As an addition, and I have no reason to believe that this applies to Corey him or herself (I know Coreys of both genders), there is a tendency for those of us in the not-for-profit world to believe we are owed support because we work so hard and our cause is so important. Wrong. We have to earn the support of our contributors just as we would earn the support of venture capitalists in a for-profit-setting: by doing good things really, really well.
I don’t think anyone *deserves* this woman’s hard-saved money – but clearly she wanted to give it to someone. Someone earned that dollar. The only question is when they got it and what it was worth when they received it. $20 twenty years ago was worth significantly more than it is now. I don’t know how else to say that.
Yes, it’s good to take stock of your own needs and budget accordingly. But by any reasonable standard, she did a terrible job of it – after all, she ended up with almost $1.5 million more than she started with, money that simply sat idle for most of her life.
If you believe, like I do, that money is simply another resource (just like brainpower, talent, or anything else) you’ll understand why I find a $1.5 million surplus over the course of your life simply unconscionable. Charities, business startups, grants to local artists – there are so many things that money could have been doing other than sitting in envelopes in her sun room. If everyone acted like her, our economy would grind to a halt – and I don’t mean from a lack of consumer spending, but of business and charitable investment.
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Accumulating that much money is not that difficult if you aren’t a materialistic person. You can afford small luxuries and still save a lot. Is it wrong to be a materialistic person? I’m going to write a post about this on my blog later today.
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@Mike (#7)
I just conducted the interview with my neighbor this morning. It was fun! It’s here next to me on my yellow legal pad, and I hope to get it transcribed soon. I may post it next week, but it’s probably going to be the week after…
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Hey thanks JD for posting it.
@ Michele – I think part of the reason it is news is because of her profession. I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words “social worker” I don’t think about millionaires.
I think it’s a great lesson, not only to do what fulfills you in life, but that we can all achieve great success with our finances regardless of our vocations.
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It seems that the three central tenants of this woman’s frugality were:
1. No spouse
2. No Children
3. No Mortgage
These are also my own three central tenants of frugality. Most people ruin their lives early on by getting one or more of these things, causing their financial life to a trainwreck, and tying them onto such a tight leash making it irrelevant really how much money they ever have.
Normally stories like this bore me. Kicking the bucket with $1.4 million probably means you lived an imbalanced life, either spent too much time working/saving, and not enough time living/spending. But seems she was planning all along what she wanted to do, and got what she wanted in the end. More power to her; my hat is off.
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It sounds like she lived her life right. She was frugal, but didn’t deny herself the things she really wanted. One person commented she should have spent her money all along rather than accumulating it and reducing its value with inflation. I think she was wise to save the money in case she needed hospitalization for an illness, or long-term nursing care. It was very responsible of her to save for these eventualities herself, rather than burdening society financially. I’m sure charities can use the money just as much today as they could if they had received more each year.
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My grandparents enjoyed similar financial success, on the salary of a Navy helicopter mechanic and hospital food service worker, and despite raising six children.
Before my grandmother died, they were among the first tourists to visit the Soviet Union and China, and they travelled throughout Europe and the US. They also owned a lovely home, two well-maintained vehicles and a modest vacation home on Cape Cod. My grandfather has made significant contributions to the college educations of several of his grandchildren, and contributes to the support of his developmentally disabled daughter. So my grandparents did enjoy the fruits of their labor.
I do see a few areas of difference which will make this feat more difficult for his grandchildren: We will not have pensions, and we will feel obligated to make significant contributions to put our children through college. (His kids have been able to live middle class lives without all having college degrees.) OTOH, we have only 2 or 3 children each.
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Wow. I don’t want kids either, but, dude, harsh.
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@ Corey, Joey, etc. I can tell that none of you has put a relative in a nursing home recently. That 1.4 million will keep that lady independent until her death. She will be able to hire round the clock caregivers, if she needs to, as well as afford any home modifications or safety equipment.
So you don’t think she’s wise? Go visit some nursing homes. That’s where all of us who “enjoy our money now” are going to end up. (If we’re lucky and nursing homes are still paid for by Medicaid in 40 years.)
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@Frugal Bachelor
To each his own, but I would never trade my spouse, my children, or our home for 1.4 million dollars. I wouldn’t trade them for 1.4 million a piece. I’d rather have a lifetime of love and caring then a hefty bank account when I’m dead.
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bottom line is: if a social worker can save over a million, why can’t u, and why can’t all of us?
the answer is we all can. one chooses to be rich and financially secure. i chose to study hard in school, get good grades, to get into a good college, so i could get a good job. i choose to work hard at work, get a promotion, and make investments.
it’s so simple, and this woman is it.
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@ Valerie: I don’t plan on putting any relatives in nursing homes. I find that a filthy part of American culture that I’ll never subject my parents or siblings to. The fact that this country has become so selfish (oops…individualistic) that seniors have to cower in fear of being abandoned to abuse and neglect in “nursing homes” is one more sign of how pathetic things are here beneath our wealthy veneer.
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This is a great story! I like the part that this woman lived frugally, but still had the things that were important to her. I think that’s the key. Yes, she has $1.4 million at 84, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t spent her life doing the things she’s always wanted to do. Just means she planned carefully when she was younger and now has plenty of money left over to see her through the rest of her days.
I don’t think having a nest egg – even at 84 – is letting money pile up and not using it for “better use.” First of all, she’s given to charity. And while I see the point about inflation and other factors affecting those dollars’ buying power, the fact still remains that this is her money. Her choices. She may leave all of that money to a charity of choice when she’s gone, and if the charity is smart, they can invest it in such a way as to have that money grow and meet their needs for a longer period of time. But, she will remain completely independent for the rest of her life.
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“One person commented she should have spent her money all along rather than accumulating it and reducing its value with inflation. I think she was wise to save the money in case she needed hospitalization for an illness, or long-term nursing care. It was very responsible of her to save for these eventualities herself, rather than burdening society financially. I’m sure charities can use the money just as much today as they could if they had received more each year.”
‘Spent’ isn’t the right word. ‘Invested’ probably is better – whether in the community, via charities or paying for young relatives’ college educations, or in businesses that would have gladly put that surplus to use. And no, my larger point was that all but the largest non-profits are run on shoestring budgets and have continual cash needs – and $20 a week, starting in 1968 or whenever she started saving, would have been preferable to the $1.4m lump sum she’s about to give them.
As for long-term/nursing care – point taken. But $1.4m?? Not to mention that the United States has a social safety net for a reason – it’s not a burden to society to take advantage of that net. That’s a whole other can of worms, though.
If you think of money having a multiplier effect, you understand exactly why this kind of hoarding is irrational. Consider this – her savings could have paid for at least 10 college educations, with plenty left over for her own retirement and long-term care. Each of those college graduates would have gone on to make, on average, $1m more throughout the course of their lives. That’s over 1000% ROI! Instead, it sat in envelopes in her sun room.
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Kudos to Jane Buri for a life well lived! It just goes to show how much of what we think are needs are really wants.
@Corey, that’s a bit silly. If her money was in a bank, it was already being spread out into the community through bank loans. As long as she was earning a reasonable rate of interest, none of that money was “lost” to inflation.
Since $20 a week since 1968 only adds up to $42,000 I think most charities would prefer the $1.4 million.
Her savings can still pay for all those college educations, so nothing is lost. At worst, they might have been deferred.
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If you think old people get abandoned in nursing homes just because no one will take care of them you need to educate yourself about nursing homes. Unless one is paying out of one’s own pocket, one must need skilled care from a nurse (not a nurse aide) every day.
Most people who go to nursing homes now go to recover from an acute health problem, then return to their home.
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It’s not entirely clear from this post that Ms. Buri is deceased. The linked story clarifies that, but I gather from some of the above comments that not everyone read the story.
@ Frugal Bachelor, our own JD has made two of the “negative” life choices you mention (a spouse and a mortgage), but he’s managing to save wisely now, and neither the spouse nor the mortgage were the cause of his earlier difficulties. As someone who has one of those (a spouse), and may some day have all three, I take issue with your blanket assessment of people who marry, procreate, and take out home loans. That’s a lot of people you look down on, man.
@ Corey – the envelopes in the sunroom were just her annual charitable donations. She mailed them out. Annually.
I think it’s a little weird that people want to malign this woman. She sounds kind of like a local saint to me.
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I guess I need to stop buying stuff!
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I love these stories…I’ve discovered that it’s amazing how little we can have and still be happy.
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I love this story…it makes you feel like life is about priorities and to each his own. She had what she wanted, nothing more and nothing less. Although she was frugal she was very generous. She did what she wanted when she wanted how she wanted…We could all learn something here.
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I’m concerned that this is what we celebrate and insert as anecdotal stories in books with tag line of “if this parking clerk saved 2 million over his life, you can too”. Don’t get me wring, it’s inspiring, but also a little sad. There is nothing wrong with wanting a newer used car or some other material thing in life. I want to enjoy my life and balance that with some financial security.
Aren’t extreme amounts of selflessness and frugality are just as bad extreme selfishness, materialism, and avarice?
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The neighbor who lives next to my father in-law is 93 years old, and is pretty much a millionaire next door. I know this because he has told us how many 100k bank accounts he has. He was given his house to live in and never had a mortgage, never really bought any new furniture or updated anything in the house, and never had any kids with his wife who passed away last year. The man buys stocks now ‘for fun’ and he buys the shares by the thousands.
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Hooray for the ancient T.V.!! We also have an ancient T.V. that was a hand-me-down from my grandfather, the T.V. was probably bought at Sears in the early 80s. It works just fine and since we don’t care about T.V. we have not upgraded.
I think the ancient T.V. stands as a testament to spending on things that are important to you and saving on things that you don’t care about. Why buy an expensive flat screen T.V. just to keep up with the neighbors?
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She should have enjoyed some of the money. I understand saving, but if you never spend any of it, why bother?
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Great story, but let’s at least be honest about HOW she was able to accumulate so much money. She spent her entire life in a house her parents paid for and left to her upon their death, and she never had children. If you cut “housing” and “children” out of pretty much ANYONE’s budget, they should easily be able to accumulate $1.4 million in 84 years, even without clipping coupons and watching an ancient, fuzzy TV.
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