Frugal Living

What would you do if you won the lottery? Would you live an extravagant lifestyle or just pocket the money and go on with life? Getting a lot of money like that, isn’t a guarantee to spend the rest of your days living, “high on the hog,” as my grandma likes to put it. All you need to do is look at life to find people who acquired a ton of money only to squander it away foolishly. One of the most famous examples would be “Iron” Mike Tyson, who over the course of his boxing career won more than $300 million in prize money and if he’d had a little more self control, could have had a boat load of paid endorsements. Rather, Iron Mike declared bankruptcy in 2003 and in May of 2010 made a statement on television that he is “totally broke.” So having a lot of money doesn’t always translate into security.  On the flip side though frugality alone doesn’t ensure a lifetime of security either, but your finances will probably be a lot more stable.

You’d also be surprised at how many truly rich people there are who are also frugal. These people might have billions of dollars backing up their net worth and yet they choose to forego the MTV lifestyle in favor of modesty. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-mart and Sam’s Club for example, was notable for continuing to drive around in a beat-up, old red pick-up, sans air conditioning, even after Wal-mart and Sam’s Club started becoming successful.  And he’s not the only frugal rich guy! Here’s a look at some of the wealthiest and yet most frugal people on the planet.

Name: Warren Buffet
Net Worth: $57 Billion
What Makes Him Frugal: The license plate on his car says “THRIFTY.”
Ok so it’s not just the license plate that gets Mr. Buffett on the top of the list here. Although he can afford any car he wants, his car of choice, until recently, has been the Lincoln Towncar. He also lives in a modest home, purchased in 1958 for just a little north of $31,000. As a kid, he also showed an interest in doing nearly anything to make money—going door to door selling stuff is one example. Most notably, as a high-school student, together with a friend, they bought a pin-ball machine and managed to get it into a local barber shop. Not long after that, the pair was able to buy several machines and the rest is history.

Name: Ingvar Kamprad

Net Worth: $27 Billion
What Makes Him Frugal: Rides on public transportation.
A rich guy riding on public transportation seems like a dumb thing to do to an American, with crime being what it is but it certainly is frugal. Ingvar, founder of Ikea, also drives an old volvo, only fly on economy class and is noted to decorate his home with the inexpensive furniture from his Ikea stores. He also stops by Ikea from time to time for a cheap bite.

Name: David Cheriton
Net Worth: $1.4 Billion
What Makes Him Frugal: Cuts his own hair.
This guy is largely responsible for the birth of Google. He wasn’t responisbile for any of the technology but rather introduced Google’s founders to their first investors and after that the rest is history. Despite his billions, Cheriton still lives in the same house he was living in when that ground breaking investment was made. In reward, he was given a large stake in Google holdings. Being frugal though, Cheriton often rides his bike to work, cuts his own hair and when he does drive it’s a 1983 Honda Accord.

What’s interesting tonote when you look at frugal billionaires, is that for the most part, they’re all self-made men, and I’m sorry I have to say men because there are no frugal billionaire women that I’m aware of. They didn’t receive their money by being a “member of the lucky sperm club,” as Warren Buffett puts it. They also don’t seem impressed by flashy things. Cheriton for example, had this to say about cars, “If

you buy a fancy car you have to figure out which car and who’s going to look after it and all that sort of stuff.” It’s also interesting to not how many of them cut their own hair. Not only for economy but also in the interest of saving time.

So what’s the take away in all this? Well for one thing, you should start your own company