But on the opposite end, say you opt for a $250-a-month lease. You now drive a Nissan Altima instead of an Infiniti G35. That’s approximately $12,000 in your pocket pre-interest; place that into a secure investment, and in twenty years you have $100,000 or best-case the down payment on a house.
Instead of paying rent, you’re paying off your mortgage. Take that one step further: buy a two-family and rent out a floor—now someone else is paying your mortgage. That Infiniti might be surprisingly spacious, but you’ll have more legroom in your living room.
Don’t confuse being frugal with being cheap. Even the rich spend conservatively. I’ll never forget a friend of mine who was telling me how his boss, a man who makes $900,000 a year, was bragging about how he purchased a suit on E-Bay for $35. Now, of course, you can indulge yourself from time to time. Just be sure to stay conscious of the greatest long-term investment you have: your life. At 50, your kid won’t be impressed with your Porsche driving glory days twenty-five years earlier if you can’t afford to send him to City College.
Ensure your future by developing fiscal discipline—and not just on big purchases. If you were to create a pie chart of lifelong expenditures, the biggest portion will fall in the $100-or-less bracket.
Spend with a little foresight, and forget the Benjamins. It’s all about the Hamiltons.
 | ||||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
| ||
|
|
|
||||
| ||||||
