lj520ail
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Joined: 05 Aug 2009
Posts: 5
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 Posted: Wed 5 Aug - 07:10 Post subject: Les femmes doivent se taire dans l'Eglise? |
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We stopped at one particularly imposing custom-home still under construction, wondering about the future
occupants. Where did this wealth come from?
Although we love our home in a fairly nice neighborhood in San Diego, my wife and I sometimes like to
"looky-loo" at new homes—it's a kind of weekend pastime and, who knows, we might find something really
special which will tempt us into moving.
A couple of years ago, in one particularly expensive neighborhood, we saw homes that were bigger than we
could believe: 15,000 square feet and more. This was right next to a golf club where memberships ran
$75,000 a year. wow power leveling, We were informed that everyone
joined, because everyone joined. What if you didn't play golf? Well, you joined anyway, to socialize with
the neighbors. That was simply part of the lifestyle.
We stopped at one particularly imposing custom-home still under construction, wondering about the future
occupants. Where did this wealth come from? How many children did these people have, 20? Or, perhaps their
extended family—sisters and cousins and aunts—would be living there too? Our brief tour disclosed wings
and lobbies and sitting rooms for the usual number of bedrooms (why do the children need lobbies?) plus
game rooms and media centers and anterooms galore. The more sensible 3,000 square feet-sized house at the
end of the garden turned out to be the "butler's quarters."
Then we bumped into the owners. Gosh, they looked about 25! I just had to ask; it turned out they were 30
-ish. world of warcraft power leveling,
They happily disclosed that their current home, not far away, was only 5,000 square feet. Too small, they
insisted. How many kids did they have? Two. So, just what did they do for a living? One word explained it
all: dot-com. We left, shaking our heads.
Some months later we thought we'd drive by to see whether that dot-com family had moved in yet. There was
a big sign out-front. Construction had stopped mid-way and the big, unfinished house was for sale.
I was curious, so I dug deeper. It turns out that the dot-com IPO was valued at about $50 million, and
this guy who was building the palace had sold about $3 million worth of stock during the offering, which
valued his 20% stockholding at $10 million. [url=http://www.aocpowerleveling-gold.com/the-age-of-conan-
power-leveling-aoc.asp]age of conan power leveling[/url], When the stock crashed (to a fraction of the IPO
price) and the company folded, his debts and commitments already exceeded the amount he had cashed in plus
his stock value, and he was broke. They had made a 10% down payment on the $10 million home, and the bank
was now the owner of the unfinished monstrosity. The dot-com "millionaire" was now looking for funding on
his next venture.
This type of escalation up the ladder of life is not limited just to the filthy-rich. I remember many
years ago, a colleague at work with a salary comparable to mine had a home that seemed much larger.
Perhaps he was independently wealthy. Then we both got a similar pay raise, and I heard to my amazement
that he was moving to an even larger home. I asked him how he did it and he replied, "The magic of monthly
payments!" A few years later, during the aerospace layoffs, I bumped into him again. He had lost his job,
his wife had left him, they had sold the house during the divorce, and he was selling office supplies to
make a living—a casualty of lifestyle syndrome.
Our society boosts people into thinking that wealth accumulates and extrapolates endlessly. And borrowing
is based on that misconception. Don't pay cash, when you can borrow and the interest is tax-deductible.
When buying a car, many consider only the lease payments, not the price. If you can make the monthly
payments, why not buy a boat?
In reality, most assets depreciate, while expenses and liabilities (including interest) mount mercilessly.
Many millionaires go bust quite quickly because they don't seem to understand these simple truths. They
simply succumb to the lure of the lifestyle.
I know one guy who lives in a relatively humble, rented home but has a luxury car and spends $25,000 a
year to play at a tennis club. When I suggested that he could play tennis inexpensively in any one of
several local venues, he insisted, "You have to live the lifestyle to meet the right people. Besides, they
all see my car, but no one knows where I live!"
The golden pond The lure of the lifestyle
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