Jonathan Clements and the Nine Commandments-Number 2

Number 2 is--

Forget Appearances.

That brings us to the family down the road, living in the McMansion with the pristine lawn and his and her European sedans gracing the driveway.

You can't be sure the family has a boatload of money.  But you can be absolutely certain they've spent a boatload.  In fact, the cars may be leased, the house may be fully mortgaged and the couple may spend their evenings huddled over the kitchen table, sweating over how they will pay the bills.

Amen, brother Clements.  Actually this description reminds me of something I just heard the other day about an executive at my former company getting canned.  Won't go into the mechanics of it but good jobs that pay well are hard to find and if you are planning on that job always being there, you may be planning on disaster.  Don't know this guy's financial situation but he spent a lot of money (and he leased all his cars) and I have a general idea of what he made so he won't be hurting, maybe, but the gravy train just came to a screeching halt.  Gravy trains have a way of doing that so don't go overboard when you hit the big time. 

Also, appearances require 'stuff' like the McMansion, the vacation home, the cars, the taxes, the private school and, if you think your kids are going to appreciate it, think again.  Delbert McClinton has a song called "Too Much Stuff" with the basic premise being that 'too much stuff' leads to too much hassle and losing sight of the important things, whatever those are to you. 

On the other hand, you don't have to live in a cave.  Just find a balance.  If you spend more than you make, then you have not found balance.  If you spend less than you make and can save some, you have found balance.

I have become so sick of thinking about 'assets' like cars and property and investment properties that my goal is to own nothing that can not be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.  Won't get there but I'm getting close.