When I was 18 I got a job at a boutique in Beverly Hills. The first thing I was told was to never, EVER judge a customer by their appearance. Everyone was to be treated equally well (in BH - go figure!). In my brief experience there, the women who came in wearing sweats and no make-up were the most likely to spend well and have excellent taste. The few "famous" people I met were, for the most part, very pleasant.

The only truly difficult customer I ever had was overdressed, over-accessorized, overly made-up and ranted on and on about who she was (nobody recognized her name - some almost-was from about a hundred years ago, I think). Her credit card was declined. It was priceless.

What I learned: Better to be filthy stinking rich and comfy in your sweatpants, than well dressed and maxed out.

Exactly.
The ones that don't show it have money because they *don't* spend it on the flashy cars and expensive clothes.
If you spend your money, then you don't have it anymore, do you? So many people can't grasp that.

that is a good plan

My great-grandfather used to go buy a new cadillac every two years. Keep in mind you didn't need to be a millionaire to buy a caddy, but back then caddys were considered damned expensive.

He was a farmer. A simple man who saved his money. The day he went to get his new caddy, he went straight from the fields, in his work truck and his overalls covered in dirt. Thing is, he had enough money for two caddys in his pocket - in cash.
The caddy salesman was clearly looking down his nose at my GG the whole time, sneering at him, kept trying to convince him that perhaps he should keep his truck for a while. A well-dressed couple came in and the salesman shot over to them, never to give my GG another glance. My GG left.

An hour later he pulled up in front of the cadillac dealership in a brand new top-of-the-line Lincoln, the most expensive one you could buy. The salesman came out with his jaw hanging open. GG asked him if he had ended up selling that couple a car. The salesman told him no.
GG smiled at him, pulled the rest of the cash out of his pocket and sat it on the seat next to him, and said "Too bad... the fellow over at the Lincoln dealership treated me like a king, and he's got a customer for life. See if you can learn something from that, Sonny."

That man could've bought and sold the entire town he lived in, but the salesman couldn't see past his overalls. Don't judge a book by its cover!

Ain't it the truth.

At that same dress shop there was a story (maybe apocryphal, but who cares) about a customer who was dressed and acted as if she was probably homeless, carrying a brown paper bag that everyone assumed was her lunch or can collection or whatever. She picked out about $2000 worth of clothes and paid with cash out of the paper bag. I'd love to know the real story behind that one.

Also worked briefly for a car dealer, and then later for the owner of a dealership, and I've heard a couple other stories like that of your great-grandfather. Never, ever judge based on appearance.

Heck, in the city I used to live in, a former mayor still drives the '67 Malibu he drove before and during his tenure. So what. He loves his car.

I pay cash for most everything I purchase.....cars, jewelry, artwork, etc. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to a different sales person or store because they first looked at the fact that I was wearing jeans and tennis shoes instead of checking the color of my money.

same thing, except it's a level yard stick, verses... i'm the shit, but worth nothing.

in business, money is everything. the rest is nothing but fluff bullshit.

in cognito rules :)

-4.250.000 Does this also count?? :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

It's pretty much considered rude in New Zealand to talk about how much money you have or ask.. Perhaps we've gotten that from the British..

I still remember what it was like to be a student with 60,000 loan, so I feel guilty making basically any flashy purchases. People would probably look at me and think I'm on the dole :)

Yeah I wish I had your problems :thumbsup

Yep my grandfather retired with $50K in like 1978, built him a really nice lakehouse on his favorite fishing lake and by the time he died about 6 years ago he and my grandmother were living off of their social security and still had like $10K saved up in the bank thanks to an uncle who helped them invest wisely...then a bit of life insurance kicked in after that and kept my grandmother going for another 2 years...however live in nurses etc started eating that up rather quickly.

5 figures here baybe!! :thumbsup



I mean :(

Look on the bright side: 5 beats 4!


:thumbsup

Agreed

:thumbsup

.... every day the US dollar drops another cent I lose 50,000$ !!

3 digits at the moment.. LOL

im screwed this month =b

Not $50,500 then? you probably looses 1% of the lost money also :1orglaugh

thanks for the reminder. I am all in tears now. fucking weak US dollar.

Nothing, you have it all!

:-)

100 millionaires :glugglug

Just picked up a US savings account. Going to deposit all my USD in it and let is sit for 5 years until bush is out of office. Then when the $ rises again - cash out.

$1.22 exchange right now. UNFUCKINGREAL. Lowest in 14 years or something crazy like that.

you are an IDIOT!

in my shitty retirement I've seen half of the world and actively working on seeing the other half,
while you making money, working your ass and guess what?

you can't take it with you
;-)))

How was it shut off? I missed that.

"300SL replica" tsssss he doesn't have a real one?:thumbsup

You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity.

How old are you guys by the way (millionaires)?

It's slightly more impressive to see a millionaire in the 20s than a millionaire in 30s or later.

I know several people with a net worth of 2-4 million that don't have enough $$ to retire on. Low interest rates have really pushed the bar up.

not true,
it all depends on AGE...

if you are 79, $2,000,000 is MORE than plenty,
if you are 20 with $2,000,000 - keep paddling, son
;-))))

my hands are down but I am working on it.

A friend of mine did one week on Branson's Necker Island. He said it was incredible. I don't think the price was that high though. My friend put together 8 people who paid $7K each for a week's stay. It might have been off season.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh :thumbsup

doesn't help with a messed up sig.

I started doing really well at 27 and hit it just past 30. Also had some fucked up years when I had business and marriage partners that screwed me over royally and I lost loads. Always have bounced back again no problem. Once you get the big money formulas and tricks down, its pretty hard not to make a lot of money after you've been there already.

The best advice I'll give you young fellows and take this to heart more than anything else.

CHOOSE YOUR BUSINESS AND MARRIAGE PARTNERS WISELY!

Watch your family members like a hawk also. Its the people you think you can trust that fuck you over the most, sadly.

I'm 33 and I could retire comfortably right now, in fact I already am semi retired.

Ditto. Cash always.

Same here. My grandfather on my mother's side immigrated from Italy and went to work in the coal mines. He saved his money and ended up owning several small businesses, a four story house paid in full, and loved to go into stores dressed simply to see if he would get good service or not looking like a labor man with little money, and then pull out a wad of cash to blow away the salesman.

made my first by 24. Finally starting to have enough time to spend some of it. I think a lot of entrepreneurs could roll big, but don't because their nature is to use it to continuing growing their wealth. It's hard to spend freely when you're used to running a tight ship business-wise. When I spend money, it's usually not on frivolous stuff, but rather things that continue to appreciate like good artwork and properties.

How's that 3-D porn niche doing (in your sig). Is that getting a following?