Do You Want to Look Rich

I once heard someone asked :"Do you want to LOOK rich, or do you want to BE rich?"  He was advising others on ways to reduce unnecessary expenses.  Things like, not buying branded stuffs, not changing mobile phone every year, and that the biggest depletion of our wealth is owning a car (in the Singapore context).  I would think that he was advising normal people like us, not those with tons of money which cannot finish.

What he was saying is, do we choose to spend a lot of money to make us look rich (and not leaving much money in the bank), or do we choose to be careful about our spending and actually have money with us.

"We don't bring money into the grave. We work hard to spend it." We so often hear people say this.  Yes, I agree we work hard so that we can have a better life, but that's precisely why we should not spend money on things that make us look rich, but spend money on things that make us feel comfortable (not necessarily branded stuffs). The general rule is to save a certain percentage each month, so as to ensure that we are financially independent in the golden years. 

How much we spend is a more important factor than how much we earn.  There are people who spend more than their salary each money, and perpetually owing money to the bank. 

Would you rather have the money and not needing to spend it, or finding yourself in a situation where you need money but don't have it?

Be the smart one.  Have money in the bank but keep quiet about it.  Be the one who laughs last.