“It is a lot of money.” my wife said. “But, it is very nice and I have not had one this nice before. Can I see if my things fit in it?” The sales associate beamed “of course!” and opened the designer purse so my wife could make sure her usual purse items would fit. The sales associate could smell the sale starting to close. I wanted my wife to have it too. But, then we both stumbled on how wealthy people buy quality goods.
My wife does not treat herself often and I want her to have the ‘nicest’ things. We were maximizing our retirement accounts, house fund, and college fund. Not to mention – zero debt. In hopes of tipping the scales, I said, “we can buy this, light it on fire at the end of the month, and then buy another, every month! Forever!”
It was a shocking example because of the waste and excess. We never felt wealthy, but who else could do that, but a wealthy couple? I was trying to make a point that we had the money to get the purse. I had no interest in burning purses. The point landed with both of us. But, we also felt three other things. One, this luxury purse from a well known fashion brand now felt disposable and silly. Two, we knew what it took to be in this cash-rich position. Three, money could grow if we invested.
Disposable and silly goods
This high end fashion brand often has celebrity endorsers. But, why did we want any product from this flashy brand? Who are we showing off too? We did not want to ‘flex’ to our friends that do not have similar items. Also, we did not care to compete with friends that already had similar items. It sounded like we would not be the people showing off luxury items to friends. An argument about quality could persuade me that this purse was worth the price. But, an expensive label does not always mean quality. My best guess on why we would want something from this brand is that we could not afford it in the past. But, look at us now! We asked ourselves if the satisfaction of buying one was greater than the ability to buy 12? No, so we did not buy it.
Our hard work
Looking back, I would not have been able to pay rent or eat if I bought this on my income. I could have used savings, but that was a terrible idea. We would both leave for work before the sun rose and returned after it set. We worked hard in tall office buildings. Rarely, we would each find a few minutes to walk outside and see the sun before returning to our desks. Our work was not demanding on our bodies, but tiring nonetheless. Did we go through that for this moment? We asked ourselves “To keep our luxury tastes satisfied, are we prepared to return to that life?” No, so we did not buy it.
What the future holds
What else can our money do? We have not cemented plans for how we would spend hundreds of millions of dollars. But, we dreamed up a few. We could have a longer retirement, more time with our parents, and the best healthcare. These are things we would be willing to go broke over. Were we willing to go broke over a luxury goods addiction? No, so we did not buy it.
The drive home
We left the store and walked by many flashy stores. The drive home felt good and we talked about what the future could be. We also learned how wealthy people buy quality goods. The secret is, they often do not buy any goods at all.
-Stay Wealthy
If you happen to buy an expensive item and receive a rude comment follow this advice.