Pinching Pennies the Warren Buffet Way
October 26, 2012 § Leave a comment
Great article in Forbes about the frugal habits of Warren Buffet, whom many admire as a great investor. You may know his reputation as a business man. Here’s another side of financial good sense of ‘The Oracle of Omaha.’
Shopping for the kids. Sometimes we act as if everything isn’t perfectly perfect, we are somehow shortchanging ourselves and our kids. But that’s not the view of Warren Buffet. Mr. Buffet used a dresser drawer for his baby’s first bed. You don’t need to buy everything new or at full price because your baby somehow deserves it. I understand the parental desire to bless your dear one! But Buffet borrowed a crib for his second child. If we rethink how we show love, we could get a better handle on our belief that how much we spend is a measure of our deep affection. More of us believe this than have Warren’s perspective. And our love=perfection attitudes don’t match our financial realities.
What about Warren Buffet and food? Early in his career, Buffet, who was signing up clients, each with millions of dollars in assets, called a friend to have a six-pack of soda brought over to his hotel. Buffet didn’t want to use room service and pay the typically very inflated rates for food and beverages. He was staying in a very nice hotel, but only spent on the things that were vital and not in all the little ways we often fritter money away. You can save every day by bringing lunch to work, shopping for foods on sale, maybe even becoming more of an expert at using coupons.
What do you drive? Warren Buffet drove a Volkswagen for years until his wife urged him to upgrade vehicles for his image. My husband loves high performance cars, but we buy them used and keep them for many years. Have nice cars and travel well, but it is always a matter of prioritizing your spending and spending on what you think is essential and compromising on the rest.
Being frugal is a beautiful art. Buying entirely new wardrobes each season may work for your budget. But for most of us, prioritizing spending and living a frugal life is how we beautifully manage our budget. One memorable Buffet quote was that he ‘works his way up to cheap.’ Hanging with Warren Buffet, who holds the number #3 position on the Forbes Richest People list, we frugal folks are in excellent company. (CR8599)
Finance with Chocolate Sauce 
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