Mad About
Money
are opening and other
global luxury brands
are setting their foot in
Indian market. High-
end perfumes, jewelry
and handbags remain
consumers’ favorites.
However, there are many
reasons to feel downright
glum about this market
ebullience.
As the consumption
of luxury goods is
increasing, consumer
behavior is also
undergoing a drastic
change. Consumers are
continually relinquishing
their conservative Indian
avatars, and having a
hard time controlling their
spending spree. India’s
average household debt
(amount of money all
adults in a household
owe to financial
institutions) has been
continually rising without
fail for 5 years. In their
attempts to flaunt their
money and ‘look rich’,
these riches are in actual
losing their true wealth.
Person who
wishes to be
wealthy
When you spend on a
Louis Vuitton bag or an
Armani Suit or Mercedes-
Benz, you are not being
wealthy, you are being
rich. Why? See, it from
the point of view of a
smart investor. Sure,
you will ‘look rich’ with
these, but in reality,
you have bought these
‘depreciating assets’ by
trading your money for it.
So, you have just become
A WEALTHY
PERSON LOOKS FOR
OPPORTUNITIES
TO GROW HIS
ASSETS SO THAT HE
COULD PAY FOR HIS
LUXURIOUS WISHES.
‘little less rich’ now.
To the rich it may not
matter if these are poor
investments, but to a
person who wishes to be
wealthy, it should. Wealth
doesn’t impress anyone. It
seeks freedom. Freedom
to buy anything one
wants without losing on
prior money.
If you take into account
one’s balance sheet, you
may find both rich and
wealthy the same. With
all the hard assets in
store of rich, the rich may
look even richer than the
wealthy one. But, is he?
Put more
money ‘in his
coffer’
The difference between
rich and wealthy is a
simple one. A wealthy
person looks always for
alternative ways to put
more money ‘in his coffer’
(even when it comes
to buying), while a rich
person may just put his
money on a liability by
taking money ‘out of his
coffer’.
I am not suggesting that
you keep your money
intact or don’t spend it
on things that you have
longed for. Purchase
them. Invest in luxury
goods all you want.
But purchase them by
keeping an attitude of a
wealthy person, not a rich
person. How? Let’s see.
How to flaunt
your wealth
without
spending on it?
Warren Buffet invests in
permanent assets such
as roads, electricity and
railways. He chooses
them because new
technologies and
inventions may get
replaced by newer ones
and old stocks may
go down, but roads,
electricity, railways, etc.
are some permanent
assets which won’t go
down so abruptly.
A wealthy person looks
for opportunities to grow
his assets so that he
could pay for his luxurious
wishes.
Take for example- You
want to buy Mercedes-
Benz. There are two ways
you could go for it. You
can directly buy this car
or you can carefully invest
in a short term stock,
from which you can get
good returns and from
those returns you can
buy a Mercedes-Benz
for yourself. A wealthy
person will choose the
latter. Being rich is lucky,
staying rich is strategy.
Choice
between
creating
wealth and
spending it
Ever heard, Money
creates money? It’s true.
Money works round the
clock. It doesn’t do any
good by lying in cash
chests and nor does it
grow by spending on
depreciating luxury
assets. It needs to keep
moving. One needs to
keep investing it for
it to multiply. Money
needs your nurturing
and acknowledgement.
A wealthy person well
understands this.
Don’t be a pretender
spender. Flaunt away
your money in limited
edition watches, cars and
handbags, but take a little
longer route and create
more wealth for fulfilling
your whims and fancies.
Be a smart spender!
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