Sam Walton of Walmart fame drove a beat up old truck. Warren Buffett bought a second hand car that had to be repaired because of significant hale damage it had before he bought it.
While these two billionaires were/are excessive in their frugality, their actions have much to say about building wealth. They don't waste money. They didn't give rats ass about "playing a role". They could have easily bought a top-end car if they wanted to.
The lesson from these two astute businessmen is that you can't spend your way to being wealthy or financially secure. Sadly enough, too many people try to spend themselves to financial security. They "look great" until it catches up with them.
This article talks about how much different generations are deep in debt, excluding homeownership. Sure a home is important, but is the new Bimmer, F150 or Audi essential? Most of the debt is credit card, school loan and car loan debt. School loans can be an "investment" if they aren't excessive, but the other two are trouble in the making.
While debt has its place at times, it is good to reduce it as fast as possible. Like any good tool, there is a time and place to use it to an advantage.
Next time you see someone in an “ole truck” tooling along the road, take a look in their eyes and you might see a twinkle!
