Are we rich or poor?

[D.T.]

Speaking of money and happiness...

'Lotto lout' Michael Carroll happy on $10 an hour

AN English lottery winner who blew $16 million on a rock-star lifestyle is now working in a factory for $10 an hour.

Michael Carroll, a former rubbish collector, styled himself the "King of Chavs" after his win in 2002.

But his journey from rags to riches and back again has seen him jailed twice and his fortune spent on cars, drugs and drink.

Now divorced from wife Sandra, Carroll, who was dubbed the "lotto lout" after he won the millions aged 19, was declared bankrupt in 2010 and has now moved to Scotland.

Carroll, 30, said: "I'd had 10 years of doing what a rock star does and I had to sort myself out, so I decided to head up to Scotland - and it's great."

Today, Carroll earns $10 an hour at the Walkers shortbread factory in Morayshire in northeast Scotland.

He said: "I take home $335 for packing and stacking shortbread and cookies. I treasure those wages more than any $16 million fortune. This is a new start for me."

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/money/lotto-...ur/story-e6frfmci-1226675948144#ixzz2YSPr6gE2

Sounds terrific. I'd do the same if i won lotto, not that I enter it.

 

[underdev]

I disagree with the Buddha on this last point. I think we should try to hang on to friends and health. These surely can give a lot of happiness.

I don’t think it means to not have friends and health. Friends and family bring great joy to your life, I think it is more about being able to let go and accept that death and illness is a part of life. People betray and hurt us, even in marriage, couples cheat and lie. Your health will absolutely decline at some stage in your life, and yes you will die! I think it is more about accepting that this will happen and the key is to let go and accept it when it does.

 

[china]

so AA+ rated banks or other similar well established blue chip majors dont make the mark ?

Well selected Sydney CBD space with a small risk margin can be bought for 10 % +

Dont agree at all with your idealogy of Docs and pharmacists being better tennants..........have a bo peep at whats happening with the agglomeration of practices and pharmacies - a sure lowering of smaller scale demand, balanced to some extent by an increase in corporate demand.



ta
rolf

I am concerned about the long term viability of a commercial IP wherein a bank branch has been present for a long time. Once it leaves, it is very hard to find a replacement tenant in a hurry.

I saw a site recently wherein a bank left after ten years and after a year's vacancy, the owner was forced to take the bank back with no increase in rent for the next five years.

Could you give me links to the Sydney CBD sites with 10% yields - I would be most interested and grateful.

I am not saying individual doctors and pharmacists are better tenants for comm IPs but group practices / corporatised ones are usually good long term tenants as their business is often geographically dependent.

 

[china]

I was told that large pharmacies rent space cheaply to doctors to bring in a steady source of income. One local practice apparently uses this method I'm told, so the pharmacy builds a new building in a good location, leases to a practice of doctors for very low rent.

Wouldn't that be something to watch out for? You could find your doctors move from your premises to cheaper premises purpose built beside a brand new huge pharmacy with an offer of cheap rent.

A bit like the big anchor tenants in the huge shopping centres? They bring in the people and the smaller shops pay through the nose on their rents.

Agreed - this is definitely a factor to watch out for when leasing to individual doctors.

Pathology and radiology companies also entice doctors with special deals. That is why individual doctors are not good tenants but large group practices are good tenants for comm IPs.

 

[depreciator]

Oh, and as for the topic of this thread, I had the 'what is rich' discussion with a young nephew years ago.
We decided being wealthy meant being able to wake up in the morning and choose what you do that day. That's all I aspire to. Some days, I would choose work. Other days, I might choose fishing. Or going to the movies - there is something I like about going to movies in the daytime in the middle of the week.

 

[Andrew_A]

Oh, and as for the topic of this thread, I had the 'what is rich' discussion with a young nephew years ago.
We decided being wealthy meant being able to wake up in the morning and choose what you do that day. That's all I aspire to. Some days, I would choose work. Other days, I might choose fishing. Or going to the movies - there is something I like about going to movies in the daytime in the middle of the week.

Reminds me of this quote from Bob Dylan.

What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.

 

[geoffw]

I've split off the discussion into another thread- Keeping the Business Afloat

 

[gooram]

I'd rather be happy and healthy and be moderate, than be Kerry Packer. Died at 65, illness all life.

As someone once said, when you're on your deathbed you'll only remember the year you took off to enjoy life, not the extra year you worked.

This is such a limited view of the world. 1 year in a lifetime, really? How sad. I wonder how many people agree with this. What if you actually spent time working on something you really loved, or saving lives (sorry for the cliche)

More generally, I think we absolutely must compare ourselves to world standards, including developing countries (by the way, we don't call them '3rd world' anymore), otherwise the greed and excess that is our daily lives just becomes normalised, if it hasn't already.

 

[Fifth]

More generally, I think we absolutely must compare ourselves to world standards, including developing countries (by the way, we don't call them '3rd world' anymore), otherwise the greed and excess that is our daily lives just becomes normalised, if it hasn't already.

Yes and no. Whilst by ignoring the developing world we may be normalising greed and excess, by using world standards as a measure we would be normalising poverty.

Using world standards as a yardstick could easily be used as an excuse to lessen the standard of living of Australians.

For example:

Why should wait staff make $15 per hour when children are working in sweatshops for 1/50th of that in Bangladesh? In the interest of fairness we should really pay Australian waiters much, much less.

 

[china]

I like some quotes from this article about the joys of being rich.

http://www.smh.com.au/executive-sty...liars/my-other-other-benz-20130629-2p3nk.html


From the Sydney morning herald.

This is the reason why you hear so many rich people saying "money doesn't buy you happiness"; because they want you to believe that hokum.

The thing is, when you drive a Bentley or travel internationally via Lear jet or get to spend the weekend at some stupid, multi-multi-million dollar waterfront mansion with its own wharf and yacht, you realise - hell, this is goooooood.

It may not make you happy, but it's immensely more fun than the pension and home brand tinned spaghetti.

And rich people know that. They know if we all had a taste of what it's like to be fabulously wealthy, we'd be tearing them apart like roast chicken to get us some of it.

But we don't, because we're largely ignorant of what real luxury is like.

 

[topcropper]

This is the reason why you hear so many rich people saying "money doesn't buy you happiness"; because they want you to believe that hokum.

The thing is, when you drive a Bentley or travel internationally via Lear jet or get to spend the weekend at some stupid, multi-multi-million dollar waterfront mansion with its own wharf and yacht, you realise - hell, this is goooooood.

.

What a load of rubbish.

A bloke can have much more fun taking his kids out fishing in his 10 k tinnie, than the snob multimillionaire in the million dollar cruiser. Drive a Bentley? You've got to be kidding?


See ya's.

 

[Cherry Pro]

I don’t think it means to not have friends and health. Friends and family bring great joy to your life, I think it is more about being able to let go and accept that death and illness is a part of life. People betray and hurt us, even in marriage, couples cheat and lie. Your health will absolutely decline at some stage in your life, and yes you will die! I think it is more about accepting that this will happen and the key is to let go and accept it when it does.

So agree with this, I think it's our unrealistic expectations that can cause us angst and anguish... losses of all kinds (taxes, health and death) are also a part of our lives.

 

[DaveM]

Australian big issues - can I buy a new car or will I get a used one
Africas big issues - can I eat today or will I starve

Yes we have it so tough

 

[luce.rocks]

I know a girl who thought she was poor until she started high school. She was the only girl in her primary school group who didn't have a lift in her house. The poor impoverished girl had to walk up and down the stairs of her parents' 4 level, harbour views, swimming pool, etc. house in Dover Heights. When she started going to a public (selective) high school and mingling with the common folk she suddenly realised how not-poor she was.

 

[Mazda]

This is the reason why you hear so many rich people saying "money doesn't buy you happiness"; because they want you to believe that hokum.
...
The thing is, when you drive a Bentley or travel internationally via Lear jet or get to spend the weekend at some stupid, multi-multi-million dollar waterfront mansion with its own wharf and yacht, you realise - hell, this is goooooood.
...
It may not make you happy, but it's immensely more fun than the pension and home brand tinned spaghetti.
...
But we don't, because we're largely ignorant of what real luxury is like.

So what happens when said rich person is bored with the shiny bling-bling? Compete with celebrities for more bling-bling? Look for the next 'high' like snorting illegal drugs?

I personally think its a little embarassing that one's life is defined by what the 'neighbours' have / doesn't have.

If happiness is defined by the amount of bling-bling than you'll never be happy, simply because there will always be someone else who has a shinier car / boat / house / pet / vacuum cleaner / frypan etc

...

It may surprise you, but some people treasure family, friends and a safe home above any faux-palace.

Just my 2 cents worth *shrug*

 

[buster]

more expensive isnt neccesarily better

Ye, what a load of BS, Ive travelled in Learjets before nothing good about it ,no different than one of those people mover van things, small pokey and not much fun if you want to go to the toilet as the one I had , had no toilet. They fly that high you don't get to see anything much anyway I prefer just an ordinary old Cessna or even an ultra light. Also stayed in $500 a night resort with stuck up boring snobs and ******s, very posh but very dull and boring after the wow factor wore of. Checked out and moved to a back packers for$10 a night it was much better with the interesting, friendly, stimulating ,different, e xubarent people I met. The most miserable people I have met are also the richest, the happiest ones I have met have been the poorest. I would rather drive around in my old ute rather than a Bentleigh. Expensive doesn't make it better, being able to best before its function simply , makes it better.

 

[OKFFW]

I like some quotes from this article about the joys of being rich.

http://www.smh.com.au/executive-sty...liars/my-other-other-benz-20130629-2p3nk.html


From the Sydney morning herald.

This is the reason why you hear so many rich people saying "money doesn't buy you happiness"; because they want you to believe that hokum.

The thing is, when you drive a Bentley or travel internationally via Lear jet or get to spend the weekend at some stupid, multi-multi-million dollar waterfront mansion with its own wharf and yacht, you realise - hell, this is goooooood.

It may not make you happy, but it's immensely more fun than the pension and home brand tinned spaghetti.

And rich people know that. They know if we all had a taste of what it's like to be fabulously wealthy, we'd be tearing them apart like roast chicken to get us some of it.

But we don't, because we're largely ignorant of what real luxury is like.

Yes it's fun but it's so very transient. Have a read about hedonic adaptation. All the joy wears off the shiny new toys pretty quick and you are left looking for the next shiny thing. That's the nature of desire and the essential fruitlessness of trying to endlessly sate it with the next new bright shiny thing.

Mind you, I'm not saying being "poor" and scraping by is any better or more likely to give you lasting happiness.

 

[china]

What a load of rubbish.

A bloke can have much more fun taking his kids out fishing in his 10 k tinnie, than the snob multimillionaire in the million dollar cruiser. Drive a Bentley? You've got to be kidding?


See ya's.

I think the article's point is unless you have experienced the Bentley and million dollar cruiser, it is hard to pass judgement that being rich and wealthy does not make one happier. Whilst a bloke can be happy eating used cardboard and collecting a life time award for social security payments, he may not really know the happiness that comes with a Bentley, a 10mil house and a 1 mil cruiser but continues to tell himself that he is happy. Ignorance may be the cause of bliss.

 

[cimbom]

Only a Bentley? You're aiming too low. To be really happy, you need to drive a Bugatti and two Lamborghinis.

 

[DaveM]

I think the article's point is unless you have experienced the Bentley and million dollar cruiser, it is hard to pass judgement that being rich and wealthy does not make one happier. Whilst a bloke can be happy eating used cardboard and collecting a life time award for social security payments, he may not really know the happiness that comes with a Bentley, a 10mil house and a 1 mil cruiser but continues to tell himself that he is happy. Ignorance may be the cause of bliss.

Are you unhappy with your 750k ppor and corolla?