Lifestyles of Millionaires

Many believe that one must spend a lot of money to enjoy life. This is the common beliefs for majority of Filipinos. It’s in our mind and in our habits that buying certain products and services has a direct influence on one’s happiness. Our lifestyle is one of shopping and consuming. This kind of lifestyle is very different from the activities and interest of true millionaires. Moderation in consumption and a healthy, disciplined lifestyle are the hallmarks of the affluent.

If you think that all millionaires are workaholics, you’re wrong. Most have a well-balanced style of life, and their activities and interests are not as flashy. Keep one thing in mind. Millionaires are extraordinarily successful at producing high incomes and accumulating wealth. Activities that directly relate to the goals, like planning investments and consulting with advisers, normally make up a large part of their activity lists. The typical millionaire is, in three words - a cheap date!

In the book of Thomas J. Stanley, PhD, “The Millionaire Mind,” the author conducted a survey among Americans. He listed twenty-seven activities, along with the percentages of millionaires who engaged in each during the 30-day period. These activities were ranked from 1 to 27 according to the percentage of millionaires who indicated participating in each activity. The survey showed, as follows:

Activities	%	Rank
Socializing with children/grandchildren	93	1
Entertaining close friends	88	2
Planning investments	86	3
Studying  investments opportunities	78	4
Taking photographs	67	5
Watching children play sports	61	6
Consulting with an investment adviser	59	7
Studying art/investments	53	8
Attending religious services	52	9
Jogging/running	47	10

As you can see, family interaction is ranked first. Second on the activity is entertaining close friends. It’s important to discover that millionaires, even most billionaires, don’t depend on consumer goods to enjoy life. Their pleasure and self-satisfaction have more to do with their families, friends, religion, financial independence, and physical fitness. The hallmark of being wealthy is having control over how you allocate your time. The above “cheap date” activities outpace the ones that cost dollars. It’s actually more than the issue of costs – many “cheap date” activities actually enhance one’s productivity.

On the other hand, small percentage of millionaires engaged in the following activities for the 30-day period:

Activities	%	Rank
Do-it-yourself carpentry	31	17
Playing the lottery	27	19
Shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue	26	20
Studying/collecting fine wines	25	21
Playing tennis	23	22
Shopping via the Internet	22	23
Bible reading	22	23
Shopping at Brooks Brothers	19	25
Shopping at Sears and/or JC Penney	17	26
Off-roading via 4x4	5	27

In the above, there is a strong positive correlation between the number of people-related activities one engages in and the level of one’s net worth. Few millionaires engaged in expensive dates rather than “cheap dates.”

Two-thirds of the millionaires engaged in fund raising for charity. They were raising funds for good causes and most did it because of noble intent. Good deeds do get rewarded. Financially successful people and the next generation of economically productive people volunteer. People are always seen at their best when involved in noble causes, and their reputation and integrity are, in turn, enhanced. The simple rule is: If you wish to become affluent, associate with economically productive people. Aside from fund-raising, millionaires engage in art, entertainment, and travel activities. Most of these travel usually a mix of business, investing and pleasure.