Secret millionaires: Addicted to savingBeing
able to sock away cash can have a dark side. Some compulsive savers
experience so much pleasure from watching money grow -- and anxiety
when account balances fall -- that they cannot enjoy spending or giving
money away.
dap("&PG=INVMN3&AP=1089",300,250);
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
document.write('<a
href="http://clk.atdmt.com/MSR/go/131159726/direct;wi.300;hi.250/01/"
target="_blank"><img
src="http://view.atdmt.com/MSR/view/131159726/direct;wi.300;hi.250/01/"/></a>');
</script>
document.getElementById('area2').className = 'region9';document.getElementById('area1').style.display='none';document.getElementById('segment').style.height='100%';
By Brent Kessel, MSN MoneySue
Ganz Schmitt lives in a coastal canyon in Southern California with her
husband, two daughters and an Irish setter named Everest. She and her
husband, Martin, drive a 2006 Honda minivan and an old Volkswagen van,
and have historically been hard-working, frugal savers. About three
years ago, they sold interests in their two companies in the same week.
The payoff for their years of discipline, mixed in with a little bit of good luck? More than $10 million.
Meet the millionairesMore
intriguing than their good fortune, however, is what the Schmitts chose
to do with their newfound wealth. They continued to drive the same old
cars, live in the same 2,000-square-foot house and eat at the same
restaurants. They had no interest in bling or in flaunting their
considerable means. So they set up a small family foundation to fund
charitable activities and invested the rest.
Tell us: How would your life change as a millionaire?Sue and Martin are predominantly driven by the money archetype that I call the "Saver." As I explain in my book, "It's Not About the Money," Savers are the kind of people who tend to buy used cars or purchase products only when they go on sale. But
their cautious habits sometimes come with a negative emotional side:
These Savers recoil when others flaunt their wealth -- or waste it on
luxury purchases -- and derive great pain from watching hard-earned
savings decline in a bad stock market.Whether consciously or
not, Savers are almost always afraid that their money might run out one
day and leave them poor, alone or dependent on others. They deal with
this profound anxiety by saving, which serves to temporarily dull the
intensity of their worry.
Quiz: What's your money personality?You're probably a Saver if you: Save more than 20% of your earned income each year. Spend and give away less than 3% of your total net worth each year. Increase your net worth by more than 5% from year to year."I
grew up in postwar Germany, where you never let anything go to waste,"
Martin Schmitt told me. "I'm probably the one who gets most upset if
the girls leave food on their plates or something goes rotten in the
refrigerator."
From living in a van to millionaireThe
Depression and World War II created an entire generation of Savers, who
had seen very hard times and knew that if you squandered food, money or
other precious resources, you could end up losing everything. "I grew
up in a Depression-era family, and my mother was the queen of garage
sales," says Sue Ganz Schmitt.
Garage
sales, secondhand cars and discount shopping appeal to Savers because
they derive great relief from saving -- it is the experience that their
minds associate with security. Savers also experience a rush of good
feelings -- happiness, relief or optimism -- right after they make a
bank deposit, reduce their spending or make a long-term investment.
This is often when they feel most vital and most pleased with
themselves and are most able to relax and enjoy the other aspects of
their lives. Such fiscal habits are often widely admired --
indeed, famously frugal executives such as Warren Buffett and Ikea
founder Ingvar Kamprad have turned their prudent sensibilities into
astonishing business success.
Guess these strangers' money personalityBut
for Saver types, there's still a downside --- because this financially
derived happiness is only temporary. The part of our mind that can never have enough
soon realizes that survival is still far from ensured, and it wants
another pleasurable experience -- more security, more abundance, more
happiness -- so it looks for a way to save even more. This is
why there are so many people who, from the outside, seem to have more
than enough money for their needs but who continue to sock money away
in ever-increasing amounts. As a financial planner, I have worked with
dozens of clients who are addicted to saving -- even once they have
enough money to sustain their lifestyle for the rest of their and their
children's lives.It can be quite an unfortunate prison.So
what's the antidote? The easiest way for Savers to feel good about
parting with money is to use their wealth to support good causes.
"Money gives me the opportunity to give other people a hand up," Sue
Ganz Schmitt says.
Should millionaires always pick up the tab?Like
good Savers, she and her husband have channeled their emotion in a way
that can inspire others -- and, in time, create a high return on
investment. Take Martin Schmitt's newest project: a Web site called We Can Build an Orphanage.
As a former software developer, he and a colleague built the site so
that donors could literally pick and choose which parts of the
orphanage they want to pay for: a window, a crib, a week's worth of
medicine or Sunday morning's breakfast. This giving sends a message to
our subconscious that we do have enough, countering the usual chorus of
"I'll never have enough."Other Savers can try the following steps to gain more financial freedom and emotional satisfaction:
Reward yourself.Set aside some amount of money -- $1 a day, $100 a month or whatever
feels right to you -- and spend half of it on material objects or
experiences that bring you immediate pleasure and fulfillment.
(Remember, the Saver loves to delay gratification.) Then use the other
half to be generous,
whatever that means to you. Ideally, pick causes that touch your heart.
Turn over the most troubling tasks.Some Savers I've worked with have found the most relief by turning over
bill paying to a trusted spouse or bookkeeper. Sometimes all you need
to get some breathing space is simply to separate yourself from dealing
with each and every expense. Similarly, if you find yourself making too
many changes to your investments or constantly second-guessing
yourself, I recommend empowering a trusted fee-only financial adviser or
family member to handle the investment decision-making process for you.
Or invest in a strategy or mutual fund that does not drift from sector
to sector, rebalances automatically and otherwise takes all the
guesswork out for you. And don't check your accounts online every day
-- the less often, the better.
Figure out how much is enough. It's
very natural for all of us to wonder if we have enough -- especially
when the media and our investment statements are all in panic mode.
Though having a trained certified financial planner crunch the numbers
for you is still the best alternative, another option is this simple
formula: You'll need 20 times your annual spending to avoid running out
of money once you stop earning an income. Invest 50% to 60% in low-cost
stock index funds, and stay focused -- don't pull out to wait out a
storm on the sidelines.
Published Nov. 6, 2008http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/StockInvestingTrading/secret-millionaires-addicted-to-saving.aspx?page=all
Accueil 
