important advice

 What is the most important advice a millionaire has given you?

Budgets don’t work.

This millionaire wasn’t ultra wealthy. This individual had worked a blue collar union job, was in middle management, and you would never guess that he was a millionaire. He was a family friend, who recently retired and sat down to share some advice with me.

His biggest take away from accumulating wealth over the years is that budgets do not work. If you are like most people, you spend time creating a strict budget, something goes wrong and you get frustrated. Frustration sets in after a couple months of not hitting your budget and you give up.

He accumulated wealth by putting away 15–20% of every paycheck into his 401k and retirement accounts. He lived off the remainder. He kept the same percentage as his pay increased and only checked his account twice a year. After 37 years of doing this he had about $2.8 million saved up and could retire.

I know not everyone has the discipline or means to save 15%-20% of their income. However, if you are able to, you can ditch the budgets and one day retire happily.

●But doesn't that also create a budget in a way?

- I think what he means is a strict line item budget….$200 for gas, $300 for groceries, $200 for eating out etc. I think he’s saying that type of budget doesn’t work

- I see. Thank you :)

●Most millionaires don’t look like millionaires

- If you saw Warren Buffett at Walmart you wouldn’t know he is one of the richest persons on earth. Same with Bezos, Gates, Musk, etc

-The guy with all the fancy clothes and jewelry and cars? Might not be a millionaire

●Ah, I dunno, the $500m, 417ft yacht kinda blows the cover a bit…

- Koru (yacht) -

Koru is a luxury custom superyacht owned by Jeff Bezos , the founder of Amazon . The vessel was built in the Netherlands by Oceanco starting in 2021, and delivered in April 2023. It is a three-masted sailing yacht 127 meters (417 ft) long and reported to have cost $500 million or more.  When commissioned, the yacht was the second-largest sailing yacht in the world, after Andrey Melnichenko 's Sailing Yacht A . In 2022, Rotterdam announced that the city's historic De Hef bridge would be temporarily partially dismantled to allow the yacht to pass through. This move was controversial because the bridge is a Dutch national monument owing to its history.  Eventually the dismantling plan of the 'De Hef' bridge proved to be unnecessary. The masts were stepped when the vessel was moored downstream of the bridge in the Rotterdam Harbour.  Abeona anchored off the coast of St. Lucia in January 2024. A 75-metre (246 ft) 1,900 Gross ton yacht support vessel , the Abeona , will "shadow" Koru , providing additional crew accommodation, a helipad with enclosed helicopter accommodation, and capacity for relief supplies.  ^ "127m Oceanco Y721 superyacht launched in the Netherlands" . SuperYacht Times. 4 August 2022 . Retrieved 2023-02-07 . ^ "KORU Yacht • Jeff Bezos $500M Sailing Superyacht • Oceanco • 2022" . SuperYachtFan . Retrieved 2023-02-07 . ^ Matza, Max (May 14, 2021). "Jeff Bezos and the secretive world of superyachts" . BBC News . p. 1 . Retrieved February 3, 2022 . ^ "127m Koru Delivered by Oceanco" . www.yachtharbour.com . April 10, 2023 . Retrieved April 17, 2023 . ^ "Jeff Bezos' superyacht will see historic bridge dismantled" . BBC News . February 3, 2022. p. 1 . Retrieved February 3, 2022 . ^ Nicole Lyn Pesce (May 11, 2021). "Here's where Jeff Bezos's superyacht ranks among the world's most expensive boats" . MarketWatch . ^ KURT SCHLOSSER (May 10, 2021). "Jeff Bezos will reportedly join the billionaire boating class with a $500M luxury sailing superyacht" . Geekwire . ^ Oliver Moody (May 11, 2021). "Jeff Bezos rides ultra-rich superyacht wave" . The Times of London . ^ "Rotterdam has confirmed it will dismantle a historic bridge to allow a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to fit through" . BBC News . February 3, 2022. p. 1 . Retrieved February 3, 2022 . ^ "Miljoenenjacht van Amazon-baas Jeff Bezos duikt op voor Zuid-Hollandse kust" . February 15, 2023. p. 1 . Retrieved February 15, 2023 . ^ Damborsky, Katia (11 February 2023). "75m custom Damen Yachting support vessel delivered and named" . Boating International . Retrieved 27 May 2023 . ^ "Inside Jeff Bezos' shiny new US$500 million Koru megayacht and Abeona vessel" . South China Morning Post . 11 February 2023 

●Perhaps but if you saw him at Starbucks you wouldn’t know he is in top 20 $ on earth right?

- Set it and forget it! Invest on autopilot, then you can get on with life!

●You should always track your expenses and know where your money is going. A budget in Excel can be an eye opener. Agreed, 15% into 401K investing in an Index

- Unfortunately, this can only work for just a few. The vast majority of us wouldn't last with this method. To grow wealth, you need financial discipline. To be disciplined financially, you need to begin with a budget. Learn to walk before you run.

● Best advice I got was two pieces. Think abundantly. Second was to have a system for growing your wealth and to accumulate assets that pay you routinely and passively.

- By far the easiest way, yup.

- Budgets don’t work.

- Spend as little as possible and as much as necessary.

●You still need a spending plan after doing all of that unless your income is large enough that you don't need to plan for expenses and/or emergencies or unexpected bills.

- If he did all of the above , he lived by strict budget 😊 ( putting away 15 % of his income every single month is a classic example of budgetting *) .

● saving 20% for savings is also considered a budget.

● also, 37 years just to save up 2.8M isn't much, there are better ways to save/ invest. for example I've done 15 years and have net worth about 3M.

● I'm assuming he has a good job, hence, he's able to make ends meet while putting away 20%, in that scenario you’re better off buying properties and investing in shares like he did.

- but this advice of not “budgeting” will not work for the people with lower income.