Throw money out the window I could just as well have called this article How to throw money out the window ... in record time. This true story is pretty pathetic but it is worth telling. It confirms that the money is not happiness, even if it can definitely contribute to it, provided of course that we know the deal. I unearthed in the New York Times archives; this unfortunate history has come to an American family that has hit bottom in 2010, when the article was written and I will summarize here.
I present the Martin family. Without a family history, a husband, a wife and three children. When this article was written the husband lived in a rented house at $ 900 a month waiting for his wife to join him. Yet this is the same man who, ten years earlier (in 1998), had received a call from her bank asking her where to place the $ 10 million representing the share he had received following the sale of the family business founded by his father.
I wonder how many people receive such a call. It should not be much. Most of us also need to dream and think that this is definitely the best thing in the world that could happen to them. In any case it happened to Martin but it seems that they have taken all the bad decisions from that moment ... including:
They have not invested in separate actions and using margin accounts, so at great risk;
They bought several houses they wanted to restore to the tune of several million;
They bought more cars, so an Aston Martin in over $ 300,000;
They led a life of millionaires: Holiday, fur coats, antiques, luxurious weekends, horses (one was costing almost $ 200,000) etc ... It is clear that when you live in a house of millionaires can not Ikea furnish it with style!
To top it all, they lived their experience in the middle of the recession in the US, so that Mr Martin, realizing that his actions were taking southbound and it realizes that the lifestyle of his family could lead them to bankruptcy, managed to find a teaching job in English for $ 14,000 per year. Between you and me it is very commendable, but I do not think that his salary would be enough to keep the lifestyle of the family afloat. Eventually they remained there the option to sell their assets but the majority of it was stuck in the stone (their properties). With the price of houses that collapsed they were never able to find buyers for their palaces to several million dollars. They sold their property in the Adirondacks at a fraction of the price ... The property was sold for $ 1,250,000 while it was on sale at $ 4.9 million. Like what misfortune of one is the happiness of others. This money was used to pay the mortgage on the house as well as $ 53,000 in property taxes-the so-called property. When I think, just the taxes per year of one of their houses cost more than what I have left to pay on my own ...
At least the couple is still together, even if they have obviously passed through extremely difficult times. Ms. Martin herself a job as a substitute in a school for autistic that pays $ 12,000 a year she had to leave to join her husband who, despite everything, it makes more money. They are left with only memories of the past period, and also regrets, regrets having been too spenders, have been poorly or not at all advisable for taking devastating decisions for their finances. I also wonder how the children have experienced this situation, opulence to forfeiture.
What do you think of this story? Frankly without a second thought, if only divides $ 10 million by 40 years, this amounts to the tune of $ 250,000 per year! This amounts to $ 4.807 a week! Of course I want no inflation, I'm just trying to show that $ 10 million is still a huge amount! When you think it took them 10 years to burn everything, what a mess ...
It is a known fact, people who are not prepared psychologically or financially educated and earn a large sum of money suddenly, either by inheritance or lottery, end up mostly went bankrupt a few years later. As against the people who are already financially stable and balanced will handle this much better good blow of fate. Generally they do not change their habits, continue to work in one way or another, they do not intersect the reality around them.
And you, what do you think of this story?
I wonder how many people receive such a call. It should not be much. Most of us also need to dream and think that this is definitely the best thing in the world that could happen to them. In any case it happened to Martin but it seems that they have taken all the bad decisions from that moment ... including:
They have not invested in separate actions and using margin accounts, so at great risk;
They bought several houses they wanted to restore to the tune of several million;
They bought more cars, so an Aston Martin in over $ 300,000;
They led a life of millionaires: Holiday, fur coats, antiques, luxurious weekends, horses (one was costing almost $ 200,000) etc ... It is clear that when you live in a house of millionaires can not Ikea furnish it with style!
To top it all, they lived their experience in the middle of the recession in the US, so that Mr Martin, realizing that his actions were taking southbound and it realizes that the lifestyle of his family could lead them to bankruptcy, managed to find a teaching job in English for $ 14,000 per year. Between you and me it is very commendable, but I do not think that his salary would be enough to keep the lifestyle of the family afloat. Eventually they remained there the option to sell their assets but the majority of it was stuck in the stone (their properties). With the price of houses that collapsed they were never able to find buyers for their palaces to several million dollars. They sold their property in the Adirondacks at a fraction of the price ... The property was sold for $ 1,250,000 while it was on sale at $ 4.9 million. Like what misfortune of one is the happiness of others. This money was used to pay the mortgage on the house as well as $ 53,000 in property taxes-the so-called property. When I think, just the taxes per year of one of their houses cost more than what I have left to pay on my own ...
At least the couple is still together, even if they have obviously passed through extremely difficult times. Ms. Martin herself a job as a substitute in a school for autistic that pays $ 12,000 a year she had to leave to join her husband who, despite everything, it makes more money. They are left with only memories of the past period, and also regrets, regrets having been too spenders, have been poorly or not at all advisable for taking devastating decisions for their finances. I also wonder how the children have experienced this situation, opulence to forfeiture.
What do you think of this story? Frankly without a second thought, if only divides $ 10 million by 40 years, this amounts to the tune of $ 250,000 per year! This amounts to $ 4.807 a week! Of course I want no inflation, I'm just trying to show that $ 10 million is still a huge amount! When you think it took them 10 years to burn everything, what a mess ...
It is a known fact, people who are not prepared psychologically or financially educated and earn a large sum of money suddenly, either by inheritance or lottery, end up mostly went bankrupt a few years later. As against the people who are already financially stable and balanced will handle this much better good blow of fate. Generally they do not change their habits, continue to work in one way or another, they do not intersect the reality around them.
And you, what do you think of this story?
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