Stop Acting Rich: . . . And Start Living Like a Real Millionaire

Chapter 9. All that Glitters Is Not the Millionaire's Goal

	That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.
	--Henry David Thoreau

There is something else about wealthy people that sets them apart from others. Most wealthy people have a wide variety of interests and activities. In fact, there is a substantial correlation between the number of interests and activities that people are involved in and their level of financial wealth.

Some wealthy people feel that owning a vacation home, for instance, would restrict them, obligate them to spend a lot of time there. And if they do not spend much time there, they feel guilty for allocating lots of dollars on something that is underutilized. Most millionaires came to this realization without first having to make the mistake of purchasing a vacation home. Many respondents have told me about the emotions associated with owning vacation homes. First, joy and euphoria, shortly followed by a loss of interest, and then resentment at having to pay for something that is rarely used but drains financial resources. Many rich people, however, rank high on the cosmopolitan scale. They like variety and change in their lives. Being tied down to a vacation home is "just so parochial." (They say the same thing about owning a boat.)

So if millionaires don't own vacation homes, what do they do? I asked the decamillionaires I surveyed about some of the activities that they engaged in during the prior 12 months. Here are some of the more popular activities ...