Comments on: Our Frugal Friend is Happy and Very Wealthy But is it Balanced?

By: LAL

LAL — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:53:32 +0000

Interesting story. Somewhat sad that he isn’t enjoying his money even in the sense of using it to do good or spending it on his family now. Since he’s going to leave it to them in the future, why not spend it now and see the pleasure on their faces if that’s what makes him happy.

By: Cathy W

Cathy W — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:41:06 +0000

Just because Fred has a lot of properties, does not mean he is rich. He could be claiming them as a loss on his taxes (Like I do). Or he could just be breaking even. Sounds like he has ADD or bipolar. He may be doing a lot of things just because he is suffering from mania. He could be buying properties with borrowed money (called OPM)! Maybe he has excellent credit. Still that doesn’t mean he is rich. He may be lying to everyone.

By: CashAholic

CashAholic — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:37:56 +0000

I think Fred is rich because of his peculiar habits. He spends very little money overall. His stuff is eventually put in use. Obviously his idea of treasures don’t match everyone else’s, but how many people have a 10 Million net worth?

I couldn’t follow in Fred’s footsteps, but I admire his diligence in following his own path.

By: casper

casper — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:31:25 +0000

Nice, I wish I had such choice. His beliefs are different from other rich people but works for him. He is still rich.

By: SavingDiva

SavingDiva — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:35:36 +0000

I find the elderly so amusing! Fred has quite a few quirks Thanks for the great story!

By: Hazzard

Hazzard — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:53:00 +0000

Money Beagle,
He believes he’s helping each of his renters. He charges low rent and is flexible with them when they have trouble paying the rent sometimes. In his mind, he is their savior by giving them a cheap place to live. I think he does this by being very frugal on taking care of the places. As an example, if the stove goes out in one of his rentals, they can expect a replacement stove that is 40+ years old. Because he is renting at the very bottom of the market, people are happy to take what they can get.

By: Money Beagle

Money Beagle — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:40:39 +0000

Just found this site and subscribed today as well.

This is an interesting story. I can appreciate if he doesn’t have a desire to spend any money on himself. That’s his choice and if he feels he’s happy with what he spends, so be it. However, there are two things that it’s too bad Fred doesn’t do. First, it’s too bad he doesn’t do more with the houses he owns. You mentions that he does ‘the minimum’. Second, there was no mention of him doing any good or planning to do any good with his money in terms of donating it to help others. In both of these areas, it’d be nice to see a little more. I mean let’s face it, if his rental houses are as everything else you described, chances are the families renting them are probably not getting a whole lot out of the experience of living in one of those houses other than having a roof over their heads.

Interesting story, thanks for posting.

By: Hazzard

Hazzard — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:33:14 +0000

Hi FB! Glad you found ELYM. Thanks for adding the blog to your reader!

I think money AND stuff brings him security. I’d be happy with just the money giving me security because I hate clutter.

By: FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:14:04 +0000

I agree with PJ. Compared to Fred, I am more focused on quality than quantity.. however with all that cash, I guess he’s just happy sitting on it and finding a deal rather than increasing his lifestyle the way most of us would

Just found you via Mapgirl. Am going to add you to my reader.

By: pj

pj — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:04:16 +0000

Having the saying ‘poor people buy stuff, the middle class buys liabilities and the rich buy assets’ in mind, I find the combination of having all those assets yet focusing so much on ’stuff’ peculiar.

I spend less than 20% of my net income, but if I spend, I like to buy high quality. So compared to Fred, I am more focused on quality than quantity. (Also, I am far from 10M, but will get there one day for sure.)