What You Can Learn From The World's 2nd Richest Man

We are a throwaway society.

This isn't helped by the fact that we throw away our losing lotto tickets after every game. Can't be helped. But it tends to build in a lack of continuity that I don't think is good.

Of course the problem doesn't always apply to lotto tickets... many people "throw away" their automobiles as well. What I mean is they trade up after two or three years, and buy a new one.

For most cars today this could be the best move they make. The new smell has gone, reliability is down, wear and tear starts to take its toll.

But the cost of doing this is hugely expensive.

1. Depreciation is the main killer. As soon as you take your new car outside the showroom, it drops the retail price by almost half.
   
   
2. It's probably taken you 2-3 years to pay off, too. So you're also losing money on the loan interest - at usually high percentages.

Altogether, it's a lot of money lost forever.

"So what?" is the comment of many people. "That's just the price of progress you have to pay."

I disagree.

Imagine if you bought a quality automobile and kept it for 10 years. Most cars take the biggest depreciation hit in the first two or three years, then that line starts to flatten out. From about 5 years onwards, the value of your car drops less and less.

Three of our four cars, like my Mercedes SL500 in this photo, are high quality brands. We bought them when they were hardly a few years old and depreciation had take its highest hit. There's a saving straight away.

And we've kept them. I intend to keep each of them for the full 10 years, or even longer. Even if I win lotto again in the near future! Because of these car's top quality, maintenance and wear and tear is low. All are fully paid off, so there's no finance costs.

It's an easy ride for the next few years!

Don't live your life on a throwaway basis. Buy the best of everything you can afford, keep it for 5-10 times longer than you would normally, and benefit from the savings. This is the secret shared by some of the top businesspeople: Warren Buffet - the world's second richest man - drives a standard 6-year-old Lincoln like the one in the photo at the top, with a license plate that reads "THRIFTY." (Source: Forbes Magazine)

Buy the best - learn from the best!

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