Western society seems obsessed with the lifestyles of the rich and famous. TV shows, movies, magazine ads, commercials, books – all seem to be about people who are rich or at least live like they’re rich. There’s a reason for this: being rich is kind of awesome.
While the purpose of this website is to teach you how to get rich yourself, I’m also not against the idea of figuring out how to work the system to live like you’re rich – nice houses, exotic vacations, fast cars – even before you make it to the upper class. In this article, I’ll show you:
- How to get a cheap luxury vehicle
- How to vacation for (almost) free – or even at a profit
- How to upgrade your home without going broke
- How to make money in exotic business locations
Sound interesting? Then read on.
Used Vehicles are Underrated
This point is pretty simple. Buy a used car rather than a new one. You can even find models from this year – that are thousands upon thousands of dollars cheaper than brand new.
Driving a Cadillac that is from 2009 with a few ten-thousand miles on it still looks outrageously classy – and is a heck of a lot cheaper than driving a new one off the lot today. The same thing goes for BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, and every other vehicle. You save tons of money buying slightly used, meaning you can buy a little more car for a lot less cash.
To take this idea even further, don’t forget about going vintage. If you spend a little over $20k, you can buy a near-mint muscle car like a vintage Mustang or something similar. Doing this gives you style points, cool points, personality points, fun points – and every other kind of “points” imaginable. Plus, it costs about as much as a run-of-the-mill boring new car.
Work Vacations Will Change Everything
A work vacation is a fantastic way to have fun and get a lot of work done. As I write this article, I’m sailing off the coast of Alaska in a luxury cruise ship. I just sipped some Champaign after writing that last sentence. And now just ate a piece of steak. After I finish this article, I’m going to the hot tub. No kidding.
A work vacation is where you effectually bribe yourself into being productive with a trip. I get more writing done when I don’t have access to the Internet, and I don’t ever get internet access when I take a cruise – this means I go on a cruise when I want to get a lot of writing done. Well, ok, this is my first cruise, but you get the point.
As I’ve written about before, everyone should have a freelance job. If you get good enough at your freelance job, you might be able to swing a work vacation so you can do your freelance work while in the Bahamas. As long as your trip breaks even, then it was worthwhile and you effectually got a free trip.
I’m in the middle of planning another work vacation sometime this fall. I’ll be going to Cancun, Mexico to launch another website – I should easily pay for the trip within a month of launching the website.
Real Estate for Rich People
Real estate is a buy right now, for the most part. All around the world, the real estate bubble has popped, leading to amazing mansions and castles to go on the market for basically nothing. Now, of course there are exceptions, and there are still real estate bubbles in some housing markets.
Here are a few ways to take advantage of the current real estate market:
Speculation. Buy a property you think you can sell for a profit. This is, by far, the riskiest. Do this wrong and you can get wiped out. I would very rarely – if ever – encourage the use of this real estate investing option.
Moving. This is a fantastic idea. If you have an apartment in an expensive part of the nation, then look and see what your monthly housing costs could get you in a cheaper area – chances are, you’ll be blown away. For an extreme example, if you moved from NYC to a small-town in Arkansas, then you could go from a small apartment to a large mansion.
Renting. This may or may not work, and completely depends on the situation. If you buy a nicer place, you’ll have the option of renting it out – if you can easily cover the mortgage with rent fees, then you can end up with effectually a free house after a few decades. This is, of course, still risky.
If you have any more tips for real estate investing for the sake of upgrading your home, then feel free to contact me with the tip. Personal stories are great too.
Get a Second Job – Just for Spending Money
This is pretty straightforward. I’m a big fan of luxurious living, obviously, and I think this makes complete sense. It goes like this: find a second income, have the money automatically deposited into a secondary bank account, and don’t pay attention to the account for a few months. Seriously – don’t even check it.
After six or so months, check out the bank account. Once it hits $5-10k, you can go on a luxurious vacation. The Bahamas, the Rockies, the Nile – it’s all possible. Or you could just blow a few thousand on a night on the town. Or, once every year or so, buy yourself something super special – or something a little special every week. It’s your money, your luxury, your life, and your choice.
Of course, I’m a fan of a second source of income for almost everyone, even if you don’t plan on using the money on luxury – it’s just a good financial choice.
Exotic Business Allows You to Profit From Perfection
This is something you don’t hear about all the time, and I’m not quite sure why. There are tons of small-to-medium sized businesses around the world. Find one somewhere beautiful, like Central America. Think: coffee plantation, sports bar, scuba school, etc.
Many of these small-to-medium sized businesses are under a few hundred thousand dollars, and each provide a full-time income. The more hands-off the business is, the better it is. Of course, these businesses are risky, so you have to use common sense – and have a lot of guts.
I don’t own any business started by someone else, so for me this is still just theory. My goal is to buy a small plantation somewhere over the next few years, and when I do, I’ll certainly update this website with how I went about it, what I did, and how you can do something similar. Of course, if you want to be a trailblazer, feel free to do so – and email me if you do.
Cliché Advice: Think Outside the Box
My concluding advice is ironically cliché, but it’s just so true: think outside the box. As long as you keep your eye open for debtless ways to live luxuriously, you’ll see options pop out of nowhere.
By taking advantage of these opportunities, you’ll live a fuller and happier life — without busting your bank account. Sounds like a good deal to me.
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