Bob Cornwell
Jul 28, 2017 · 2 min read

Although there is a lot of truth in your essay, it comes off as a hymn to classism. Like the rich, the poor have their own coping mechanisms. One of them is living it up whenever a windfall comes their way. They have long ago learned the futility of saving. All that saving does is provide an inadequate future source of cash to be burned up in the next emergency.

It is one thing to be responsible and scrape by, without ever having a good time, because such is never in the budget. It is quite another to be a middle or upper middle class spendthrift, living in a 200k house, who has not $100 to his name.

There is an economic level in which people can launch themselves into riches. And that is typically the upper-middle class. Below that, the present generation must either be paying off its own education dept or saving for their children’s education. The middle class offers safety, a reasonable amount of security, and at least some dignity. But it is a relentless treadmill, especially if one wishes to have his/her children grow up a member of the club.

The advice I almost never see in any of these types of essay is to live just slightly below ones standard of living, so there is a surplus to save and invest. One way to do this is to not have children. But, oops, that kinda defeats the purpose doesn’t it?

One anecdote in this essay rang quite true.

That was the one where the would be business starter sneaked into an electronic appliance store and set the devices to load his web page. This story is quite telling in that this individual saw fit to sort of strain the rules.

Arguably, he was committing a trespass. He could have been caught and asked to leave the store. He could have also been visited by the men in blue and offered his very own pair of stainless steel bracelets. But he took the risk. And he, no doubt, had access to a good lawyer, if the encounter didn’t go to well.

The main reason the rich are rich, is that they are, more often than not, in a position to make bets they can afford to lose.

Another piece of advice I never see in essays like this on is to suck up to the wealthy, and they might just help you out. Especially if there is something for them in it. A good way to do this is to marry a rich man’s homely daughter, if you’re a handsome man. Or become a trophy wife, if you are a beautiful woman.

Once one has done one of these two things, it is then time to follow the rest of the advice in this essay.

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