Rich people (OT)

[PNHISTIC1@AOL.COM]

Folks,

Rich people are people first, and rich second:  in short, not that much 
different than you and me.  They could BE you and me had other choices been 
made in our lives.  Different sets of problems, to be sure, but problems none 
the less.  Few "have it made," depending on your definition of the phrase.   
They have worries, medical ailments, car payments, lifestyle maintenance 
costs(this is the gray area).  They are certainly scrutinized more carefully 
and judged more harshly than those with less financial wherewithal.  But they 
laugh, cry, sweat, bleed, sleep, and perform bodily functions like everyone 
else.  Some of them even spend real money on pianos.  Is it better for a 
family to own a brand new BB Mason and Hamlin and never to play 
it--effectively, taking it out of circulation--than to own an Andrew Kohler 
spinet and play the hell out of it?  

Dave Stahl 

maintain a 
In a message dated 2/13/02 6:31:13 AM, cedel@supernet.com writes:

<< Friends,

Please do not interpret my comments here as favoring neglect of pianos, by 
rich
people or anyone else.

 I have a book that gives interesting insights into how many rich people 
think.
It's titled The Millionaire Next Door, and my copy was in paperback.
Unfortunately it is currently on loan to my brother, so I can't give you more
information right now, but you shouldn't have trouble finding it.  You may be
interested in reading a copy.  A couple things stick in my mind, though.

1.  Rich people often are very careful in how they spend their money.
2.  Some families who appear to have it made are deeply in debt to maintain a
lifestyle they can't afford.

To change directions a little, I am appalled when I hear statistics that say 
the
average American household has $7,000 in credit card debt.  That means every
year they are paying out (at a 14.3% interest rate) over $1000 in after-tax
money that does nothing more than increase the credit card company's profits.

Yes, I believe there may be some instances where carrying a balance for a 
short
period of time (several months) may make sense, but one should always have the
goal of getting out of debt and staying out, if at all possible.  My opinion,
obviously. >>