Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire is it better to become rich?

I've known some fairly wealthy people and a bunch of really poor people. What I've seen in common among the wealthy ones is that, above all, they were able to anticipate long term consequences of their actions. It's a special type of intelligence. Rich folk that don't have it, lose money quickly. Poor folk who have it generally stop being poor.

If you've got it, you can anticipate the power of compound interest and you open a savings account. If you don't have it, you'll sit around all day trying to figure out how much swag you can add to your Fingerhut account.

I've made and pizzed away a small fortune. Or I let another pizz it away. Started again from nothing. Live well within your means and save/invest wisely, chose your partner very carefully and you will succeed. One thing the disaster that was evil#2 taught me was that is possible to live on much less money than I ever thought. Also family and friends are invaluable and no amount of money can buy that.
So I guess to answer the question, I believe you can be happy/content with or without being rich. Its a state of mind.

The true measure of happiness.
No matter if your bank account has one zero,
Or a lot of zero's.

This thread is one of the best I have read on the campfire.
On point, with some very valuable nuggets in it.
Some are the nuggets many in our society trip over every day
In pursuit of something intangible.

As Shaman stated, many poor choose to be poor.
They think there is some magic in attaining any wealth,
Some royal DNA that just excludes them.

So, they shop Fingerhut (never heard of it untill my inlaws showed me.....yup, an example)
gamble, and just screw their money away.

Then resent the guy beside them who exploited the same opportunities, and maximized
his income.

Rich people stay rich by acting like they're poor. Poor people stay poor by acting like they're rich.

Go to yard sales in neighborhoods of different income levels. You'll see why the poor are poor. Thinking and habits. Keep an eye out for satellite dishes while you're there.

A time for everything. In my opinion, to have a chance being financially stable do these things IN ORDER.

Get an education. Learn a skill. Finish High School, Trade School, Family business or College.
Get some way to support yourself. Learn to take care of yourself. Bills, cooking, laundry.
Get Married. Learn to trust another.
Start a family. Learn to support others.

Of course, many are successful despite challenges of dropping out of school, medical issues, bad marriages, and raising children alone.

Good luck to all.

The richest man I ever knew was my father. He worked hard and never really had much money but he was loved and respected by more people than anyone else I've ever known.
He really knew how to appreciate and enjoy time with his children, grandchildren and friends. He loved little kids and they all instinctively and immediately loved him. He was generous to a fault and people often took advantage of his goodness. Some people might consider him a "sucker" when it came to finances and money.

When he got sick, it was amazing how many people showed up to see him. Old friends of mine and my siblings that hadn't seen him in years showed up because of the impact he had in their lives as children. Old army buddies and members of churches he had been involved with and old co-workers and so many people whose lives had been touched in a positive way over the years showed up to see him and pay their respects. Hundreds of people came to visit. It was amazing to see and he was completely baffled by it. He had no idea how many people respected and loved him or even why they did. He just went through life being him and loving those around him. He didn't see himself as exceptional in any way but those around him sure did.

The funeral was standing room only and his brother who is a pastor summed it up perfectly during the ceremony. He knew how to love. And he was loved in return.

I have been fortunate to have made a lot more money than he ever did and I live a much more comfortable and secure life. But unfortunately, I will never be as rich as he was.

That doesn't keep me from trying.

Hookset, Your description of your father, fits my younger brother to a T. He passed too young at 53. Never made over $44K per year but was indeed rich. Funeral director said he had never seen anything like it, in his 26 years in the business. Constant long line of people to see him, from the moment they opened, until they had to close. Hundreds and hundreds of people and he lived in a very small town. Touched so many lives in his short time here. Like your father, he is sorely missed.

My account has red zeros!


But I've got silver in the stars, gold in the morning sun.


It sounds a bit ghey, but the wife and I will sit out on the sidewalk, having a beer and watching the kids ride their horses.....say to myself....No one is living better than we are right now. No one.



Took a lot of years to get to a place of "contentedness". Not fully there yet of course.

Know a young man I think the world of. Smart, personable and a hard working sob that knows his trade and a few others as well.

And when I say hard working I mean hard working, has a full time job w a good bit of overtime and seems like he’s doing side jobs every minute he’s not at one of his kids athletic events.

We didn’t know each other well, he’d installed one boiler system on a house I built and his father in law was working for me.

I quit building as market was starting to soften up and his fil was working for someone else or just doing side jobs as he could find them.

A year or so goes by and the mother in law is in icu dying. I called the young man when I heard the news and asked if there was anything I could do. He replied “no but my poor fil is so stressed, he wants to be by her side every minute, but with him not working every day they go deeper in the hole”

So I wrote out a check to the fil for 100 hours of his labor @ $35 per hour.

The guy was deeply touched and appreciated it.

The wife passed not too long afterward so he did indeed get to spend the time he wanted with her. They’d lived paycheck to paycheck their entire lives along w using debt to see they never got ahead. Bad debt other than a mortgage as in the cc kind

The sil is about 15 years younger than me, his fil about 15 years older.


A few weeks later the sil calls me and says “ no disrespect intended to my fil, he’s a hard worker and would give you the shirt off his back. But how do I wind up where you are and not like he is? “

They’d already started down the road fil was on w multiple car payments and cc debt.

A few tweaks, some major discipline and having both he and his wife read total money makeover and well 15 years or so down the road he’s on track for financial independence.


During my sons bday party he was texting me about something and wanted to know how our party went.

I was basking in the glow of how blessed we’ve been in this life, and told him of all the riches we enjoy our money is the least of them.

So Lt pat is correct ( as he often is )

I’m aware of folks w far more money than us, but I don’t know anyone any richer

Money is only a problem if you don’t have enough of it. We’ve been so blessed to always have what we needed, even if not everything we wanted and the discernment to know the difference

That’s about as fine a tribute a man could have.

Oh and it’s better to become rich. You get to live the American Dream and are grateful for the opportunity to do so.

I’m as grateful for the lean times I had growing up and as a young adult getting my biz off the ground as I am for the comfort it’s provided us.

Hard to be grateful for sunny days if you never see any rain.

X2

This thread should be pinned to the top of the page, as it contains enough valuable information to make anyone who reads it and heeds the advice “rich”.

My hat’s off to all who’ve posted here.

Best to inherit it.

True. My whole life it seems the farmers that I know, the rich have always been rich and the poor ones have always been poor.
Never seen a poor one become rich by farming.

Being content is probably the perfect definition of success.


mike r

I’ve seen several rich guys become poor by farming.

I’ve also seen poor guys become rich farming (government subsidies and buyouts).

And keep out of the Classifieds.......