Another news story about a surprisingly wealthy miser

[SLC Tortfeasor]

I always get a kick out of reading news stories about misers who, when they die, had managed to save millions. Here's the latest.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/06/20/unexpected.donation.ap/index.html

Live below your means, but don't go crazy.

 

[retire@40]

Some people have just as hard a time knowing how to spend their money as they do knowing how to save it.  This guy figured out how to save it, but he never figured out when it was time to spend it.

This is a serious problem that could develop when one is saving for ER.  Being frugal is OK, but there is a line that is sometimes crossed when the your mind is only focused on saving without knowing why you are saving and when enough is enough.

 

[JB]

Maybe he was saving to fund the scholarship. I can think of worse things to spend your money on!

 

[Momtwo]

If this man was saving to make that education dream come true and that dream of his made him happy, GOOD FOR HIM!

He may have been very happy with his lifestyle and isn't that what is important!

 

[TromboneAl]

I'm guessing that he wasn't frugal in order to donate, but that it was just in his nature to be frugal.

Guess there's nothing wrong with a little "expired meat," since he made it to 88.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yep, that may have just been the lifestyle that made him happy. We often look at how others live and if its not to our standards, then they must have something wrong with them or they must be unhappy. Hmm...

I buy nearly-expired meat (usually with a big bone in it) for my dogs. Guy goes around in the morning and marks the aging packages with "reduced for quick sale!" stickers, and I follow him and snap up any lamb or beef shanks, neck bones, or ribs. I'm sure well cooked it wouldnt hurt you a bit but I'd bet some of it doesnt taste that great. They dont seem to mind though. I notice that my local sams also does something interesting...when one of those packages with 200 hamburgers in it starts getting within a few days of its expire, they take it in and repackage it into quantities that 2 or 3 human beings could actually eat and drop the price. Those dont last long.