RULE 96

Use your wealth wisely

I read of a nice couple the other day – both rock musicians – who had bought a big house in the countryside in Oxfordshire (or some other Home County) with nine acres and were settling down to raise kids and I thought what a good investment as it provides:

• a stable place to bring up kids
• a sound investment in the long term
• a nice place to live in the sense of peace and quiet with no city pollution
• a friendly place for the children to grow up with neighbours looking out for them
• a sound investment in history and heritage.

On the other hand, I read in the same paper of a fashion model who was in the news a lot because of her drug habit. An expensive habit I have no doubt. I guess you can see where my interests lie from these two snippets gleamed from the newspapers. One is a sound and wise investment and the other is just self-indulgent trouble that lends nothing to the wisdom of wealth.

I’m not a party pooper but I have noticed that those who handle their wealth sensibly and share it and are generous with their time and money get back a whole lot more than those who squander, misuse, indulge and generally behave as if their wealth gives them a licence to show off. Enough moralising and preaching. I did promise not to. But these are genuine observations and I’m sure you’ve made similar observations yourself. Those who abuse their wealth don’t tend to stay wealthy for long. Here are a few questions regarding our wealth and how wisely we might handle it:

• Why did we get wealthy in the first place?
• What is the best use of wealth?
• What are our long-term goals and expectations for our wealth?
• What do we think our wealth will bring us?
• What could we do with our wealth that would be beneficial to others?
• What sort of world do we want?
• How do we and our wealth wish to be seen?
• What will they say about us after we’ve gone?
• What legacy will we leave behind?

I personally think the best use of wealth is to teach children how to earn it, invest it, save it and spend it wisely. As we all get more and more affluent, there is a real need to introduce some element of monetary discussion into the curriculum. Children need to learn about tax, insurance and spending and all the stuff we never got taught and have had to learn the hard way as we went along. Mind you, I would also make sure every child could read and write before they left school and could drive a car.