I've long had a theory about people and houses. Some people are movers and some people are stayers. Just look at Warren Buffett. He's a multi-billionaire businessman, and yet Buffett still lives in the exact same house he bought way back in 1958 in Omaha, Nebraska for a measly $31,500!
Yes, I'm talking about THE Warren Buffett, the guy Wikipedia calls the most successful investor of the 20th century. And he's a "stayer"! Could it be that he's one of those romantics too?
Let me back up here and explain this movers and stayers theory, OK?
My parents have lived in the same house I grew up in, the same house they bought several years before I was born. And then I met my husband who had moved five times before he was a teenager. I'd always known these people existed, but I thought they were anomalies. I thought the Buffetts of the world, the people who stay tied to one place regardless of their financial state, were the norm.
Turns out the average American moves 11.7 times in their life. And every time the lottery jackpot climbs into the gazillion-dollar range, people start talking about how they want to win millions of dollars so they can move into a fantastic mansion.
I have dabbled in fantasy myself. I have lost hours on Pinterest gazing at houses that have room for all the stuff that we've collected in the 10 years since we moved into a house that has so little space!
But then I look around my house and my yard. There is the tree where we hung my daughter's first swing. There's the spot where we huddled in the freezing cold as a family to say goodbye to our cat.
I would love to have a second bathroom, and a bedroom that actually fit our furniture, and, and, and ... but I'm an old softie and a bit of a romantic. I look at my tiny house, and I see beyond the one bathroom and strange shaped rooms. I see our life. I see memories. I see things that money can't replace.
So Warren Buffett has millions of dollars? So he's stuck with a house that he paid $31,500 for (that's $250,000 by today's standards) when he could have moved on up and moved on out? Some people would call him a cheapskate. I'll call him a guy who gets what's really important in life; who knows that money can't buy everything.
What about you? Could you stay in the same house for the rest of your life?
Image via Pacific Coast News
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Comments 19
At the age of 27 I've moved 9 times (I have an odd job), but if I could stay somewhere, I think I would. Also, I love Warren Buffett.
He is very frugal. Made his kids make something of themselves instead of becoming trust fund babies
smart man, just cause your rich doesn't mean you can blow it off, need learn to invest what's the purpose of having 5 houses with 10 rooms and 15 restrooms do you really need it. 1) to maintain you have to hire maids 2) pay the bills 3) taxes on the house. Really?? do you need all of that? One or two houses with decent amount of rooms is all one needs to blow money like that is foolish. Spend it on your kids education, trips, charities etc... That why he still has money!!
Yup. Most of the people I know who are truly wealthy (and I know a lot of wealthy people, even though I myself am not) have money because they don't blow it on meaningless crap. They save for retirement, invest wisely, and spend on the things that are really important to them, like their children's educations and quality homes in good areas that will retain their value.
A lot of the people you see who are constantly "keeping up with the Joneses" are actually deep in debt and have very little in the way of assets. Not all, but a lot. Appearances can be very deceptive in that regard.
It doesn't surprise me that he still lives there. I saw an interview with a couple of his grandkids years ago and they said that he pays for their schooling, but once they graduate they are on their own. They said it really made them choose their majors wisely to make sure that they could get a job that they liked and could make enough money to pay their living expenses.
My fiancé's mother has lived in the same house since the 70s. My fiancé was born in that house and at 23 he still has a place to call home. Me, on the other hand, my family has moved six times since I was a baby. Even moving from Florida to North Carolina. It's a pain to get up and move after becoming comfortable in one place, so wen my fiancé and I become stable and are able to buy our first home, I do plan on keeping it.