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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   3793 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 14, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I think the legendary thriftiness of Kamprad and Buffett is overhyped. I don't think they particularly enjoy the act of saving every little bit of money, but the same set of psychological traits they possess explains both their business success and lifestyle: they don't derive as much enjoyment from new and flashy things as the average person, they have no innate drive to keep up with the Joneses, and they also run their companies in the same way: boring, safe, relentlessly optimized.

I think they may also have internalized that there is a mental cost to flashy possessions. They attract attention, they send certain messages to people around them, and they can occupy your own thoughts as a focus of concern, where a boring used sedan simply disappears.

Yeah, there's certainly something to be said about the frugal lifestyle as an excellent PR strategy. I wonder how many billions in business Warren Buffett has gotten out of the fact that he lives in an ordinary house.

If you think about it that way, the whole opportunity cost of frugality argument completely flips on its head. A reputation for ostentatious personal frugality and self-restraint is a very valuable asset for a man who manages other people's money for a living, while a few extra bedrooms and an infinity pool seem like trivial frivolities in comparison.

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