2991: The Tale of Bad Car Bill by Mr. 1500 of 1500 Days on Frugality and Resisting Lifestyle Inflation

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Finance Daily, The Tale of Bad Car Bill by Mr. 1500 of 1500days.com

[00:00:10] One of my first real jobs in the world was working as a computer programmer at the fancy headquarters of a big U.S. retailer in the late 90s.

[00:00:19] I was an employee, but I worked with a team of consultants that the company had hired to help with the Y2K code remediation.

[00:00:28] These consultants, with their old skills, were now tripling and quadrupling their pay as the demand to fix the old systems skyrocketed.

[00:00:39] The consultants were a fascinating bunch to watch. They had no trouble finding ways to blow all of their new wealth very quickly.

[00:00:48] They had fancy clothes and shiny new SUVs or sports cars.

[00:00:53] They would go to restaurants for lunch every day and then go out to expensive clubs after work.

[00:00:59] I had never seen people spend money like this.

[00:01:03] At the time, I thought, wow, these guys are rich.

[00:01:06] I was naive, just out of school and grew up in a lower middle class neighborhood.

[00:01:12] I was the first one in my family to graduate from college, so I had never been around people like this.

[00:01:17] Later on, the book The Millionaire Next Door opened my eyes to the reality of the situation.

[00:01:24] These people were not rich and never would be.

[00:01:28] I was just witnessing extreme cases of lifestyle inflation.

[00:01:33] However, there was one consultant who was an exception to the big spenders, and his name was Bad Car Bill.

[00:01:40] Bad Car Bill was different.

[00:01:42] He was given the moniker because he drove a hideous clunker.

[00:01:47] It had a piece of wood tied to the front for a bumper.

[00:01:51] It was covered with rust, made rude noises when it started, and belched smoke.

[00:01:57] Bill's car wasn't the only thing that set him apart.

[00:02:00] The other consultants had new clothes from high-end department stores.

[00:02:05] Bad Car Bill wore old flannel shirts that barely skirted the company's dress code.

[00:02:10] Some of them clearly should have gone to the rag pile a couple of years prior.

[00:02:15] The other consultants would spend $10 a day in the corporate cafeteria,

[00:02:19] or $20 a day at a local restaurant for lunch.

[00:02:23] Bad Car Bill would bring a lunch from home.

[00:02:26] Bad Car Bill passed on going out after work and spending money at expensive bars.

[00:02:32] No one knew where he went, but he probably wasn't plowing through his paycheck.

[00:02:37] The other consultants would needle Bad Car Bill about his different ways.

[00:02:42] Bad Car Bill would wave them off with a smile,

[00:02:45] telling them he didn't need their fancy cars or clothes.

[00:02:49] The joking was all in good fun,

[00:02:51] but it was clear that the others thought less of Bad Car Bill.

[00:02:55] Fast forward a couple of years to about 2002.

[00:02:58] With the Y2K crisis in the rearview mirror,

[00:03:01] the money fountain quickly dried up,

[00:03:04] and many of these consultants found themselves in hot water.

[00:03:07] One of them had been making $109 an hour,

[00:03:11] that is $220,000 a year,

[00:03:13] and was now on the verge of filing for bankruptcy.

[00:03:17] Now, fast forward to the present day.

[00:03:19] I recently learned that at the time I worked with him,

[00:03:23] Bad Car Bill was a millionaire.

[00:03:25] He didn't need to be working.

[00:03:27] He was just doing it because he hadn't figured out yet

[00:03:29] what to do with the rest of his life.

[00:03:31] It doesn't take an advanced degree in physics

[00:03:34] to see what was going on here.

[00:03:36] Bad Car Bill lived the frugal life,

[00:03:39] saving and investing his money.

[00:03:41] In the years around Y2K,

[00:03:43] Bad Car Bill was making more money than he ever had.

[00:03:47] However, he didn't change anything.

[00:03:49] Same old clothes,

[00:03:50] same old car,

[00:03:52] and same old lunch in a paper sack from wherever home was.

[00:03:55] This is in sharp contrast to the bad behavior that many succumb to.

[00:04:00] A 10% raise equals 10% lifestyle inflation.

[00:04:04] The 2,500 square foot home gets an addition or a new deck.

[00:04:09] The Toyota gets traded up for a Lexus.

[00:04:12] On and on.

[00:04:14] Dumb and dumber.

[00:04:16] Every once in a while,

[00:04:17] I think back on my days at that job.

[00:04:19] Sitting on the patio at work,

[00:04:21] eating lunch while watching the corporate swans in the man-made lake.

[00:04:25] Bad Car Bill was the brunt of many jokes resulting from his frugal lifestyle.

[00:04:31] I like to think he was laughing on the inside at the rest of them.

[00:04:35] Update.

[00:04:36] A commenter wondered what happened to Bad Car Bill.

[00:04:40] The truth is,

[00:04:41] I have no idea.

[00:04:42] However,

[00:04:43] I almost prefer not knowing.

[00:04:45] That way,

[00:04:46] I can let my imagination run wild.

[00:04:47] I can picture him traveling through Europe or on an island in a tropical locale.

[00:04:57] You just listened to the post titled,

[00:04:59] The Tale of Bad Car Bill

[00:05:01] by Mr. 1500 of 1500days.com.

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[00:05:06] forget about it after the trial period ends,

[00:05:09] then you're charged,

[00:05:10] month after month after month.

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[00:05:14] but you're not using them.

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[00:06:11] I believe it takes a significant mindset shift

[00:06:14] to resist the pull of our consumerist culture.

[00:06:17] From an early age,

[00:06:19] we're conditioned to desire luxuries

[00:06:22] and constantly strive to increase our standard of living.

[00:06:27] Over time,

[00:06:28] I've developed a lot of compassion for this dynamic.

[00:06:31] I used to be quite judgmental of people who spent money

[00:06:35] without considering their financial security.

[00:06:37] But now I realize that many of these spending habits

[00:06:40] stem from a deeper sense of discontent.

[00:06:44] We're bombarded daily with messages that tell us

[00:06:47] spending on material possessions is the key to happiness.

[00:06:51] First, we're made to feel inadequate.

[00:06:54] And then we're sold the products or services

[00:06:56] that promise to fix those perceived flaws.

[00:06:59] It takes curiosity and inner work

[00:07:02] to realize that the best things in life are free

[00:07:05] and to develop a deep appreciation

[00:07:08] for the material abundance we already have.

[00:07:11] Having the time, space, and opportunity

[00:07:14] to shift my perspective

[00:07:15] is a privilege I'm truly thankful for.

[00:07:18] I consider myself lucky

[00:07:20] to have stumbled upon the Mr. Money Mustache blog

[00:07:23] at a point in my life

[00:07:24] when I was open to listening to its wisdom.

[00:07:27] Without that disruption,

[00:07:29] I could have easily fallen into the pattern

[00:07:32] described in this article,

[00:07:33] spending everything I earn

[00:07:35] without awareness of the long-term consequences.

[00:07:39] And that'll do it for another edition

[00:07:41] of Optimal Finance Daily.

[00:07:42] Have a great day.

[00:07:44] Thank you for listening.

[00:07:45] And I'll be back tomorrow with another post.

[00:07:47] So I'll see you there,

[00:07:49] where optimal life awaits.