In my spare time, one of the things I love to do is go to estate sales.
An estate sale takes place when someone, usually a home owner, passes away and their heirs sell all of their earthly possessions.
I enjoy going to them because you can really find some great items, at very reduced prices. I don’t always find something I’m interested in buying, but I enjoy the hunt.
I’ve gone to quite a few estate sales in the last 3 months. The majority of the homes have been in upper middle class and affluent neighborhoods.
It wasn’t until this weekend that something interesting dawned on me…
If I had to put a number on it, I would say that at least 69% of the owners of these homes were avid – some voracious – readers.
And the fascinating thing that dawned on me yesterday was the number of books on investing on the shelves of these wealthy individuals’ homes.
When there was a library in a home, each one, without exception, has had anywhere from five to ten books on investing in the stock market. The professions of these readers included pharmacist, doctor, educator and small business owner. None of these professions were related to Wall Street, but each individual knew that investing in the stock market was a way to build wealth.
Those of us of a certain age remember the phrase, “reading is fundamental”. I think that phrase should be followed by “not reading is detrimental“! And with all due respect, I’m not talking about just reading romance novels, comic books or any other fictional book. I’m talking about reading with the purpose of learning how to build wealth.
It is no coincidence that these people who passed on a significant legacy to their heirs were well read, especially in the area of personal finance.
I know it may seem boring. But so is your health, after all – until you get sick.
There’s a correlation between people that read about personal finance and wealth creation. The more you read, the likelier you are to make good choices with your money.
If you need ideas, check out these books that have influenced me.
Click the image of the book at left to be taken to its Amazon page. (Disclosure: As a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, I earn a small commission on each sale generated through these links.)
I love to pick up drinking glasses at estate sales (a dozen for $3.00!!!!).
When I see all of the books, it always strikes me as both a positive and a negative. For one, reading is a healthy activity. However, buying hardcover books by popular authors is so expensive! When I see hundreds of books in someone’s home that cost $20 each, I can’t help but recall the statistic that the avg 65 year old has only $100,000 in cash to their name. If they, instead, went to the library and had forgone the 300 purchases at $20 each, and put the $20 into a mutual fund, then the $6,000 spent would grow to $25,000 or more.
Now, $25,000 doesn’t sound like much over a lifetime of saving, but it could be the difference in having a good, safe car in retirement, or updating your home from oil to gas to have long-term savings, or having the comfort of knowing that groceries for the next 10 years are covered!
You are so right!