One-day millionaire
If only people can make sacrifices and stop being one-day millionaires, there is a chance that one day they will become millionaires.
REMEMBER the movie Brewster’s Millions? The plot is about Monty Brewster who is a Minor League Baseball pitcher. He and his best friend, Spike was arrested and cannot afford bail. A stranger offers bail and invited him to New York City. At the Manhattan law office of Granville & Baxter, Brewster is told that his recently deceased great-uncle Rupert Horn, whom he has never met, has left him his entire fortune but with several conditions.
Brewster is challenged to either take $1 million upfront, or spend $30 million within 30 days to inherit $300 million. If he chooses the former, the law firm becomes the executor of the estate and divides the money among charities (after taking a fee). In the latter case, after 30 days, he may not own any assets that are not already his, and he must get value for the services of anyone he hires. He may donate only 5 percent to charity and lose 5 percent by gambling. And he is not allowed to tell anyone, even Spike. Brewster decides to take the $30-million challenge.
The story encourages Brewster to be what we literally call a one-day millionaire for the next 30 days. However, he has to afford to be one due to the impending reward.
I first encountered the term one-day millionaire from a story I read. An overseas Filipino worker (OFW)coming home after completing his contract. He had saved quite a big amount of money during his stint. Since his family knows he has saved a lot, as expected, the flow of conversation as about what they can do with the money, such as buying a house, opening a small store without even doing the math. A sibling is already talking about buying electronic gadgets and signature garments. Another sibling hinted on taking a loan.
Actually I have encountered OFWs coming home, are so excited in spending money on lavish items as gifts, dining out in luxurious restaurant and going on shopping spree as if there is no tomorrow. They are unaware that by not controlling their behavior, their tomorrow will be gone. One very good example is my brother-in-law. Working in Taiwan for almost a year, he came home with nearly half-a-million pesos, which, at that time, is double my yearly income. When he came home, he was so generous that in less than three months, his earnings were wiped out. I told my wife to warn him but the warning fell on deaf ears. I reminded my wife that if the worst comes, he will end up borrowing money from her and as clear as a crystal ball, my prediction came true. What made matters worse is that his contract was not renewed anymore. He ended up broke.
Try noticing people around us, from the most famous to the ordinary Juan de la Cruz on the street. They have a common denominator. They are all one-day millionaires. By searching the Internet, we can see rags-to-riches-to-rags stories of boxing champions, lotto winners, famous actors, singers, etc. Even workers are not spared from this phenomenon. After they received their benefits, especially during Christmas, it is certain to be consumed within 24 hours.
Compared with the fictional story above, Brewster necessarily has to be a one-day millionaire (literally) to earn a bigger amount, while in the case of OFWs, the greater bulk are because they want to enjoy life to the fullest. What they fail to realize is that by so doing, suffering later is almost a certainty.
Since personal finance is 80-percent behavior, a drastic paradigm shift has to occur to change the way a person relates to money. If only people can make sacrifices and stop being one-day millionaires, there is a chance that one day they will become millionaires.
How about you? Are you a one-day millionaire? Or will you become a millionaire some day?
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Edmund Lao is a Registered Financial Planner of RFP Philippines. A sales engineer by profession, he is an advocate of financial planning.
Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/business/banking-finance/25869-one-day-millionaire
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