Philosophy of Wealth

By Hal Koger

The Philosophy of Wealth is a book that views lifes problems and decisions from a financial perspective. The author, Hal Koger, believes that its the way you approach life that determines if you will or will not achieve financial independence in your lifetime. He has presented his common-sense thinking in this appealing, easy-to-read book.

This is not an exclusive philosophy of life, but it can augment your own personal philosophy, and offer thought provoking ways of dealing with the financial aspects of your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 27, 2003
• ISBN: 9781462804030

Hal Koger

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Book preview

Copyright © 2003 by Hal Koger

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

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Contents

Chapter 1

The Philosophy of Wealth:

An Overview

Chapter 2

Allocation of Income

Chapter 3

The Effect of Education on Wealth

Chapter 4

Choosing a Career

Chapter 5

Health, Sleep, Nutrition,

and Wealth

Chapter 6

Cars, Trucks, and Money

Chapter 7

A Place to Live

Chapter 8

Defining Insurance

Chapter 9

Investments and Gambles

Chapter 10

Taxes

Chapter 11

Net Worth and Wills

Chapter 12

Someone to Love

Chapter 13

Consider the Lilies

This book is dedicated to my wife Glenda,

who encouraged me to write it,

and served as my able proofreader.

It was in this process that I discovered

my apparent love for the word ‘that’

because she eliminated about half of them

or replaced them with ‘which’.

So if you read a sentence in this book that reads awkwardly,

then that’s the problem with that sentence.

Equal dedication must be given

to my grandsons, Garrett and Andrew,

who inspired me to write a book

that may someday help them to be independent

and self-sufficient. Let’s hope so.

Introduction

It is my experience that if someone believes that you are wealthy, they want to know how you did it. They also want to know how to repeat the process for themselves, and they want it to be simple.

Unless you win the lottery, rob a bank, or inherit assets, the process of becoming financially independent is not an event but a life style based on a philosophy that is attuned to that goal. Since this book talks about lifelong habits and goals, its usefulness to the reader will therefore depend on the age of that reader. If you are 20 years old you could use its ideas to chart your course; if you are 30, as a mid-course correction; if you’re 40, as a chance to make difficult decisions; at 50, to salvage a sinking ship; and at 60 to reminisce and regret, or maybe help others.

It is my hope that within these pages you will find ideas and philosophies that will make your life happier and more enjoyable. Johnny Carson was once asked how did it feel to be rich. He made a joke but then answered seriously that being rich meant that he did not have to worry about money. I agree. I think that you should plan your finances in such a way that you can be financially independent of money worries. Not ‘rich’, but wealthy enough to be able to make decisions that are not warped by money.

One more thing. If you tell your friends about this book, please don’t say it is a self improvement book; call it a guide to financial reality.

Chapter 1

The Philosophy of Wealth:

An Overview

The Philosophy of Wealth is not a general philosophy of life, and therefore it is compatible with other philosophies that you might choose to adopt. In fact, it is quite compatible with other philosophies, and would be sadly destructive for you if it were the single guiding force in your life. The Philosophy of Wealth is simply a set of logical guidelines which will hopefully enhance your financial health.

This book attempts to help you understand how to become financially independent. It attempts to lead you away from financially destructive thinking, and in doing so, help you take control of your financial life.

Why should you listen to me? . . . Good question. In fact, it is an excellent question, and if you actually thought to ask it, then you’ll be a prime student. The answer to this leads us to a discussion of our first philosophy:

LISTEN SUSPICIOUSLY TO THE ADVICE OF ANYONE WHO HAS SOMETHING TO GAIN FROM GIVING YOU ADVICE.

Let’s assume that you’re a young person who is a recent graduate from high school, trying to decide if you should work and save for college, or buy a new car. If you ask a car dealer you can bet that you’ll hear all of the reasons that you must have the car, because a sale would mean profit to the dealership. If you listen to the commercials on television, radio, and the press, you’ll surely buy the car. They’re being paid to convince you to buy that car, and buy it now. Friends are little help. They can only imagine the fun of sharing this new toy with you. Who can you trust to help you decide? Maybe your parents, but only if they’ve been smart enough to find the right answer themselves. The sad truth is that very few people will take the time to try to help you find the right answer to questions like this, because they have nothing to gain in doing so.

On a larger scale, this scarcity of impartial advice may be a source of many problems in our society. In the last 50 years we’ve seen an explosion of information. For the most part this is wonderful. It helps us to live safer and more comfortably, but it also creates problems of discernment; deciding what to believe and what to reject. And the situation is aggravated by today’s bombardment of advertisements. In the next chapter we’ll revisit this topic of advertising with a more extensive discussion, but for now let me comment that advertisements are simply continuous information advising us to spend, often foolishly. Who in our society could afford to spend money to effectively deliver a conflicting message? Unfortunately, . . . no one.

That’s why you should read this book. My only selfish goals are to publish and sell this book, and to enjoy the discussion of it. All other intentions for this book are to help you personally become financially independent. You will notice that I’m not trying to change the world, because I could not if I wanted to. But I can help you if you’re willing to learn.

So should you buy the car, or save for college? Don’t be foolish. Go to college, but read this book first. (Did you notice that I just openly promoted this book? At least you were warned.)

CONFLICTING PHILOSOPHIES

This book will not define a philosophy of wealth in a few catch phrases, but it does offer a variety of philosophies that will guide the reader into being financially independent (this means ‘wealthy’ to most people), and in a steady uncomplicated fashion. It also addresses financial independence as a worthy goal if it is not obsessively pursued. This book’s Philosophy of Wealth says that it’s OK to be wealthy, . . . IF that wealth allows you to become independent of financial concerns and direct your energies into more positive, constructive, or generous endeavors. It will not encourage you to become wealthy so that you can simply increase your material possessions.

The ‘royal law’ of the Christian Philosophy, that you should Love your neighbor as yourself(James 2:8 NIV), is compatible with the views expressed in this book. The Bible also warns that the "love of money is the root of all kinds of evil"(I Timothy 6:10 NIV), and I could not agree more. I can imagine a Christian reader now mentally scanning the verses in Matthew 6:25-34 that caution the follower of Christ not to worry about physical and material things. I hope this reader will agree with me that these verses are saying, ‘don’t fret over money’ rather than suggesting that you must embrace poverty. The vow of poverty may only be necessary for Christians who cannot control their love of money. This may have been why Christ advised the ‘rich young ruler’ to sell all he had, give to the poor, and follow Him (Luke 18:22). It must be difficult for some people to accumulate wealth without letting it become a corrupting influence. You must be careful not to allow this to happen.

This book’s Philosophy of Wealth is also compatible with the American society’s popular work ethic. It was best described by Voltaire’s philosophy that applauds the work ethic as a method of solving the majority of a person’s problems, when he has his fictional character, Candide, search for and find Utopia, then leave it in disappointment and conclude that only work suffices for vice, boredom, and need. See Appendix 3 for more on this topic.

Of the many philosophies of life that you embrace, test them