Confusing money with wealth

My blog post last April on the janitor who made P7,000 a month in the early 90s and was able to save P24,000 a year struck a raw nerve with MoneySmarts readers. Many decided they needed to pick themselves up and do more of that thing we call frugality so they can save more. Others sent a flurry of comments agreeing to the principle. Some were piqued, believing it was some spin a rich person let loose on blogosphere.

I enjoyed the discussion on that entry. This story from the Agence France-Presse I read today made me think about that post. Read it and tell me what you think about the Bondi caveman:

Australia’s ‘Bondi caveman’ to keep his millionaire view

SYDNEY — A homeless hermit who enjoys a million-dollar view from his camp perched on the cliffs overlooking Sydney’s Bondi Beach was granted a reprieve Tuesday when the local council dropped plans to evict him.

Jhiymy Mhiyles, dubbed the “Bondi caveman” by local media, has been living on the cliffs near Australia’s most famous strip of sand for seven years, feeding seagulls, reciting poetry but mostly keeping himself to himself.

However, Waverley Council began eviction proceedings earlier this year after complaints from residents in the exclusive suburb, where houses can sell for more than 10 million US dollars.

The move sparked a campaign to let Mhiyles stay in his oceanfront hideaway, including an online

petition that attracted hundreds of signatures.

The council said Tuesday that it had decided Mhiyles could stay, provided he abide by a set of “house rules” including no open fires, keeping his area tidy and managing waste in a hygienic manner.

“Waverley Council has decided not to evict Jhiymy Mhiyles at this stage from the cliffs at Marks Park, Bondi,” the council said in a statement.

The online petition was full of messages of support for Mhiyles, who calls himself Jimmy “two hats”.

“Good on you Jimmy, too many bloody rules and rule makers,” wrote a petitioner called Brendan Brady, while another named Scott said “I have to support you, mystical caveman! You’re living my dream-life in my dream-house.”

I was going to write about tip number three for curbing spending habits and decided to write this first. I’m in musing mode :-). In our race for a bigger retirement kitty, swanky home, cool cars, a designer living room, I wonder if we are, as a people, confusing money with wealth? Unconsciously believing that money by itself is god?

How many of us feel we are a “better” person if we are wearing designer clothes, smell of a P40,000 per 20ml bottle perfume, sleep between sheets with a 1,000 thread count? Ok, the examples may be too much. What about eating in a fine dining restaurant from time to time, monsieur?

The gini coefficient in the Philippines indicates that wealth distribution in this country tilts income horrifyingly in favor of a very select few. We have an almost non-existent middle class and most (well, according to government number-crunchers) are “poor” or living below poverty levels.

Pardon me for being eternally optimistic but when — not if — when the big mass of Filipino humanity we now call the poor start moving on to a better life, tasting the trappings of success and feeling that sweet exhilaration of finally having money to spend on frivolous stuff, what happens next?

I hope when that happens, they have someone beside them to bring them back to sanity to tell them: you are not what you wear, you are not what you drive. These are things to enjoy, sure, but these are not who you are.

Thoughts?

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