WE always lament the rising cost of living in the Klang Valley, yet some people get heavily into debt by buying expensive properties and cars that they can’t afford.
When asked why they did so, I was told that they want face and take pride in possessing expensive houses and cars, and therefore took up huge loans to own them. This reveals how much some of us suffer simply because we define success solely on the wealth we acquire.
Why must a successful person possess expensive properties and luxury cars to tell the world that he or she is doing well? We should learn from some luminaries who are living a simple life instead.
Paul Volcker, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board from 1979 to 1987, lived in a US$500-a-month tiny apartment with second-hand furniture when he was handling the US economy worth US$4.3tril back then.
Ma Ying-jeou, the current Taiwan president and former Taipei mayor, usually dines on cheap meals bought at the night markets together with his wife Chow Mei-ching.
His wife insisted on taking public buses to work as usual when Ma was elected the new president last year until she had no choice but to accept a chauffeur due to security reasons.
The late tycoon Wang Yung-ching of Taiwan spent every penny wisely and did not give more than enough pocket money to his children when they were studying in the US.
These rich and powerful people live a simple life despite their achievements. The “high achievement, low expenses” lifestyle is a concept worth promoting, for it is a financially and environmentally feasible concept.
YEOW BOON KIAT,
Petaling Jaya.