“On San Pedro island in Belize I met a man with a family of three who earns a living as a caretaker for the beach house of a wealthy millionaire from the states. He explained that the gentleman who owned the home visits perhaps two weeks out of the year, when the stress of work becomes too much and he needs a break. The caretaker’s job is to ensure the house is in good condition for his arrival and provides security and maintenance the rest of the year.
He said while some may see the millionaire’s beach home as a frivolous expenditure considering he’s only there for two weeks a year yet pays a great deal of money every month, he knows the wealthy man intends to retire there when he becomes too old to work. The home was also purchased for a very low price and even with 20 years of payments will still be cheaper than it would be if he waited to buy it after 20 years of rising housing costs and inflation, assuming it was still around 20 years later.
The home was an escape for the hardworking gentleman and would one day be the home he would enjoy in retirement. This ‘wasteful’ millionaire as some may call him was in fact very shrewd in planning so far ahead and laying down the foundation for his future. It taught me the importance of looking ahead and preparing for the future I wanted no matter how insane it seemed to others.”