Perception Vs Reality - And What I Learned About Myself Watching A Reality TV Show
Sunday was my birthday, which is wholly irrelevant except that it was the reason I was watching TV in the first place. Because it was my birthday, my spouse took care of the kids for the most part and let me be mellow and do whatever I wanted. Which is how I ended up watching an episode of Celebrity Apprentice while folding laundry in my bedroom Sunday evening. Not everyone (or maybe most anyone’s) idea of a fun time, but for me it was fun. I don’t know why the Celebrity Apprentice appeals to me - I was never a big fan of the regular Apprentice series for the most part, but I enjoy watching semi-famous (for the most part) people prove to Donald Trump how important they are.
So on this episode, the celebrities were running a hotel for 24 hours or so. I kind of only half-watched a lot of it, so I’m not exactly sure why, but it was a very fancy hotel in downtown New York, that part I remember. At one point, a guest was very angry with Joan Rivers (who was the concierge) because she hadn’t told them that having a manicurist come to your room vs going to the manicurist incurred an extra charge. Which was unremarkable in and of itself. The part in which I learned about my own assumptions came from that - in an interview the guests talked about how the extra charge had really blown their budget.
And I found myself surprised. For two reasons - one, I assumed only wealthy people stayed in hotels like that, and two, I assumed that wealthy people don’t have budgets about things like hotel stays, I guess. Because I was surprised at the blowing the budget statement. And then, I was surprised at myself for being surprised. A vicious circle, I know. 
But of course - neither of my assumptions holds water when brought up to light. For one, I know for a fact that regular people sometimes stay in fancy hotels - for example, my spouse and I honeymooned in a hotel that was much more expensive than we have ever stayed in before or since. And two - how do I think many people became wealthy if they didn’t budget. Big companies budget. People budget. I believe in the power of budgeting. And yet, I was surprised to find out someone who I assumed has means has a budget. Heh.
I have a long way to go in understanding wealth, reality, assumptions, and myself. But I am glad that people budget. Any people.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
You can also: Stumble It! Bookmark Submit to Reddit Submit to Tip'd
March 31st, 2009 at 5:13 am
Wow, I guess I never really thought of that either, that the rich budget.
I guess it makes sense though. You don’t become rich without having a plan for your money and to make it grow. I guess the idea of Trumps of the world and the celebrities really skew our perception of the rich.
Warren Buffet lives extremely modestly and he is the second richest man in the world.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:30 am
Great honest post. I am in the same boat as you. If I saw the situation as you described it, I probably would have thought the “rich” person was just falling back on an imaginary budget to help win an argument.
I, like you have done, should be more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt in those situations!
March 31st, 2009 at 6:38 am
You should read The Millionaire Next Door; and The Millionaire Mind; both by Tom Stanley. Both are excellent. Both made a huge impact about the way I think.
March 31st, 2009 at 10:45 am
This is true more than ever now that luxury hotels are discounting their rates to super low levels. For example, I recently saw that the Four Seasons in Las Vegas was offering a $149 rate plus a $25 credit toward spa treatments. So people who normally wouldn’t stay at such a luxury hotel are able to book a room even though they continue to be on a budget.
March 31st, 2009 at 11:33 am
That’s kind of a neat idea, isn’t it? Kind of makes you feel like you might be closer to being wealthy than you realize.
And a belated happy birthday to you (even if it’s irrelevant)!
March 31st, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Happy Birthday! Sure can identify with having some “me” time
My Dad ended up doing REALLY well in business, but the only way you might have known were the [up to] 3 Mercedes, all over 10 years old, sitting out front of their very modest suburban home. That and their trips to -hmm- Antarctica, Africa… He was trained as an accountant and knew where every penny went. Took me a long time to even start to emulate his habits. He and my Mom would have raised Cain too, though neither ever indulged in such luxuries.
Thought provoking post, thanks!
March 31st, 2009 at 9:06 pm
One thing I’ve found is that, in spite of the fact that I’m much better off now than I was two years ago, I’m now in the HABIT of budgeting and questioning charges, etc. I imagine that when I become a millionaire and can stay at the Plaza in NYC that my old habits will die hard!
March 31st, 2009 at 9:49 pm
I haven’t seen that episode, but first of all, I wonder if the guests featured there were really “rich”? I’m pretty sure the majority of people who stay in fancy hotels aren’t rich or may be objectively rich but would not consider themselves so. Certainly not that many would be actually rich enough that they can afford to spend without caring.
When I went from being a student to earning $200,000+ in a few years I thought I’d at least feel a little “rich” but I didn’t really. My spending went up as I lived more comfortably, but I still budget because I need to. I think my income and net worth would need to go up by a LOT before I’d be able to spend without budgeting. A lot of it’s because you let your fixed costs (like getting nicer housing) go up.
April 1st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I feel that when you are rich, you probably have come to look at money differently than people who are not “rich.” The guest’s unhappiness may have been in part from the fact that, being unaware that there was an additional cost involved with the in-room manicure, “someone else” had actually spent their money; someone else had invaded their budget and upset it. There was a sense of a small loss of control. A sense that someone had stolen from them in a virtual way! Wow, thanks, that really made me think a little differently about the whole world of money.