Editor: Crass Cash

For the regular readers of this blog you know that I'm a big fan of the Asian Miracle.  What's that??  Well it's been the uncanny ability for Asians to come to this country and do incredibly well when compared to other minority groups and even the majority whites, who theoretically should be doing better than everybody since they're given the most advantages.  However, this isn't happening.  

As the above statistics show, there is a group that is even outshining other Asians and it's the subculture of India.  Indians are technically Asian, but I rarely think of them as such because they make up such a huge area and population just on their own.  Many sociologists refer to them as a subcontinent because of this very reason.  It was a very eye opening experience to visit India and Nepal this past year.  

By looking at two factors it's not hard to see why Indians have been so successful in this country.  What are those two factors?  Education and cheapness!  Sure all Asians are educated and thrifty, but Indians take it to a whole new level!  See the comedy routine below...

Now it's not just that a vast majority of Indians are being college educated, it also matters what they're being college educated in.   Indians are notoriously good at math and this translates into other areas such as engineering, science, and technology.  It's not a coincidence that so many IT call centers go to India.  

I know from the statistics that a lot of Indians and Chinese read this site.  As many of them will attest, the great wealth and income that their people are able to produce here comes from that fact that they save their money and that they major in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) degrees in college.  My brother majored in engineering and he told me repeatedly how there were only two white guys in his classes, of which he was one of them.  The rest were Asian and Indian! 

So if you're looking for the fastest and easiest way to make sure that your kids have a better life than you.  Then just look West!  Assuming you're standing in America... 

Editor: Crass Cash

http://www.trueactivist.com/here-is-a-list-of-over-40-educational-websites-where-you-can-get-a-free-education/  Check out this website to take all of the educational classes you want!

The high level of student debt has been making headlines recently.  It's estimated to now be over $1.2 trillion dollars.  That's $1,200,000,000,000!  Having gone through college and received a masters I go backwards and forwards on this issue.  I believe that college is not for everyone and that if you're going just to find a job then you're going for the wrong reasons.  On the other hand I know that my degrees have opened doors for me.  With that said I know I'd still be successful without them.  

Conversely, if you're going to go you need to major is something that has some employment prospects at the end.  You NEED to have a degree to be a lawyer, architect, engineer, doctor, CPA, teacher, etc.  If that's what you want to do, then by all means do it.  If you're going to just become an enlightened individual than you don't need college for that.  By all means go, but don't come out with $50,000 worth of student loans and go march in a protest about how awful universities and banks are for letting you do this.  You're an adult, act like one!

Even if you go to an Ivy League school and major in philosophy you're going to have a hard time getting a job, just ask Tim Ferriss.  Why would somebody hire you?  You have no skills!  So instead of being society's bitch after college for 20 years, how about you learn on your own and acquire skills?  Then you'll have more time to read all of the philosophy books you want instead of working 2-3 jobs.     

"In order to gain anything, you must first lose everything."
-Tyler Durdin

You may not realize this, but the Buddha can help you with your finances.  Through his teachings you can come to know thriftiness and ease with your money.  How is this possible?  Let me explain. 

The greatest principle in my opinion that is at the heart of Buddhism is the idea that one must "suffer" in order to achieve enlightenment.  I think the same could go for building wealth.  

The Buddha grew up in a style that most of us could only dream of.  He was catered to by servants for his every desire.  Food, clothing, sex, drink, entertainment, it was all at his fingertips as soon as he wanted it.  And yet he was still not satisfied.  His desires could never be quenched.  

Eventually he left the confines of his family's palace to the "real world" and discovered that suffering was all around him and he never knew it.  Sickness, disease, old age, starvation, and death he all encountered for the first time.  When I first read about Buddha and his embrace of "suffering" I was immediately turned off.  I eventually found that there was simply a lost in translation moment, unless of course I still don't understand it.  His suffering is more along the lines of deprivation.  Being beat with a baseball bat is my definition of suffering, where as his would be more along the lines of abstinence from sexual intercourse.  While not having sex sucks, I wouldn't consider it suffering.  Go without coffee, now that is suffering! 

So what does this have to do with money?  Well for many the idea of delayed gratification in order to achieve wealth later on is their version of suffering.  I used to date this liberal girl from an opposite coast who said something to me that struck a cord.  I was in the process of evicting somebody from my house and I mentioned that I was going to turn off the cable in order to entice him to pay or leave.  Her response, "Don't do that, why should you have to suffer also?".  The sonuvabitch ended up getting cable when I left for a weekend behind my back.  Dickhead!

Regardless, this was perceived as suffering.  I didn't care, I don't particularly like tv.  But it taught me an important lesson.  People think that any sort of delayed gratification is a form of suffering.  The slightest bit of which they can't tolerate.  Well I'm here to tell you that you can't tolerate it and it'll make you a better person for it!

Suffering through delayed gratification will make your life better in the long run.  You'll be more content since you'll eventually have less money worries, you'll discover that you don't need much of anything in order to be happy, and you'll discover that the less you have the stronger you are.  That last one is the most important.  Let me explain...

I've seen it happen at least half a dozen times where a person or a family hits hard financial times and they continue to live their lifestyle as if nothing had happened and they deplete their savings to the point of bankruptcy.  It's incredibly sad to watch.  Essentially what you have is a person who is so out of touch with reality that they can no longer live the way they once did.  They NEED those creature comforts!  They live in a world of delusion where the temporary change is seen as permanent and they quite simply can't deal with it.  As a result it ruins them financially.  

So what's the solution?  Embrace financial suffering with reckless abandon!  Delayed gratification makes you stronger, not weaker.  Don't listen to the rest of society.  The rest of society is broke!  If you live a life of financial suffering and then the hard times hit, you'll never even know it.  

Quit eating out, cut the cable, ride your bike, go to the library instead of the movies, take your lunch to work, contribute to your company retirement plan, pay off debt, shop at Goodwill, drive your car for at least 10 years, the list of "suffering" goes on and on and on.  EMBRACE IT!