To say that ‘hard work’ alone will never make you rich?

[ThisWaryOtter]

If hard work was all it took, wouldn’t every low-paid worker be wealthy? Isn’t success more about luck, connections, and privilege?

I wasn’t trying to give the reasons someone might want to be wealthy. I was pointing out that if you want to be wealthy then spending money works against that goal as much not earning money does.

But I think security can be a big motivator. My dad’s great-aunt died leaving over £2 million in her will back in the 1970s (so around £15m? today). She’d always lead a modest lifestyle, had been a school secretary. Never married, No kids. She just hadn’t ever spent much and had invested wisely since she started work straight out of school. She wasn’t really trying to accumulate wealth I don’t think, just “be sensible” with money and living modestly because that’s the good Christian thing to do. She mainly left it to charity. She saved because, to her, it was the sensible thing to do to make sure you weren’t going to be destitute - something that used to happen to people in her life time if they got sick or couldn’t work for some reason.

It is a combination of brains, hard work, privilege and luck, in varying combinations.

Obviously, if you win £100 million on the lottery, it is pure luck.

If you have a rare and unique skill like being a top brain surgeon, it is brains and hard work.

For most jobs, it is a combination.

But very few who are wealthy accept the privilege and luck element, most think it is all brains and hard work!

@RawBloomers that's fascinating about the aunt, do you know how on earth she did that? Were there inheritances? When you say she invested it, do you mean actively like a business like being a landlord? Or just bought stocks/shares and they happened to be amazing investments?

Fair comments. As someone who's had so many crap jobs in the past that impacted my financial standing, I can definitely see that side of things. Thankfully my position is more settled and secure now, but in my thirties I used to worry a lot about the future from a financial standpoint.

I was about 7 at the time so I don’t know much. What I do know is gleaned more from impressions of what that generation of my dad’s family is like.

Pretty certain she wasn’t an active businesswoman desperately trying to maximize her money. Shares and funds would be my guess. Family was astounded when they found out, so I think she was extreme even for them (the not spending much at all probably helped. She never went abroad. Probably holidayed at a relative’s BnB in Margate, didn’t have a car. Didn’t eat out. Didn’t have kids. I believe she lived with her parents until they died. and then with an aunt).

I have been told by a lot by people in my dad’s family put any pay rise straight into savings, so I think it’s their mindset.

I don’t know any details on how the estate was distributed except that I was told she left most of it to charity. Didn’t hear any grumbling or ill will about it, but I was young.