My conclusion is that the best way to make real money is to undertake private stage investments in pri- vate companies. 'Affording the Good Life in an Age of Change" discusses why being cheap is not a way to really become wealthy. Davidson's point is that while it is possible to become rich by being cheap, there is a huge price to pay. In fact, there are many prices to pay. One such price is that being cheap and scrimping money will get you only so far. Being cheap does not necessarily mean that you have the competence to be- come richer. All you know how to do is to be cheap, and that is an expensive price to pay. Davidson disagrees and I disagree with the popularity of ideas such as cut up your credit cards and live below your means. That may be a good idea for some people, but it is not my idea of becoming rich and enjoying the bounties of the good life. The Importance of Being Frugal In contrast to Davidson's article, however, I did enjoy The Millionaire Next Door. It makes many fundamental points about frugality. There are differences between being cheap and frugal. Rich dad was more concerned with being frugal than being cheap. He said, "If you want to be really rich, you need to know when to be frugal and when to be a spendthrift. The problem is that too many people know how to be cheap only. That is like having only one leg to walk on." 208 Rich Dad's Guide to Investing A Million Dollars Is the Starting Point Davidson also said it is best to acquire wealth with financial competence. Being a millionaire today does not mean that much. Today, $1 million is just the starting point to beginning to invest like the rich. So Davidson is in reality recommending choice #8 as the means to becoming rich. To rich dad, being financially smart included knowing when to be frugal and when not to be. 8. You can become rich by being financially smart. It was learning to be finanically smart where I began to harness the same investing power I had wit- nessed at the age of 12 standing on the beach looking at rich dad's new piece of ocean front land. Many peo- ple become rich by being very smart with knowledge from the B and I quadrants. Many of these individuals operate behind the scenes and manage, control, and manipulate the world's business and financial systems. ¥ Millions of people faithfully place their retirement sav- ings and other monies into the market. However, the decision-makers of the marketing and distribution sys- tem of the underlying investments actually make the large sums of money, not necessarily the individual in- vestor or retiree. As rich dad taught me years ago, "There are people who buy tickets to the game, and there are people who sell tickets to the game. You want to be on the side that is selling the tickets." Why the Rich Get Richer When I was younger, my rich dad said to me, "The rich get richer partly because they invest differently than others; they invest in investments that are not offered to the poor and the middle class.