beggar amasses coin fortune

[hegemony]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7495478.stm

[CTSMOM01]

I know I'm blessed!

I better start saving more.

[Kevin20]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7495478.stm

 

Yeah but beggars generally don't pay income and social security taxes!!

 

Also, they can't be choosers ...

[CaughtShort]

Laxmi Das is my new hero.

[Baddies4Breakfast]

40 years? Kudos to her, but she completely neglected the power of compound interest.

[KarenFla]

According to the article 44 years of "hard begging", and they estimate her fortune at $692 which enabled her to open a bank account and qualify for a credit card.

 

Wow, really puts things into perspective. I wonder what the median income is in Calcutta, India? A Google search didn't really produce any meaningful results.

[KYBOSH]

Dude on the offramp ain't getting another dime from me!

[KarenFla]

Dude on the offramp ain't getting another dime from me!

 

 

LOL

[hurricanesfans27]

According to the article 44 years of "hard begging", and they estimate her fortune at $692 which enabled her to open a bank account and qualify for a credit card.

 

Wow, really puts things into perspective. I wonder what the median income is in Calcutta, India? A Google search didn't really produce any meaningful results.

 

 

about a dollar a day.

[Jon77]

Yea, just think how much she'd have if she deposited $346, 30 years ago...........

 

 

Beggars here can get that much money in a month.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Jon77

[hegemony]

she saved even while living, effectively, a subsistence existence. it is not the absolute dollar amount (remember purchasing power parity matters ) but the simple fact she was wise enough to save. how many of us save as much as we can? I know I need to save more.

[squirrelgirl]

she saved even while living, effectively, a subsistence existence. it is not the absolute dollar amount (remember purchasing power parity matters ) but the simple fact she was wise enough to save. how many of us save as much as we can? I know I need to save more.

 

+1

 

I save, but not nearly as much as I could.

[CaughtShort]

she saved even while living, effectively, a subsistence existence. it is not the absolute dollar amount (remember purchasing power parity matters ) but the simple fact she was wise enough to save. how many of us save as much as we can? I know I need to save more.

 

 

That's why I love this story, really. Sure she didn't know about earning interest or any of that, but she was smart enough, as a (probably) uneducated beggar in Calcutta at the age of 16, to know she had to save for retirement. That makes her smarter than the average American, because here we're at a negative savings rate. So I guess that makes her richer too.

[Jeffmo32]

she saved even while living, effectively, a subsistence existence. it is not the absolute dollar amount (remember purchasing power parity matters ) but the simple fact she was wise enough to save. how many of us save as much as we can? I know I need to save more.

 

You're an old coot.

 

 

 

Me, I probably save this much in coins in a month, never thought of selling the coins to SE Asia so they could make razor blades out of it, which I am probably buying. Genius !!

[Cleaning_Credit]

Amazing that someone so poor was able to plan for her retirement starting at age 16. Just amazing.

[hegemony]

Amazing that someone so poor was able to plan for her retirement starting at age 16. Just amazing.

I concur