Despite Warren Buffett being the second richest man in the world, he seems to possess the wise virtues of simplicity and frugality, something which is very rare in these days of materialism and complex living.

As the following reveals:

A Short Take on Warren Buffett’s wisdom that we can all learn from, no matter how rich or poor…

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!

2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him. Read more…

The following BBC news article detailing the most noble of charitable habits of moral philosopher, Toby Ord, whose actions teaches us about frugal living which can not only help us, but can help others too.

So in these difficult times of financial cuts, we can all learn from Mr Ord on how to live within our means, as well as being aware not to spend too lavishly on presents this Christmas.

Toby Ord is a university researcher earning not much more than the average salary. So why is he giving away £1m over his lifetime to help address global poverty?

When Facebook founder and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg pledged to give away most of his wealth during his lifetime, some British commentators bemoaned the lack of philanthropy on this side of the Atlantic.

But an academic at Oxford University is living off little more than £300 a month in an act of charity-giving that is arguably more impressive than those of Zuckerberg, Gates, Buffett and co.

Toby Ord, 31, has in the past year given more than a third of his earnings, £10,000, to charities working in the poorest countries. He also gave away £15,000 of savings, as the start of his pledge to give away £1m over his lifetime [...]

Read more: Toby Ord: Why I’m giving £1m to charity

Whilst we’re here, some more advice on the small matter of frugality: Become Rich by Living a Frugal Life

‘Tis the season to be jolly, but it’s also the season to be frugal.

Frugality is sometimes confused with being stingy, but I personally liken one who is frugal to someone who is being prudent.  “Who am I trying to kid?” you may well ask.

Am I trying to deceive myself in thinking that I’m not Ebenezer Scrooge in disguise every-time Christmas is upon me?

Or am I genuine in my feelings that spending huge amounts of money, that I may or may not have, does very little towards my own personal growth and self-improvement?

I’ll leave you to answer the previous questions after you have read this post. Read more…