Mr. Obscure Makes it Clear

It was a hot day in July when I finally got the call that, for the last few months, I'd been hoping for. I was finally going to meet Rich E. Obscure. In what seemed like extraordinary secrecy the phone call was not from Rich himself but an intermediary who described a situation more appropriate for a meeting with a spy or drug lord.

I was to leave my house by the back door at 1am and walk to the street directly behind mine. A car would be there waiting for me. I did as instructed and the car took me to a small roadside motel in Pennsylvania. A room was reserved in my name and I was told there would be further contact the next day.

I went along with this charade since I'd become obsessed with finding the true identity of a person who put himself in the public eye but wanted none of the scrutiny that came with his fame. The secrecy and extent to which he would go to maintain his anonymity seemed far out of proportion to his status and yet raised my curiosity that much more. Sure Rich E. Obscure has a following that almost rises to the level of a cult leader but it's certainly odd that a man (or perhaps a woman) that does nothing more than give financial advice would need this level of obfuscation.

I'd first become aware of Mr. Obscure through his blog and then his book, the only one on the subject of personal finance, he promised, he'd ever write. Reading the postings and then the book, I was intrigued but didn't think his status would rise beyond the level of most bloggers out there. His message of simplicity and honesty with financial decisions attracted people weary of the spending treadmill and his impact on the economy, while debatable, is significant enough to have brought the press out in force.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Mr. Obscure's rise to celebrity is the lack of a marketing machine behind him. The blog takes no advertising and therefore isn't a money maker that would attract corporate sponsorship. His book, "If You Want to be Rich, Don't Buy This Book" isn't published by the big names in the industry, instead Rich Obscure chose to self-publish what has become the best selling finance book of the year.

At 8am there was a knock at my motel door. "Yeah? Who is it?"

"Room service," came the reply. Room service? At this dump? I was going to be more political in my description saying that I was surprised such a modest establishment would have room service but once I opened the door and saw the place in daylight, dump was the only appropriate word.

Having opened the door I was shocked to see a man wearing a suit with a paper bag in his hand. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," he said handing me the bag.

"Thanks but I didn't order anything."

"Compliments of Rich. I'm here to take you to him. Would you like to eat here or in the car?"

"No the car will be fine." I was anxious to meet Mr. Obscure as soon as possible.

Rich E. Obscure's ability to generate buzz in the press seems to be the work of a well organized and sophisticated marketing organization but that's something he would never be a party to. According to his blog and book, the only two sources of any information about this enigmatic guru, he would never spend money doing something he could easily do himself.

The first indications that something big was happening came just about 11 months before my meeting with Rich. After months of the financial press talking about the consumer and the fact that consumer spending was keeping a fragile economy afloat, Mr. Obscure issued his first press release which was completely ignored as a crackpot idea from a doubtful source that no one had heard of and who lacked any kind of credentials whatsoever.

The next day consumer confidence numbers were released at 10am and, as expected, they showed yet another uptick in the level of confidence. As the stock market responded positively and the media reported the good news, reports of strange activity at major chain stores began trickling in. At first these reports could be ignored but the scope and scale of this action soon became too much to overlook. That's when the press release gained a significance heretofore unrecognized.

In stores across the country as empty handed people were leaving they would hand the cashiers, doormen, customer service reps or any store employee what looked like a business card. The people didn't say anything, they just handed the card over and continued out the door. Printed on the card was the message: "I didn't buy anything today since I don't really NEED anything and I'm not feeling all that CONFIDENT."

Rich E. Obscure was now on the major media outlet's radar and it was this incident that got me started on the jouney that lead me to now be in a car in a rural area of Pennsylvania on my way to meet the person behind all of this.

The drive didn't last that long, just a half hour and we were pulling up to a gate at the foot of what looked like a long road. The driver punched a code and the gate opened allowing us to begin the drive to what I expected to be an impressive estate home. For all my research and all the reading I'd done of Mr. Obscure's words, I should have known better than to expect anything so grand. As we started up a hill I saw a small roofline still thinking it was hiding something grander. As we drove closer, however, I saw that on a property of many acres Mr. Obscure chose to live in a small home more suitable in a middle class subdivision from the mid 1900s.

I was closer now to meeting the person who had beat the odds by delivering a simple message of restraint and frugality and actually gotten through. The people who handed out the cards on the day that came to be known as the "Confidence Crusade" weren't hired professionals or even voluteers in some scheme to gain publicity. No they were simply readers of a blog that preached saving over spending and a simple road to riches without any schemes, tricks or complicated methods.

Mr. Obscure had already reached enough people to affect the national news but the media was caught completely off guard. And so was I as I was lead into the house and directly to Mr. Obscure himself. The exterior of the home while not exactly traditional wasn't what I'd consider modern either. It had qualities of both but the inside clearly showed a contemporary aesthetic. Mr. Obscure himself was dressed neatly but casual in jeans and a polo shirt.

"You can print anything I say but there will be no pictures and you won't find out my real name."

Those were the first words he spoke to me and while my nature and experience as a journalist would have been to politely agree while simultaneously looking for the answer to who he was, I respected his wish. Rich has that way about him. He can project the gravity of his words into your very soul.

The interview began right away but I was struck with a desire to get to know Rich as a person first but this wasn't something he was ready for and you don't get in unless Rich lets you in.

"Why all the stealth? Are you wanted?"

"Oh I'm wanted all right just not how you mean. I could have simply asked you to meet me somewhere neutral and driven you here myself but this was more fun wasn't it?"

Rich E. Obscure doesn't believe in wasting money but he has a lot more than most people and saving without having fun is miserly and that is something he would never advocate. "You've got to have fun. Are you living for today or some time in the future that may never come?"

At the same time that you're having fun you also have to ask yourself how long will this last? There needs to be a balance and Rich believes that's what's missing. Society is all about now and giving in to your every desire but if you live like that then what's the future hold?

For days and weeks following the "Confidence Crusade" more and more people were handing Mr. Obscure's calling card to more and more store employees and the next month consumer confidence took a dive. This one man and his idea that was dismissed as kooky by anyone who read his press release, had single handily affected the confidence of the richest nation. And he wasn't stopping there.

With many people believing the real estate market was "frothy" as Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan described it, Mr. Obscure set out to let some of the air out of that bubble if not burst it completely. Within weeks of Rich issuing a request for anyone selling their house to trade up simply for status, to stay in the house and use the money for other purposes, realtors throughout the country reported large numbers of houses being taken off the market.

Things were getting serious now and the media was clamoring for any clue as to who Rich E. Obscure was and what he wanted.

"I don't want anything for myself if that's what you're after. I'm not getting any more wealthy if you do or do not sell your house or buy a new plasma TV. What I want is for other people to realize they can have a lot more if they just stop trying to get so much more."

It is the apparent contradictions in his advice that create the aura of a mystic or spiritual leader. Like Buddah asking what the sound of one hand clapping is, Mr. Obscure says saving permits bigger spending. "There's nothing wrong with spending money, having fun, but would you rather spend it a little at a time not knowing exactly where it's going, just knowing that it's gone? Or would you prefer to save it, living frugally throughout the year then go on a trip you've always dreamed of taking? Both scenerios have you spending a large amount but one leaves you feeling empty, the other completely fulfilled."

Although he wouldn't say where or what line of business he was in, Rich told me he did not always have money and worked a regular 9-5 job like most people. The difference was that he was a prodigious saver who spent money wisely, usually on things that would appreciate in value or give some sort of lasting value. Travel was his way of treating himself and it was were a majority of the money he allowed himself to spend went.

"When my wife and I would go on a trip and we'd be standing in some amazing place like the Grand Canyon or on a ski slop in the Rockie Mountains, I'd usually break the silence by saying 'I get it.'"

"Get what?"

"Why I work. I'd love to be able to do this without going to the office every day but I can't. I'd love to find some way to free money but it doesn't exist. You can be sure there will be people out there that will tell you there is but they'll probably want some money from you to let you in on it."

Consumer confidence numbers rose again the next month after Mr. Obscure's influence faded and retail sales were in line with expectations. There is only so much one man can do but he says it showed that some people are willing to listen if you just tell them the truth.