Things rich people dont know

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a nanny. My first “nanny” job was in a rural area as a sort of live-in (part-time help in exchange for room and board). The family I worked with then had 5 kids and live in rural upstate new york and have always been close to the wire. Kids are currently 18, 16, 13, 10 and 9. Recent story that mom shared with me:

The pipe from the woodstove they use to heat their house all winter vents the heat near the roof. Apparently, there was some insulation too close to it that caught fire. Dad was out of town. Mom was recovering from surgery and bedridden. When the smoke alarms went off, the 18yo boy called 911 and got mom, youngest 3 kids and their pets to safety in the barn. The 16yo boy got their fire extinguisher and went out a window and onto the roof, where he punched a hole with the extinguisher and sprayed into the crawlspace where the fire was spreading, and repeated a few times until the fire was out. By the time the fire department had arrived, there was nothing left for them to do.

I comparw that kind of awareness and responsibility and self-efficacy to the wealthy kids I nanny for now and just shake my head.

Yep this is my brother. He just comes and takes care of shit and gets it done.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in poverty and now have a HHI approaching $400k/year. What rich people don’t understand is that the main benefit of having money is that you don’t have to suffer many indignities simply because you have the financial resources to choose other options. So store clerks are nice, teachers don’t belittle your children, your boss is less likely to proposition you. People prey on weakness, and the poor are weak because they are so reliant on everything working out just right. My ambition has nothing to do with wanting things. It has to do with wanting to be able to tell someone, at any given time, to piss off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich kids don't know that there are people who can't afford to eat out, get starbucks, get a passport...

List could go on a while.

Evacuate when there's an impending natural disaster...

[Anonymous]

Rich people don't know that sometimes being poor is not about money management. My in-laws are very guilty of this. I grew up poor. They are still convinced that growing up poor = your parents were morons who didn't know how to manage money.

Rich people don't know the prices of everyday items such as grocery items, clothing from most department stores, etc. My daughter's favorite game to play when she was younger with my MIL was "Gram, how much is a jar of pickles?" and see what crazy price she'd say. My MIL was serious and not at all humoring my daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in poverty and now have a HHI approaching $400k/year. What rich people don’t understand is that the main benefit of having money is that you don’t have to suffer many indignities simply because you have the financial resources to choose other options. So store clerks are nice, teachers don’t belittle your children, your boss is less likely to proposition you. People prey on weakness, and the poor are weak because they are so reliant on everything working out just right. My ambition has nothing to do with wanting things. It has to do with wanting to be able to tell someone, at any given time, to piss off.

Well said.

[Anonymous]

Rich people probably don’t know how to deal with food that has started to go bad. Things like use a paper towel and vinegar to wipe mold off of cheese. No one is the wiser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Government cheese

Rich people don't understand that term.

+1. They really don't!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich people probably don’t know how to deal with food that has started to go bad. Things like use a paper towel and vinegar to wipe mold off of cheese. No one is the wiser.

Agreed. I grew up poor and my MIL grew up in post-war Germany, she and I just sneak in our tricks for saving old food when no one else is looking. No one has gotten sick yet, and we've saved a ton of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich people probably don’t know how to deal with food that has started to go bad. Things like use a paper towel and vinegar to wipe mold off of cheese. No one is the wiser.

Mold on cheese? Rich people call it something French and charge a premium for that sh*t!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich people don't know that plumbers and electricians aren't embarrassed about their jobs.

I think those are just the new money people who assume plumbers are embarrassed to be plumbers.

It's not just new money who look down on plumbers. My dad was a plumber and I once had a teacher incorporate derisive statements about plumbers into a lesson. I'm not one to hold her tongue and immediately told her that making fun of others for their profession was not cool and that my dad was a plumber.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich people don't know that plumbers and electricians aren't embarrassed about their jobs.

I think those are just the new money people who assume plumbers are embarrassed to be plumbers.

It's not just new money who look down on plumbers. My dad was a plumber and I once had a teacher incorporate derisive statements about plumbers into a lesson. I'm not one to hold her tongue and immediately told her that making fun of others for their profession was not cool and that my dad was a plumber.

Out of curiosity, what grade were you, and what was the teacher's reaction?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a nanny. My first “nanny” job was in a rural area as a sort of live-in (part-time help in exchange for room and board). The family I worked with then had 5 kids and live in rural upstate new york and have always been close to the wire. Kids are currently 18, 16, 13, 10 and 9. Recent story that mom shared with me:

The pipe from the woodstove they use to heat their house all winter vents the heat near the roof. Apparently, there was some insulation too close to it that caught fire. Dad was out of town. Mom was recovering from surgery and bedridden. When the smoke alarms went off, the 18yo boy called 911 and got mom, youngest 3 kids and their pets to safety in the barn. The 16yo boy got their fire extinguisher and went out a window and onto the roof, where he punched a hole with the extinguisher and sprayed into the crawlspace where the fire was spreading, and repeated a few times until the fire was out. By the time the fire department had arrived, there was nothing left for them to do.

I comparw that kind of awareness and responsibility and self-efficacy to the wealthy kids I nanny for now and just shake my head.

Yep this is my brother. He just comes and takes care of shit and gets it done.

x10000

Do you think that some wealthy, spoiled people are so clueless, that they routinely underestimate other people? i.e.: other people are the "get 'er done" types, but spoiled people have no clue, and they are easily defeated (since they have no clue); consequently, spoiled people assume that other people are as *helpless* as they are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Government cheese

Rich people don't understand that term.

+1. They really don't!!!

You can spot a poor turned UMC... they skip the (cheddar) cheese platter at parties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in poverty and now have a HHI approaching $400k/year. What rich people don’t understand is that the main benefit of having money is that you don’t have to suffer many indignities simply because you have the financial resources to choose other options. So store clerks are nice, teachers don’t belittle your children, your boss is less likely to proposition you. People prey on weakness, and the poor are weak because they are so reliant on everything working out just right. My ambition has nothing to do with wanting things. It has to do with wanting to be able to tell someone, at any given time, to piss off.

Well said.

Agree. However, it goes in two directions: one the one hand, poor people *could* be taken advantage of, but on the other hand, poor people are largely more street smart than spoiled people - so poor people might be more apt to know (very well) how to have the last word. I think there is a lot of underestimating that goes on - then, when poor people (the ones who are street savvy) react, the spoiled people are taken down harder than they ever expected. Sometimes, spoiled people just can't buy their way out of situations. Poor people don't divulge their secrets as much as spoiled people think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a nanny. My first “nanny” job was in a rural area as a sort of live-in (part-time help in exchange for room and board). The family I worked with then had 5 kids and live in rural upstate new york and have always been close to the wire. Kids are currently 18, 16, 13, 10 and 9. Recent story that mom shared with me:

The pipe from the woodstove they use to heat their house all winter vents the heat near the roof. Apparently, there was some insulation too close to it that caught fire. Dad was out of town. Mom was recovering from surgery and bedridden. When the smoke alarms went off, the 18yo boy called 911 and got mom, youngest 3 kids and their pets to safety in the barn. The 16yo boy got their fire extinguisher and went out a window and onto the roof, where he punched a hole with the extinguisher and sprayed into the crawlspace where the fire was spreading, and repeated a few times until the fire was out. By the time the fire department had arrived, there was nothing left for them to do.

I comparw that kind of awareness and responsibility and self-efficacy to the wealthy kids I nanny for now and just shake my head.

Yep this is my brother. He just comes and takes care of shit and gets it done.

I think sometimes wealthy people make their lives harder with their lack of interest in figuring it out and getting it done. I remember a few years ago my friend complaining for weeks (no exaggeration) about how the pull chain on her pantry light fixture had broken, her husband didn't know how to fix it and they'd have to call an electrician, and how much of a hassle it was to actually book the electrician because there was never a day she could sit home for hours during a service window for him to show up, but in the meantime she had to keep using a flashlight in the pantry because she couldn't see anything. I knew exactly what was wrong (chain pull switch had broken, it needed a $6 part and 10 minute of installation) and offered to come over and help her fix it so she wouldn't have to go through the hassle with the electrician. She laughed and said she had no clue about electrical work, she'd just call the electrician. Which she eventually did, and complained about the hassle (and the $200 charge) the whole day. Even with a trip to the hardware store, we were talking about maybe taking up an hour of her afternoon, and she would have learned a lot in the process about how to handle basic electrical work. But the notion of doing something like that herself wasn't something she was willing to contemplate, which I think is sad.