Riches to Rags..does it happen that often in the DC area?

[Anonymous]

We are probably the least spendy of the people we encounter in our area. I always shocked when a mom I barely know confides in me about their financial situation. We seem like paupers as compared to most of the people we encounter, yet I'm finding we are in better shape then our spendy acquaintences because we save, we have a good emergency fund, we put money in college funds for DCs, etc. One mom who routinely wears Gucci and other labels that do not exist in my wardrobe..told me they don't have enough to survive for a few months if her husband gets layed off. Another mom I know who spends like there is no tomorrow and who accuses people of being "cheap" told me their house is worth less than they paid and they are drowning from the mortgage. I could go on and on with these people I don't even know that well sharing their stories. Same general theme-fancy clothes/fancy vacations/fancy home/fancy decor...not much of a pot to piss in if you will... The same people look at me in shock when I say I get toys at garage sales and I routinely check out thrift shops. The expressions on their faces are priceless. Oh and...we have beans and rice at least once a week for an expensive dinner. The horrors!! So I wonder...

Has the DC area always been so flashy?
Why aren't people becoming more thrifty?
How common is it to go from riches to rags in this area? It seems like it must happen often based on the "wealthy" people I have encoutered since we moved here.

[Anonymous]

A lot of this new found wealth is probably thanks to easily available credit. But times have changed and it is getting harder to get credit these days. So those large houses and expensive goodies will no longer be available to as many as they were before the bust.

[Anonymous]

They have no real wealth. They have high incomes. Big difference.

[Anonymous]

I don't think this is just a DC thing; more of an aught phenomenon (the 2000s). I am thinking of 2 "Real Housewives" shows where at least 2 of the housewives lived very lavishly but had serious financial problems (foreclosure etc). Where do you live in DC?

It is very sad. As PP said, it is just credit.

[Anonymous]

Funny I really don't think of DC as flashy at all. I don't travel in the private-school circle but I am an attorney at a big firm and DH is a lobbyist, so we come in contact with plenty of people with money. I come from the NYC area where people are a lot more ostentatious--big diamonds, fancy cars, designer clothes, etc. I don't see that type of thing here nearly as much. But considering what's happened with the economy, I'm sure lots of people all over the country are finding their circumstances reduced. In fact DC has been less affected than other places because the economy here is based on the government rather than financial or manafacturing or what have you.

[Anonymous]

Here you go, "pat pat pat." Now you won't have to do it yourself.

[Anonymous]

NY definitely has their share of tacky. But D.C. is not without! There is a debate on this board that people in D.C. **H-A-T-E**: old money vs. new money.

They will go into a grammar correction or any other pissing contest to avoid focusing on the old vs. new money debate. They would rather be dragged over hot coals naked than discuss the old vs. new money topic on this board or in the D.C. area. They will accuse one single person of having the audacity of pointing this phenomenon out. It is a rotten topic - the elephant in the room, so to speak.

If anywhere reeks of new money, it is the D.C. area. Locals take huge offense to this. But if you have resided in other areas of the country that have old wealth, you can see the difference immediately.

I question whether people with old money would bring up the topic at all. Likely not. I have heard new money exaggerate how much they make. Both sad and obvious. I have heard no money poke and prod about how perceived money is made and kept. All very...ahem...entertaining. Why are people so nosy in the D.C. area?

[Anonymous]

MYOB.

[Anonymous]

As a PP mentioned, there is a big, huge difference between income and wealth.

For an eye-opening explanation of the "big hat, no cattle" issue, take a look at the Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley.

[Anonymous]

I wonder where most of the posters hang out? I just don't find DC very flashy at all but I don't know anyone living in new Potomac McMansions. If I did I would assume that they were outside the norm. I have a few friends who have relatives in NYC and NJ and while they are pretty normal their relatives are very flashy..ie lots of sparkly jewelry, logos on everything, car brand more important than safety rating etc.

DC people are crazy about private school but IMO its because the DC public's beyond a few elementary schools are so bad and then it takes on another life if its own. MD and VA families sometimes do private but don't seem to mind sending their kids to BCC, Churchill, Langley, Arlington, FC, etc schools. The ones that go private seem to do so to escape the big classes and test mania not social status.

It seems perfectly acceptable to live in a smaller, older house if you want to be closer in. No one is very into fashion, thank god, because even though I am thin, I am short and there is no way I could wear any of that stuff even if I was willing to pay for it. Conversations are usually about current events, politics, your field, or your family. I have never met anyone into any type of social scene beyond getting a sitter for date night or going to a block party. My biggest social planning activity is making sure I order the kid's b-day cake from Giant.

[Anonymous]

I don't think this is just DC. I think this is something that much of the country has suffered from.

[Anonymous]

"Has the DC area always been so flashy?"

No, growing up here in the 1970s there wasn't all the corporate cash there is now. Always been a stable economy but the noveau riche is recent.

"Why aren't people becoming more thrifty?"

A sense of entitlement, combined with a bit of "it won't happen to us."

"How common is it to go from riches to rags in this area? It seems like it must happen often based on the "wealthy" people I have encoutered since we moved here."

No idea, but the eastern half of Long Island has the same issue, in my experience. Big houses with massive mortgages, a second mortgage to finance the pool, lots of activity fees and trips to Disney for the kids, etc., etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder where most of the posters hang out? I just don't find DC very flashy at all but I don't know anyone living in new Potomac McMansions. If I did I would assume that they were outside the norm. I have a few friends who have relatives in NYC and NJ and while they are pretty normal their relatives are very flashy..ie lots of sparkly jewelry, logos on everything, car brand more important than safety rating etc.

DC people are crazy about private school but IMO its because the DC public's beyond a few elementary schools are so bad and then it takes on another life if its own. MD and VA families sometimes do private but don't seem to mind sending their kids to BCC, Churchill, Langley, Arlington, FC, etc schools. The ones that go private seem to do so to escape the big classes and test mania not social status.

It seems perfectly acceptable to live in a smaller, older house if you want to be closer in. No one is very into fashion, thank god, because even though I am thin, I am short and there is no way I could wear any of that stuff even if I was willing to pay for it. Conversations are usually about current events, politics, your field, or your family. I have never met anyone into any type of social scene beyond getting a sitter for date night or going to a block party. My biggest social planning activity is making sure I order the kid's b-day cake from Giant.

I agree with this. I haven't found DC to be especially flashy. Of course, there are people who live above their means everywhere in this country. I think it's in part because of the over abundance of credit (before the crash), which led many people down the path into houses they couldn't really afford.

Best advice I ever received (from a professor after our graduation ceremony): As your income rises, live at least a few years behind your means and save the extra. Basic common sense, of course, but so many people don't think to do it. Again, not a DC-specific problem.