Is it weird to be curious about how much money people make?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious. I feel like most of my neighbors in Arlignton must have at least $400k, but dcum tells me there’s no way. Everyone is living paycheck to paycheck.

Must make not have

[Anonymous]

The equally interesting question is net worth. It sometimes (often?) seems that lavish lifestyles are perhaps being funded entirely with all available cash flow while the people spending the money retain little of it. They may appear to be living large, but actually have little equity in their homes, only lease their vehicles, are not saving meaningfully for retirement, and their financial security is tenuous. The reverse is sometimes true, too, a la Millionaire Next Door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. For context, a friend just bought in a 1.5 mil house in a desirable zip code, got engaged with what looked like an expensive ring, got married earlier this year in a 70k-80k ceremony and is planning an international honeymoon all the while furnishing the house with expensive furniture. I’m just curious what 30 year old can afford back to back expenses like that. The spouse is not a high earner. And there doesn’t appear to be family money on either side. So I obviously wonder what income bracket he must be in to be living like that at only 30.

That’s all debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about how everyone I know makes. My neighbors, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, bosses, family.

My husband thinks I’m super crass and nosy.

Stop embarrassing your husband with your sick curiosity. Shame on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. For context, a friend just bought in a 1.5 mil house in a desirable zip code, got engaged with what looked like an expensive ring, got married earlier this year in a 70k-80k ceremony and is planning an international honeymoon all the while furnishing the house with expensive furniture. I’m just curious what 30 year old can afford back to back expenses like that. The spouse is not a high earner. And there doesn’t appear to be family money on either side. So I obviously wonder what income bracket he must be in to be living like that at only 30.

Well, what's his job? I was once in a friend group in my late 20s/early 30s that most of us had pretty good DC jobs, were living in apartments, some of us owned very stupid houses, etc. But one guy owned a 4-bedroom house in the better part of the city, drove a Land Rover, and had a wine cellar! And actually that was modest compared to what he could afford, as it turned out. That's when I realized that DC corporate lawyers can make $500K+ per year. I had no idea, not having had anyone like that in my family or circle before.

It's totally OK to be curious. But never pry. The guy I described above was very cool, the money disparity among friends was likely very uncomfortable for him, but he'd come from a very modest background which is why I think he was in our group. If the rich friend grew up rich, I think it's much less likely he ever meets the poors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you want to know ?
Jealousy or envious ? Either way what difference does it make.
I was watching mysteries last night. One about an Asian family. One about an Indian family. Both seemed obsessed with money. Both raised their kids to make money. Now that was weird. Didn't matter what they did for a living as long as they honored their parents by making money.
Next thing you know murder was involved.

Which show? Sounds interesting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. For context, a friend just bought in a 1.5 mil house in a desirable zip code, got engaged with what looked like an expensive ring, got married earlier this year in a 70k-80k ceremony and is planning an international honeymoon all the while furnishing the house with expensive furniture. I’m just curious what 30 year old can afford back to back expenses like that. The spouse is not a high earner. And there doesn’t appear to be family money on either side. So I obviously wonder what income bracket he must be in to be living like that at only 30.

Well, what's his job? I was once in a friend group in my late 20s/early 30s that most of us had pretty good DC jobs, were living in apartments, some of us owned very stupid houses, etc. But one guy owned a 4-bedroom house in the better part of the city, drove a Land Rover, and had a wine cellar! And actually that was modest compared to what he could afford, as it turned out. That's when I realized that DC corporate lawyers can make $500K+ per year. I had no idea, not having had anyone like that in my family or circle before.

It's totally OK to be curious. But never pry. The guy I described above was very cool, the money disparity among friends was likely very uncomfortable for him, but he'd come from a very modest background which is why I think he was in our group. If the rich friend grew up rich, I think it's much less likely he ever meets the poors.

Op here. He’s in PE. His spouse is in a normal field and her parents are solidly MC. His parents are MC as well.

[Anonymous]

Frankly it’s net worth > income for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. For context, a friend just bought in a 1.5 mil house in a desirable zip code, got engaged with what looked like an expensive ring, got married earlier this year in a 70k-80k ceremony and is planning an international honeymoon all the while furnishing the house with expensive furniture. I’m just curious what 30 year old can afford back to back expenses like that. The spouse is not a high earner. And there doesn’t appear to be family money on either side. So I obviously wonder what income bracket he must be in to be living like that at only 30.

Well, what's his job? I was once in a friend group in my late 20s/early 30s that most of us had pretty good DC jobs, were living in apartments, some of us owned very stupid houses, etc. But one guy owned a 4-bedroom house in the better part of the city, drove a Land Rover, and had a wine cellar! And actually that was modest compared to what he could afford, as it turned out. That's when I realized that DC corporate lawyers can make $500K+ per year. I had no idea, not having had anyone like that in my family or circle before.

It's totally OK to be curious. But never pry. The guy I described above was very cool, the money disparity among friends was likely very uncomfortable for him, but he'd come from a very modest background which is why I think he was in our group. If the rich friend grew up rich, I think it's much less likely he ever meets the poors.

Op here. He’s in PE. His spouse is in a normal field and her parents are solidly MC. His parents are MC as well.

DP. The spouse is not a high earner but is in PE? That’s a very, very well paid job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. For context, a friend just bought in a 1.5 mil house in a desirable zip code, got engaged with what looked like an expensive ring, got married earlier this year in a 70k-80k ceremony and is planning an international honeymoon all the while furnishing the house with expensive furniture. I’m just curious what 30 year old can afford back to back expenses like that. The spouse is not a high earner. And there doesn’t appear to be family money on either side. So I obviously wonder what income bracket he must be in to be living like that at only 30.

Well, what's his job? I was once in a friend group in my late 20s/early 30s that most of us had pretty good DC jobs, were living in apartments, some of us owned very stupid houses, etc. But one guy owned a 4-bedroom house in the better part of the city, drove a Land Rover, and had a wine cellar! And actually that was modest compared to what he could afford, as it turned out. That's when I realized that DC corporate lawyers can make $500K+ per year. I had no idea, not having had anyone like that in my family or circle before.

It's totally OK to be curious. But never pry. The guy I described above was very cool, the money disparity among friends was likely very uncomfortable for him, but he'd come from a very modest background which is why I think he was in our group. If the rich friend grew up rich, I think it's much less likely he ever meets the poors.

Op here. He’s in PE. His spouse is in a normal field and her parents are solidly MC. His parents are MC as well.

DP. The spouse is not a high earner but is in PE? That’s a very, very well paid job.

How much do they make?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. For context, a friend just bought in a 1.5 mil house in a desirable zip code, got engaged with what looked like an expensive ring, got married earlier this year in a 70k-80k ceremony and is planning an international honeymoon all the while furnishing the house with expensive furniture. I’m just curious what 30 year old can afford back to back expenses like that. The spouse is not a high earner. And there doesn’t appear to be family money on either side. So I obviously wonder what income bracket he must be in to be living like that at only 30.

Well, what's his job? I was once in a friend group in my late 20s/early 30s that most of us had pretty good DC jobs, were living in apartments, some of us owned very stupid houses, etc. But one guy owned a 4-bedroom house in the better part of the city, drove a Land Rover, and had a wine cellar! And actually that was modest compared to what he could afford, as it turned out. That's when I realized that DC corporate lawyers can make $500K+ per year. I had no idea, not having had anyone like that in my family or circle before.

It's totally OK to be curious. But never pry. The guy I described above was very cool, the money disparity among friends was likely very uncomfortable for him, but he'd come from a very modest background which is why I think he was in our group. If the rich friend grew up rich, I think it's much less likely he ever meets the poors.

Op here. He’s in PE. His spouse is in a normal field and her parents are solidly MC. His parents are MC as well.

DP. The spouse is not a high earner but is in PE? That’s a very, very well paid job.

How much do they make?

My sister is in PE. A couple of years ago she told me that entry for an analyst in DC (not NYC) was $300,000. It goes up from there.

[Anonymous]

In one sense I don't think this is weird at all. Some of our greatest literature is quite concerned on how people manage living on the funds they have. See Austen, or for the master of this, Balzac. Personally, I find this pretty fascinating in a kind of general sociological kind of way.

However, zeroing in on the finances of someone you know but not terribly well like a neighbor strikes me as odd. I have many siblings and we all have a general sense of who is doing extremely well, who is doing well, who is managing fine, and who is struggling. But we really don't know details except those we can readily surmise.

I personally have been consulted by members of the second generation who are struggling so I know a fair amount of detail there but would consider the details strictly confidential.

[Anonymous]

What is PE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What is PE?

Private equity

[Anonymous]

I’m always curious. When I meet someone professionally or personally, one of the first things I do is check online to see how much their house is worth. (Also looking to see what neighborhood, whether it’s cute, but mainly price.)

For people in my professional space, I’m curious about salary as a means of benchmarking.