If you are rich, do you ever lie about it or downplay it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If somebody asks you a direct question, do you avoid the answer or do you lie or tell the truth?
If you do something other than tell the complete truth, why?

Not too many people ask me, but in the past, I try to avoid the question. I recall exaggerating my debts too. For example, how do you own 3 rental properties already? My response is something like "Well the bank actually owns them". It is partly true although they are mostly paid off.

I have 5.5 million in Real Estate, it brings in 20k per month. It's been a long hard road and still is. We worked and sacrified to get here. Why downplay it? I certainly don't give out details or numbers but it is my business and I am proud of it. A lot of people assume or even ask if my husband is a lot older than me or we obtained our properties from older generations of our family, love to tell then they are wrong on both and we did it all ourselves with not a huge income either.

[Anonymous]

No one has ever asked me a direct question. I wouldn't lie though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is that hilarious? I did live in Fairfax. If I say McLean, people may think "Oh, so you are one of those kinds of people"

I say, "I grew up in McLean. I bought in [another Virginia suburb]."

[Anonymous]

I lie about it all the time. My DH makes an obscene amount of money. I try to avoid questions about it, but I definitely downplay things.

[Anonymous]

I own and rent out a tiny house in (a nice resort town). I inherited it. When people ask, I say, "Well, I'd give it up right now if I could just see my dad one more time."

So true, and puts it in perspective for most because they realize that their dad is still alive and mine is not and how they're actually the lucky ones. And then I assume they start thinking that down the road, they may possibly inherit something and I'm just at a different place in this situation then they are.

[Anonymous]

Lie, to avoid people putting the bite on me.

[Anonymous]

What sort of awful people do you folks hang around with who would even come close to asking such questions in the first place? Get better friends.

[Anonymous]

DH and I are in our late twenties and make almost $300k combined. We live in a two bedroom apartment, have no furniture, drive used Hyundais, and don't take vacations - we work all the time. Working makes us happy. The few friends we have would probably shit bricks if we knew how much money we were sitting on.

"Hiding" our income is probably easier due to our ages. (We don't think of it as hiding - we are just not spenders.) At some point, I guess we will probably stretch out legs a bit financially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lie about it all the time. My DH makes an obscene amount of money. I try to avoid questions about it, but I definitely downplay things.

Please indulge us with obscenities… its a anon forum. How much is obscene?
FWIW I make a pedestrian amount of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are in our late twenties and make almost $300k combined. We live in a two bedroom apartment, have no furniture, drive used Hyundais, and don't take vacations - we work all the time. Working makes us happy. The few friends we have would probably shit bricks if we knew how much money we were sitting on.

"Hiding" our income is probably easier due to our ages. (We don't think of it as hiding - we are just not spenders.) At some point, I guess we will probably stretch out legs a bit financially.

I am similar. Make about $300k, live in an apartment, drive an old car, rarely go on vacation. I don't tell people I'm a doctor if I can avoid it. Instead, I just say I work in a hospital. Most people just assume I am a nurse since I'm a woman and look really young.

[Anonymous]

Not rich but definite downplay how much we make and have especially after my nosey monther's prying... because family members expect us to pay for them or buy them things just because we have better jobs.

[Anonymous]

I am simply myself, which is low-maintenance and low-key by nature. People can assume anything they want about my financial situation, but I really hope that they like me (or not) for who I am and not what I have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lie about it all the time. My DH makes an obscene amount of money. I try to avoid questions about it, but I definitely downplay things.

This worked for me until we bought a vacation house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not rich, but I definitely downplay what I have

+1 We're not rich-rich, but the past few years have been pretty good financially -- but at a price. And when nosy/rude people pull the "must be nice" card or pry for details, I do what another PP does and say "I'd give it all up for X, but since that's not an option..." The vast majority of people do not want my life. They want the trappings of it without the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I own and rent out a tiny house in (a nice resort town). I inherited it. When people ask, I say, "Well, I'd give it up right now if I could just see my dad one more time."

So true, and puts it in perspective for most because they realize that their dad is still alive and mine is not and how they're actually the lucky ones. And then I assume they start thinking that down the road, they may possibly inherit something and I'm just at a different place in this situation then they are.

I think this is actually kind of an obnoxious response. You must be rather young, since many people that are a bit older have already lost parents. BUt really, who in the world would even ask? I'd have no idea if my friends own vacation homes if they don't talk about it.