Why are people so hesitant to call themselves rich/wealthy when they are by any definition?

[Anonymous]

I echo the PP saying there are always people making more.

In many DC area neighborhoods, 400-800k HHI are not hard to come by.

We make about 650k and know we are successful but when my boss makes millions a year with multiple homes, cars, etc - we are peanuts. I compare myself to uber successful people and to me, I am a simpleton.

To the average American, we are rich.

[Anonymous]

Rich is a bad word. It’s tacky.
Who says someone is “rich”!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's obvious without saying. I'm not new money

This is most honest post on the whole thread. Thank you Old Money PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because there is always a bigger fish. And most people will be looking up and comparing themselves to them.

We make $700K. I do not consider myself rich or wealthy because there are big law partners making $3M a year. To me, those guys are wealthy and we're just small fry.

It's how it works.

Bizarre you don't think you are rich.

[Anonymous]

I grew up MC so I will always identify as MC.

[Anonymous]

I can always rebut with why do poor people keep insisting everyone with more money must be rich?

Let's talk about "rich." What does it mean? There's the stereotype from movies of genuine mansions with long winding driveways, private jets, butlers, amazingly manicured lawns and pedigreed poodles and jetting to Paris for the fashion shows. I'm sure at a certain level there's minimal disagreement that so and so is rich. By contrast, a 700k HHI from a couple each working 55 hours a week and living in a $2M Bethesda house isn't quite the same thing. For starters, if both stopped working or lost jobs, that income disappears overnight. There's too many variations going on for "rich" to be applicable in the same way it is for the person with multiple $10M properties.

I've noticed you can tell more about the people obsessed with classifying people as rich than the actual higher income people.

End of the day, it's a meaningless obsession. I'd advise OP to stop worrying about affluent people and focus more on their own lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because there is always a bigger fish. And most people will be looking up and comparing themselves to them.

We make $700K. I do not consider myself rich or wealthy because there are big law partners making $3M a year. To me, those guys are wealthy and we're just small fry.

It's how it works.

Bizarre you don't think you are rich.

I think the sentiment is true for many folks - and in many aspects of their lives. When I made $65K, I thought $200K was a ton of money. When I got to $200K, $400K was a lot. At $500-600, $1M seems to be doing alright. The point is that the goal post will always keep moving. this is true in finance, athletics, business, or any area of competition. We move the bar forward. And I'm not competing with any one else per se. Just myself. And in this area chockablock full of type As, that mentality may be the norm.

[Anonymous]

I think a big part of issue is that being middle class is often tied to the need to debt. We need debt to buy houses, cars, education, and often healthcare. It takes a huge amount of wealth to avoid the need for bank loans for major life expenses.

[Anonymous]

I will bite. We have a seven figure income so most people would probably say we are rich. We don’t come from family money so I don’t consider ourselves rich. We live a very UMC lifestyle and save a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I echo the PP saying there are always people making more.

In many DC area neighborhoods, 400-800k HHI are not hard to come by.

We make about 650k and know we are successful but when my boss makes millions a year with multiple homes, cars, etc - we are peanuts. I compare myself to uber successful people and to me, I am a simpleton.

To the average American, we are rich.

Umm, to everyone you are rich. You are in the top 2%, possibly 1% of earners. Just because you know richer people does not make you "not rich"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up MC so I will always identify as MC.

Really, even if you make $1M you will still "identify as MC" Very warped sense of reality

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up MC so I will always identify as MC.

Really, even if you make $1M you will still "identify as MC" Very warped sense of reality

Well, it depends on what you spend, more than what you earn. It's not real until you spend it. You could give it away.

[Anonymous]

1) lots of research suggests that people think of their status relative to those they’re around. Lots of posts on this thread confirms that.

2) it takes a lot of wealth to maintain an UMC lifestyle through 20-30 years of retirement and maintain real buying power. For example, if you want $200k of income for 30 years, invest conservatively during retirement (6%), and inflation is 3%, you need nearly $4 million. If you told someone you had $4 million, they’d say you’re rich. If you told them you make $200k, they wouldn’t.

[Anonymous]

People don’t like to say they’re “rich” if they work and feel like they need to keep working to maintain their wealth.

Even if they stop working they’re more likely to describe themselves as “retired early.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up MC so I will always identify as MC.

Really, even if you make $1M you will still "identify as MC" Very warped sense of reality

NP What’s your take on Leigha Thompson?