Ok DCUrban Mums. What is Rich

[Anonymous]

Rich feels like you would have little worry with money. We are now making 440k family of 6. 10 years ago we made 180k and lived in a less expensive place. I feel the same and have roughly the same amount of stuff. Maybe rich is only top .5%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand all these people who are like "you make 400k you are rich, stfu"

What do you think when you go to really upscale places like Nantucket or Aspen and see how truly rich people live? When we were in Bar Harbor over the summer, I was amazed by all the big yachts we saw in the harbor or anchored off shore. Plus all the huge vacation homes that people own. These people are the rich in this country!

And I think this is utter nonsense. Just because there are rich people who are even richer than other rich people doesn't mean that they are the *only* rich people.

I know that I am rich (HHI of $300k-800k for the past 8 years, now in mid 30s with NW of a couple million). I'm not going to point to Jeff Bezos and cry, "but he's the REALLY rich one!" I should be taxed heavily, be expected to give money to people in need, and not expect financial aid for my kids' private school or college, and yes, STFU.

I think the blindness to one's own richness comes from the affluent all congregating in NYC/DC/SF/Chicago. When I was a kid growing up in a small town, the "rich" were specialty doctors or small business owners clearing a few hundred thousand. They knew they were rich, sponsored my soccer team, all that. I see people saying they're not *really* rich, don't *really* live an affluent lifestyle, because they don't carry Chanel bags and their only real indulgence is spending $30k a year on travel. You see, all their money is just eaten up by living in an affluent neighborhood in a million dollar house.

Well anyone in my hometown would see you're rich. You've just deluded yourself to thinking that your richness doesn't count because too many people you know are also rich.

Thank you. You make so much sense.
Many on DCUM here are part of the top 10% in the DC area, but they will still tell you they not rich. This is ridiculous. If top 10% doesn't make you rich, what does?
People are so out of touch to the point that the top 1% in this country says they are not rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My first thought: if you have to talk about earned income, you're not rich. Rich is defined by the streams of money that come in even if you never get out of bad, and that will continue after your death.

I am not rich. Rich people own private jets and mega yachts, or if they don't, they easily could without any significant hit to their passive income.

We live in a lower-COL area compared to most on this board. Partly because of this, we have been able to convert our approx. $225k income into $2.7M invested and a mortgage-free $600k house. We are 40.

That's certainly not rich, and nothing about our lifestyle would suggest otherwise. On the other hand, compared to most people in our neighborhood and circles and with similar earnings, the fact that we typically have investment earnings that exceed our annual living expenses puts us in a stronger financial position.

I'd say that we're quickly becoming financially independent; perhaps we are already, and that's good enough for me.

Why post on DCUM if you don't live in the DC area? Just curious . . .

Where we live has become a DC exurb, although we don’t have to commute. I enjoy this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We feel UMC at HHI of $2m. I know some people will group us as rich but we don’t feel or act rich. We live in a good public school pyramid.

Rich is not income but net worth. Most people we know who I consider rich are generational or they sold a company for millions. I consider most working professionals UMC like us whether you earn $300k or $2m.

What is your net worth?

[Anonymous]

I agree it’s net worth not income, but I was shocked that only 6% of wage earners Max out their OASDi. That’s income of $142,000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Over 200k is rich. I don't care if that means you can't afford 40k per year private school. You have choices, you are not struggling, none of your bills should be a struggle. So what you cannot afford vacations in Aspen and EU. That doesn't qualify you for middle class.

Any HHI can be on a budget.

There is no 300k middle class. I don't care where you live. You chose your home and your mortgage.

This used to be the definition of middle class. Now it's rich?

I know. Personally, I think with including me inequality the way it is, more people have fallen into poverty and yet still junk they are MC. No you are POOR if you can’t save at all.

THIS. People on here are so concerned about the rich claiming to be MC. The real concern should be the poor claiming to be MC. Until people can admit they are poor, we will never see the structural changes society needs.

Are you one of those people who thinks pathetic poor people “vote against their interests” by voting Republican but never bother to consider why the same can’t be said of rich liberals, because you still don’t get people vote their values not their personal interests?

Are you one of those people who thinks not being able to pay an unexpected bill of $500 is middle class? The first step to healing is recognizing we have a problem.

[Anonymous]

OP you sound very immature. A lot of posters who have chimed in talk about HHI. That is completely insignificant.

Wealth =NW.

[Anonymous]

What is rich net worth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We feel UMC at HHI of $2m. I know some people will group us as rich but we don’t feel or act rich. We live in a good public school pyramid.

Rich is not income but net worth. Most people we know who I consider rich are generational or they sold a company for millions. I consider most working professionals UMC like us whether you earn $300k or $2m.

What is your net worth?

Our net worth is about $7m. We are 40.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We feel UMC at HHI of $2m. I know some people will group us as rich but we don’t feel or act rich. We live in a good public school pyramid.

Rich is not income but net worth. Most people we know who I consider rich are generational or they sold a company for millions. I consider most working professionals UMC like us whether you earn $300k or $2m.

What is your net worth?

Our net worth is about $7m. We are 40.

“Our” net worth? Counting wife’s cookie jar money and kids 529 plans?

[Anonymous]

I'll settle it for you fools. If you have more than $5 million in taxable bank or brokerage accounts (not 401ks!), you are rich. If you don't, you are not rich.

Personally, I have only a little more than $1m in taxable accounts. Not rich.


PS - I love these arguments over what's rich and what's middle class!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We feel upper middle class in Northern VA but would be considered rich. Our lifestyle would not be viewed as rich and our friends do not think we are rich. I look at my brother who is worth $35 - 50 million as rich.

We (early 50s) make $340K annually on W2 income, but our net worth is ~ $ 9 million. But we have always lived below our means, no family money involved except my doctor spouse had no student loans. We have no debt, 10% of our net worth is in our kids 529 plans. Our home in NoVA was purchased for less than a million, but is about $1.5 now, but less than 3,500 sq ft. About $2.5 M in retirement accounts. I made a lot of money early in my career in big law, but stepped back some years ago to work as a fed with much less salary. Our kids attend public schools. We don't have a 2nd home and drive Toyotas and Hondas

We don't budget, but we are debt free and don't spend frivolusly, and most expenses outside of living expenses are kid activity related. We have been lucky with real estate before prices jumped, and we invest our money ourselves in passive index funds.

We have many friends who are heads of businesses, attorneys partners, specialist doctors, finance, etc who make much more than we do and live more lavishly, and probably worth much more than we are worth.

So objectively we are wealthy, but we live a very modest upper middle class lifestyle compared with our peers and neighbors.

No they're probably not worth more than you are because they spend a lot of money, while you save. I do taxes for those folks and they've got lots of debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're rich! We have good jobs, great kids, live in a nice home in an area with great schools, we are saving for retirement and college, we have a lot of friends and while I'm very careful with money I don't worry about it. Plus, my husband loves me!

+1
I like this definition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We feel UMC at HHI of $2m. I know some people will group us as rich but we don’t feel or act rich. We live in a good public school pyramid.

Rich is not income but net worth. Most people we know who I consider rich are generational or they sold a company for millions. I consider most working professionals UMC like us whether you earn $300k or $2m.

What is your net worth?

Our net worth is about $7m. We are 40.

“Our” net worth? Counting wife’s cookie jar money and kids 529 plans?

wow sexist much?

[Anonymous]

I love these threads. I think we should make sure at least one always appears in the recent topics page.