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Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

economix.blogs.nytimes.com

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Re: Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

#41

Post by kmfrk »

jtbigwoo wrote: post #18

The amount of money I have left over at the end of the month makes a much bigger difference in whether I feel rich than the number on my paycheck. But, we're trained and encouraged by our culture to spend up to and beyond our means no matter what our income. Even the "responsible" rules of thumb like buying a house for 3x annual income or having debt payments of 40% of income encourage us to increase our expenses as…

I think it has to do with a lack of a broader education and spiritualism that most people are devoid of.

Because they don't know any better, money becomes a hammer, and every problem looks like a nail.

Re: Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

#42

Post by roc »

ugh wrote: post #17

This is just a tangent, but I wonder whether Robert Gibbs really quit at least partly because his salary was too low. (That’s what Obama’s remark about his departure seems to suggest.) I don’t think you become Press Secretary of the White House because of the salary, you become Press Secretary because you are passionate about it. (For all you cynics out there: replace “passionate about it” with “power hungry”.) You c…

As you point out: while it wouldn't be prudent to go into politics for the direct money, the modern reality is that politics is a route to a staggering amount of future money. Not unlike paying vast sums to go to an Ivy League school; not because the education is so much better, but because future opportunities will be.

In that light, I don't see a huge line between his decision to 'cash-out' at this particular point in time and the statement 'because his salary was too low'.

Re: Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

#43

Post by klbarry »

narrator wrote: post #28

The reality of this phenomenon is that people who have done everything "perfectly" in their life and academic career feel a bit cheated when their income tops out in between 100k and 200k. They might be senior engineers or doctors or lawyers but they've hit this brick wall as far as income, sometimes in their 30s and yet there are all these people out there that make more than 10x or even 100x their annual income. No…

I think that's most of it, but there's also sales commission on huge projects.

Re: Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

#44

Post by kahawe »

I think you are only really "rich" when you are making a decent (e.g. middle/upper middle-class) monthly salary without even (theoretically) setting a foot out of bed, ever.

Given the complete freedom to do a lot of things in your life without ever HAVING to participate in the rat race of daily work has got to be the ultimate freedom and should be the bar for "rich" for me.

Everyone below that is more or less well off.

Re: Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

#47

Post by klbarry »

_delirium wrote: post #19
jellicle wrote: post #10

It's simple. Make $100K, live near people making $90K = rich. Make $100K, live near people making $110K = poor.

I definitely noticed this in grad school. For a few years, I had a $30k fellowship, when the normal stipend, which all my friends made (and which I made the other years) was around $20k. I felt like I had more money than I could reasonably spend, saved about $5k of the excess, and splurged about $5k on what seemed to me to be luxury items, like fancy beer and trips. From my perspective I was, if not wealthy, at least…

It's really so sneaky. Before I started school, I worked full time and I was still living paycheck to paycheck. I started school, with an obviously lower part-time salary, and I'm now comfortable adapted to the new salary (have money to burn and everything).

Re: Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

#48

Post by jbooth »

bhousel wrote: post #32
ugh wrote: post #17

This is just a tangent, but I wonder whether Robert Gibbs really quit at least partly because his salary was too low. (That’s what Obama’s remark about his departure seems to suggest.) I don’t think you become Press Secretary of the White House because of the salary, you become Press Secretary because you are passionate about it. (For all you cynics out there: replace “passionate about it” with “power hungry”.) You c…

Exactly.. At least the last 3 or 4 White House Press Secretaries made that same salary "joke" upon leaving the position and returning back to their high paying private sector media jobs.

Yeah, but more notably, they all left after a couple years. I think it's a pretty high stress job, and leaving is probably more about the stress than the salary. It just manifests itself as "I'm not getting paid enough for this shit".

Re: Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

#49

Post by roc »

Alex3917 wrote: post #16
AlexC04 wrote: post #4

Perhaps it's because the definition of "rich" that they would need to feel is one where they'd never have to work again if they didn't want to. The article points out an annual income of $172,000 as being rich, but by implication, these people still have to work for their money. Therefore probably don't feel "rich" If they could maintain that income or even half that income in perpetuity without working. If they coul…

"The article points out an annual income of $172,000 as being rich, but by implication, these people still have to work for their money." I think the real issue is that someone making 300,000 probably doesn't have much more disposable income than someone making 80,000. Whatever extra money they have is likely just going to a slightly nicer house, their IRA, dental insurance, a slightly better preschool for their kids…

> "someone making 300,000 probably doesn't have much more disposable income than someone making 80,000"

I don't think that's borne out by the stats. As I recall fixed costs essentially flat-line as a percentage of income somewhere south of 200k, up until you reach the "don't look at prices anymore" brackets. Also, I note that it really doesn't take much more disposable income to add flashy consumption. Five thousand dollars is easily two annual trips to Hawaii, which -- while not remotely a trivial amount of money -- really isn't that hard to sock away at 300k vs 80k. And two additional annual vacations at 300k is certainly going to look like 'whimsical' to the guy making 80k who takes one real vacation a year.

So I'm wondering if we aren't having a disagreement on definitions. And when you say 'hawaii on whim', you're thinking about trips approaching the opulence of the "don't look at prices anymore" brackets?

Re: Why So Many Rich People Don’t Feel Very Rich

#50

Post by bane »

There's definitely a middle ground though. Being poor sucks...bad. Not because you can't the things you want, but because you can't get the things you desperately need (and I mean things in the physical sense).

I remember reading various studies a few years ago (sorry, can't find them now) showing folks who make 40-50k/yr in the U.S. tend to be the most satisfied with life. With inflation that's probably more like 60-70k (and possibly more for the Bay Area and NYC), but the point stands. You can cover most life needs with that and have a little left over for indulgences. But not so much that you get caught up in material wants.

Also I noticed many people with money who are unhappy, tend to be unhappy because of the social isolation that brings. As it turns out, human interaction is something we need, and also happens to be very cheap/efficient in most cases.

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