How do you define "rich"

[roadkill]

Hello all -
How do you define rich?

In my case, the politicians decided. Several years ago, I went to bed only to wake up the next day to learn that Congress passed a new tax law that declared I was now, well, rich... and of course should therefore pay my fair share of taxes........and so it goes.......

 

[HFWR]

Rich is having more money than you can spend...

 

[retire@40]

Rich is having more money than you can spend...

Although some former rich people didn't know when to stop spending.

Here's one example...

Mike Tyson earned over $300 million during his up and down ring career. Mike Tyson is broke. It was only a matter of time but Iron Mike has officially filed federal bankruptcy papers stating that he is $27 million in debt, including $17 million in back taxes he owes in the U.S. and Britain.

Tyson Files for Bankruptcy!

 

[MikeD]

And He Seems to have Such Good Judgement, too

"The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 1 characters."

I spent all my wit on the title...

Mike D.

 

[Fred333]

What a shame... he had such a promising career. I would say that being rich come down to being able to do what you want when you want. Also to have good friends and a family that loves you. Money would be secondary then.

 

[FlogBlogger]

Rich is relative. If Bill Gates is the standard, you'll never think or feel that you're rich. It's a much more enriching exercise to consider the 40% of the planet living on $2 a day, according to the World Bank, and how you compare to those billions of folks. Or spend a little time in the third world and you'll never question your personal wealth again.

 

[travelover]

Rich is relative. If Bill Gates is the standard, you'll never think or feel that you're rich. It's a much more enriching exercise to consider the 40% of the planet living on $2 a day, according to the World Bank, and how you compare to those billions of folks. Or spend a little time in the third world and you'll never question your personal wealth again.

Excellent point. I feel like a spoiled, rich kid when I travel to the Third World.

 

[bongo2]

You are rich if you have considerably more money than the people you compare yourself to. A good working definition might be the top 1% of US households -- something like $5M these days.

But that doesn't really get at what I think of as rich. A friend of mine once said, "he's rich. . .not like $10m rich, either. . .like 'his yacht is $10m' rich."

 

[TickTock]

Arise and live again, thread!!!

Anyway, I take my definition of rich from a high school History teacher:

Rich is being able to retire tomorrow and maintain the same standard of living for the rest of your life.

 

[template]

Perhaps you've heard of this wealth litmus test:

You are rich if you can afford to crap on your boss's desk. -- or something similar.

 

[Janet H]

Someone who is rich has substantially more

- Disposable income than I have
- Free time than I have
- Nice relatives than I have

 

[haha]

Somebody who is rich doesn't need to worry about what his wife or girlfriend might want for Christmas.

Ha

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Somebody who is rich doesn't need to worry about what his wife or girlfriend might want for Christmas.

Ha

Somebody who is rich doesn't need to worry about what his wife AND girlfriend might want for Christmas

 

[haha]

Somebody who is rich doesn't need to worry about what his wife AND girlfriend might want for Christmas

LOL! I stand corrected by someone with a deeper insight into the problem.

Ha

 

[RetireeRobert]

There was a thread started recently saying that $5 mm is the new $1 mm. That's pretty accurate in my estimation. I think having $5 million in investable assets makes your "rich" or "wealthy" by anybody's standards.

I agree. $5 million is rich.

 

[sunshine]

on a personal / daily basis:

when you go to buy something and you have enough $ and some left over= RICH

when you go to buy something and you have just enough $ with nothing left over= Middle Class

when you go to buy something and you don't have enough $ and must do without= Poor

For TAX Purposes...see the afore mentioned table with its averages, means and medians

 

[Trek]

Maybe I watched too much Little House on the Prairie growing up, but I don't think of money when I think of the word rich.

An episode of that show always stuck in my head...

Nels: That's quite a family you've got there. I'd like to think my young'uns would pull together like that if things got bad, but like I said, we've always been very lucky when it came to money. Believe it or not, Charles, I think you're the richest man in Walnut Grove.

Charles: Nels, I know I am.

 

[jambo101]

As long as i'm happy financial wealth is irrelevant.

 

[OAG]

Rich is one of those words that are always impacted by "er" (not Early Retirement, although it is too). If you actually have $5MM I suspect you would want more therefore the "er" factor - $5MM is rich until you get there then you see more as better therefore the "er" - you want to be richer. Like education some think HS graduation is smart but College graduation would make you smart(er). You can build something once and think you did your best and then you do the same thing again to make one bett(er).

"Rich" is one of those things that change with age. Rich at 70 is not the same as rich at 20. There are exceptions of course but they are not the norm.

I think "rich" at any stage of life is where you have enough money (since OP wanted to limit this to the $$ factor) to live a life you are content with. Where money is not the dominant factor on your mind to a major extent, sure you think about it and do not do any stupid things (hopefully) that would "waste" it, but, since you are content, it is a minor element in your everyday life. Hopefully, the older one gets the $$ become irrelevant (thanks Jambo101).

 

[haha]

Hopefully, the older one gets the $$ become irrelevant (thanks Jambo101).

I've been reading this forum for a while, and I haven't seen many if any posts that indicate that $$ became irrelevant, or even less than vitally important to anyone.

Ha

 

[Khan]

I have all the money I need, but I wouldn't turn down any extra (inheritance, etc.).

 

[Caoineag]

on a personal / daily basis:

when you go to buy something and you have enough $ and some left over= RICH

when you go to buy something and you have just enough $ with nothing left over= Middle Class

when you go to buy something and you don't have enough $ and must do without= Poor

For TAX Purposes...see the afore mentioned table with its averages, means and medians

I have to agree with this post. My coworkers think I am "rich" and I am in my 20's (younger than all of them and make less than all of them) but I have disposable income and they are living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[Outtahere]

Dh and I watched 60 Minutes last night and Andy Rooney did a bit about if he was rich. Compared to dh and I Andy is rich, I guess he doesn't think so.

CBS News Video - Top Stories and Video News Clips at CBSNews.com

 

[Rustic23]

Seems like rich is what the other guy is. I wonder if Bill Gates thinks himself Rich, or does he think, 'Well I have a lot of money.... but boy, somebody like the Sultan of Brunei, now that guy is RICH'

According to US Statistics, we have more assets than about 60 or 70% of the population, but we don't think we are RICH. Well off, most likely, but not Rich. That other guy down the block, now he is rich!

 

[Tadpole]

When you lose sleep over the inheritance tax.