Indicators of Wealth?

NW-Bound said:
Surely, many 1st class passengers feel the same, as they are already seated and sipping some drinks while the coach passengers file by to the back and fight for overhead compartment space.
...
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First class used to be FIRST CLASS, but now, not so much.. it's more what I call FAT class , which is referencing the seat width not all the occupants.
I really enjoyed FIRST CLASS when you got real silverware forks and knives, china plates, and nice choice of meals. I don't know if it's gone back to being better, but 911 really changed it a lot, and shortly afterwards I stopped doing first class.

I really didn't like boarding first, then have all the commoner's bumping past you, staring, etc. It would have been better to go in afterwards.
 
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pb4uski said:
Yes, you are correct... the 6 hour drive is door-to-door. To fly door-to-door is a little over 4 hours but the drive (to Midtown Manhattan) is much more stressful than flying.... and yes, parking is an issue (and expensive), public transportation is good and a car is a hassle.
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Yes, Manhattan and Boston would be my two most likely exceptions in the US. Boston happens to be the destination I booked a flight for this week.
 
kcowan said:
(What really surprises me is the obsession with spending here. Must be the pessimistic FIRECALC predictions? Remember that it assumes you will die broke. So if you have $1 mill w/o anything else like SS or pension or investment returns, you can live on $50k/year for 20 years. Add in all the other stuff and why worry? I think participants are uncomfortable finally spending on themselves!)
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I don't know about other frugalistas, but I enjoy bargain hunting. Members here have a lot of different hobbies - golf, travel, bridge, cooking, raising livestock, boating, etc. I like math and spreadsheets. I find it fun to try to live better but on less money than we used to spend. I play beat my own budget as a game but this month we gave a big chunk of my 2016 savings to date to family members who can use a little budget help right now. We get to help them out and we're still under budget for the year.
 
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aja8888 said:
Do you really want those young valet drivers parking your new Corvette or other $100+ K sports car?:D
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NO! However, if I were driving some POS with nothing of value in it, I might....
 
kcowan said:
(What really surprises me is the obsession with spending here. Must be the pessimistic FIRECALC predictions? Remember that it assumes you will die broke. So if you have $1 mill w/o anything else like SS or pension or investment returns, you can live on $50k/year for 20 years. Add in all the other stuff and why worry? I think participants are uncomfortable finally spending on themselves!)
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I think you mean the obsession with *not* spending? Yup, it is well known. Along with studies that show large AD nest eggs. Still there is this reluctance to *splurge*

I dunno. It is hard and I've really had to force myself, but it can be done - :)
 
pb4uski said:
Yes, you are correct... the 6 hour drive is door-to-door. To fly door-to-door is a little over 4 hours but the drive (to Midtown Manhattan) is much more stressful than flying.... and yes, parking is an issue (and expensive), public transportation is good and a car is a hassle.
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To me this is where an autonomous car would be great. Get in and arrive and not have to worry about the actual driving.


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NW-Bound said:
Surely, many 1st class passengers feel the same, as they are already seated and sipping some drinks while the coach passengers file by to the back and fight for overhead compartment space.

Whenever I got to fly 1st-class, I tried to hide my smugness, and looked down reading something. :)
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I think there was a study that showed that coach passengers were significantly more unhappy flying when they had to board through the first class cabin than if they didn't. I guess the smugness isn't well hidden ;-)



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jabbahop said:
To me this is where an autonomous car would be great. Get in and arrive and not have to worry about the actual driving.


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Agreed! No airport security lines, no armrest wars, no airline "meals". For reasonable distances, I'd take the automated chauffeur every time!
 
Sunset said:
Don't worry, the market will at some point go into a decline for a year or two. :nonono:
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If one rebalances high-flying stocks into caviar during a bull market, it should be OK, right?

It's only when one spends his cash and keeps the stocks that it can hurt later.

jabbahop said:
I think there was a study that showed that coach passengers were significantly more unhappy flying when they had to board through the first class cabin than if they didn't. I guess the smugness isn't well hidden ;-)
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Hence, the uniclass airlines like Southwest. No more smugness, no more envy.
 
jabbahop said:
I think there was a study that showed that coach passengers were significantly more unhappy flying when they had to board through the first class cabin than if they didn't. I guess the smugness isn't well hidden ;-)



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I think it's just the big seats, the passengers already seated with luggage stowed, and even drinks in their hands. That's enough even without a smugness vibe.
 
1-I have splurged on business airfare a few times. But it must be a relatively good "deal".

2-I find pleasure in discovering cheap yet good food. I enjoy a nice fancy dinner from time to time...but I reserve those for special times...like birthdays or anniversaries.

3-I have become a bit choosier about hotels. I always check tripadvisor first. Doesn't have to be the fanciest place...just nice relative to cost.

4-I just spent $6000 on a surgery for my dog. I love him like a son so I was grateful I have the means to do it.

I really struggle with spending. My NW is in the 8 figures yet I still feel guilty about spending it. Ultimately, I must feel there is value in where my money is going or I am not likely to let it go. . . whether a $10 meal or $2000 airline tickets. It all boils down to value to me.
 
kcowan said:
....(What really surprises me is the obsession with spending here. Must be the pessimistic FIRECALC predictions? Remember that it assumes you will die broke. ...
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Firecalc doesn't assume that you will die broke... it just calculates the ending value based on a certain series of annual returns and stops if the balance goes negative.

If someone has 90% success that means 10% of the scenarios ended up broke but 90% did not... and often substantial balances have been accumulated.
 
We almost splurged on business class for a trip to London next summer for a cruise. Decided to just choose economy plus...but a suite at the rear of the ship for the 14-day cruise. Not sure how we'll deal with a "butler" but I hope it's just a really good cabin steward.


Enjoying life!
 
Travelwanted said:
I really struggle with spending. My NW is in the 8 figures yet I still feel guilty about spending it. Ultimately, I must feel there is value in where my money is going or I am not likely to let it go. . . whether a $10 meal or $2000 airline tickets. It all boils down to value to me.
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You do have it bad. If I had 10 mill I would buy the million dollar house and the Maserati - :)
 
Dash man said:
We almost splurged on business class for a trip to London next summer for a cruise. Decided to just choose economy plus...but a suite at the rear of the ship for the 14-day cruise. Not sure how we'll deal with a "butler" but I hope it's just a really good cabin steward.


Enjoying life!
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Yeah we'd rather spend it on seriously upgraded accommodations that last at least a week or more.
 
One of our regular posters here has in their signature-"I am not rich, I am a poor man with money":)
I so agree with that. My parents were middle class, and I learned investing from my father at a young age.
Our NW does not compare to some of the folks here (more power to them), but when I can fly on my Angel Flights and not worry about the cost, I guess I am wealthy.
My DW, bless her heart, is very frugal. Her late husband owned a business, and their take home was about 20K a year less than what we now get from 2 SS and 2 pensions. She is thrilled to not having to worry about every expense.
 
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RobbieB said:
You do have it bad. If I had 10 mill I would buy the million dollar house and the Maserati - :)
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The million dollar house would probably be way too big, say 7,000+ sf. If so, you'd have to wear roller blades just to get from one end to the other. Also you'd have to have so many staff around to care for it, that it would feel like Grand Central Station, or the unemployment office, rather than a Dream Home. Think of the echo; not cozy.

Your Maserati would get scratched or dented in parking lots at stores or restaurants the first week. After getting it repaired a few times, I'd expect that you would end up leaving it in the garage and using another car instead.
 
No, Robbie will buy in Palo Alto, where a $1M will get him a 1,200-sq.ft. tear-down home whose former owner is a hoarder. Didn't someone post a photo of a house listing like that?

About the Maserati, he will just continue to drive it, dents and scratches and all. He won't care. One cannot be slave to his possession. It's only a car, right, Robbie?
 
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NW-Bound said:
No, Robbie will buy in Palo Alto, where a $1M will get him a 1,200-sq.ft. tear-down home whose former owner is a hoarder. Didn't someone post a photo of a house listing like that?

About the Maserati, he will just continue to drive it, dents and scratches and all. He won't care. One cannot be slave to his possession. It's only a car, right, Robbie?
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CA-carjacking-Twitter.jpg


Lovely! Hopefully it would look prettier than this one.
 
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W2R said:
Your Maserati would get scratched or dented in parking lots at stores or restaurants the first week. After getting it repaired a few times, I'd expect that you would end up leaving it in the garage and using another car instead.
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My Maserati does 185.
Dings were an offense,
now I don't drive.
 
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