Not blurting it out

[BigNick]

We have a new regional government in the part of Spain where we live. I don't like them much from a political point of view, but the other day I read that they are increasing the wealth tax threshold from <below what we have> to <above what we have>. This will save us about $1,000 this year. We don't really need another $1,000, but hey, I just fill in the form and the tax office tells me what to pay, that's the deal right?

The other day we were discussing the new government with (politically like-minded) neighbours and the subject of the wealth tax came up briefly. I don't remember the exact details of the conversation, but I very, very nearly revealed that we have enough in the pot that we have been paying it for the last couple of years. Our neighbours have no idea that we are worth 7 figures. We live in a normal apartment block with a modest car.

Is anyone else "under the radar" when it comes to letting on what you have in the bank? Do you have any strategies for preserving that?

 

[Montecfo]

We hope so.

We do not buy expensive cars or live extravagantly except for our travel budget.

After FIRE a few years ago I got sly inquiries (Q: Did you get a pension from work? A: No)
But nothing recently. So hopefully under the radar.

 

[Amethyst]

Currently I live around people who have lots more than I do, so "hiding"is not an issue.

 

[Gumby]

People know we live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood and could easily look up a value on Zillow. They could not, however, determine whether we have a mortgage. Friends know that we enjoy foreign travel, so they might make some inferences from that. And, if they know our prior employers (most people don't), they know we have some sort of pensions. But beyond that, people don't know our resources, and I prefer to keep it that way. I guess I have been blessed that I don't know people who are nosey.

 

[RetiredHappy]

If you don't have multiple 7 figures, you don't get to live in the resort community where we are. No one talks money but we know who have the "real" money, i.e. $100+m and billionaires.

 

[W2R]

Our neighbours have no idea that we are worth 7 figures. We live in a normal apartment block with a modest car.

Is anyone else "under the radar" when it comes to letting on what you have in the bank? Do you have any strategies for preserving that?

My strategy for staying "under the radar", is that I never tell anybody except Frank what I have in the bank or investment accounts.

We each own and live in an older 1500 square foot home in our middle class to upper middle class neighborhood. Nothing flashy to attract anyone's attention. Like most retirees here, I have and live on my income from Social Security, pension, and MRD. I hardly ever withdraw from my portfolio or bank accounts.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that nobody (but me) really cares how much I have in the bank.

 

[erkevin]

Didn't we just have a thread on this very subject?

 

[audreyh1]

We try so. We came out of the closet a bit by buying an expensive EV, but our neighbors apparently aren’t informed enough to know the cost. The bright red color though was considered shocking by gossiping neighbors, ha ha.

 

[Aerides]

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by sharing financial status with friends and acquaintances, but much to be lost.

So, keep schtum.

 

[BigNick]

Didn't we just have a thread on this very subject?

Quite possibly, but I've just returned to the forum after a very long hiatus.

 

[pacergal]

Well welcome back BigNick!

We do live in a higher income/higher housing area, but we bought in late 1980's. And it's a 1960's ranch, not a giant McMansion.
We live modestly, even our kids don't know what we have. If people hear where we live, it is an assumption we have big bucks, which we don't.
We have enough for us, but quite a bit less than many here, based on posts made on income.

 

[Dash man]

We live in a nice but not luxurious area. We drive nicer cars than we used to before we retired, so neighbors probably know we’re doing okay. The neighborhood is 24 years old, so a lot of people have paid off mortgages since there hasn’t been much turnover. Our county website allows those who care to see mortgage satisfaction documents and new mortgage filings.
Neighbors don’t really care who has what, at least in conversations I’ve been in.
At our church, donations are not discussed, so people are unaware of each other’s giving. Our pastor and business manager are the only ones who know. I’ve never individually been asked to give anything. They leave it up to parishioners to give what they want and can. They do have campaigns to raise money for projects, but never target individuals. I appreciate that a lot.

 

[razztazz]

I drive a 14 yr old car and live in a trailer park. Only guy on the block without a covered porch.

 

[Sunset]

I did once tell a friend who asked, that I was able to live off 4% withdrawal rate from savings as I have no pension....

Later I realized if he could do math, that immediately points to $1M in savings generating $40K income.

And more spending means more savings than that...

 

[audreyh1]

For a 55+ community we are one of the nicest in the area, but there is a huge neighborhood not far away that blows this one a way in term of luxury and giant homes.

 

[athena53]

At our church, donations are not discussed, so people are unaware of each other’s giving. Our pastor and business manager are the only ones who know. I’ve never individually been asked to give anything. They leave it up to parishioners to give what they want and can. They do have campaigns to raise money for projects, but never target individuals. I appreciate that a lot.

I don't think my pastor even knows and I'm happy with that. I'm pretty conspicuous about posting pictures and tales from my travels and I'm sure it's a hint, but I'm not going to try and keep that secret. It's an important part of my life. I do complain about being subject to IRMAA and having my SS taxed but since I'm single the thresholds aren't very high for either.

Years ago (during the financial crisis?) when the government was issuing stimulus checks, DH was driving to a church event with our dentist and the dentist's BIL. They were discussing what they were doing with their checks and asked DH what we were doing with ours. DH said we didn't qualify for one based on the income threshold. They asked what the threshold was. It was around $150K but DH just said something vague about us somehow meeting it between my job and his SS. We were surprised that the dentist and his wife were below that threshold since she worked PT in his office, too.

 

[Andre1969]

We try so. We came out of the closet a bit by buying an expensive EV, but our neighbors apparently aren’t informed enough to know the cost. The bright red color though was considered shocking by gossiping neighbors.

.

I might have done the same thing a few months ago, when I swapped out my '03 Regal for a 2023 Charger R/T, that's a shade of blue that's a bit loud, by modern day standards. But the Regal always sat out in the yard, while I keep the Charger garaged. So unless they see me coming and going, the neighbors probably don't even notice. And, while it was $50K+, which is a lot of money to me, in the overall scheme of things it's not a lot of money. The only neighbors most likely to notice are right across the street. They live in a house that cost something like $775K way back in 2005, whereas mine was notably less, in 2018. They also have a nice Benz, and a fairly new GMC crew cab pickup, and have a lawn crew come in every week, so I doubt they're exactly looking over at me green with envy, as I cut the grass myself, wearing ripped jeans and beat-up shoes with my 8 year old Cub Cadet.

But overall, I don't really stick out in this neighborhood. There are multi-million dollar properties not far away, and even one that adjoins my property in the back. But overall my house doesn't really stick out. I did have a 36x60 garage built a few years back, but it's pretty far back from the road, with the narrow side facing the front, so from the road there's no way to tell how big it really is.

I try my best not to flaunt it. I also work from home, so me being around the house all day wouldn't raise any red flags, if I was retired. Plus, I'm not exactly "ultra young" anymore, so when people look at me, they probably don't wonder "why isn't he at work?"

 

[Qs Laptop]

.

I might have done the same thing a few months ago, when I swapped out my '03 Regal for a 2023 Charger R/T, that's a shade of blue that's a bit loud, by modern day standards.

For years I leased trucks for business purposes. The last time I got a new truck was in May 2018 when I turned in my 2015 Ram 1500, color: Maximum Steel metallic (gunmetal blue) for a 2018 Ram 1500, color: Granite Crystal metallic (gray). I bet not one neighbor noticed the difference.

Here they are side-by-side:

 

[Andre1969]

That style of Ram has also been in production since 2009, although they might have changed the grille details and such. When the "new" 2018 Ram came out, it was only offered as a half-ton, and only in extended or crew-cab configurations. But they decided to keep the old style in production and called it the "Ram Classic" or something like that. I think they finally stopped making it at the end of 2023?

I have a 2012 Ram, base model, but it had something called a "Tradesman" package that dressed it up a bit. And it has most of the stuff I want...power windows, locks, cruise, nice stereo, etc. Here's a pic I took of it, the day I brought the Charger home.

Actually, now that I think about it, some of the neighbors, or regular drive-bys, might think I took a step down. I used to let the Ram sit out, but now keep it garaged as well. Meanwhile, when my uncle died, I inherited his 2016 Colorado, a compact truck, and it sits out.

Another good thing about trucks is that their style doesn't change a whole lot from year to year, so you can often buy a brand-new one, and nobody notices. Or you can have an older one, and people think it's newer than it is. I guess the same can be said for the Charger, too, as that style has been around since 2015.

 

[mystang52]

I recall a thread about this topic before. In any event, neither I nor any of our friends discuss specific personal finances. But clearly one's lifestyle may reflect, at least, a "comfortable" financial position. Unless one is flaunting wealth, it's not especially hard to hide one's financial status.

 

[Dtail]

There have been many threads on this topic, but who cares? BigNick wishes to know.
We live a middle class lifestyle like most in our complex, but many of them have large mortgages and some revolving debt and we don't.

 

[RetMD21]

I only complain about IRMAA and the net investment tax here to maintain my low profile IRL

 

[Stormy Kromer]

A very wealthy neighbor when I was a kid, who kept a low profile, told me when I was young...."Just watch your own bobber, you'll be happier".

The only way we knew he was wealthy was because he was very, very generous to others.

 

[2017ish]

People who knew us when we were working can easily infer from our professions, lack of spending when working, and retirement age that we have a nice bundle compared to most.

OTOH, the two couples who we have spent the most time with over the past 15 years have far more--or so we infer.

 

[38Chevy454]

Here's the "stealth wealth" recent thread with a lot of replies:
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/stealth-wealth-118614.html