Hiding Your Wealth (NOT a poll) :)

[Sunset]

I hide my "wealth" by wandering around the neighborhood in pajama pants and slipper socks. People just think I'm crazy. Works a treat.

The other thing I do is grocery shop in the middle of the day during the week to avoid crowds.
Naturally I look the part of unemployed as sometimes I don't shave for a day or two and I wear t-shirts and jeans.

 

[Amethyst]

I'm somewhere in the middle. There is such a thing as liking nice stuff for its own sake. Why does everyone always point the finger at people who have nice things, accusing them of being "insecure" and "trying to impress people" and the like? That is making it all about the observer, not the consumer. Perhaps those people are not trying to impress you. How do the people in question behave toward others? That is what determines their "class," not what they choose to spend on things they appreciate and enjoy. At least, that is how I see it.

 

[brewer12345]

The other thing I do is grocery shop in the middle of the day during the week to avoid crowds.
Naturally I look the part of unemployed as sometimes I don't shave for a day or two and I wear t-shirts and jeans.

+1.

Add in a pair of shoes that have been in the mud/splashed with lye, a shirt with holes or stains, jeans that have a "fringe" of loose threads around the bottoms of the legs, and perhaps a swollen whatever from my latest sting. Probably not a mystery why I get tailed by the security guard in the booze section of one local supermarket, come to think of it.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

I must have hidden my wealth very well indeed. So well in fact that not even I can find it.

 

[RE2Boys]

I dress and frequent the same places I have for last 20+ years, it's ingrained. Never mind my wealth is 5X what it was. I would guess maybe one sister has some idea how I pulled off retiring at 50 with two preschoolers. And even then, no one knows what were worth. My wife and I do various part time jobs that we enjoy and keep connected with the community.......and we don't need one dime of the pay. Wave to me when I'm working as a school crossing guard. Most folks figure we're just getting by with my pension and odd jobs, used cars, and I'll make small talk with other HS senior parents about what a pain the FAFSA form is (and not sure I'll ever do it again, I was hoping my son would qualify for at least a subsidized loan) but the result was an expected family contribution with six digits.

 

[txtig]

. . . and perhaps a swollen whatever from my latest sting.

Oh no! You're not this guy, are you?
Feds pay researcher to have bee sting his penis - Washington Times

 

[REWahoo]

Brewer got himself another gummit job? Ouch!

 

[brewer12345]

Oh no! You're not this guy, are you?
Feds pay researcher to have bee sting his penis - Washington Times

I don't think you could pay me enough. I don't like being stung, so I wear a full suit with an attached veil and boots (the last I sometimes forget). These days I generally only get it around the ankle (wear the suit ends) or occasionally through the gloves. redbugdave, OTOH, has had some real prize ones on the face.

 

[Walt34]

Oh no! You're not this guy, are you?
Feds pay researcher to have bee sting his penis - Washington Times

What a waste of money! I would have told them that for only $500k and they wouldn't have even had to round up a bee wrangler. So I would have been patriotic and saved the taxpayers lots of money, and had a little part-time side gig.

Meanwhile, some $1 million in NSF money was spent on the grant that involved studying where it hurts most to be stung by a bee. The penis turned out to be only third-worst out of 25 options, falling behind nose and upper lip.

 

[HFWR]

I must have hidden my wealth very well indeed. So well in fact that not even I can find it.

Yeah, that...

 

[mamadogmamacat]

The last thing I need is friends and family thinking I'm a potential piggybank for them.

This, big time.........it's easy and fun (in a cynical sort of way if that is where your sense of humor tends to reside as mine does)...when socializing with a group of family or friends or former colleagues that struggles to pay bills on time (some for understandable reasons, others because they are idiots in regards money), I just agree with their grousing about it (who cares if my reason to pay at/near the due date is all about maximizing interest income)........does make some former colleagues look confused (those few generally younger ones who have not guessed my reason anyway).....but that makes it all the more amusing

 

[FUEGO]

I'm slowly realizing that many people just don't care enough or pay enough attention to you to know what you are worth even if you publish your net worth stats on your blog for everyone (with internet access) to see. And as others have mentioned, having $1.x million doesn't make you "rich" in the eyes of some folks (it affords a comfortable but not luxurious middle class lifestyle around here), so there's not much to keep stealthy really.

Maybe the whole stealth wealth thing isn't a big deal?

 

[Souschef]

I know I'm dressed appropriately when people see me toiling in the yard and say " Look - they have a gardener"

That reminds of the story Lee Trevino told once.
He was washing the front windows of his house when a car pulled up and asked how much he charged. He says he does it for free, but he sleeps with the lady of the house

 

[youbet]

It might be safer to say, "I'm unemployed" than "I'm retired."

Absolutely!

Laid off at 58, I started to simultaneously job hunt and work the numbers to see if I could just throw in the towel and FIRE. FIRE won and I haven't worked a day in the last decade by my own choice.

But...... I've steadfastly maintained my unemployed status and talk about myself as being among the long term unemployed if the "what do you do for a living" question comes up.

In the first few years, the sympathy, offers of employment referrals, etc. were at hoot! Now, at 68, that has mostly stopped. Still, it's rewarding to not have folks assuming we must be well healed to not have worked since 58 (55 for DW).

 

[jjquantz]

Very interesting comments. My Dad grew up very poor and he really rode us kids to try to dress a little better than he had to when he was growing up. He hated jeans, tennis shoes and tee shirts because they just screamed "POOR" to him. This became somewhat ingrained in me - I just can't go out in public in a tee shirt - I just have to wear a polo shirt or something with a collar even when I'm in jeans. I certainly am not trying to look rich, but I guess I wouldn't want my Dad (may he rest in peace) to think that I was "poor".

IT's amazing the emotional hold some things have over us, isn't it.

 

[Shanky]

I am sloppy. Even when I was an Sr Exec at well known Mega Corp, I spent less than $200 a year on clothing. Most of it was too tight because I gained weight. I skipped shaving as often as not. And I am brown eyed & "swarthy". I had mastered the "stealth" part long before I had wealth & I never saw a reason to change.

 

[athena53]

I'm somewhere in the middle. There is such a thing as liking nice stuff for its own sake. Why does everyone always point the finger at people who have nice things, accusing them of being "insecure" and "trying to impress people" and the like?

I agree. I just like the beauty and permanence of real jewelry and the feel of cashmere sweaters. If someone sitting next to me in a public place thinks it all came from Wal-Mart, I don't really care.

 

[Danmar]

I agree. I just like the beauty and permanence of real jewelry and the feel of cashmere sweaters. If someone sitting next to me in a public place thinks it all came from Wal-Mart, I don't really care.

I also agree. Who cares what others think. I like quality things, especially stuff I wear or touch. Neither a flaunter nor a hider be.

 

[Jack_Pine]

I'm somewhere in the middle. There is such a thing as liking nice stuff for its own sake. Why does everyone always point the finger at people who have nice things, accusing them of being "insecure" and "trying to impress people" and the like? That is making it all about the observer, not the consumer. Perhaps those people are not trying to impress you. How do the people in question behave toward others? That is what determines their "class," not what they choose to spend on things they appreciate and enjoy. At least, that is how I see it.

That's three in a row. Totally agree.Too showy, not good. Neither is begrudging those that have stuff.

 

[brewer12345]

That's three in a row. Totally agree.Too showy, not good. Neither is begrudging those that have stuff.

Can't say I begrudge. Mostly I just don't see the point. If you have stuff like that and like it, mazel tov. But conspicuous consumption is a huge thing in our society.

 

[gcgang]

Can't say I begrudge. Mostly I just don't see the point. If you have stuff like that and like it, mazel tov. But conspicuous consumption is a huge thing in our society.

Conspicuous Consumption and its friend Pecuniary Emulation, with acknowledgement to Thorstein Veblen, my favorite economist, make the world go round.

 

[pb4uski]

....I'll make small talk with other HS senior parents about what a pain the FAFSA form is (and not sure I'll ever do it again, I was hoping my son would qualify for at least a subsidized loan) but the result was an expected family contribution with six digits.

I took a lot of heat from DD and DW when I was working in a high paying job and DD was a HS senior and I refused to fill out the FASFA.... there was no way in hades that I was going to open our financial komono to some government bureaucrats when I knew that we would not get anything in return.

 

[RobbieB]

The important thing is to buy what you want because you like it. Not to impress others. Be true to yourself.

 

[Gumby]

I read the suggestions in the posted links, and I must say that many of them are merely what my mother would call "good manners". You don't flaunt your wealth because it is rude to do so. That goes for material displays of course, but more importantly, it means that you treat everyone you meet with respect -- rich or poor or in the middle.

 

[Another Reader]

Yep, my Depression-era parents thought any display of wealth was bad manners. I shop at Walmart and Sears, never go to restaurants, and travel on the cheap. Cars are a bit of an exception because of how unpleasant driving is around here and how much of it I do. My father would be horrified if he saw the Lexus. It fits like a glove and I'm not sorry from the comfort perspective, but I don't like the attention it draws. Will be stepping down in car with the next purchase in 5-8 years.

People that know me know I own rentals, but I don't think that translates into accurate estimates of my net worth. They know I retired early, and figure I'm getting a pension.