I honestly have to say that although I constantly hear the stories about people bragging about their stuff that they can not really afford and are going to have to work forever, I’ve never met one and certainly have no friends like that. Now, I have PLENTY of friends and relatives that can’t afford to live the way they do and will have to work forever, but they never brag or pretend that they have money, au contraire, they cry “we are tight” instead. So I cannot tell if they are really clueless as to what is important to take care of their old age or just refuse to live at a level that would allow them to succeed. Their priorities are totally different than ours, in that aspect, whereas they may comment “that’s easy to say in your shoes”. I really didn’t understand the OPs first post. Is it just him about what? Not liking to show off, but his just as wealthy friends do? Or was he asking why do people that can’t afford stuff buy it and show off when I am rich and don’t do that? Do you have to ask that basic a question? NW may mean little. You may own property worth $10M free & clear, but if your income is only $100k/yr, are you really living better than someone with a $1M house and $250k/yr income. I doubt it.
Is it just me?
- Thread starter pletal
- Start date
It’s fine by me. Some people think, we might die from covid19, so let’s enjoy life.
With your 9.5 million networth, i would buy two Lambos and take your friends for a spin [emoji3]
Out-to-Lunch
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Or a chemist, for that matter. E=mc^2 applies across the energy scale. The fractional change in mass is smaller for a chemical reaction than for a nuclear one, but the principle is the same.
pb4uski
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
BIL might be like that.... gorgeous, nicely furnished $1m+ home (that they use 1/3 of to live in), Benz for him, Lexus for her, high end everything.
High income but swears that he'll never retire. Unclear if it is because he could but just likes to work or can't.... dunno and don't care... not my business.
pb4uski
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Yeah, but don't do with your Lambos what Ian Poulter does with his $2.2 million Ferrari.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEju7o-offq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again
Dtail
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
A couple who we are friendly with, are still working at 66/64 y.o. I have talked about retirement with them multiple times and they appear to have enough monies to retire and do not live an extravagant lifestyle.
However, I just believe they like making the money too much to give it up, even though the wife has some health issues already.
However, I just believe they like making the money too much to give it up, even though the wife has some health issues already.
Dtail
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Haha, wonder if he got that shot on the first take.
Car-Guy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
After thinking about this thread it occurred to me that when I was working, I lived in a big fancy two story house in an upscale subdivision and drove around in flashy, fast and expensive cars and even wore a Rolex. Now that I'm retired and moved to the country, I live in a average looking one story house and drive around in a common looking Jeep but both cost more than any house or car I've ever owned. (I do wear a cheap watch now and it keeps perfect time 
) Maybe when I was working and living in the city I was trying to keep up appearances or impress the neighbors... (maybe) But now that I'm retired and living in the country I'm certainly not trying to impress anyone around here with appearances.... I guess I never really thought about it very much...
) Maybe when I was working and living in the city I was trying to keep up appearances or impress the neighbors... (maybe) But now that I'm retired and living in the country I'm certainly not trying to impress anyone around here with appearances.... I guess I never really thought about it very much...
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pb4uski
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Yeah... but given the Ferrari didn't have any dents in it and he is among the world's best pro golfers, I think it was one take.
38Chevy454
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I gave up modesty and humility after I retired and no longer had bosses.
With 9.5M you can pretty much do whatever you want except for maybe buying a jet, big yacht, or multiple million+ dollar houses. if you don’t spend it or gift it while alive, your heirs will. Think about what you really want out of the rest of your life.
X2, you are set for any kind of normal living as long as you don't try to be a jet-setter type life. So take RobbieB's advice and "Blow That Dough" some. You can't take it with you. Having the largest gravestone monument in the cemetery doesn't benefit you now.
First of all , Happy Labor Day weekend. I appreciate the forum and its members. Almost like AA, But SS - Hello, Im ( ) and I'm a Super Saver.
Our net worth is over 9.5M right now. Our situation is all of our friends who are doing OK are spending and showing off everything they have, Pools, Watches, Huge trips, cars etc. I usually don't say much, I guess we could afford those things, but I was brought up to be humble and not be the center of attention. In my older age I feel I am becoming a hermit because of this. I believe think they think they are better than others because of wealth.
They are good people, again is it just me?
Your question seems to be if people think they are better by showing off? It seems impossible to know. I think most people just want to look and feel "well off" so they show/brag those purchases. I like driving a luxury car because I like having a quiet passenger compartment and quiet/smooth ride. I am not showing off by that purchase and never post pictures of my cars or talk about them on social media with friends (only strangers - lol). Likewise we like flying first class because it's more comfortable for us. I have a general rule and, though we post some travel photos, we never post showing our first class seats or suite at a hotel or similar "extravagant" expense. We can enjoy and be modest. If others think they are better because they post pictures on social media or whatever good for them. I smile, tell them I am happy for their success, and wink at DW! It doesn't have an affect on ME what they do.
First of all , Happy Labor Day weekend. I appreciate the forum and its members. Almost like AA, But SS - Hello, Im ( ) and I'm a Super Saver.
Our net worth is over 9.5M right now. Our situation is all of our friends who are doing OK are spending and showing off everything they have, Pools, Watches, Huge trips, cars etc. I usually don't say much, I guess we could afford those things, but I was brought up to be humble and not be the center of attention. In my older age I feel I am becoming a hermit because of this. I believe think they think they are better than others because of wealth.
They are good people, again is it just me?
DW and I live in an upper middle class neighborhood where a lot of people drive luxury cars and live in highly upgraded houses or custom-built MacMansions. They also all seem to have the latest iPhones, expensive handbags and fancy jewelries. At the middle school where our two kids attend, there is definitely a competition to look good and be seen when parents drop off or pick up their kids (at least before the pandemic).
DW and I don't care about all this status symbol stuff and it doesn't bother us one bit that we don't have any of this. How they choose to spend money is entirely their own business and none of ours. And I've found that most of the people that I know or have interacted with are nice and grounded; buying some of this stuff is just their way of enjoying fruits of their hard labor. and there's nothing wrong with that.
I was offended only once when someone tried to rub it in my face. Among our acquaintances in neighborhood are a couple, he a doctor and she a SAHM. We got to know well them because our kids attended the same school and the kids participated in many activities together. They are very nice people, but the SAHM's mom is a stuck-up who likes to one-up other people and show off. She lives with them and is very proud (and vocal) that her daughter married a well-paid doctor and they live in one of the biggest houses in the neighborhood (she lives with the couple). Every time we meet at kids' functions, she would tell me about the latest fancy vacations and cruises the entire family just took ("Have you been there?" was a common refrain), or how the couple bought the nice house ($1.3 million) in our neighborhood without having to sell their old one ("because my SIL makes too much money"), or the new cars the couple just bought. I usually just smiled, nodded and bore it with good humor.
But one time, she heard from another acquaintance that we had just bought a plot of land with plans to maybe build a vacation home, and when we next met up, she asked me about it, and without waiting for me to elaborate in terms of location and size, she made the snarky comment, "it must be pretty cheap." The implication was that she didn't think DW and I could afford something expensive.
To be fair, her assumption was based on not knowing anything about us other than we live in one of the older and smaller houses in the neighborhood, our cars are respectively 15 and 20 years old, and that DW works and I don't. So she drew conclusions based on what she saw.
But I guess I must have gotten off the wrong side of the bed that morning, because her comment kind of set me off, especially in light of all her bragging I had to put up with previously. So I told her that, yes, at USD $300k, my plot of land was pretty cheap. I then told her about the the various "cheap" land investments DW and I made over the last decade which cost us mid 7-figures and which we also paid in cash, but even those are a relatively small portion of our overall portfolio. I'll freely admit that it was satisfying to see her smug smile disappear from her face as I related the "cheap" investments that DW and I have made.
After that, she never regaled me with any of stories of her family's fancy vacations and investments again and when we met, the conversation was usually limited to kids and the weather.
I felt kind of bad afterward for getting into a pi**ing contest with a 70-year-old woman, and when I told DW about it, she gave me a well-deserved smacking and told me never to do it again
Lucky Dude
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This.
One of the things that the Covid era is doing for us is that it's allowing us to more easily see what our floor level of spending will be once we get to retirement. Pretty much staying at home, never eating out, and only occasionally doing take out. It's about at what I estimated, but it's still good to see it in action!
We have more than enough, meaning that we'll be fine in retirement including the extras that we're looking for once we pull the plug! Nothing flashy - that's not us. We're more about "doing" than "having".
We have more than enough, meaning that we'll be fine in retirement including the extras that we're looking for once we pull the plug! Nothing flashy - that's not us. We're more about "doing" than "having".
