latexman
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I like the response of Cliff Huxtable to daughter, Vanessa, "Let me get something straight, okay? Your mother and I are rich. You have nothing."
When I was 12, I knew we were poor and didn't have to ask any questions. I always thought that those living outside of the housing project we were living in were rich!
We didn't eat steak when I was growing up either. I would have killed for fried chicken, though. Mostly I remember bean casserole or (canned) tuna casserole.I never went hungry but I don't remember ever eating steak growing up. Lots of fried chicken though.
I always felt that a good translation of the word "casserole" might be "cheap foods you really don't want to eat all mixed together into an unrecognizable mess and then overcooked".
I never asked such a direct question. We were comfortable (and I suspect that's what they would have said if I'd asked), but both our parents were frugal/LBYM, so we didn't live rich. Our parents gave us allowances and made sure we relied on them for some things, and they certainly didn't give us anything we wanted. In retrospect our parents were well off, but we didn't know it until decades later.We're comfortable was the answer I got from my mom as a little boy when I asked her if we were poor!
We didn't eat steak when I was growing up either. I would have killed for fried chicken, though. Mostly I remember bean casserole or (canned) tuna casserole.
I always felt that a good translation of the word "casserole" might be "cheap foods you really don't want to eat all mixed together into an unrecognizable mess and then overcooked".
Oh, and once a week we had to eat liver.
Once a month, I savor the liver from our annual Black Angus beef. Marinated in milk for 24 hour minimum, then flash cooked on the grill with a large sweet onion. I'll stretch a pound out a week for my lunch. Not poor here.
All depends upon your neighbors. Our one-lane country street has 8 mailboxes. 5 of them belong to doublewide trailers (some nice, some not; all on an acre or more). 2 to unrelated families who own construction companies and 80-100 acres each on our road. The last to a doctor/lawyer couple with 25 acres (us). When they learn of our retirement, some of our neighbors will almost certainly see us as rich, if they don't already. The other two will just wonder why one would want to quit making money and running up the score.
Basically, we don't worry about it. (If we did, I suspect we'd be living in a different neighborhood?)
I get the same question from my wife. (Except she doesn't call me "Dad")
When one of my kids asked that question my response was, "No, your mom and I are comfortable. You and your sister are poor."
Oh, and once a week we had to eat liver.
It reminds me of a bit on one of Tim Allens's shows. His daughter has made some outlandishly expensive request which has been denied by Tim. She gets panicky and asks "Oh my god!! Are we poor??"
To which he responds, "Well, you are poor. Your mom and I are doing fine."