“What purchase made you realize you were wealthy?”
"Rich people of Reddit, what purchase made you realize that you were wealthy?"
Weird as it sounds, I don't feel much richer now than I did pre-money. Neither my wife nor I are very big spenders--in the traditional Veblen-goods-buying sense. We have spent a lot on cars in the last six weeks, but those aren't the things that make me feel "rich". (In fact, dropping that much money in such a short time was more scary than anything. I probably won't repeat the experience.)
The feelings that I have traditionally associated with being rich--the ability to do what I want, when I want in the everyday sense of living--has been present more or less for the last few years, and certainly pre-money. Anyway, the things that make me feel rich are not ever thinking about:
Buying the exact thing I want, when I want it. Usually this is little household purchase, and really boring shit like really nice bed sheets, hand towels, and so forth. (omg I'm so old...)
Dropping $150 month on really good coffee beans that we make at home
Spending $25-35/lb for good steak that we make at home
Grocery bills, utility bills, gas for the cars, the random $500/mo we spend on Amazon, etc.
Paying for Netflix + Hulu + HBO Now
It's freedom from psychological weight, and those things existed before we qualified as anyone's definition of rich.This freedom from psychic weight is what makes me feel rich more than any single outflow of money ever did.
Stuff we don't spend money on, even though we could:
Faster internet service. We get by with 25Mbps, though when we move I might up it to 50 or 75, and go with the business class offering if it's available because they give you less bullshit when you need to call them on the phone.
Fancy credits cards like the Centurion or Palladium or whatever
We don't play games with: travel points, switching names on the cable bill to get a lower price, or "stocking up" when something is on sale, or any of the other millenial equivalents of "clipping coupons".
We don't play games with: travel points, switching names on the cable bill to get a lower price, or "stocking up" when something is on sale, or any of the other millenial equivalents of "clipping coupons". We didn't do that stuff pre-money, either.
Stuff we've done as "rich people" (or might do) that we've never done before...
We have a housecleaner now, even for this tiny, relatively shitty apartment that we live in. She comes once a week. Best $50/week we spend, omg.
We have our laundry washed and folded
Have groceries delivered, because fuck going to the grocery store
We pay for first class when we fly (In a few years, I might get a Netjets debit card, or whatever the equivalent is at that time. That still feels scary and ridiculous, though.)
