The Middle Class Mind / The Wealthy Mind

Blackhood · Jun 10, 2011

Money is to Happiness as Aeroplane is to Australia; it isn't actually Australia, but it remains the only reasonable way of getting there.

foodguy · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by Blackhood

Money is to Happiness as Aeroplane is to Australia; it isn't actually Australia, but it remains the only reasonable way of getting there.

that's too binary. certainly, you need a certain amount of money to be able to do the things you want and be secure. but i know far too many really wealthy people who wish with all their hearts that they were doing something else. but i think for a lot of people, money becomes the scoreboard. if you can raise your family and be secure with a little bit less by doing something you love, i think you're a lot more likely to be happy than if you're like some greyhound chasing a rabbit around a ring.

mr.orange · Jun 10, 2011

Rich dad, poor dad sucks ballz. Anyone looking to read it I advise you to not waste your time. There's a thread here that totally discredits the book and the author that you must read.

I will say this; our needs/wants far exceed our resources.

Piobaire · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by foodguy

my wife and i drive older infinitis. my CLEANING LADY drives a new mercedes.

Only in America.

cross22 · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by foodguy

my wife and i drive older infinitis. my CLEANING LADY drives a new mercedes.

A few jobs ago there was a cleaning lady in our office that drove the same exact car as me, same model, year, and color. I was the butt of jokes for years.

foodguy · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Only in America.

it's kind of funny; kind of sad. it's probably the only thing with any status value she'll own in her life. and, of course, it's leased. ms. foodguy really chewed her out about it (she's been with us for almost 20 years), but didn't make much of an impression.

in stitches · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by Don Carlos

A former titan of my particular industry put it this way: "Nobody ever got rich off a salary. No matter how high the salary."

If you want to get rich -- I mean ****-you-money rich -- then you need to own something. That can be real property, it can be intellectual property, it can be a company, it can be a monetized idea, it can be patents, it can be a personal brand, it can be privileged access to something desirable and in short supply, or whatever the case may be. But ownership confers wealth. More specifically: ownership of something others want to buy* from you confers wealth.

In this sense, no, trying to maximize a corporate salary and squirrel away as much money as you can save over 30+ years is not going to make you wealthy. If you want to become really wealthy, you need to take risk and work your ass off to realize the return on that risk.

*Whether literally or figuratively.

warning did not read entire thread

while i do agree with you partially. salary/job can be parlayed into ownership.

start at law firm/doc practice/acct firm.... -----> become partner ------> retain ownership in profitable company ------> profit

i know at least a dozen people who have serious **** you money from this equation

patrickBOOTH · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by in stitches

warning did not read entire thread

while i do agree with you partially. salary/job can be parlayed into ownership.

start at law firm/doc practice/acct firm.... -----> become partner ------> retain ownership in profitable company ------> profit

i know at least a dozen people who have serious **** you money from this equation

I agree, many corporate officers are compensated with stock. Stock is ownership. That nobody has gotten rich off of a salary is flawed.

Blackhood · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by foodguy

that's too binary. certainly, you need a certain amount of money to be able to do the things you want and be secure. but i know far too many really wealthy people who wish with all their hearts that they were doing something else. but i think for a lot of people, money becomes the scoreboard. if you can raise your family and be secure with a little bit less by doing something you love, i think you're a lot more likely to be happy than if you're like some greyhound chasing a rabbit around a ring.

One can be in Australia without having a aeroplane though. Money simply facilitates happiness, in the same way that a loving couple who have been thrown out on the streets are still in need of money. Its not to say that only money can/will make you happy, but even a candle light dinner requires cash for candles, and well loved children need medical care.

Piobaire · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by foodguy

it's kind of funny; kind of sad. it's probably the only thing with any status value she'll own in her life. and, of course, it's leased. ms. foodguy really chewed her out about it (she's been with us for almost 20 years), but didn't make much of an impression.

Which actually is a part of financial thinking that really does differentiate classes of people in the US (and I suspect much of the Western world.) I think high schools should have household finance courses mandatory. Of course, we'll run into that other thread's problem about who can we trust that a) will be a teacher and b) can do this subject matter justice?

JayJay · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Which actually is a part of financial thinking that really does differentiate classes of people in the US (and I suspect much of the Western world.) I think high schools should have household finance courses mandatory. Of course, we'll run into that other thread's problem about who can we trust that a) will be a teacher and b) can do this subject matter justice?
I agree but also feel colleges should make such courses part of the gen ed curriculum.

thinman · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by foodguy

i'm certainly not wealthy by anyone's standards, let alone SF "fallback job". But I've got all of those things -- a paid-off house that I like, a job that I would probably pay to do, a wife who is able to take early retirement and friends all over the world. If I needed to, I could certainly support myself doing freelance. The point isn't to brag, but to say that attaching an arbitrary number to what is "wealthy" is very difficult. so much of it depends on what is important to you. to paraphrase the old blues song goes: "I didn't say I had more money than a millionaire, but i've eaten in better restaurants."

/thread

foodguy · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by Blackhood

One can be in Australia without having a aeroplane though. Money simply facilitates happiness, in the same way that a loving couple who have been thrown out on the streets are still in need of money. Its not to say that only money can/will make you happy, but even a candle light dinner requires cash for candles, and well loved children need medical care.

of course. i thought that was clear in my post. sorry.

foodguy · Jun 10, 2011

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Which actually is a part of financial thinking that really does differentiate classes of people in the US (and I suspect much of the Western world.) I think high schools should have household finance courses mandatory. Of course, we'll run into that other thread's problem about who can we trust that a) will be a teacher and b) can do this subject matter justice?

this might make a difference, but i'm afraid it also falls into that old [gasp!] liberal trap of believing that "if only people knew better, they would make better decisions". i'm afraid people react to a lot of impulses that aren't strictly rational or even conscious. and there is no better example of that than anything having to do with status (as should be obvious from MC and SWD!). I mean, on one level, it's no sillier for my cleaning lady to drive a $600-a-month Mercedes than it is for some 20-year-old who is still living with his parents to spend $300 on a pair of sneakers.

Reevolving · Jun 10, 2011

^^^ You mean $500 on a pair of shoes...

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