[quote=FlyerInHi] . . . My young cousin is very smart but always a slacker. He graduated from engineering school then went to work chopping wood on a farm in Northern California. That caused a lot of scolding from his dad.
He then got married and is now working for a university, making 1/3 what he could in Silicon Valley. But he bikes 3 miles to work everyday.
Lucky for him, he married a girl with a large trust fund (but modest earthy-crunchy tastes who likes guys like him) so they now have a cool, paid-off mid-century split-level (before that he was living in an old house with roommates). His salary takes care of all their needs since they have no mortgage, plus they have funds to travel around and enjoy.
Dad keeps his mouth shut because the son is now rich. But had he married someone with nothing, he could easily have been poor with kids.
I’m telling you, money makes a huge difference in how people perceive you and deal with you. Not that easy to leave the rat race.[/quote]
Your cousin married well, brian. His spouse isn’t ostentatious enough to go thru her trust fund and that is very smart. He can always apply for an engineering job in the future if he wishes as he will never lose what is in his brain. Your cousin is only “rich” by proxy. If he ever splits from his spouse, whatever remains in her “trust fund” is her sole asset.
Nevertheless, I think it is great that they both have choices on how to live their lives at such a young age. I say bravo to that.
And I agree with your last paragraph as well, although I believe you can’t necessarily judge a book by its cover. My mom (now deceased) retired from Coors Brewery in CO. She told me that the two Coors sons (ages 40-50 at the time) came to work everyday in Levis 501’s, a colored T shirt, a plaid flannel shirt over that (with quilted lining in the winter) and in their hard hats and carrying black metal lunch buckets with plaid Thermoses inside. When they had meetings, they “dressed up” in placket polos with a Coors logo and polyester pants (in that era, lol). They worked on the line every day and lunched on long tables with the minions but were/are members of one of the wealthiest, most philanthropic families in CO.
I have several relatives who are multimillionaires in their own right who do not even own a flat-screen TV or smart phone. LOTS of truly “wealthy people” are not big consumers. So I disagree with you on this point.
