Rustico & co. I agree it is very relative, that is the nature of my table. I do not conote rich with anytying other than money. It has nothing to do with happiness, freedom, or anything else. Money, when managed properly, can buy degrees of financial freedom, which in turn can broaden your choices to contribute to your happiness, but it can just as easily, when managed poorly, buy misery, divorce, and despair. The old saying “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” rings true for the “richer” they are.
You can be worth millions and worry about money every day, or middle-middle class and have nary a worry in the world.
A number of years ago, after I bought my first house and was a bit smug in my financial success to my brother, he swiftly put me in my place and made a comment that taught me a lesson that resulted in a more balanced perspective on life for me. He said “you may make several times more than I do and spent a lot of money for your new house, but my house is almost twice as big as yours on 10 times the land for 1/3 the cost, and I have a boat to ride on the lake next to my house, have all my weekends off and get home by 5, while you work three times as much to have 1/3 the life I do.” Yes he does not live in California.
My job may never let me work the hours he does, but my very move to SD was a QOL decision for my family. My $$ will go a lot farther there than here and a 5-10 min commute is better than 1-1.5hrs.
But I digress. As I said, my view of rich here is very parochial and focused only on $$, not more worthy measures.
