To be grateful that I have never defined myself by money.

Yes but again wanting a decent comfortable life doesn’t define many people, royals and super rich are a tiny tiny minority.

as said, having grown up skint, I can say it’s fucking awful and in no way aspirational

Were you happy?

Agree. Odd thing to do read about Andrew and react by thinking I’m so much better than him !

I think these are two extremes, skint v the wealth of royals.

for me success is multi faceted, its overall happiness, relationships etc as well as money, I grew up skint, and there is absolutely no joy in it. None what’s so ever.

I personally prefer having money and being happy vs being skint and happy. It doesn’t mean I define myself by it, just means I have a comfortable life.

In the words of Gabrielle Solis “money doesn’t buy happiness is a lie we tell poor people so they don’t riot”

You seem to be conflating two different things. Plenty of wealthy people have great friends and family. Plenty of poor people do not.

Having so little money that a large part of your existence is spent simply surviving is not a great way to have to live IMO, regardless of how wonderful your friends and family are.

I'd argue that perhaps once you get to a certain level of wealth that you know you can easily afford the basics and at least some luxuries, that having more and more money is less important that some other things.

There’s a different mindset when you are fabulously properly internationally rich. Not me sadly but have got to know a family like this. It’s fascinating. I do think something is lost though. Kids take things for granted it’s easy to spoil them and harder to instil a work ethic. There are issues only different ones.

You do realise you’re privileged to be able to have this viewpoint though right? People who say things like “you don’t need money to be happy, I’d rather be poor and happy” blah, blah, have obviously never experienced true poverty. If they had they’d know just how important money is, and that it’s impossible to be truly poor and happy.

Yes, when I see threads by women who can't leave their husbands because they don't have money or financial independence or women who wonder how they'll feed a family on the few pounds left before payday, the last thing I'm thinking is 'these women are defined by money'.

It's called "Lifestyle Creep" and it's insiduous. Congratulations for managing to avoid it, I guess?

If I had continued to live the money lifestyle attitude of my 25 year old self with my 38 year old income I'd have saved a packet. But life tricks you into "growing up".

Both my children earn good money but they don’t make it their be all and end all.

It's easy not to think about money when you have it, as you and your well off children know.

Come back when you're below the poverty line.

I'm not seeing these threads tbh.

Or perhaps, I'm not reading then the same way you are

OMG OP these are my thoughts exactly. Twice in the last month or so I’ve had people say ‘I don’t know where I went wrong’, even though they stay in detached houses, own business. But they aren’t quite as rich as their friends and that’s a bugbear.
I’m in a two bed end terrace. It’s all a state of mind. Sure I’d be happy in a detached house with a bigger garden for the dog to run around in, but I like my little house. It’s a cosy haven. I find people can focus on the negatives, when they should appreciate what they already have and focus on the little things that bring them happiness and contentment instead 😁🌸.

It's not much of a flex to start a thread congratulating yourself for being morally superior to the Andrew formerly known as Prince.

But have you ever been really, truly skint?

I’m so grateful I have always defined “success”

there.

Life is much easier if money is not an issue. I have been a CP social worker for 20 years, so I will never be rich and I was widowed at a young age and living on only my income was a constant source of stress. In the real world (outside mumsnet where a household income needs to be far above the national average), I have been fortunate in that my income has been enough to keep us solvent. I have had years of frozen pay and we are certainly not well off but I see relative poverty every day. This is not only financial, but includes poverty in terms of life chances due to many factors No one wants to admit it, but a luck plays a huge part for most people when it comes down to it.

I like having money, money solves so many of lives problems. However health and happy relationships are the most important thing. I know lots of lovely happy people who are very well off. Being wealthy doesn’t make you obnoxious any more than being skint does.

I don’t really get the equivalency between the disaster that is Prince Andrew exploring his status as ‘chosen by god’ child of royalty, and your average mumsnetter aspiring to a slightly better quality of life via earning a decent income tbh.

I'd love to define myself by money but I don't have enough 😁

Andrew has had access to levels of wealth most people can never dream of.

That is a very different thing to financial security.

My granny lost a tiny baby girl because she lived in a time and place with no free healthcare. She couldn't afford the doctor's bills. She died of dementia in her 80s, but that lost baby was crystal clear in her mind to the end.

Saying money doesn't matter tends to be a hallmark of privilege ime.