AIBU to think being wealthy is vastly overrated?

I sort of agree. We are not millionaires but we are a 6 figure household and we have a really great life. We don't need to budget for food, don’t have to worry if the kids need a new pair of school shoes. We go one three holidays a year, eat out once a week and manage to save 5 figures a year for a rainy day/investing.

If we were millionaires there isn’t much more we would need that we can’t already buy, other than more things, more holidays, bigger house (which we don’t need), fancier car (which we don’t need) But I think you’re overlooking the fact it’s easy to be dismissive of wealth when you have it.

I grew up for a large part of my childhood on the poverty line and it was miserable. There isn’t a single part of our life that wouldn’t have been helped then with more money.

I can't think of a single life event that wouldn't be made even worse by worrying about money in addition.

Money is a buffer.

Do you distribute some of your wealth to those in need?

I’m no where near as wealthy as you OP, probably the richest in our friendship group though, I do NOT think we’re the happiest however!

I do think we sleep easier at night though and definitely have lower stress levels, but I don’t think that makes you happy.

honestly I want to try something else, I’ve always wanted to be a dinner lady!

Here's my non-satirical take.

Money can't make you happy per se, BUT it can buy you routes to happiness.

You can escape from people who cause you misery and desperation.

You can afford decent healthcare and don't have to live in fear of bad health - you or your children

If something goes horrendously wrong you have a means to get back up on your feet, quickly, and without obligation to others.

You are not trapped by bad people who want to use you for their own gain.

You have the freedom of choice - you can choose peace of mind over trouble, calm and contentment over abject worry, fear and emotional turmoil.

You can buy as many cats as you want, and fuck everyone who says you can't/shouldn't etc. You can choose to live with your cats and slam the door on the rest of cold, cruel society never needing to engage again, beyond the delivery driver who delivers the cat food. And yours.

So in these ways, money can absolutely purchase you your slice of heavenly peace.

Amen

I’m not denying anything. There is a strong link between life expectancy and wealth.

In the end we all die.

I’ve just read the OP @ForLoudBrickMember and noticed that you said ‘the average person seems to believe…every rich person is a genius’.

Where did you get that idea? I think many rich people are absolutely not geniuses, most of them are just very privileged and fortunate. Some of them have got rich through being very entrepreneurial but that’s absolutely not the same thing as being a genius. Some of them have got rich from dodgy dealings and avoiding the tax man. That’s not what I call genius either.

In fact most of the people I know who I believe have some level of genius are actually piss poor. That’s kind of how the world works. Maybe you use a different definition of ‘genius’ to me.

Anyway, I know you’re long gone or possibly not real in the first place. I just had to laugh that you think the average person looks up to rich people as geniuses. C’mon. Donald Trump? Elon Musk? Kardashians? Geniuses they are not.

And by the way, at the most aggressive rate of return possible, the OP would have to have around 13 million invested to earn 1m passive income/year. It would be very unusual indeed to have everything in high risk, high return investments. No financial advisor worth the air they breathe would agree to that. They almost always advise a mix of conservative, moderate and higher yield, so assuming a mixed risk level, the OP would need something more like 20m invested to be receiving that level of passive income.

I'm leaving posters to judge the likelihood of that for themselves.

🤣🤣

Exactly not to be taken with a pinch of salt
But the whole contents of the Saxa salt factory.

Sure, but you can't deny the link between life expectancy and income.

https://www.health.org.uk/resources-and-toolkits/data-tools/evidence-hub/relationship-between-income-and-life-expectancy-by

This is due to a mix of genetics, lifestyle choices, and environment.

The phrase "death is the great equaliser" means that every person dies, no matter how rich, powerful, or famous they are in life. Wealth, status, and strength cannot stop death. In the end, everyone faces the same fate.

@vodkaredbullgirl

Ha ha - yes - popcorn indeed. My thought is this OP:

It's easier to cry in a Mercedes than on a bike

You say that, but I observe that my Nan and the queen were born very close together, looked very similar in their earlier life, but mysteriously the queen managed to live twenty years longer despite her busy schedule and stressful relatives….

The way that money makes people happier is by smoothing their path through life, it isn’t intrinsically amusing on its own.
There are probably thousands of small incidents that can wear you down even in a few months of being very poor (even if you are housed and not starving), if you have money you don’t experience any of them.
Whereas at the other end of the scale, after a couple of incredible shopping sprees/holidays and flexing in front of some people, the novelty value of even huge amounts will die away as with any experience.

I don't understand the issue if you love your job and don't want to retire. I can see how it wouldn't be worth it if you sacrificed your whole life for work but you could easily reap the rewards for a few years then do something less stressful.

I can also see how people that come into money instantly struggle sometimes. It'd be a huge adjustment to win millions and a lot of pressure feeling like you had to help everyone out.

Don’t take it to heart, it’s not real.

How can it feel both normal and isolating…

LOL, you are absolutely right of course. There have been a lot of these types of posts lately - I just engage with the general idea of the opening question posited until I get too much flack/get bored. Am not entirely sure that more than 15% of the threads on here these days are authentic, rather than engagement farming for discourse analysts. Best to take it all with a pinch of salt and have fun with it whilst avoiding the ironing pile…

It's something I'm never likely to know

People earning the average wage can still afford a comfortable house, decent car, food, occasional holiday etc.

In fact, many of them cannot.

Nailed it. Bet she won't though.

Of course it isn't over rated. There's not a single thing in life that isn't easier if you're financially secure. Every awful thing that can happen to a person from ill health, to bereavement to relationship breakdown carries less stress with a cushion of wealth behind you than it would without it.
Most importantly it gives you options. Don't like your life? You're not trapped in it. Use your security to make change.
And if all else fails and your money isn't making you happy, you can always give it away and experience the warm glow of making someone else happy.

Cannot believe you had the audacity to post this.

Being rich is boring to you?

I think that’s the most privileged and out of touch thing I’ve ever read on here.

Try struggling to feed your children and relying on food banks to keep them fed.

Having money gives you a level of freedom because you can afford to make choices and you are not stuck with limited options. That means choices over healthcare, schools, college/university, housing location, holidays, retirement dates, care homes, quality of food, quality of clothing, country you live in etc.

You can also choose to take a lower paid, less pressured job.