The casual things that wealthy people take for granted

[KaleQueen]

Inspired by a thread that’s gone totally off topic….where someone suggested a £400 watch was cheap.

What’s the most casual (even accidental) brag you’ve ever heard a wealthy person say?

I can start as I know someone who celebrated a big birthday recently and is an absolutely lovely person but during their party (in the wonderful house) they said “oh! Here comes the string quartet. I had completely forgotten about them!”

^www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5174898-to-feel-slightly-suspicious-of-dp?page=35&reply=138771616^

OMG I absolutely love their stuff!

Not actually returning things that are the wrong size , or aren’t what you ordered online , because the return is a bigger pain than taking it to a charity shop . My mum used to run one in an extremely wealthy part of Surrey , and my goodness the donations that used to be brought in , never worn , still with the tags on . Designer labels , fabulous handbags , and the shoes . My god the shoes . Quite a lot they sold online to reach a bigger audience.

To highlight that the majority of people in the UK shop in places like Argos rather than Harrods and therefore the majority of the UK population would regard £400 for a watch as expensive.

Seemed quite clear to me the point I was making but hopefully you will now grasp my point.

@Disappearedwife You misquoted me by the way

Completely agree with you but want to thank you for your username. Literally trying to describe my sandwich choice from Sainsbury’s to my family yesterday and your username perfectly articulates it

@Evo20 i think you have explained it very well. I have some relatively wealthy friends and it is like this.

For me it’s that safety net of wealth that is unshakable, the inheritance pipeline and bank of mum and dad that is absolutely certain.

Even if your income is high, it’s so hard to create the same level of wealth and accumulation of assets that those who have benefited from inherited wealth.

I think this will be an interesting read if perhaps somewhat infuriating! https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674257719 The wealthy elite are just as likely to secure the top jobs and opportunities as they ever were. The difference is just how much time they try to convince the rest of us that they are ‘normal’ just like us.

The thread title and the OP don't seem to match up.

Going on the title, it's the perks that come with being well off. Better bank accounts with freebies thrown in, you can pay for things in cash but you get offered 0% finance, basically everyone is fighting for your custom.

And on the watch argument, £400 is entry level for a decent watch.

Majority of U.K. can shop at Argos therefore not an expensive shop therefore not wealthy…

wealthy means top of end of the earning spectrum. Wealthy does not mean shopping at Argos

I think the point of the £400 watch was- it’s not an investment. I won’t appreciate like some watches will, and people buy them for that purpose. If someone pays £40,000 for a watch, they can almost certainly guarantee to get a decent return on that.

One thing I’ve found… is friends just expecting you can afford dinner out. Like I have quite a few friends/ friendship groups and all the time it’s like let’s go out for dinner etc and then split the bill. I want to go out and spend £30 so I can afford to go out to everything. But they make you split it and you spend more so then I say no to going out as I know I can afford what I want but I can’t afford to split the sodding bill!

When we were teens we could just say oh I can’t afford that… now for some reason in our middle class circles , we have to not speak about money or lack off and it’s just assumed we can always go out and pay whatever the bill is ?’!

Ironically- it’s the not having to pay for everything..

as a pp mentioned: being wealthy usually means lots of rich friends, so you can go on a ski holiday to a friend’s chalet, use your god mother’s holiday home somewhere chic and sunny.

Making choices about your career path based on what you enjoy - rather than what will give you enough money to buy a decent home in London.

being able to invest £££ in your own business, with the knowledge that if it fails, you still stand to inherit a fortune and won’t lose your home.

and basically being able to take a risk knowing you have a nest egg.

Patek Phillippe is known for their vulgarity 🤣

I disagree. I think the point was very well made. If you want to see whether a watch is cheap you go to a place that is known to sell cheap watches.
If you wanted to see how much a cheap mattress was you would go to a high street mattress retailer, not an artisan luxury mattress retailer.

To go more extreme (and silly) if you were looking gor a cheap mode of transport you would look in a bike shop, not an aeroplane shop.

Now if you were looking for the price of expensive watches you would be going into those shops on bond street, but we're not talking about expensive watches, we're talking about cheap watches. Mine cost £5.

I got a fully papered Belgian Warmblood for a pound !

Does she offer them to other people? We missed the Bolshoi ballet once because I was unwell and I am still a bit angry at myself years later. Especially as now we have no chance of seeing them.

So you agree with me now then? £400 is expensive for a watch because, as you correctly state, wealthy does not mean shopping at Argos and 97% of watches in Argos are below £400. Therefore, If £400 was ‘cheap’ for a watch as you claim, Argos would surely sell a lot more at this price to us poor folk who shop there.

I do find the talk of whether a £400 watch is expensive or not absolutely hilarious when there are watches out there costing £400,000 plus from the likes of F. P. Journe for example. A £400 watch is nothing. Even if you compared to low end Longines or Tag.

@KaleQueen
sorry for derailing, could you link the thread you're referring to?

Thank youuuuu!!!!!

£400 is not an expensive watch.

Again, I presume you have access to information via the internet about the cost of truely expensive watches.

Not the point of the thread, but these replies have made me think about the link between class and wealth. I mean, of course most people can't afford a £400 watch- it's loads of money for the majority of people- but for some on here, it's "entry level." (!!) But the very wealthy people I know from the upper classes would never dream of spending £400 on a watch- they'd go for a £10 waterproof one from Argos that is simple and functional. And they're not arsed about posh cars or expensive holidays or designer clothes either.
I don't know what my point is or even if there is one. It's just interesting to me that these very visible, public displays of wealth tend to come from people who are not generationally wealthy.

I can understand the both these things, even when I'm looking forward to a break, I still utterly dread the packing and there may be the occasional moan about it. Although it's been a long time since I ve been on a proper sunny holiday.
I also can't think of anything worse than a holiday based on rich food and wine...although I wouldn't book one!

Your £400 phone? 😆

That’s not how things work.

If £400 for a watch is small change… I’m happy to accept small change!!! PayPal transaction prefered or COD 😂😂😂