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^

When I mentioned replacing my kitchen my lovely friend recommended her architect and builders, who had just completed a six figure project on her house. I didn't think they'd be interested in taking on a 5 grand ikea kitchen in a former council maisonette.

😂😂😂 have a look at watches on the Argos website and give your head a wobble. We’re comfortable and I know £400 is not the price of a cheap watch! Apple Watches start at cheaper than that 🙄😂

£400 watch is a splurge to most people but not a high end watch.
Its all relative.
As a child / young teen an expensive watch TO ME was a Swatch, then in my 20s Armani or Gucci.
Now a Rolex, Jaegar etc. of course to a multi millionaire a 15k watch is nothing, but £400 is a good chunk of the monthly average wage.

Who remembers circling everything in the argos catalogue imagining being rich enough to buy it all? Good times hahhahah.

Oh and save us from the old mumsnet tropes of old money, real wealthy people wear £10 casios, covered in mud, in worn out cashmere covered in dog hair in their castles zzzzz.

Most upper middle class people have nice things, travel extensively and live in wonderful homes, there are very few upper class/ aristos around so its/they are irrelevant.

Oh lets not forget and how new money always have blinged out Phillip Pateks, Philip Plein, white range rovers, grey McMansions, fish lips and are loud and vulgar. Tired stereotypes.

By that logic, I think a £4000 Rolex is cheap because watches can cost millions.

Oh please. Don't turn it into one of those threads about how wonderful the dishevelled upper classes are compared to the nouveau riche.

This is the kind of thing I was expecting to see on this thread

Not skipping the opera or a booked holiday and forgetting you booked a string quartet… that’s a whole other level and tbh I suspect even most wealthy people wouldn’t do this

There's always one 🙄

My watch cost £35 ( I keep breaking and losing them so never spend ££ on them) but I still know that £400 is not much for a watch- it wouldn’t even buy you many clothes in Zara!

if I fancied an expensive ‘forever’ watch, I’d look at spending £3k on it. And that is entry level for expensive watches.

wealthy is spending £400 on a dress, and wearing it a couple of times before giving to charity, or buying a necklace and going off it.

none of this means that £400 isn’t a lot of money, but there are people on relatively modest incomes who’d own a £400 watch or similar ‘status’ item.

£400 doesn’t even buy a decent handbag f( which I agree is ridiculous, but 2k doesn’t even provide a wide choice)

Accept that everyone has different perspectives and incomes. £400 is expensive for some people and not for others depending on their lifestyles. Why is this worth arguing over?

400 pounds for a watch isn't cheap, it's just not a luxury watch. A cheap watch would be a 20-pound Casio. 400 pounds is the lower end of the mid-priced range, but "cheap" it isn't!

£400 on a watch is expensive to me, but purely because it would have cost maybe £2-3 to make. That's a pricey con you just fell for.

Conversely, I have bought a £39k watch and because of the waitlist and dealing history required to be offered to purchase one, it was worth an extra £10k the second I bought it. To me, that % return on investment makes that Patek a "cheap" watch

To the poster that said this.

Why on earth did your friend spend 65k on a horse?

My cousin bought a horse for her daughter for 2k

Yeah let's move on to looking at the person who spent 65k on a horse. That is a huge amount of money

I’d argue £4k is cheap for a Rolex. And a lucky price if you can get your hands on one! Nowadays they’re an over hyped fashion brand - very overrated but people like them and I’m just here with my basic Sub questioning why? 😂

Relatively speaking, £400 is cheap.

Some comments on this thread are making me cringe

dd has just gone to university and become friendly with a girl who is clearly from a very well off family ( think well known ladies boarding school, chauffer) somehow they started talking about skiing and dd said she'd never done it before and apparently this girl casually said " it's such fun you can come and stay with us in our chalet in Switzerland at Christmas and we will get one of the staff to teach you"

DD said her jaw actually dropped.. the way the girl spoke might as well have been inviting her for a cup of coffee

Watches are old fashioned now anyway. We all check the time on our phones.

A decent watch isn't really something you buy for yourself. They tend to be gifts for milestone birthdays etc. We live in an affluent area and I never see these rich folk driving old bangers and wearing £5 watches.

My watch cost £15 - thats a cheap watch.

That just cannot be true, about the rabbits.

Ok I’ll bite

I am by most standards wealthy. More than 2 million in the bank, house paid off etc
I do not however live a very extravagant life - no designer gear, no handbags, no £400 watch!

Things I recognise I take for granted-

Being able to have private health cover for the whole family and even if some services arent covered knowing we can pay for them if we are sick and need them.

Being able to fix the car if it needs anything or upgrade when due. Always having enough money to fill the tank.

Being able to catch a cab, buy a new train ticket or book into a hotel if travel plans go wrong and I’m stranded.

Taking a holiday every year

Wandering down the high street and being able to pop into shops to look and buy things if I want to without checking my balance (I’m not talking £400 watches because they don’t appeal to me but nice food, new trainers etc)

Pay for school trips and events without worrying or cutting back

Not panicking if I hear there are redundancies at work or not worrying I might get sick and not be able to work.

etc etc

I have always said that wealth doesn’t buy me luxury goods because I don’t want them but it buys me peace of mind in so many situations. It’s a very very fortunate position to be in. And it’s easy to end up taking that for granted a bit.

IMO it’s not having to think about when you are next paid

I agree

I think it’s the “not having to think about” and “not having to worry about” that marks out well off people. Paying for stuff without having to check your balance. Buying a new appliance when the old one breaks. Not worrying about bills or debt.

Also the ability to use money to solve problems - go private for school or healthcare if the state offering is crap. Tutor your child if they aren’t doing well. Private counselling for MH issues or marriage issues. Divorce with plenty of money for each partner to live separately if the relationship fails. Hating your job? Leave, savings will cover any gap. Etc.

IMO these things are way more of a marker of wealth than expensive watches

The watch debate is reminding me of the series "rich house, poor house"

The rich kid had a watch that was worth about 30k , and the poorer family were saying "wow for one watch. That amount of money would make such a difference in our lives"

My last boss used to send me out to buy nappies for the poodle for their yacht trips. She used to call me to buy jewellery at auctions
It's still in boxes in storage
Years ago, never worn
She just loved money but was deeply unhappy

Ha cross post Musclebeach