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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder what you need to have to be considered rich?

57 replies

boxingboxer · 06/02/2011 15:15

well, that really?

Am i rich because I own my house?
Am i rich because I have a car?
Am i rich because I can feed my kids?

When does one become rich?

OP posts:
wendihouse22 · 06/02/2011 17:01

I feel not so much "rich" but certainly "comfortably off" and yet.....

We have a mortgage.
I have a 5yr old car.
We have one "bucket and spade" holiday a year, nothing fancy.

To be really rich, money needs to be no object.

I'm "rich" because my husband's in a job with a nice company car; I'm a stay at home mum because nothing fits with my disabled son's shortened school day; we are able to live in a "nice area" with low crime rate and I feel safe (pretty much) when I'm out and about and (within reason) I can shop without having to check the prices for the absolute cheapest option.

Yep, I think I'm pretty well off when I see how other people have to live/survive.

These days......THAT makes me rather well off.

The3Bears · 06/02/2011 17:21

Just being able to get whatever you want and not worrying about money :)

TattyDevine · 06/02/2011 17:25

An account with Coutts & Co...

FellatioNelson · 06/02/2011 17:28

Completely agree with Blueshoes -perfectly put! The trouble is, having some money subtly changes you, and your expectations (not necessarily in a bad way) and the goalposts constantly move. You measure yourself against different criteria, so it can be hard to ever reach a point where you truly feel rich. I imagine that feeling very very rich is actually quite a miserable palce to be.

We had a time for about two or three years where we felt rich. What did we do? We changed our home, our cars, our children's schools, and that was it - job done - we started having to fret about money again!

ambarth · 06/02/2011 17:58

It's all subjective but my own personal classification would be being able to

Afford all essentials
owning a house in a nice area
sending kids to private school
a foreign holiday once a year
activities for kids like ballet and music lessons
eating out regularly
being able to afford nice evenings out such as the theatre.
being able to afford to have hobbies
being able to run a car

If you can do all of the above you are rich in my opinion. If you can afford at least four you are doing well, three comfortable. Again, this is my own personal opinion.

TrollyMcTrollPants · 06/02/2011 18:04

At the moment my idea of being rich would be

  1. Getting to the check-out of a supermarket and not having the gut-wrenching feeling that you have miscounted and will have to put something back.

  2. Being able to afford the nice embroidered School polo-shirts for DS1

I think mine are pretty common though!!

toddlerama · 06/02/2011 18:09

Paying higher tax rate. That's why you have to pay it - because you're rich!

TheButterflyCollector · 06/02/2011 18:10

Now I would call those on your list affluent, but certainly not rich, Ambarth. Rich to me are the Ferrari driving set who don't question whether they can afford a 4x4 and a country house for the weekends.

Alouiseg · 07/02/2011 11:07

This made me chuckle, a friend of a friends daughter went to a party a couple of weeks ago. The party bags contained Ipads...amongst other things!

I'd define the party givers as very possibly rich.

headfairy · 07/02/2011 11:10

OMG Alouiseq... I want to know your friends friends... never mind the kids getting the party bag, I'd be taking it :o

Alouiseg · 07/02/2011 11:16

Apparently it was the type of party where the driver/bodyguard dropped the nanny off with the child.

hogsback · 07/02/2011 11:19

In Africa - richness is based on the no. of cows and no. of children you have !

Yeah, and they all run around in grass skirts with spears too Hmm

LeQueen · 07/02/2011 11:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Alouiseg · 07/02/2011 11:25

I think I'll feel rich when I can use netjets rather than commercial airlines, but I guess the netjet users would rather have their own plane Hmm

Takver · 07/02/2011 11:26

Alouiseg, I think I would rather not be rich if it means needing a bodyguard Grin

OP, I guess in comparison to a majority of people in the world if you can do all of your list you are definitely rich . . . so it depends whether you want to count by UK or world standards.

christmaswishes · 07/02/2011 12:21

Alouise,

I bet most of the netjets wouldn't want their own jets - would be a constant headache and it wouldn't get the use that would justify 30 million being spent.

PlanetEarth · 07/02/2011 12:27

Guess I just can't imagine being rich enough to need a bodyguard, or to have a jet. I move in the wrong circles - or maybe the right circles! A friend works freelance for various families, some of whom are pretty rich with fabulous houses, and to be honest it seems to make her unhappy.

MisSalLaneous · 07/02/2011 12:31

It's all relative. And the more you have, the more you want / "need". So really, I think if you have enough to live comfortably in a decent area, not have to worry about food, heating, clothes, perhaps a simple holiday, you are rich enough.

headfairy · 07/02/2011 12:33

For me it would mean being able to buy a large 6 bed house with lots of reception rooms outright.
Lots of land so we could have a couple of horses.
A holiday home in the alps.
A yacht (nothing silly, but we've both done a lot of sailing and it's a dream of mine to have a nice boat, 45-50 foot, down on the south coast for days out - maybe a bit of racing)
Three or four really nice holidays a year, something nice and hot in winter, followed by a bit of skiing at the holiday home, a really nice summer holiday and then something fun in late Autumn/winter (Christmas shopping in NYC springs to mind, maybe Boston for the fall)
Enough money to be able to send the children to private schools if needed, though if local state schools were good enough I'd be happy to send them there and spend the money on holidays :o
Some nice treats, a few pieces of expensive jewellery, a few really nice paintings.
Being able to afford the above without having to work, or at least being able to work at something for pleasure (I've always wanted to be a photographer)

Can you tell I've give this a LOT of thought? :o

cazzybabs · 07/02/2011 12:36

when there is no-one richer in your peer group

alfabetty · 07/02/2011 12:48

I think you can say you have achieved material wealth when you can afford luxury items - Hermes bag, luxury car, bigger house - but you decide that actually, you don't want them.

Until that point there's always that hankering feeling of 'if I had a bit more money I'd buy/have ....'. So you always feel a bit under-done on the material wealth. It is quite liberating to realise that I could have that 'desirable' item, but I actually don't want it or don't value it enough to buy it.

Alouiseg · 07/02/2011 13:00

AlfaBetty Good point, well made :o

stoppinattwo · 07/02/2011 13:02

When you dont have to look at the price tag before you buy Grin

HappySeven · 07/02/2011 13:42

Surely it's when you have more than the person doing the wondering?

My mum likes to say "extravagance is what other people spend their money on".

GMajor7 · 07/02/2011 13:50

Rich = not having any money worries Smile