To think most rich people don’t understand how the rest of us live?

[MyAmusedOpalCrab]

I keep seeing advice from wealthy people that is completely out of touch with reality - things like “just buy a house instead of renting” or “take a year off to travel and find yourself.” Even when they mean well, there’s a lack of awareness about how difficult things are for the average person. I’m not saying all rich people are like this but it does seem that extreme wealth can create a bubble where they forget what it’s like to struggle.

AIBU to think that most rich people genuinely don’t understand how the rest of us live? Or do you think this is unfair?

Poor people also have to pay nursery fees and council tax and housing and tax and you may not have 4 times what others have but you still have a lot more

I've seen some absolutely ridiculous posts on here.

One woman was talking about problems with her daughter, who was questioning her gender identity and saying she was a boy. She was concerned about her daughter being indoctrinated online. She seemed to be following things on instagram.

One woman was genuinely saying she would take her daughter out of school, quit her job and take her travelling for a year to find herself. Remove her phone and take her travelling all over the world. Who's got money to not work and fund the mortgage or rent for a year and go travelling around the world on a jolly for 2 people.

I read advice once in response to a blended step family not really, getting along, was to split the family back up again. Sell the house and buy two more houses. So they live apart with their respective children and go back to a non living together, relationship. They were a married couple and had been together for a while. Just go and buy two houses and have two sets of mortgage, council tax bills, etc was the advice given.

Those things can only be done if there is a considerable amount of money available to the family.

But then I grew up in her family where I had to wait for my mum to go and collect the benefits on monday morning at the Post Office, so we had food to eat and a bus fare to school. Maybe i'm the one that's out of touch.

Surely the point is, not understanding who other people live isn’t the preserve of “wealthy” people (whatever that means).

As always it seems absolutely fine to bash anyone who has some money but the minute you suggest those on a low income have done anything wrong at all, ever, nobody wants to hear it.

Absolutely, in the same way I have no idea how the well off or even comfortably off live. I can go through periods of time feeling quite comfortably off and thinking hm I really am quite privileged (and don't get me wrong, in many ways I am privileged - I have a roof over my head, food, a loving family, can afford cheap luxuries, etc.), but then I'll speak to someone who is ACTUALLY comfortably off and get a rude shock 😂

I agree with you OP. I've been very poor and experienced homelessness, and most of my family are quite poor, but I was very lucky from the age of about 25 to get out of that trap, and I still forget, even though I lived it.

Ok

Even if I was a billionaires I'd still favour public transport and active travel over even considering a car.

It’s not only wealthy people who out of touch. DH’s family aren’t rich at all, but SIL - retired last month- has never moved out. So, never paid rent/mortgage, utilities, home insurance etc. She constantly berates DH for not having disposable money and not donating enough to charities.

Tell that to people earning more than the minimum wage who have the audacity to still live in social housing. If a wealthier person finds themselves in a situation where they can’t afford to keep their kids in their school they are told just to move somewhere cheaper. If a person in social housing has to leave their home, the system takes in to consideration that they shouldn’t have to move away from their local area. It’s either ok for kids to move school because of family circumstances or it’s not.

@Pavingprincess proving the point of the thread with absolutely no irony.

The reason this is more of a problem when rich people are out of touch with how low-income people live is because rich people overwhelmingly are the ones in positions of power and influence over things like policy, national spending, etc.

So while it's true that anyone can struggle to understand how someone from a different social or economic group lives, it's less of a tangible issue if a poor person doesn't understand how a rich person lives because they've no power of a rich person's life (talking in societal terms). But rich people not being aware of how poorer people live can actually affect important things.

Assuming that these people giving somewhat haphazard suggestions on the internet are ‘ rich’ is naieve.
They are just people passing the time on the internet. They could be anyone, or trolling, or, anything…but you assume they are “ rich”. You could widen your parameters somewhat and stop assuming everyone that says impractical or out of the box suggestions are ‘rich’. Brainstorming ideas on the internet is a game all of its own, you never know what might resonate or spark a new idea.. people don’t throw out ideas after carefully studying your bank statements, on a chat thread.

If you have never experienced something then you can't fully understand it. I can't comprehend being mega rich, equally I can't compregend living in a slum in Brazil for example. I can try and think what it might be like, but I would be way off. I am too far removed.

I keep seeing advice from wealthy people that is completely out of touch with reality - things like “just buy a house instead of renting” or “take a year off to travel and find yourself.”

I am struggling to recall seeing/hearing anything like this except from weird Americans on Reddit.

Haven't read all the responses but agree. Not badly off - but I was with a much wealthier friend recently who was pushing for us to go away for a weekend. I said I can't afford it at the mo, she said 'but it doesn't need to be a super-expensive hotel or anything...'

She just couldn't seem to compute that right now, I just don't have any spare money whatsoever. A few hundred quid (and more in fact) is nothing to her. It's not her 'fault' but if you have the kind of money when there's always at least several grand in the current account, I think you begin to lose sight of what's 'normal'.

I agree. I saw a lovely house on mumsnet last week..four bed semi…315 thousand asking price. That house would be 700 to 800 thousand in Greater London or probably more in London. No child benefit, high taxation, high train fares, and very expensive nursery care.

I follow a fashion influencer on YT and IG. She is/was obviously rich before her influencer status.

Yesterday I was watching one of her recent videos in which she was showcasing her latest autumn wardrobe. She started off by stating that nice clothes do not need to be expensive then went on to show approx 6 items, all from Lilysilk and totalling around £1,500. She then proceeded to show off her room which she has had kitted out specifically for her wardrobe showcase videos and telling everyone that her home has 6 bedrooms.

I sat there thinking how detached these people are from everyday reality.

Cheap house was in swindon

I lived through extremely hard times in my childhood actually. Worked hard at terrible secondary school, one of the few people who managed to emerge with good grades, went to uni with a full maintenance grant, studied hard, did professional exams, all to give my kids an easier childhood than I did. I know a lot of people in my workplace with similar stories. It’s experiencing poverty in childhood that makes you want to strive for more, so your children can eat properly, go on holiday, buy quality clothes that last rather than the cheapest possibly clothing (this was always a false economy!).

I think my sort of story will become less common in the future unfortunately where your lifestyle will be more dependent on any inheritance you do or don’t receive, and this understanding between the socioeconomic groups will become even less.

Define “a lot”?

It is possible to be earning quite a bit more than someone on NMW but still have the same amount of disposable income.

Exactly - which is why rich people go bankrupt too!

I think this is just life really. Most people only fully understand the lives of the people who are in the same position they are, you only know what you know.

I do understand the point, however I also think a lot of people who consider themselves working class don't realise they likely have similar income to middle class. It's the term "rich" that I think most people have issue with on these threads. Unless it's specified what the OP means by it - earning £40k? Single household? 2 people earning £20k? or are we talking one person living in London earning £50k? See, the situation means each of those are likely feeling the pinch but the couple possibly not so much, given various ways society is set up to help them.

As someone very middle class single mum who happens to have used all of the inheritance they are likely to get on school fees, which are now running out, I don't feel rich. Yet I do understand that a lot of people who haven't had to make the choices I have would tell me I'm rich or an idiot or both. I could have used it to make my house completely new with an extension, multiple holidays and a new car, given DD a house even if she failed school at the local comp. But what is the point in that? I want a DD who can earn her own money and contribute to society and who isn't relying on a giant nest egg. She knows she is very lucky with schooling but she also knows what it's like not to have holidays and not get everything she wants. I feel it's the best of both worlds. I resent that my choices mean the inheritance gets taxed AGAIN but really if the govt want to take away all the middle classes savings, they won't have it in their coffers in IHT for the future when I die. Not my problem by then.

We are detached from her reality, too.
We also don’t know what it’s like to live in a care home.
I also can’t imagine living in the Outer Hebrides.

It's all relative.

There was someone on here yesterday complaining about only being able to save £5k a year, with a mortgage and not able to afford to get married. 🙄