AIBU to think being wealthy is vastly overrated?

[ForLoudBrickMember]

I know this will sound really out of touch and I apologies in advance if I offend anyone, but I’ve been reflecting on my life recently and I truly think it is the most overrated thing on the planet. I’m 35, total pre tax income of about £2 million with half coming from working as a partner oncologist in the states and half coming from active investing. DH makes slightly more, total household income of about £5 mil. Now I’ve done it I can say the following;

1. It feels totally normal.
2. It is incredibly isolating
3. The pressure/difficulty is intense. Ours are still far too young for this and trying to avoid it but it’s very common the DC face intense pressure/stress.
4. So so much sacrifice. I left everything behind in the UK, put off DC until late, missed out on so much etc.
5. Being average isn’t much worse. People earning the average wage can still afford a comfortable house, decent car, food, occasional holiday etc. Mum was completely broke as a child and even that would’ve been fine if she didn’t make brain dead decisions constantly.

Yet the average person seems to believe it’s endless bliss, no stress and every rich person is a genius who never tires and never feels sad. AIBU?

You can definitely have genuine friends but you have to censor yourself to avoid upsetting people or sounding out of touch. It’s also very hard to ask for or get advice when it’s really rare to meet people as the same situation.

I’m sure the single mum on benefits in a high rise council flat would disagree with you!

It's not overrated, but I see where you are coming from. The human brain is wired to just get used to your circumstances, it stops appreciating it because it is your baseline.

A person who has worked for several years in order to afford to travel to their dream destination once in their life will appreciate it more than someone who has the means to travel to their dream destination 10 times a year.

I thought you said it was depressing and you felt like you had no purpose in life?

Feel free to give it away friend

Unfortunately for me, because I don't need to or like to know certain things, I have learned that every rich person isn't a genius but many have been outed as a pervert, a criminal or an addict.

There are many OF 'rich' people and WAGS etc. Many nepo babies, etc.

For these reasons, I don't really look up to 'rich' people and think they are some bastion of intellect.

My IQ is 142 but I live an average life with an average income.

Intellect and earning potential aren't really deterministic and are poor predictors of wealth.

Maybe silly people think they're connected but IYKYK.

Thought I'd clear that up and remove one of your listed burdens i.e. others thinking you're a genius.

I help where I can and donations are welcome.

Moron

Wanna swap lives for a week, then you can see how overrated it is. Really hope your a troll.

Excess wealth does seem to make people overconsume which isn’t good for planet earth!

Think Rhett Butler (Gone with the Wind) said this …..Money doesn’t buy happiness but it can buy a good imitation.

That was my first thought too. Money might not buy happiness, but it certainly buys a better class of misery.

Yeah, I imagine having to talk to poor people must be difficult when you go to sleep on a bed made of $10 bills.

That's true. It's called the 'hedonic treadmill'. We very quickly become accustomed to luxuries and our standards just get higher. Also, if you're rich you probably live alongside some people who may be richer to you, and they, not the average person who is way poorer, will be your point of comparison. So you might 'feel' poor even though obviously you are nothing of the sort.

However, having money isn't only about luxury holidays or top of the range cars. It's about security and lack of friction. Knowing that you can cope, financially at least, with whatever life throws your way. That's a massive advantage in life.

I get it, tired is tired, stressed is stressed. But what £££££ brings you is the freedom to be brave & make changes without fucking up your whole life.

In every episode of 'I went to live on a desert island, raise chickens and homeschool my kids on the beach' without exception they have a great whacking trust fund and a rented out mansion to go home to when they get old, or ill & the kids have left to have a life which doesn't involve weaving baskets.

You've got a £million safety net to do whatever would make you happier in this life. Get off the hamster wheel of doing the same thing which is, by your own admission, isolating & stressful.

What do you want?
What would fill the void?

Money absolutely can and does buy happiness.

Only people who have never been in the position of not having money think otherwise.

Have you ever been poor, OP? I don't mean short on disposable income, I mean so poor you don't have enough money to get through to the end of the month, your health suffers because you cannot afford to care for yourself and you go without essentials? Because I have and now that I have some zeros in the bank, I can tell you, having money is better. Real poverty is a blight on people's lives, it stunts them physically, emotionally and spiritually. Money buys choice and freedom. Yes, you have made compromise to become wealthy but everyone makes compromises in life. If you are truly unhappy, find a number that you think you will be happier at every year and give the rest away.

So none of your fellow partners are as wealthy as you? It's just you and your DH, all alone with your wealth?

@ForLoudBrickMember your feelings about needing to censor yourself to avoid accusations of being out of touch are really your own issues though. You seem to think that everyone else apart from you believes that wealth immediately solves all problems and that you don't deserve to feel sad, or down, or frustrated or anxious..... People who are genuine friends will be able to handle you discussing any challenges you have without being blinded by your wealth!

Very strange.

Christ do doctors in America really earn that much?! Why on earth am I slaving away in the NHS ….

No the pay in the UK is very poor, this was from good investments.

I agree that being that rich is overrated. Who needs so much money, it can become a burden. Having enough to live on plus some savings is wonderful.

@ForLoudBrickMember having an income of £5 Million a year would stress me out.

I would not enjoy the fineries in life knowing that others lived on or below the bread line, so personally I would have to plough a very large amount of my money into my local community and help people. I'd buy equipment for my local primary school, donate money to subsidize school trips to make them affordable, and then probably donate to a local cancer charity/hospice that supports the families of those undergoing treatment.

I really don't understand how anyone could enjoy a frivolous lifestyle whilst other families can't even afford a family day out to the zoo.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

But yet, according to OP's post above, she has to be discreet about her wealth because none of her friends earn as much?