Just a guess, but I doubt if Gus will ever be rich. In financial terms of course. Many definitions of rich, pick yours, make the effort, never quit. This is America, dreams can come true, it can happen to you.
My father, in his mid eighties, lives in a house his grandfather built on land owned for six generations. He sees his sons, his grandsons, and his great granddaughters on a daily basis. He considers himself rich.
My father, in his mid eighties, lives in a house his grandfather built on land owned for six generations. He sees his sons, his grandsons, and his great granddaughters on a daily basis. He considers himself rich.
My father, in his mid eighties, lives in a house his grandfather built on land owned for six generations. He sees his sons, his grandsons, and his great granddaughters on a daily basis. He considers himself rich.
I'm a first generation American. My mom came to this country from a concentration camp and they had a grant total of $.20 to their names when they arrived at Ellis Island. I'm considered wealthy now by most measures but my brother and sister are not. I worked hard, saved, spent wisely and made good investments. Still, it's pretty much a matter of luck that I have what I have and I remember that it can change tomorrow.
I'm a first generation American. My mom came to this country from a concentration camp and they had a grant total of $.20 to their names when they arrived at Ellis Island. I'm considered wealthy now by most measures but my brother and sister are not. I worked hard, saved, spent wisely and made good investments. Still, it's pretty much a matter of luck that I have what I have and I remember that it can change tomorrow.
I'm a first generation American. My mom came to this country from a concentration camp and they had a grant total of $.20 to their names when they arrived at Ellis Island. I'm considered wealthy now by most measures but my brother and sister are not. I worked hard, saved, spent wisely and made good investments. Still, it's pretty much a matter of luck that I have what I have and I remember that it can change tomorrow.
I know many rich people and many poor people. There is a huge difference between them mentally. There are two types of rich and poor also. There are poor people who will never be even close to well off. These people almost always drink, smoke and gamble. They love tattoos, parties , bars hopping , new clothes, and spend a lot on vacations. Divorce is very common too. They are very big on hand outs every time they have a misfortune. They almost always vote democrat and have no interest in church or God. These are the ones who will be poor and so will their kids. They also have a mentality that they are that way cause they live on the other side of the tracks. The other poor are people who work their butts off , spend little on smoking , drinking , tattoos ETC. These are much more likely to be self employed, they are much more likely to be rural, hunt, fish and mind their own business. They are in bed by 9PM and up at sunrise. They are not poor , poor , but they have little money. They invest it in their businesses, stocks and real-estate. They are much more likely to go to church, give money to church, and spend some on hunting, fishing, trapping and camping ETC. This is me to a T. Now for the rich. There are the educated rich. They make a lot of money cause they can pass a test and spent money on education. They also, are very likely to spend a lot of their money, be in debt , have very nice cars and vacations, and much more likely to vote democrat. They are not interested in God or giving to the needy , although they think everyone else should. Then there are the rich that go that way from working their butts off. They are conservatives, likely Christians, most common daily driver is a half ton pickup. These are the millionaire next door. You would never know they were rich in any way but became that way from work and knew what the 8th wonder of the world was, and that is compound interest. Their parents also understood compound interest and taught their kids that too. I hope to be the latter some day but for now I am the poor / well off conservative type. I am slightly well off , but no one would fever know it. I wear my work boots till before there is a hole in the toe. I then take my old boots and cut the tongue out and contact cement it to shoe. I hang my clothes on the line, work on my car a lot, dont watch tv, I buy my clothes from Goodwill, ETC.
Just a few ideas about money I've learned over a lifetime. You must control your wants or you simply cannot earn or inherit enough to outrun them. Once you have the basics covered, the rest is wants. We can generally afford what we value most highly. Some people are jealous of wealth but they'd be wealthy too if they just saved a little and invested a little over a long time span.
Yes, Pesident Donald Trump was taught to invest it in buildings. Many people would de broke by now from divorce, lawsuits, gambling, ETC. Look at Mike Tyson, he was worth 300 million dollars and has very little today. Had a smoking hot wife, money, health, but did not control himself.
I'm a first generation American. My mom came to this country from a concentration camp and they had a grant total of $.20 to their names when they arrived at Ellis Island. I'm considered wealthy now by most measures but my brother and sister are not. I worked hard, saved, spent wisely and made good investments. Still, it's pretty much a matter of luck that I have what I have and I remember that it can change tomorrow.
Truly wise.
Luck will not keep you rich even if it gets you there. Wisdom and hard work won't get you there alone.
There are many hard working and tight assed poor people. Their decisions maximized their money, but for various reasons they never got rich.
Luck does play a role. One many "self made" people want to deny. To acknowledge it, diminishes their legacy.
I have been moderately lucky. I was born healthy, To parents that cared for me, who taught me to work hard.
Tragedies in our family taught me that things beyond our control would control your life. Control what you can. That's good luck in bad.
$$ wealth? Depends on who holds the ruler. Comfortable for sure.
So people who luck onto wealth, is it purely random or a Gods Will thing?
Gods will that a person be subject to mere chance, or is it fated?
Originally Posted by ihookem
. Look at Mike Tyson, he was worth 300 million dollars and has very little today. Had a smoking hot wife, money, health, but did not control himself.
he seems to be doing alright after losing that 300 million and his wife etc
so maybe they were only deceptive distraction tools of learning in his life.
kind of sad that people often will put someone on an altar because of their money or what their wife looks like, ..lose the money and wife [that complete strangers admire or desire]...and you topple down from the fickle lofty ranks they once had you at ..LOL.
one of the hardest things to know for wealthy people, is knowing who your real friends are. Its no wonder some become reclusives.
My father came to this country at 5 years old and ended with a 5th grade education. His first job, he earned 3 cents a day at 9 years old. He ended up a journeyman machinist making a decent living .Being the last son with 3 siblings, I worked untiI got two years of college and end up as a program manager and mechanical engineer without a 4 year degree, leading 50-65 people . Many of them PHD's. My son ended up with 4 years of college as a chemists with a very good job.. My grandson with 8 years of college and is an eye doctor.
Work ethic, determination, and intelligence making the right decisions and not squandering money might not make you rich by some standards, but will get you comfortable. I think it helps to start off poor. A person has a better sense of what they have and what it takes to get it.
It's no sin to be poor, but it is mighty uncomfortable .
I do not recall who said this but it was some very wealthy man. When asked about "rich and poor" he said, "I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, rich is better."
I do not recall who said this but it was some very wealthy man. When asked about "rich and poor" he said, "I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, rich is better."
L.W.
That’s what I was thinking. I’d like to try it for a while and see. 🤠
Barely second gen American Italian (both folks conceived in Italy) that grew up well fed and clothed with parents that pushed us to succeed and worked their azzes off. The three of us have done fine as has their grandchildren.
I thought it was good to be rich, but after I got my tax bill today from my accountant, I'm having second thoughts. I worked a year as a defense contractor making low six figures, that was supposedly tax free for the first $103K, boy was I wrong. My wife and I have worked our butts off to get higher educations and try to be productive member of society and set examples for our kids. No matter what though, I don't think I would change a thing. I am working on a second retirement, and one day will get to enjoy what the wife and I worked hard for.
I was paying for gas a few months ago and the girl asked me if I needed lottery tickets. I replied that I was already very rich. She gave me a funny look and I explained to her that my family was healthy, my house was paid for, no kids on drugs and both doing well, a good job and food enough for two families. "I'm rich", I said.
I could have listed several other things on that list, including God's grace on my life, which is the source of real richness.
I've known some fairly wealthy people and a bunch of really poor people. What I've seen in common among the wealthy ones is that, above all, they were able to anticipate long term consequences of their actions. It's a special type of intelligence. Rich folk that don't have it, lose money quickly. Poor folk who have it generally stop being poor.
If you've got it, you can anticipate the power of compound interest and you open a savings account. If you don't have it, you'll sit around all day trying to figure out how much swag you can add to your Fingerhut account.
I've made and pizzed away a small fortune. Or I let another pizz it away. Started again from nothing. Live well within your means and save/invest wisely, chose your partner very carefully and you will succeed. One thing the disaster that was evil#2 taught me was that is possible to live on much less money than I ever thought. Also family and friends are invaluable and no amount of money can buy that. So I guess to answer the question, I believe you can be happy/content with or without being rich. Its a state of mind.
This thread is one of the best I have read on the campfire. On point, with some very valuable nuggets in it. Some are the nuggets many in our society trip over every day In pursuit of something intangible.
As Shaman stated, many poor choose to be poor. They think there is some magic in attaining any wealth, Some royal DNA that just excludes them.
So, they shop Fingerhut (never heard of it untill my inlaws showed me.....yup, an example) gamble, and just screw their money away.
Then resent the guy beside them who exploited the same opportunities, and maximized his income.
Go to yard sales in neighborhoods of different income levels. You'll see why the poor are poor. Thinking and habits. Keep an eye out for satellite dishes while you're there.
A time for everything. In my opinion, to have a chance being financially stable do these things IN ORDER.
Get an education. Learn a skill. Finish High School, Trade School, Family business or College. Get some way to support yourself. Learn to take care of yourself. Bills, cooking, laundry. Get Married. Learn to trust another. Start a family. Learn to support others.
Of course, many are successful despite challenges of dropping out of school, medical issues, bad marriages, and raising children alone.
The richest man I ever knew was my father. He worked hard and never really had much money but he was loved and respected by more people than anyone else I've ever known. He really knew how to appreciate and enjoy time with his children, grandchildren and friends. He loved little kids and they all instinctively and immediately loved him. He was generous to a fault and people often took advantage of his goodness. Some people might consider him a "sucker" when it came to finances and money.
When he got sick, it was amazing how many people showed up to see him. Old friends of mine and my siblings that hadn't seen him in years showed up because of the impact he had in their lives as children. Old army buddies and members of churches he had been involved with and old co-workers and so many people whose lives had been touched in a positive way over the years showed up to see him and pay their respects. Hundreds of people came to visit. It was amazing to see and he was completely baffled by it. He had no idea how many people respected and loved him or even why they did. He just went through life being him and loving those around him. He didn't see himself as exceptional in any way but those around him sure did.
The funeral was standing room only and his brother who is a pastor summed it up perfectly during the ceremony. He knew how to love. And he was loved in return.
I have been fortunate to have made a lot more money than he ever did and I live a much more comfortable and secure life. But unfortunately, I will never be as rich as he was.
Hookset, Your description of your father, fits my younger brother to a T. He passed too young at 53. Never made over $44K per year but was indeed rich. Funeral director said he had never seen anything like it, in his 26 years in the business. Constant long line of people to see him, from the moment they opened, until they had to close. Hundreds and hundreds of people and he lived in a very small town. Touched so many lives in his short time here. Like your father, he is sorely missed.
The true measure of happiness. No matter if your bank account has one zero, Or a lot of zero's.
My account has red zeros!
But I've got silver in the stars, gold in the morning sun.
It sounds a bit ghey, but the wife and I will sit out on the sidewalk, having a beer and watching the kids ride their horses.....say to myself....No one is living better than we are right now. No one.
Took a lot of years to get to a place of "contentedness". Not fully there yet of course.
Lol...it is awesome to be rich. I feel really sorry for those that think wealth makes someone "rich".
Know a young man I think the world of. Smart, personable and a hard working sob that knows his trade and a few others as well.
And when I say hard working I mean hard working, has a full time job w a good bit of overtime and seems like he’s doing side jobs every minute he’s not at one of his kids athletic events.
We didn’t know each other well, he’d installed one boiler system on a house I built and his father in law was working for me.
I quit building as market was starting to soften up and his fil was working for someone else or just doing side jobs as he could find them.
A year or so goes by and the mother in law is in icu dying. I called the young man when I heard the news and asked if there was anything I could do. He replied “no but my poor fil is so stressed, he wants to be by her side every minute, but with him not working every day they go deeper in the hole”
So I wrote out a check to the fil for 100 hours of his labor @ $35 per hour.
The guy was deeply touched and appreciated it.
The wife passed not too long afterward so he did indeed get to spend the time he wanted with her. They’d lived paycheck to paycheck their entire lives along w using debt to see they never got ahead. Bad debt other than a mortgage as in the cc kind
The sil is about 15 years younger than me, his fil about 15 years older.
A few weeks later the sil calls me and says “ no disrespect intended to my fil, he’s a hard worker and would give you the shirt off his back. But how do I wind up where you are and not like he is? “
They’d already started down the road fil was on w multiple car payments and cc debt.
A few tweaks, some major discipline and having both he and his wife read total money makeover and well 15 years or so down the road he’s on track for financial independence.
During my sons bday party he was texting me about something and wanted to know how our party went.
I was basking in the glow of how blessed we’ve been in this life, and told him of all the riches we enjoy our money is the least of them.
So Lt pat is correct ( as he often is )
I’m aware of folks w far more money than us, but I don’t know anyone any richer
Money is only a problem if you don’t have enough of it. We’ve been so blessed to always have what we needed, even if not everything we wanted and the discernment to know the difference
The richest man I ever knew was my father. He worked hard and never really had much money but he was loved and respected by more people than anyone else I've ever known. He really knew how to appreciate and enjoy time with his children, grandchildren and friends. He loved little kids and they all instinctively and immediately loved him. He was generous to a fault and people often took advantage of his goodness. Some people might consider him a "sucker" when it came to finances and money.
When he got sick, it was amazing how many people showed up to see him. Old friends of mine and my siblings that hadn't seen him in years showed up because of the impact he had in their lives as children. Old army buddies and members of churches he had been involved with and old co-workers and so many people whose lives had been touched in a positive way over the years showed up to see him and pay their respects. Hundreds of people came to visit. It was amazing to see and he was completely baffled by it. He had no idea how many people respected and loved him or even why they did. He just went through life being him and loving those around him. He didn't see himself as exceptional in any way but those around him sure did.
The funeral was standing room only and his brother who is a pastor summed it up perfectly during the ceremony. He knew how to love. And he was loved in return.
I have been fortunate to have made a lot more money than he ever did and I live a much more comfortable and secure life. But unfortunately, I will never be as rich as he was.
This thread should be pinned to the top of the page, as it contains enough valuable information to make anyone who reads it and heeds the advice “rich”.
True. My whole life it seems the farmers that I know, the rich have always been rich and the poor ones have always been poor. Never seen a poor one become rich by farming.
The true measure of happiness. No matter if your bank account has one zero, Or a lot of zero's.
My account has red zeros!
But I've got silver in the stars, gold in the morning sun.
It sounds a bit ghey, but the wife and I will sit out on the sidewalk, having a beer and watching the kids ride their horses.....say to myself....No one is living better than we are right now. No one.
Took a lot of years to get to a place of "contentedness". Not fully there yet of course.
Being content is probably the perfect definition of success.
True. My whole life it seems the farmers that I know, the rich have always been rich and the poor ones have always been poor. Never seen a poor one become rich by farming.
I’ve seen several rich guys become poor by farming.
I’ve also seen poor guys become rich farming (government subsidies and buyouts).
My father, in his mid eighties, lives in a house his grandfather built on land owned for six generations. He sees his sons, his grandsons, and his great granddaughters on a daily basis. He considers himself rich.
The true measure of happiness. No matter if your bank account has one zero, Or a lot of zero's.
My account has red zeros!
But I've got silver in the stars, gold in the morning sun.
It sounds a bit ghey, but the wife and I will sit out on the sidewalk, having a beer and watching the kids ride their horses.....say to myself....No one is living better than we are right now. No one.
Took a lot of years to get to a place of "contentedness". Not fully there yet of course.
Jim,
I See the pics of you and your chillin's, on the farm, and I am envious. You are living the life I would choose if could. So feel extra rich. Your kids are. There is no better life for kids than growing up on a farm.
My kids get to do a lots of stuff I didn't even think of, but I often think of what they are missing, and not learning.
They don't even know how to get milk out of a cow.
I get accused of being rich all the time...because I'm towing a nice boat. Most people don't realize it's like towing a tractor or pressure washer to me.
I get accused of being rich all the time...because I'm towing a nice boat. Most people don't realize it's like towing a tractor or pressure washer to me.
ha ha. yes i understand perfectly.
just doing things in proper order can go a long ways toward achieving a modicum of success on earth.
get through school. get a job. get married. have children.
in that order. that point by point process can make all the difference for a majority of the rank & file.
so much difference in the backgrounds of people who grow up, then some succeeds, and some succeeds magnificiently.
always was told there's about three ways to acquire wealth:
1. work for it, and save & invest.
2. steal it whatever way possible, if caught the penalties can be high.
3. inherit it from family somewhere along the line.
4. perhaps any and all combinations of the first three.
Know of a very ordinary Spanish background catholic guy who works at Delta as does his brother, married an extremely wealthy jewish family woman lawyer, effectively married into a family with several hundred million $$$, he knows his jewish kids are set for life , but he also knows his place and has the sense to keep his humble job at Delta, ..
seen it before where the rich family and friends polarize the situation by corralling around the seperated/divorced daughter and kids, and put the ordinary background father of the kids on the out...ie; "you were tolerated for a while for the sake of our daughters happiness"
I blame ordinary folk for marrying into such affluent circles.
I got a lot of thoughts on this and have seen opportunities be seized upon and squandered and many of those examples are within my own family. I enjoy the topic but hate the scrutiny and assumptions about myself or implications about my work ethic, so prefer to pen my thoughts in relative anonymity. Obviously some of you know me, but few know my family history details, though I’ve shared aspects of this in the past. There’s some kind of perverse pride in crying poor mouth or trying to out poverty someone’s upbringing, but somehow it’s rarely ok to talk about “privilege” or family heritage in a non braggadocious way. I feel no guilt for past good decisions.
My dad came from generations of blue collars and small holders. He worked his way up from essentially nothing, got a PhD and designed weapons systems for aerospace companies, but he could also sell the systems and write proposals, which made him a unique commodity. His three siblings are all white trash. Their kids are the same at best. At least 4 are felons, one lives on the street and likely hooks in her upper 50s. 32 years went by on that side without a child born in wedlock, and there were a bunch. All of whom struggle with competence.
But my dad was super conservative with his investing or lack thereof. He did poor people stuff with money because, while he had knowledge, he wasn’t comfortable in practice. He could out earn his poor choices, and still retire comfortably. If he had done any kind of investing beyond single company stock ownership as part of his benefits and measly money market squirreling, he’d of had many times what he has now.. There’s still a mortgage on their house at age 70 and 38 years in that house, partly due to playing the idea that using home equity for purchases is better than cash money. My brothers and I still benefited from that because it paid for our schooling so I shouldn’t complain, but it’s not what I would do.
My mom came to the US from Finland at age 7 in 1956 around the time of socialist revolutions and protests. Her parents came from the exact opposite of my dads family. She’s much more comfortable with investing and far more aggressive in that realm. She also comes from people that buy cars and houses in cash. And do business without debt. But they also missed out on huge deals with their conservative ethics. One company her family was involved in was sold for $300 million. Another that her grandad helped start is worth over a billion today and privately held, some relatives have ownership, but not us. They own Baltic islands, we don’t.
Her dad was handed a vice presidency in a paint and wallpaper company then gambled big and lost on a shipping company after WWII in his 20s, knocking him down several rungs of social status. He still got knighted (political honor, not hereditary) eventually but his businesses were much smaller after that. He later sold sailboats, then furniture, and then had a travel agency.
They invested but weren’t that good at it. My moms grandfathers were both titans of industry and politically connected, but my mom was merely an administrator at the end of her career. And she did have to work. She got a worthless PhD in French linguistics, but later got an MBA. My mom and dad were still worth double her parents when my grandma died two years ago. My moms parents had money and access but never made nearly as much as you’d think they did given their status symbols.
Everyone I’ve known thinks they are middle class regardless of what the numbers say. I grew up considering myself middle class, but looking back would call it upper middle class. Most of my college friends I’d say were lower middle class. I didn’t struggle with student loan debt like they did. I’ve benefited from the security of coming from my family and hope my kids will benefit similarly.
My wife’s family is a similar but different mix compared to mine. One side successful for generations, the other mediocre at best. But they held onto and built much of their wealth through absentee farming. We (her side but I’m married into it and part owner by marriage) now have a ton of land plus producing oil wells.
Our household income with two kids is very middle of the road. But we will still be millionaires of our own making. We know we benefited from past good decision makers, but our investments are our own and we do not need to lean on our families. Our children will especially benefit despite our modest incomes because we operate debt free except our mortgage and have room to invest despite daycare being more than our mortgage. Through no doing it their own, our kids will have the advantage two sets of millionaire grandparents, millionaire parents and two millionaire uncles with no children. They could have had much more if we had the ambition of our great grandparents, but we are comfortable and will be even more so with time.
Everyone has a different idea of what rich is. I see opportunities I didn’t take for myself and wonder what could have been. I see what some branches of the family had and wish I benefited from their decisions. I also see what others have and want those things. I don’t feel rich, I don’t feel like my parents are rich, nor do I feel like my wife’s parents are rich. We all had to work. But others look at us differently and in comparison maybe we are rich by their definition.
As others have pointed out, richness can come from the pleasure of raising your family and other meaningful aspects of life. I feel like I have these things. We do have a burden coming to us in my wife’s adopted brother but that’s another story but this one thing that money helps to ease. Without it, it would be a real stressor.
Rich can mean different things to different people. I’m rich because I’m basically a happy, satisfied person. However, I have a friend that’s worth $800 million . He’s easily the most unhappy person I’ve ever known. He has perhaps three or four friends, of which one is me.
Having money and having control of it is a good place to be.
If you had (some do) 100k in your checking account, what would you do with it? The answer to that will say a lot about people and their relationship with money.
