How much money does a person need?

[Clove]

Or, are rich people EE-val like the FROO-its of the DEE-val? And what is a rich person anyway?

[Celephais]

http://content.ytmnd.com/content/f/f/2/ff26b4c99d3d54b6443dda8709e52acc.gif
I need about treee-fitty

[Gan]

Rich can be to so many things other than money.

Monetarily I would classify rich as not having to earn the money required to afford the lifestyle you desire. But then again, its all a matter of perception, which differs from person to person.

[Celephais]

Rich can be to so many things other than money.

Monetarily I would classify rich as not having to earn the money required to afford the lifestyle you desire. But then again, its all a matter of perception, which differs from person to person.

Fully agree that this was a stupid question to ask, but there are plenty of people who are Rich but aren't at their desired lifestyle level yet. Asking to define "Rich" is like asking to define "Hot". There is no deterministic measurement.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Celephais
I need about treee-fitty

Damn you Nessie!

Chef's Father: I remember when Chef was just a three-year-old little man, he came runnin' into me with a big smile and his little chef's hat on, and he says to me, "Poppa, poppa." I said, "What do you need, Chef, my boy?" He said, "I need about tree-fitty."
Chef's Mother: Tree-fitty!
Chef's Father: Well, it was about that time I begin to get suspicious. I said, "Chef, my boy, why do you need tree-fitty?" He said, "My imaginary friend Boo-Boo the dinosaur wants it." So I went to my son's room, and sure enough, there was that damn Loch Ness Monster!

[DeV]

The question is extremely what's the word... broad. Being rich doesn't always have a monetary value attached to it either.

[Back]

Having 1¢ more than you actually need to survice. Congrats everyone, you’re rich.

[CrystalTears]

And yet, the rich are obnoxious anyway, even though it's too broad of a term.

Bitch retort in 3... 2...

[Anebriated]

I agree with whats been said. Rich is having enough to live comfortably in the way you wish to live. Its not all based on monetary value either, while having nice cars, houses and all that is nice, it means nothing if you live an empty and boring life.

[Gan]

I'm rich in that I have a wife who loves me for who I am.

I'm rich in that I have a son who loves me for who I am.

I'm rich in that I can come home every day to my wife and son and act as a family, engage in life WITH them, and grow with them.

I'm not yet rich monetarily, but I am working on that... daily. ;)

[Anebriated]

I'm rich in that I can come home every day to my wife and son and act as a family, engage in life WITH them, and grow with them.


What level are they in GS?

[Sean of the Thread]

http://content.ytmnd.com/content/f/f/2/ff26b4c99d3d54b6443dda8709e52acc.gif
I need about treee-fitty

Guys get back on topic. This thread is officially about three fitty.

[Asha]

After being no money boy, having a job makes me 'rich'.

[Gan]

What level are they in GS?

ROFL

Touche.

[Blazing247]

Rich is loving someone, and having them love you back. Rich is a butterfly dancing above the flower's in a freshly dewed meadow in spring. Rich is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. Rich is the smile you bring to the faces of the people you meet throughout your day. Rich is gumdrops and lollipops and rivers of chocolate. Whiskey tango foxtrot...

Rich in the literal sense of the word is having enough liquid assets to cover any expenses and debts you have/will have for the rest of your life, to cover any future purchases you might desire, and never having to work another day unless you choose to. There is no set monetary amount to cover this as the desires vary from person to person, but being "rich" certainly isn't having a loving family. Next time your utility bill is due, try to pay them with the love of your family and see what happens. All of the things in that first paragraph are great as hell to have, and a lot more important than money, but while they make you happy and content they don't make you rich, unless you take everything in life figuratively.

[Anebriated]

Its a difference of looking at the word rich and taking the meaning as monetary or having a rich lifestyle. If rich only means money to you then you are correct, you dont need a loving family. To those where its not all about the money then having that is part of being rich. I could care less about having a big bank account to cover any and all purchases I want to make in my life. Id rather work, live comfortably and have a loving family. To me that is rich.

[Asha]

Exactly Elrodin.

[TheEschaton]

I consider "rich", for the purpose of the arguments we were having in the tax thread, to be when your discretionary income is more than 1/3 of your overall income.

Namely, if you pay all the basic bills, pay off the monthly payment on your past debt, pay off the mortgage for the month, and, if you live in a place with poor public transportation, pay off the payment for the car, and then pay off all the food necessities, and the education necessities, and still have more than 1/3 of your gross income left, you are "rich".

Now, the big fight usually comes in determining what those necessities are. Is the television bill a "necessary" bill? How good does public transportation have to be before having a car is wholly unnecessary, and thus owning one is discretionary? What is necessary food? I think you could say milk is necessary, kobe steak, not, but what about chicken 3 times a week? Is that necessary? Is private school necessary, or should free public schools be the necessity, and everything else discretionary?

now that would be an interesting topic.

-TheE-

[Anebriated]

That goes back to a person's opinion. If YOU personally feel that you have the lifestyle you wish and have enough money to pay the bills that YOU chose to have then yes its enough. The only problem comes when you try to compare one person's "richness" to another. When all is said and done all that matters is how YOU feel about your current situation.

[Ignot]

Rich = 10 million +

But to stay on topic the best all time southpark quote is:
Mr Garrison: I just don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die.

[Blazing247]

I read the topic as "How much money does a person need?". If this were a topic such as, "Is it better to be wealthy or happy?" then I could see your argument. You can't pay the phone bill with 40 units of your cute as a button son's love, it just doesn't work.

[TheEschaton]

Errr, then if I choose to have a 5 million dollar mansion, the 150 dollar cable tv package, flat screens in every room with wireless remotes, and I barely clear enough to cover all this, I'm not rich because I'm barely covering what "I choose to have"?

That's bullshit - there's a line somewhere, between what you need, and what you don't.

[Ignot]

If your spending money and gifting it away and giving to charities just to fucking do it because you have to much money then you know your rich. If not then keep working.

[Stretch]

Money buys happiness.

[Sean of the Thread]

Green get the money dolla dolla bill ya... step to teh woo!

[Back]

Back the fuck up.

A day ago people were screaming bloody murder over wealth and how it should be protected. Now its fucking emo feel-good time?

Way to twist the argument.

[Tsa`ah]

I consider "rich", for the purpose of the arguments we were having in the tax thread, to be when your discretionary income is more than 1/3 of your overall income.

Namely, if you pay all the basic bills, pay off the monthly payment on your past debt, pay off the mortgage for the month, and, if you live in a place with poor public transportation, pay off the payment for the car, and then pay off all the food necessities, and the education necessities, and still have more than 1/3 of your gross income left, you are "rich".

Now, the big fight usually comes in determining what those necessities are. Is the television bill a "necessary" bill? How good does public transportation have to be before having a car is wholly unnecessary, and thus owning one is discretionary? What is necessary food? I think you could say milk is necessary, kobe steak, not, but what about chicken 3 times a week? Is that necessary? Is private school necessary, or should free public schools be the necessity, and everything else discretionary?

now that would be an interesting topic.

-TheE-

I have a bit of a problem with your definition here.

If your debt is living beyond your means and you manage the monthly payments and daily necessities ... it all depends on how big your paycheck is when determining wealth ... rather "rich".

I'm sorry, a person that makes 30k a year but has financed a few things to keep up with the Jones' ... far from rich.

Chances are that if you have debt, even if you manage to keep up payments ... you're not rich in the monetary sense.

I'd rather use the term wealthy and transpose that onto a living situation. 100k a year with 2 kids, paying for your own health coverage or supplementing it, other insurance policies, mortgage, car payments ... etc. Not exactly wealthy but beyond just getting by. If in this situation they chose to finance a 500k-1.5 million dollar home, and a pair of luxury vehicles and fill their home with the finest ... that really has no bearing other than stretching their means a bit further than is exactly wise. Still not wealthy but you can't compare their bills to the bills of a household making a quarter of the income.

I single person making 100k with no responsibilities ... a bit wealthier.

To the original question of "need", a family consisting of two parents and two children, it depends on the area you live. The wife and I decided soon after our second child that we would restrict our annual budget to 50k a year and managed just fine. The 7 years of saving and investing the excess has paid off very nicely.

[TheEschaton]

Well, I'm predicating the idea on the assumption that expenses, at a point, begin to level off (though they might initially rise linearly with wealth).

-TheE-

[Clove]

That's bullshit - there's a line somewhere, between what you need, and what you don't.

To a large extent what you "need" is subjective and worse still, varies with circumstance. A person making 30-40k a year should be able to meet her "needs" easily in Ohio with room to spare- until she faces an unfortunate circumstance such as being diagnosed with an expensive and prolonged medical condition. In such cases even with good insurance medical costs can balloon and quickly exceed a modest income.

Because of the unpredictability of life finding that "line" between need and excess is difficult and drawing that line is almost always arbitrary. Whenever someone makes the distinction it almost always means that it's all they think they'll ever need and that should be enough for the next man.

[TheEschaton]

Which is why we should have a single payer system, btw, when your middle class income can easily be overcome by an emergency medical condition's medical bills.

[Parkbandit]

I consider "rich", for the purpose of the arguments we were having in the tax thread, to be when your discretionary income is more than 1/3 of your overall income.



Huh?

So I have a job at a local 7-11 making $6.00 an hour. That's $12,480 a year. Now, I just sold my dead Grandmother's old antique car for $4,161.00. So now I'm considered "rich" to you?

I don't get it.

[CrystalTears]

Why even try to understand? He's going to make lots of money and then lecture on what's "reasonable" for a person to live on. He could have easily gone into the custodial arts and made enough to live on.

[Jazuela]

Rich is subjective, we've seen that in every post here so far.

For me, rich is more than what I have now. Right now, I'm comfortable, but not rich. I have awesome health insurance, an affordable mortgage, my car is paid in full, we can cover our bills, I can splurge on lobster dinners now and then, and we have a little vinyl-sided pool in the back yard to cool off in during the summer. I also have a spouse I love and who loves me, things to do during the day to keep busy, two cats who give me endless entertainment, and enough health to keep me from being miserable. That, for me, is comfortable.

If I was to quantify that, I'd say, for me, rich would be being in extremely good health, enough money to afford some renovations on the house to add a master bedroom suite, a built-in pool instead of the 15-foot plastic one, more people to hang out with during the day, my hubby suddenly deciding that going to Europe for an extended vacation - and the money to do it - is a good idea afterall.

Filthy rich, for me, would be all of the above, plus a maid to clean the litter box for me and a pool boy so we don't have to skim the pool ourselves.

Stinkin filthy rich would be all of the above, except our house would be an estate at the southern foot of the Rocky Mountains, and I'd be too busy riding my horse to be posting this post right now :)

[Gan]

Huh?

So I have a job at a local 7-11 making $6.00 an hour. That's $12,480 a year. Now, I just sold my dead Grandmother's old antique car for $4,161.00. So now I'm considered "rich" to you?

I don't get it.

I would refer you back to the TheE fantasy world quote in your sig, but you dropped it off. :(

That quote explained so much...

[TheEschaton]

Errr, I would say normal wages, PB, not extraordinary income from selling things you inherit.

And CT, if you consider 55k a year rich, in NYC, sure thing, babe. Gonna be rich.

-TheE-