A few months ago, we were talking at work about what it means to be “truly rich” (in a financial sense). I realized then that there are many, many different perspectives on what it means to be rich, or what it means to be poor.
My coworker’s definition was as follows: if, when purchasing a plane ticket, you always get a first class ticket—in fact, it doesn’t even cross your mind not to—there’s no weighing of the pros and cons or considering the extra cost. That was his definition of what it meant to be truly wealthy. None of us were “rich” under that definition. None of our bosses were, or our bosses’ bosses. Possibly their bosses, who are senior level at the company, might qualify, we theorized.
This was worlds away from what my definition had always been. In fact, it struck me how different a perpective I held from most of my peers. For me, “truly rich” was the point at which you could buy food without thinking about the cost. You could go grocery shopping whenever it was convenient during the month—you didn’t have to wait until the paycheck cleared or to check to make sure there was enough money in your accounts. You bought food based on nutritional value or your particular tastes—you weren’t checking the prices, trying to find the best value so you could make sure to have enough food to last through the month.
Such a stark contrast between the two. Such a humbling reminder of the tremendous wealth inequality, even just here in America.
What’s your definition of “truly wealthy”? At what point would you consider yourself “truly rich”? And has that definition changed over time?
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