Good Morning DINKS. Many people feel that money means happiness. I do not personally agree with this statement but unfortunately some people do believe that they would be happier if they had more money.
Today we are going to take a look at the deciding factors that differentiate rich people from poor people and the wealthy from those in poverty. Should we even care if we are considered to be poor? It’s just another status imposed on us by society. In my opinion being rich or poor is relative to each person’s own interpretation and therefore they cannot be compared; but then again, that is just my opinion.
In your opinion what makes someone rich or poor?
Maybe our annual salary defines if we are rich or poor. In some people’s opinion someone who earns $150,000 is rich and someone who earns $30,000 a year is poor. This is probably not the best assessment, but nevertheless it may be the norm that separates the wealthy from the poor.
It is not good to have a big salary if we have even more monthly expenses. If our expenses outweigh our monthly income we are probably living in debt and therefore we are definitely not rich and we may be poor. Maybe it is not the actual salary that we earn but the amount of money that we have after every pay check which defines whether we are rich or poor.
The value of our accumulated assets aka our net worth may be what makes us rich or poor. If we are a great saver we could have more savings than someone who is earning a lot more money on an annual basis than we are. But maybe they are poor and we are rich because we save more money than they do.
If we have money we also have the freedom to buy anything that we want. Maybe our status of being rich or poor is determined by our ability to buy physical materials. Maybe we are rich if we can afford to go on vacation several times a year and if we can buy anything we want without having to save for it. If this is true then being poor just means that we can’t physically afford to have all of the materialistic things that we want. But who is to say that buying nice things and going on vacation will make us happy?
Some people determine their status of being rich or poor by their life experiences and all of the good things that we have in our lives. If we do what we love, if we live our lives with no regrets, and if we never take a single moment for granted then maybe we are richer than those people who have big houses, large salaries, and expensive tastes. Very often people say that they wouldn’t trade their personal happiness for all of the money in the world and I definitely agree with them.
Unfortunately I cannot say that I am 100% happy with my life and I would definitely give up my annual salary, my financial responsibilities, and my daily routine life in order to find true personal happiness. Hopefully by this time next year I will be writing about how I am truly happy without having any financial restraints.
What would make you truly 100% happy in your life?
Photo by Lovin a Daisy
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
I would say it’s a combination of multiple factors: salary, where you live, personal happiness, etc.
The line is a little hard to draw now, because of credit. It makes it a little complicated. Growing up, my mom was a single mom living on a salary that technically put us under the poverty line, but we lived in a nice little neighborhood and had decent things because she was drowning in debt. So i think it depends on many factors!
Being financially independent (having no consumer debt, student loan debt or mortgage) and being able to do what I really want with my time would make me 100% happy. The norm nowadays is to work at whatever job you can get to make ends meet and support your family. It would be nice to be outside of that mindset and work or not work because you want to, participate in the hobbies that really interest you and be content with the course of your life.
i agree with you because even if you have alot of money and all that you could still be a miserable person to be around because you could act very arrogant and cocky because you think that your better than everyone else just because you got more money than someone else..thats just my opinion
I think it is entirely up to the individual. Some people have lots of money and still feel poor (and might very well be cash poor). Others have very little money but don’t value material things and feel rich. If you’re not sure, just take a vacation to a third world country, or even take a drive through a large inner city, and you’ll be surprised to see how rich you really are.
I usually feel rich even though I have a low income and low (though positive!) net worth. After I started reading a lot in the PF world I realized that our household income is near the lowest of any blogger or commenter who shares that type of information (in my link), even though it is right at the national median. The online PF standards are definitely skewed! But I have everything I need and lots of things I want and live quite comfortably. I have lots of fun and don’t worry about my health or safety. I think this makes me rich. Virtually everyone living in America is rich!