Author Topic: Being wealthy is...?  (Read 33226 times)

RootofGood

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Being wealthy is...?
« on: June 24, 2014, 08:57:22 PM »
Being wealthy is picking up nothing smaller than a nickel from the public restroom floor. Pennies can stay where they are.

What does being wealthy mean for you?

Rural

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2014, 09:18:29 PM »
Being wealthy is picking up nothing smaller than a nickel from the public restroom floor. Pennies can stay where they are.

What does being wealthy mean for you?


Ick. Public restroom? I believe I'd draw that line somewhere in denominations of bills, not coins. That is assuming it's found money, not money I accidentally dropped. I'll pick that up, which is weird until you choose to believe actively in the 5-second rule...




arebelspy

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2014, 11:25:58 PM »
Being wealthy is having enough and being happy with it.

I'll pick that up, which is weird until you choose to believe actively in the 5-second rule...

Actually about 3 months ago a scientific study came out backing up the 5-second rule.  Google it and you'll find a bunch of links, here's one example:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2014/03/14/amazingly-science-backs-5-second-rule-for-dropped-food/
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neo von retorch

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2014, 07:51:49 AM »
Being wealthy is making your decisions as if money is of no concern.

(That is to say, I would choose how and when I did my work. I would still make decisions that felt practical rather than ostentatious and wasteful.)

ivyhedge

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2014, 07:54:20 AM »
Access.

eil

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2014, 08:50:15 AM »
Being wealthy means different things to different people.

To some, it might mean being able to afford a $500 clown car payment and $2000 mortgage at the same time.

To others, it might mean having X dollars in investment assets and the leverage to continually invest more.

To others (like MMM), the freedom to not be forced to work in order to support day-to-day living.

To still others, something else entirely.

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2014, 09:06:08 AM »
Being wealthy is a sense of abundance, no matter what it is you feel abundant in.

Luck12

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2014, 09:10:55 AM »
Having fuck you money. 

Random

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2014, 09:21:34 AM »
A coworker recently told me one of her favorite sayings.  When her mother was on a hike or enjoying herself beside a nice stream, she would say, "I wonder what the poor rich folks are doing today?"

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2014, 09:22:45 AM »
Being wealthy is a sense of abundance, no matter what it is you feel abundant in.

I like this.

boarder42

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2014, 09:26:58 AM »
not having to care about money and living freely with no need to work if not for enjoyment. 

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2014, 09:33:38 AM »
Financial freedom.

superone!

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2014, 09:38:51 AM »

I always feel really wealthy when I have a whole drawer full of clean underwear.

Rural

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2014, 10:00:59 AM »
A roof that doesn't leak and the ability to fix it if it starts.

Plenty of food for us, and on top of that, for our pets.

Getting healthcare as needed and for prevention, not only for us, but for pets.

Genuinely hoping that an elderly relative forgets to offer to reimburse when I pick up a prescription, because I know I can afford it, and they can't.


Knowing that when said elderly relatives' needs become greater than help with prescriptions, we can meet those needs.

RootofGood

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #14 on: June 25, 2014, 10:12:49 AM »
A coworker recently told me one of her favorite sayings.  When her mother was on a hike or enjoying herself beside a nice stream, she would say, "I wonder what the poor rich folks are doing today?"

I think like that sometimes.  "This stream would be no more majestic if I was Warren Buffett or Bill Gates with billions in my pocket."

RootofGood

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #15 on: June 25, 2014, 10:16:46 AM »
Being wealthy is picking up nothing smaller than a nickel from the public restroom floor. Pennies can stay where they are.

What does being wealthy mean for you?


Ick. Public restroom? I believe I'd draw that line somewhere in denominations of bills, not coins. That is assuming it's found money, not money I accidentally dropped. I'll pick that up, which is weird until you choose to believe actively in the 5-second rule...

I figure the non-porous surface of coins are less gross than the porous surface of bills (and more easily washed and dried).  And money is de facto gross, since you never know if you were given the nickels I recently picked up off the restroom floor. 

I made a choice yesterday to not pick up pennies from the bathroom floor, but I'll probably pick up nickels and higher denominations next time opportunity presents itself. 

arebelspy

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #16 on: June 25, 2014, 10:18:04 AM »
A coworker recently told me one of her favorite sayings.  When her mother was on a hike or enjoying herself beside a nice stream, she would say, "I wonder what the poor rich folks are doing today?"

I think like that sometimes.  "This stream would be no more majestic if I was Warren Buffett or Bill Gates with billions in my pocket."

That's awesome, I'm stealing those quotes.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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Rural

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #17 on: June 25, 2014, 10:19:44 AM »
Being wealthy is picking up nothing smaller than a nickel from the public restroom floor. Pennies can stay where they are.

What does being wealthy mean for you?


Ick. Public restroom? I believe I'd draw that line somewhere in denominations of bills, not coins. That is assuming it's found money, not money I accidentally dropped. I'll pick that up, which is weird until you choose to believe actively in the 5-second rule...

I figure the non-porous surface of coins are less gross than the porous surface of bills (and more easily washed and dried).  And money is de facto gross, since you never know if you were given the nickels I recently picked up off the restroom floor. 

I made a choice yesterday to not pick up pennies from the bathroom floor, but I'll probably pick up nickels and higher denominations next time opportunity presents itself.


Your sterile logic does not reduce my perfectly visceral ick factor. :-)


So it has to be folding money to pay me well enough to overcome the ick. Or gold coins. Those I'd pick up...

RootofGood

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #18 on: June 25, 2014, 10:32:53 AM »
Your sterile logic does not reduce my perfectly visceral ick factor. :-)


So it has to be folding money to pay me well enough to overcome the ick. Or gold coins. Those I'd pick up...

As they say, everyone's for sale, it's just a matter of negotiating the price!  ;)


RootofGood

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #19 on: June 25, 2014, 10:37:35 AM »
That's awesome, I'm stealing those quotes.

It's my secret to feeling ridiculously wealthy whenever I want.  "Warren Buffett couldn't enjoy the hours I just spent reading this novel any more than I could."  "This juicy burger wouldn't be any more delicious to Warren than it is to me." 

Warren said it best when he described the only benefit of being filthy rich versus merely middling wealthy: he gets to fly on a private jet while the rest of us fly commercial.  Obviously there are a few other things like that, but most things are just as enjoyable whether you have almost nothing, or a million or two or many billions.

arebelspy

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #20 on: June 25, 2014, 10:49:34 AM »
"This juicy burger wouldn't be any more delicious to Warren than it is to me." 

I don't know, he really loves his burgers.  ;)

Which actually leads me to an interesting point: someone else COULD enjoy it more than you.  But not because they have more money than you, but because they choose to.  You could get maximum enjoyment out of that burger by stopping to appreciate it, or you could much though it without thinking about it, or even thinking "meh."  But when you make the choice to be grateful, you're right, no one else with more money could do any better.
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NewStachian

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #21 on: June 25, 2014, 10:52:17 AM »
Adding 2 extra crunchy tacos to my standard #8 order at Taco Bell.

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #22 on: June 25, 2014, 11:13:41 AM »
Being wealthy is a sense of abundance, no matter what it is you feel abundant in.

Yep. Recently I've discovered it's less about money. Obviously you still need some money, but it's more about feeling that your life is fulfilling/abundant/enough.

Realizing that there's not a big difference between a net worth of $1M or $10M. It won't make you happier.

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #23 on: June 25, 2014, 11:18:21 AM »
Being wealthy is picking up nothing smaller than a nickel from the public restroom floor. Pennies can stay where they are.

What does being wealthy mean for you?


Ick. Public restroom? I believe I'd draw that line somewhere in denominations of bills, not coins. That is assuming it's found money, not money I accidentally dropped. I'll pick that up, which is weird until you choose to believe actively in the 5-second rule...

Also, this reminds me of a funny story. 15+ years ago I watched an interview of Charles Barkley. For the non sports fan, he's a 6'10" 300+ lb basketball player who made millions.

He said he once dropped $1 in a public toilet. He stood over it trying to decide what to do. It killed him to leave the $1 there even though he had plenty already. So, he decided to get out his wallet, drop $100 bill in the toilet, and then grabbed them both out.

So there's your solution. Drop $1 so you can pickup the penny.

ivyhedge

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #24 on: June 25, 2014, 11:33:49 AM »

Realizing that there's not a big difference between a net worth of $1M or $10M. It won't make you happier.


Understanding that it's somewhat beyond the scope of this discussion, there can be a noteworthy difference. My family has funded numerous scholarships over the years, and donated considerable funds to various disease research programs and hospitals. They are incredibly happy to do that. And they've done it for years - so they remember how appealing it was to fund one scholarship when their net worth was small. Now that it's enormous, much of their life is charitable, and they love it all the more. Yes, folks with smaller net worth can do something like what they do, but not with the scale that they do. And it's that scale, specifically, that's led to their increased happiness.

Albert

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #25 on: June 25, 2014, 11:45:21 AM »
Wealthy is not having to care about the cost of small things in life.

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #26 on: June 25, 2014, 12:59:03 PM »

Realizing that there's not a big difference between a net worth of $1M or $10M. It won't make you happier.


Understanding that it's somewhat beyond the scope of this discussion, there can be a noteworthy difference. My family has funded numerous scholarships over the years, and donated considerable funds to various disease research programs and hospitals. They are incredibly happy to do that. And they've done it for years - so they remember how appealing it was to fund one scholarship when their net worth was small. Now that it's enormous, much of their life is charitable, and they love it all the more. Yes, folks with smaller net worth can do something like what they do, but not with the scale that they do. And it's that scale, specifically, that's led to their increased happiness.

Awesome. Good point as well-I realize there's a difference. I'm really referring to the marginal utility factor. Spending it on worthy causes or long-term educational opportunities for those less fortunate is great. Having more to spend on yourself to get that 100' yacht vs. your 75'er isn't going to make you (not you, whoever) happier in the long-run. For the purposes of circling back to the OP, it's not going to make you any "wealthier" either in my eyes.

I'm hoping to do some of the same, but I'm not certain it will make me happier. Either way, the trade-off for me (working longer to do so) will make me less happy overall. I feel wealthy already having realized this even though I haven't accumulated a substantial amount of financial wealth.

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #27 on: June 25, 2014, 01:27:48 PM »
Being wealthy is never hesitating to spend time with friends.

You're getting married in California and flights will be $1000? We're there. Do we want to come hang out at your new place in DC? We sure do.

This is a definitely a luxury, but I sure don't miss the days of "I'd love to spend time with you but I'm not sure I can afford it."


MgoSam

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #28 on: June 25, 2014, 01:39:07 PM »
Being wealthy is the freedom to say 2+2=4!

Just kidding, couldn't avoid the reference. For me, being wealthy means having enough to not needing to worry about money.

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #29 on: June 25, 2014, 01:39:29 PM »
.... not being able to recall what feeling poor feels like :)

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #30 on: June 25, 2014, 01:41:32 PM »
Being wealthy is a sense of abundance, no matter what it is you feel abundant in.

I'm going to have to agree with this. I believe that feeling wealthy can come in all different ways, whether it's through actually having money, being financially free from debt, or even just being satisfied with what you have & living within your means.

davisgang90

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #31 on: June 25, 2014, 01:51:32 PM »
I think this may be in another member's sig line.   Being wealthy is staring off into space while you put gas in your car.

Cheddar Stacker

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #32 on: June 25, 2014, 01:53:50 PM »
.... not being able to recall what feeling poor feels like :)

This is an opinion question really, so I hate to do this, but I'm not sure I like this answer. I see the point from the financial side, but....

Being humble and stoic can be very helpful in appreciating life, which can add to the feeling of wealth. It's hard to appreciate a good day until you've had a really bad one. The struggle is part of what forms you into your current being. It's something I don't ever want to forget. That's just me though. No offense intended.

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #33 on: June 25, 2014, 01:58:20 PM »

I always feel really wealthy when I have a whole drawer full of clean underwear.

I stopped wearing underwear. I feel wealthy and free that I do not have to do that extra load of laundry.

davisgang90

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #34 on: June 25, 2014, 02:01:11 PM »

I always feel really wealthy when I have a whole drawer full of clean underwear.

I stopped wearing underwear. I feel wealthy and free that I do not have to do that extra load of laundry.
Just do us a favor and wear pants.

arebelspy

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #35 on: June 25, 2014, 02:01:39 PM »
I stopped wearing underwear. I feel wealthy

How much were you spending on underwear?!
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Timmmy

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #36 on: June 25, 2014, 02:11:24 PM »
Being wealthy is laughing at things when they break or other bad situations. 

I recently had two flat tires, a dead battery, a collapsed old septic tank and a broken well pump over the course of a few days.  Nobody could figure out why I wasn't stressing.  I just kept laughing and thinking "is that all you got life? you're going to need more than that to shake me up".  It reminded me of just how wealthy I am.

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #37 on: June 25, 2014, 02:47:09 PM »
... For me, being wealthy means having enough to not needing to worry about money.

and not needing to worry about making sense :)

(And thanks for your comment CS, I still like what I said, but I get what you're saying)

Luck12

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #38 on: June 25, 2014, 02:55:15 PM »

Also, this reminds me of a funny story. 15+ years ago I watched an interview of Charles Barkley. For the non sports fan, he's a 6'10" 300+ lb basketball player who made millions.

I know NBA players exaggerate their height, but 6'10" is stretching it quite a bit.  The 300lb part is accurate though LOL. 

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #39 on: June 25, 2014, 03:00:48 PM »
You're welcome EV. Your comment above, and this exchange:
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/50-60-year-retirement-timeframes-anyone-have-the-numbers/msg326309/#msg326309
led me over to your blog today which I hadn't read yet. I'm on the SWR post. Good stuff.

On the link above, I was thinking the same thing [a mess of stuff] from post #36 but it was summarized better in post #43. Much less ...uh... stuff.

Luck12 - 6'10" was likely a bit much and I'm not really sure why I even put it in there. 6'8" maybe? Whatever. Undeniably though he is a big, outspoken man and this story had me laughing.

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #40 on: June 25, 2014, 03:09:34 PM »
Being wealthy is laughing at things when they break or other bad situations. 

I recently had two flat tires, a dead battery, a collapsed old septic tank and a broken well pump over the course of a few days.  Nobody could figure out why I wasn't stressing.  I just kept laughing and thinking "is that all you got life? you're going to need more than that to shake me up".  It reminded me of just how wealthy I am.

I've been at that point for a while.  Throw a little money and sometimes a little time at these problems and they go away.  To me, the only stress is that I have to take my car to the shop or research a contractor or research DIY instead of doing pure leisure activities.  I kind of forget that these real world problems stress out the paycheck to paycheck people who can't just drop a few hundred bucks occasionally when life happens. 

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #41 on: June 25, 2014, 03:24:20 PM »
To me, being wealthy means you can reasonably afford to live the life you choose without having to work excessively to get that lifestyle.  In that sense, I do not see a majority of people being defined as "wealthy".

shuffler

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #42 on: June 25, 2014, 03:27:35 PM »
I stopped wearing underwear.

Well, we know what Thoreau feels being wealthy is: "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone."

... though I'd never thought to apply it to underwear.

In terms of personal affects, I've gone without glasses (lasik), barbers (my own clippers), shaving (clippers again), pants (year-round shorts), wallet (money clip), keys, shoes that tie, etc.  ... But I never considered freeing myself of the shackles of underwear.  ;^)

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #43 on: June 25, 2014, 03:30:12 PM »
.... not being able to recall what feeling poor feels like :)

This is an opinion question really, so I hate to do this, but I'm not sure I like this answer. I see the point from the financial side, but....

Being humble and stoic can be very helpful in appreciating life, which can add to the feeling of wealth. It's hard to appreciate a good day until you've had a really bad one. The struggle is part of what forms you into your current being. It's something I don't ever want to forget. That's just me though. No offense intended.

+1 fantastic point, could not agree more

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #44 on: June 25, 2014, 03:33:25 PM »
... I was thinking the same thing [a mess of stuff] from post #36 but it was summarized better in post #43. Much less ...uh... stuff.
I do get a little [rambly] sometimes, it's how I generate ideas.  I used to go back and edit my forum posts, but I'm not sure if that adds value if people have already moved on.  Speaking of, I finally made it to my 200th post!  Does my mustache change again? (stubble, bristles, handlebar.... when do I get the Magnum???)  Being wealthy means no longer being envious of all of the Magnums and Senior Mustachians around here...

And thanks for the compliment on the blog, I've really enjoyed getting it 'on paper' and having something to go back to for when I RE.

ch12

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #45 on: June 25, 2014, 06:50:00 PM »
That's awesome, I'm stealing those quotes.

It's my secret to feeling ridiculously wealthy whenever I want.  "Warren Buffett couldn't enjoy the hours I just spent reading this novel any more than I could."  "This juicy burger wouldn't be any more delicious to Warren than it is to me." 

Warren said it best when he described the only benefit of being filthy rich versus merely middling wealthy: he gets to fly on a private jet while the rest of us fly commercial.  Obviously there are a few other things like that, but most things are just as enjoyable whether you have almost nothing, or a million or two or many billions.

You don't have to be a billionaire to fly in a private jet. I've wanted to be able to afford traveling in JetSuite jets. It'd cost me ~$19,000 each way to get from my home to my parents' home in Sarasota. Though $38,000 is very steep for a getaway, it diminishes with additional people added to the flight. If I take the 7 person jet (which is interestingly cheaper than the 4 person jet), then it goes to $5,428.57 for a roundtrip person. To fly from Madison to Sarasota in first class on a commercial flight costs me $1,964.

I want to be clear that private jets ARE huge luxuries. Traveling first class is luxurious. I dream about being a dandelion by using JetSuite's SuiteDeals. It's still beyond my pocket, even though they are 7-person flights for $536.43 (when they have to move an empty jet between 2 cities, so you've got no choice in departure or arrival cities). Accommodations and food will cost you more than the flight, though, and it may even be cheaper than taking a bus.

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #46 on: June 25, 2014, 08:24:42 PM »
You don't have to be a billionaire to fly in a private jet. I've wanted to be able to afford traveling in JetSuite jets. It'd cost me ~$19,000 each way to get from my home to my parents' home in Sarasota. Though $38,000 is very steep for a getaway, it diminishes with additional people added to the flight. If I take the 7 person jet (which is interestingly cheaper than the 4 person jet), then it goes to $5,428.57 for a roundtrip person. To fly from Madison to Sarasota in first class on a commercial flight costs me $1,964.

I want to be clear that private jets ARE huge luxuries. Traveling first class is luxurious. I dream about being a dandelion by using JetSuite's SuiteDeals. It's still beyond my pocket, even though they are 7-person flights for $536.43 (when they have to move an empty jet between 2 cities, so you've got no choice in departure or arrival cities). Accommodations and food will cost you more than the flight, though, and it may even be cheaper than taking a bus.

I think Warren's level of wealth lets him spend $38000 without thinking about it.  And his jet is probably on call whenever he wants it to go wherever he wants.  I think he uses Netjets (Berkshire Hathaway owns it) but I'm not sure if he also owns his own private jet. 

Do you really want to have enough wealth to spend $5500 to $38000 to fly on a private jet vs. much less for first class?  $38000/yr spending equals an extra million in savings at 4% SWR (probably more after taxes are considered).  It seems like a lot of extra work to get a small marginal increase in comfort or style.  Not criticizing, just curious.  Thanks for the tip on the SuiteDeals.  That would be pretty cool to take a private jet just once for $500 or so since we can't fly that cheap (and there are five of us in the family).


Lukim

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #47 on: June 25, 2014, 08:51:03 PM »
I am not sure the private jet thing is the measure of being wealthy.

I have been on a couple of private jets with clients and the main reason for using them is they get you to where you want to go (often an area not well serviced by commercial flights) at the time you want to go. 

For a long haul international flight, going business class or first class on one of the better airlines is much more comfortable, enjoyable and cheaper (again I am not paying for it personally).

To me, being wealthy is saying "I can afford to fly business class to Europe - but I cannot justify the expense so I will go economy on a good airline."

Nancy

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #48 on: June 26, 2014, 06:24:52 AM »
I second reb's first comment, and I'd add that being wealthy for me is having time. I don't mean having leisure/fun time outside of work, but realizing that this is my miniscule slice of time- life right now. This is it. Better start dancing.

RootofGood

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Re: Being wealthy is...?
« Reply #49 on: June 26, 2014, 09:25:55 AM »
I am not sure the private jet thing is the measure of being wealthy.

I have been on a couple of private jets with clients and the main reason for using them is they get you to where you want to go (often an area not well serviced by commercial flights) at the time you want to go. 

I think Warren's comment was in regards to this flexibility of time and place.  Commercial flights have constraints on the schedule (you may have to wake up at 3 am to catch the 6 am flight to arrive by mid morning and cut your day short to catch the last flight back).  Private jet = walk to the GA terminal, walk out the door and hop in your plane.  Leave when you want, return when you want.  Spend only a small amount of time in terminal.  I'm not sure how customs and immigration works for private jets though (for international flights).

It comes down to time >> money once you have a lot of the latter. 

 

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