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I'm not rich but I make enough on a yearly basis that I can pay my rent, have a few hundred dollars worth of fun per month, and still tuck away enough money for

I'm not rich but I make enough on a yearly basis that I can pay my rent, have a few hundred dollars worth of fun per month, and still tuck away enough money for the future that as long as things continue or don't become/stay terrible for longer than a year I should be able to maintain the lifestyle that I like. Of the disposable/fun things that my budget goes towards, none of the things in this article are things I find appealing. Don't get me wrong, nice things are nice. Go figure. But I work in a mixed city with people from much higher and much lower than me on the economic latter. In my experience, owning a lot of nice things means that you're going to have a harder time befriending people who are significantly lower on the income latter. I don't expect this to be a problem for everyone, but for me and I suspect people like me, it's difficult because I just like going out and being social in meatspace. There's plenty I could do to overcome that when I meet new people, but I don't want to have to overcome walking in and looking like the rich guy. And I don't want to have to think about going to a concert at a bar in a poor neighborhood because I drove a nice car. Things like saving for my children, as the article discusses, make sense because they tie in with long term happiness imo. If I ever do have children it's not hard for me to imagine wanting to give them as much support as I can to ensure they succeed. I wouldn't want to see them struggle because of resources. But luxury goods don't affect me longterm happiness in the same way and often they feel to me as having a social opportunity cost. The difference in price between what I drive and a nice car could fund a lot of bar nights, concerts, parties at people's houses, etc. And that's just not a cost that's worth it from my perspective.

elorant 9y ago
That's why a lot of rich-ish people own two cars. The good one and a less flamboyant one for every day use.
- seanp2k2 9y ago
  Tons of rich people drive a Prius, because they get the government to give them a fat rebate for buying an EV, and Priuses are cheap to run + hold their resale value well. Teslas are also pretty popular now for similar reasons. There should be a limit on the tax break for hybrids, since you still get it on a Porsche 918 Spyder, and I very much doubt that that car will help reduce greenhouse gasses as much as I doubt that whoever is buying it needs a tax break. Stop subsidizing the rich. Plenty also just have a cheap car because they don't see spending a ton on a car is worth it. Drive around some super fancy neighborhoods and you'll see plenty of minivans, normal pickup trucks, Hyundais, Hondas, etc. Part of it is also camouflage.
  - Grustaf 9y ago
    >There should be a limit on the tax break for hybrids, since you still get it on a Porsche 918 Spyder, and I very much doubt that that car will help reduce greenhouse gasses as much as I doubt that whoever is buying it needs a tax break Without the tax break they'd surely buy a similar car with a combustion engine so it still makes sense if the purpose is to reduce pollution.
    - Broken_Hippo 9y ago
      I'd rather have the tax break. WIthout it, the person buying the sports car might just buy a different, non-hybrid model. I'd much rather encourage folks to buy them, with the hopes that they'll eventually replace all-gas models as they become more popular. At that point, we can drop the tax breaks.
      - sseveran 9y ago
        Where I live its not really the tax breaks, its you can get HOV lane stickers.
        Broken_Hippo 9y ago
        Heh. Here you get tax breaks and/or subsidized, get to drive in the taxi/bus lanes, plus you get to go through the tolls at a reduced cost (or maybe free). It is a really convenient thing, honestly. As far as I know, they have planned phase-outs to some of this and I'd expect more of the same. After all, electric car ownership is already pretty high (I'm in Norway) and eventually they'll need the tax revenue. For now, though, I'm fully supportive of these sorts of incentives if for nothing else than smog reduction.
    - artimaeis 9y ago
      The Porche 918 Spyder qualifies for a $3,667 tax credit. The car costs $845,000 for the base edition - and only 918 were made. It meets all the criteria of the IRS EV tax credit. It's capable of 78 mpg while emitting only 79 g/km of CO2. Even the Prius only gets 58 mpg while emitting 111 g/km of CO2. While I fundamentally agree that anyone buying a $845k car doesn't need a tax break - I also see that since it meets the rules as stated it should qualify.
justboxing 9y ago
> and much lower than me on the economic latter. I found this group of people after I joined my local boxing gym. It totally grounded me. It takes an extraordinary amount of discipline and hard work to be a professional boxer. And yet most professional boxers I know are at the very low end of the income ladder. Their friendship is real and genuine and I really love that and try to support them in every which way I can...
- cableshaft 9y ago
  Yep, have a hobby, especially an inexpensive one, and you can bond with people of all economic strata based on that. Mine is board games. I already have a ton, so I don't need people to have their own. We can meet at a public space, like a food court, not spend a dime, and all have a great time. We don't really care what everyone's economic status is, just how we interact with each other while playing the games.

elorant 9y ago

That's why a lot of rich-ish people own two cars. The good one and a less flamboyant one for every day use.

seanp2k2 9y ago
Tons of rich people drive a Prius, because they get the government to give them a fat rebate for buying an EV, and Priuses are cheap to run + hold their resale value well. Teslas are also pretty popular now for similar reasons. There should be a limit on the tax break for hybrids, since you still get it on a Porsche 918 Spyder, and I very much doubt that that car will help reduce greenhouse gasses as much as I doubt that whoever is buying it needs a tax break. Stop subsidizing the rich. Plenty also just have a cheap car because they don't see spending a ton on a car is worth it. Drive around some super fancy neighborhoods and you'll see plenty of minivans, normal pickup trucks, Hyundais, Hondas, etc. Part of it is also camouflage.
- Grustaf 9y ago
  >There should be a limit on the tax break for hybrids, since you still get it on a Porsche 918 Spyder, and I very much doubt that that car will help reduce greenhouse gasses as much as I doubt that whoever is buying it needs a tax break Without the tax break they'd surely buy a similar car with a combustion engine so it still makes sense if the purpose is to reduce pollution.
  - Broken_Hippo 9y ago
    I'd rather have the tax break. WIthout it, the person buying the sports car might just buy a different, non-hybrid model. I'd much rather encourage folks to buy them, with the hopes that they'll eventually replace all-gas models as they become more popular. At that point, we can drop the tax breaks.
    - sseveran 9y ago
      Where I live its not really the tax breaks, its you can get HOV lane stickers.
      - Broken_Hippo 9y ago
        Heh. Here you get tax breaks and/or subsidized, get to drive in the taxi/bus lanes, plus you get to go through the tolls at a reduced cost (or maybe free). It is a really convenient thing, honestly. As far as I know, they have planned phase-outs to some of this and I'd expect more of the same. After all, electric car ownership is already pretty high (I'm in Norway) and eventually they'll need the tax revenue. For now, though, I'm fully supportive of these sorts of incentives if for nothing else than smog reduction.
  - artimaeis 9y ago
    The Porche 918 Spyder qualifies for a $3,667 tax credit. The car costs $845,000 for the base edition - and only 918 were made. It meets all the criteria of the IRS EV tax credit. It's capable of 78 mpg while emitting only 79 g/km of CO2. Even the Prius only gets 58 mpg while emitting 111 g/km of CO2. While I fundamentally agree that anyone buying a $845k car doesn't need a tax break - I also see that since it meets the rules as stated it should qualify.

justboxing 9y ago

> and much lower than me on the economic latter. I found this group of people after I joined my local boxing gym. It totally grounded me. It takes an extraordinary amount of discipline and hard work to be a professional boxer. And yet most professional boxers I know are at the very low end of the income ladder. Their friendship is real and genuine and I really love that and try to support them in every which way I can...

cableshaft 9y ago
Yep, have a hobby, especially an inexpensive one, and you can bond with people of all economic strata based on that. Mine is board games. I already have a ton, so I don't need people to have their own. We can meet at a public space, like a food court, not spend a dime, and all have a great time. We don't really care what everyone's economic status is, just how we interact with each other while playing the games.