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Articles like this are good to get you thinking (mostly about how you can best use your own resources), but pointless in presenting conclusions. There is no un

Articles like this are good to get you thinking (mostly about how you can best use your own resources), but pointless in presenting conclusions. There is no universal definition of rich. This article seems to suggest that the hypothetical family is not rich because they don't have a great deal of unallocated money. However, they do have an education, which I feel improves quality of life. They presumably have rewarding, secure jobs. They have a 3 or 4 bedroom house, which is more than sufficient for a 4-person family. A 4-person family could live quite comfortably in a 2-bedroom apartment. They are saving for retirement and college, neither of which is available to all. They can afford a yearly vacation and have the freedom to take it. Again, not something which is available to all. Sure, they don't have unallocated money, because they've used their money to provide well for themselves. They could move to an apartment close to work for one of them, sell one of the cars, give away the dog and stop taking vacations; then they'd have loads of unallocated money, but I doubt they would feel richer. The only real conclusion from this article is that people who make roughly $250k a year spend roughly $250k a year, and I think most people could have guessed that on their own. Whether or not they are "rich" is subjective.

ominous_prime 16y ago
This goes to show how skewed our values are as a society. Apparently, the definition of "rich" that the article portrays, is having large amounts of discretionary income, after buying everything you could need. That hypothetical family certainly sounds very well off, and I feel no pity if they have to cut back 10% on their retirement savings in order to send their kids to daycamp. This article made me feel very sad and uncomfortable. In most parts of the world, simply having any one of the amenities listed there would signify being "rich".
yummyfajitas 16y ago
They have a 3 or 4 bedroom house, which is more than sufficient for a 4-person family. It's true, there is no universal definition of rich. But many of the items you list as luxuries are available even to a good chunk of the poor (using the US govt definition of "poverty"). 60% of households below the poverty level [1] have 3-4 bedrooms and 66% of households below the poverty level have at least 2 rooms per person. 25% of households below the poverty level have at least 2 cars, trucks or vans. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf I'm not saying we should feel sorry for this family. I'm just pointing out that many of the items you mention as luxuries which make you rich are available to a huge chunk of the US. [1] This is 60% of all households below the poverty level, not just households of 4 people.

ominous_prime 16y ago

This goes to show how skewed our values are as a society. Apparently, the definition of "rich" that the article portrays, is having large amounts of discretionary income, after buying everything you could need. That hypothetical family certainly sounds very well off, and I feel no pity if they have to cut back 10% on their retirement savings in order to send their kids to daycamp. This article made me feel very sad and uncomfortable. In most parts of the world, simply having any one of the amenities listed there would signify being "rich".

yummyfajitas 16y ago

They have a 3 or 4 bedroom house, which is more than sufficient for a 4-person family. It's true, there is no universal definition of rich. But many of the items you list as luxuries are available even to a good chunk of the poor (using the US govt definition of "poverty"). 60% of households below the poverty level [1] have 3-4 bedrooms and 66% of households below the poverty level have at least 2 rooms per person. 25% of households below the poverty level have at least 2 cars, trucks or vans. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf I'm not saying we should feel sorry for this family. I'm just pointing out that many of the items you mention as luxuries which make you rich are available to a huge chunk of the US. [1] This is 60% of all households below the poverty level, not just households of 4 people.