The Rich act Poor and the Poor act Rich.

Dustyevsky

eastcorkram said:

All ending up in the same place though I guess. 

Only if people think they're alive for no purpose. If a person believes there is a reason for their life, they'll be thinking about that more than examining the apparent wealth of others, or maximising their pleasure through the ownership of assets.
"And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?"

Many of the people presented by the media as rich and successful lost their way years ago, usually in the pursuit of that success.

True happiness can't be bought, though there's often luck involved. If you're born into the wrong circumstances, the richness of the world will be harder to see and enjoy. Life's not fair, but it frequently  supplies opportunities for personal growth. That applies to the spoilt child as much as the street urchin.

Even if you achieve a measure of wealth sufficient to feel secure, all that can be wiped away in an instant by natural disasters, wars, and the vagaries of politics. 

BridgetTheCat said:

f you only satisfy basic needs you’re not really living - just existing. You have to satisfy some wants to have a full life.

Well, yes, but it's clearly different for people whose wants don't cost a great deal. They can have a rich life today.

Jam tomorrow is all very well, but for some, tomorrow comes fleetingly, or not at all.

Emmia

Grumpy_chap said:

Emmia said:

I sense a tinge of jealousy. 

Such a sentiment on the part of the OP would be potentially misplaced.

The OP states they have assets (no debts, house, car, pension fund, emergency fund, BTL properties).  All that gives the OP security and choice.  The OP could choose to liquidate some of the assets (sell one of the BTL properties) and release sufficient funds to purchase a "premium" car and take some luxury holidays.  Or the OP can choose not to.

The people the OP has observed with the "premium" cars and taking luxury holidays quite likely cannot choose to have the assets the OP has and dream of such security and financial resilience that the OP has - they are quite likely jealous of the OP's financial security and wealth.

The OP says they have no debts, emergency fund... Fundamentally they have made their financial choices, other people have made theirs as they are entitled to do. 

If the OP wants 5* holidays and a fancy car, they're free to buy those things if they want. They haven't, so no point in regretting it or being resentful.

Nebulous2

This thread kind of touches on an occasional theme in the pension forum. This is an ingrained habit for many people, living within their means, saving, having a frugal lifestyle - often with the aim of retiring earlier than state pension age. 

Then what? 

We see a lot of people struggling with the move from accumulation to decumulation on retiring. It's a big challenge to change habits built up over many years. 

A lot of people on MSE will die with more assets than they retired with.  

Jami74

What a horrible post. Yay, congratulations OP on your financial success. Not really any of your business though to judge others for making different choices. 

Rob5342

Everyone has their own reasons, you don't always know whst they are or whst their actual situation is. My auntie brought up two children on her own and struggled for years working multiple jobs to keep her head above water. She always made do with a cheap second hand car and dreamed of having a brand new one. She recently inherited some money and went out and bought the car she'd always dreamed of
You could say that it's far more than she really needs but after being through whst she had why shouldn't she treat herself. 

It's always a balance between living for the moment and taking care of the future, people all view that differently and there is never a clear answer. You could spend all your money now and leave yourself short in retirement, or you could invest all your money for a comfortable retirement and die before you get there. 

Rob5342

Bigbobby said:

Going on holiday to expensive 5* hotels with fine dining and drinking?  My colleague is going to Marbella in next few weeks.  £2000 for 5 nights in  5 star hotel with breakfast.  They then plan to spend another £2000 on eating and drinking out posing on the seafront.  Both have average incomes.

You never know what anyone's actual situation is really like. I've apent £5000 on a holiday before when I had an inheritance but I also paid £15,000 off my mortgage with it

Ksw3

We grew up poor , my sibling has a spend it while you can attitude to money and I have a I'd rather save and starve to death attitude. We are both happy/unhappy in our own way. 

We live in a world based on advertising, advertising that results in sales which results in jobs. To sell an item it either needs to be essential or it needs to be desirable. I understand wanting to have a status object, or the latest technology, I don't understand buying from Temu or Shein but it must feel a need that I've never had, the excitement, anticipation , the 'found a bargain' joy. 

Theleak250

It really depends on your job, family etc.

I come from a working class family and there was never any pressure to make money. I ended up making ok money but still live in the same lifestyle as I always have.

I save a lot of money and this will go towards property and the odd holiday. I don’t wear designer stuff. 

Some in my family do not earn good money, but drive a flashy car and have designer clothes. Once they had a few drinks they admit they are up to their eyes in debt. It’s their choice, I certainly won’t be bailing them out. 

You have to remember as well, in some jobs you need to maintain an image and you can’t dress poorly. So it’s not always easy to judge. And some people just want to look and feel good and live hand to mouth to do so. Having watched several family members (including my father who lost our house) lose everything due to debt I hate debt and like to have money sitting in the bank. I do have a mortgage. Property upgrade is my priority in life. People don’t give me much respect because I don’t dress like I have money. So be it. In my job it doesn’t matter. I never feel totally secure financially. 

Theleak250

Jami74 said:

What a horrible post. Yay, congratulations OP on your financial success. Not really any of your business though to judge others for making different choices. 

It does remind me a bit of the “I make 100 million pounds will I be able to afford a save for a pension?” type threads. 

MattMattMattUK

BridgetTheCat said:

Well how very sanctimonious of you. 

It’s often a case of needs versus wants. If you only satisfy basic needs you’re not really living - just existing. You have to satisfy some wants to have a full life.

Some people are just awful with money, it usually requires quite a bit of money to actually be bad with it. Those who have very low incomes have to manage to get by, they cannot usually borrow so are rarely in debt, they plan carefully. The biggest financial car crashes are usually the middle class who are trying to pretend they have more than they do. Those are the people who could live comfortable lives not needing to worry about day to day spending and have plenty of needs satisfied as well as wants, but they generally lack the ability separate want and need. So they "need" cars in finance, they "need" holidays on finance, they "need" whatever it is that they just put on a credit card or had to remortgage to cover pay their debts off etc. All the people I know who are bad with money have decent incomes, the two absolute worst both have household incomes of six figures and £5k+ a month after all essentials are paid for, yet they still refuse to live within their means, hence the huge unsecured debts they carry. 

BridgetTheCat said:

I also live within my means, but a 5* week away every few years? I’m absolutely having that. Not everyone enjoys camping 😉

If you can afford it then that is totally fine, but do not try and dress it up as a rational expenditure. We all have our irrational expenditures, nothing wrong with those if we can afford them, but we should also accept that they are irrational.

BridgetTheCat said:

You’re looking around and only seeing a snapshot of people’s financial decisions. You’re not seeing the consideration and budgeting behind any of it.

Often even if one does not know the detail many things are obvious, especially when it becomes obvious that there is no consideration behind things. Some people are guarded, other people are far more open.