Of course, I’d do all the obvious things, such as getting a bigger house, a newer car, and quitting work, but beyond that, I have no interest in an extravagant lifestyle—or at least that’s what I tell myself.
By a bigger house, I mean one typical of upper-middle-class living. I’ve watched plenty of videos of people touring million-dollar mansions, and they all look too big, open, and sterile to me. I’ve seen cozier tiny homes than those. And by a newer car, I mean a 2017 model or so instead of the 2007 one I drive now.
Really, give me a nice cottage by the lake with some land and a big garage for all my tools and toys, and I’m all set. I much prefer the idea of “hidden wealth” over showing it off. I’m just kind of worried that I wouldn’t be able to live up to my own expectations if push comes to shove, and there’s really no way of testing that. Am I just kidding myself here?
I feel the same way about fame. Many people aspire to become successful YouTubers or such, but the idea of people recognizing me on the street sounds awful.
Dunno bud, I’ve met and heard about a lot of rich people in my life (my partner builds high-end houses), and they’ve all been absolute assholes, though some more overly than others. I know exactly 2 nice rich people out of dozens.
My theory is two-fold: one, to get rich you probably screwed somebody else over, and two, once you get rich you feel an inherent need to protect your resources without ever actually feeling satisfied (gated communities, voting for your own self-interest, suspicion towards normal people).
I do think that having large sums of money almost always lead toward personal corruption, and I wish we all just had enough resources and societal support to be healthy and happy.
I’m not disagreeing with you, except that we should remember that a lot of rich people inherited their wealth. So it’s not that they directly screwed over other people, but maybe that their parents or grandparents did.
Who are these non-weirdos of which you speak?
Like, the people who work to redo the high-end kitchens every couple of years, maintain the gardens, nanny the kids, and clean the toilets. Those normal people. Rich people are terrified of them.
Edit: “terrified” isn’t quite the right word. There’s definitely fear involved though.