Do you expect to be rich?

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Here's the problem that a lot of people have when it comes to creating wealth. They have a lottery mentality where the only way to get rich is to do it quickly and have a lot of luck. That's the opposite of how wealth is built.

The rich know they will earn a bit more money each year by working hard and creating new sources of income. They continue to build on this until those extra hundreds a month turn into thousands and eventually tens of thousands. They train themselves to always look for ways to make a little more through creativity and hard work, and not settle with what they currently are making.

So the question is, which way do you expect to become rich -- the choice you make will depend if you actually ever do.

I remember reading that happiness is proportional with income, but remains flat after you hit $75K a year. So any more money you earn after $75k will not buy you more happiness. So that was my goal and I've already hit it. As far as I can tell: if you have life, liberty, love, health, air, shelter, food and transportation, I'm not sure what else will bring you additional happiness.

Just my perspective.

[FLA]

I remember reading that happiness is proportional with income, but remains flat after you hit $75K a year. So any more money you earn after $75k will not buy you more happiness. So that was my goal and I've already hit it. As far as I can tell: if you have life, liberty, love, health, air, shelter, food and transportation, I'm not sure what else will bring you additional happiness.

Just my perspective.

I have read that statistic many times and it seems like a realistic amount.

[ZachRosh23]

I expect to become rich by trying to be creative and figure something new out.

[Gailete]

They have a lottery mentality where the only way to get rich is to do it quickly and have a lot of luck. That's the opposite of how wealth is built.

We see that so often here. People looking for ways to make money on line, or at home, or whatever. But when you tell them that there is no quick and easy way to make money they go away disappointed. Making money generally consists of hard work, and a good plan for what you are going to do.

Being rich has many definitions. I doubt if I will ever be rich according to $$$. Like I don't anticipate ever getting to be a millionaire. However in many ways I am rich. We live in a nice house on three acres out in the country but close to town with a reasonable mortgage. I have a Kindle and loads of real books so I always have new books to read. One of my small monthly splurges is the Kindle unlimited plan. But best of all I have a sewing room crammed/jammed/filled with sewing and craft supplies! I have enough supplies that with perhaps the occassional purchase of thread eventually, I can sew and craft for many years and still have plenty to leave to my DIL. So many of the things I have in that room I got at bargain basement prices from my thrift store, from people who are 'quiting' sewing (why would anyone do that?), and even some super nice expensive things that I got for free. The latest being what is generally considered a bedside table that now holds my embroidery machine. The table sells for $500 on Amazon and Amazon sent mine to me for free to do an honest review of it! I also got a Scan N Cut machine that cuts fabric and paper for sewing and crafting from them. Another high dollar item. How can you do this you ask? You can't unless invited. When I was invited into the program several years back it was mostly books and I love to read so it was a fair turn exchange. Then they started offering other things. I took advantage of an opportunity, and for many that is the path to 'riches'. Seeing the opportunity in front of their faces and going for it.

You have to tlook and see if your glass is half full or half empty. Appreciate what you have. And for the poorest of us here on this board, remember that we are all richer than 99% of the people in the world. It is all a matter of perspective.

[Claudia Bob]

Do you expect to be rich?

I presume that everyone wants to be rich and even famous, though I don't expect to be one. I'm contented of what I am getting right now. I don't think, I will rely on easy money like lottery. Its nice to get a hard earned money after all.

[Koolmagicguy]

I don't want to be famous and I don't expect to be rich, though I hope to be better off than my parents.

[chestynuts]

The best way to get rich is to work smarter not harder.

[sv2007]

Here's the problem that a lot of people have when it comes to creating wealth. They have a lottery mentality where the only way to get rich is to do it quickly and have a lot of luck. That's the opposite of how wealth is built.

The rich know they will earn a bit more money each year by working hard and creating new sources of income. They continue to build on this until those extra hundreds a month turn into thousands and eventually tens of thousands. They train themselves to always look for ways to make a little more through creativity and hard work, and not settle with what they currently are making.

So the question is, which way do you expect to become rich -- the choice you make will depend if you actually ever do.

This is excellent post; wealth is built little by little not via windfall.

Although I disagree with "working hard" each year; that'd totally depend on your personal preferences once you've become rich. Wealth will sustain itself after a certain point. the old saying "it takes money to make money" is actually true in a way.

[Gailete]

I think part of what helps on the road to wealth is the family circumstances you were born into. Higher middle and upper class? Then you usually have the 'right' clothes to wear for things like job interviews, more chance of going to college. Lower middle and poor class? You generally may have to wear the best of your clothes which may scream cheap to interviewers, less chance to have gone on for higher education. This is in general.

When I had my first job and apartment, I was on the same floor as two other girls. We lived in staff housing at a college and all had basically the same jobs. They were being partly susidized by their parents, both of them had a car, much nicer clothes, etc. I didn't have a driver's liscense much less a car. I tried to dress nicely but there is a limit to how much you can spend as this was in the days prior to abundent credit cards. But I could see the difference in their lives. They had nicer apartments that cost more per month and I highy suspect that they were being paid more as well as money from parents. I had the cheapest apartment with a bottom of the barrel pay with absolutely no help from home. It is like those who have get more. Those who have less don't get as much as those who have more. It is very hard to get the impetus to get to a higher level with income when you don't have the resources. So those that are poorer to start with have to learn how to break the mold and represent themselves better.

When I graduated college in 77, I got home via a Greyhound Bus, and started my 'new' life with $60 and a worn out school wardrobe and with that I had to find a job AND a place to live - yet again not subsidizes from home. I've never gone hungry, but it was always an uphill battle.

I guess I started thinking about this when I stumbled upon a Facebook page of someone I haven't seen in years, but I knew her and her family and at one point my mom had been engaged to her uncle. She had lots of photos and as I looked through them, I realized that during her growing up years, she and her sister (that I knew even better) had never gone through financial hardship (emotional yes as their mom died of breast cancer when she was a young teen). Their dad had a good job, the sister married a man that worked in the family business and I never saw her in anything less than the best. It made me wonder what my life would have been like if my mom had married the uncle instead of my dad that went through his meager earnings like water until he abandoned 5 of us plus mom when I was in 2nd grade. Hard to come back from things like that. My mom had grown up poor in a huge family and her take on working was weird which I didn't even realize until in the last 10 years. It was okay to work at low paying jobs, or nursing she was okay with, but if my dream goal had been CEO of IBM she would have discouraged me. It was like as long as you can just barely get along on your income, that is good but you shouldn't be living and working towards a really good job where you can live in a mini-McMansion. That was somehow bad.

So it leaves me wondering about the past history and family relationships influence our goal of getting rich. How has that effected your goal to be rich. Is it something that is par for the course for you and all of your family members would be considered rich or at least well off. Or is the thought of $1000 in the bank just a dream for most of your family?

[sv2007]

I think part of what helps on the road to wealth is the family circumstances you were born into. Higher middle and upper class? Then you usually have the 'right' clothes to wear for things like job interviews, more chance of going to college. Lower middle and poor class? You generally may have to wear the best of your clothes which may scream cheap to interviewers, less chance to have gone on for higher education. This is in general.

Lots of workers in the tech feidls are from poor countries like India and China; they definitely can't afford US college costs but get scholarships for US colleges. Harder scholarships than US citizens. I know many personally from grad school and work. Being born in the US means you've already got a leg up on most people.

BTW, I when I interview candidates, I never pay attention to interviewee clothes so long as they answer questions well, good enough.

[Gailete]

As I said in general. I have often heard that you should dress for the job above what you want. My thoughts are what about the people who can't even dress at the actual job level. Most people interviewing for a management level job of some type would be expected to where a suit. What does the person wear when they have no suit? Of course, I'm looking back over years when I was working and around the time I graduated from college (after working my way through), we were still a nation that unless you were hoping to do construction, you didn't were jeans to a job interview. Men wore suits and women depending on the job type wore dresses, nylons, etc. or suits. If you didn't look right for the job, you didn't get the job. It was more than clothes speaking during an interview, it was your hair cut or lack of one, shoes, confidence, etc. Some grow up with an expectation of being given what they wanted and so they continue to while others have no confidence of getting what they want since they have never had that in their lives. If you have never been brought up to ask for money then it is extremely hard to ask for that when interviewing. I think many things that impair the psyche show up in job interviews that we aren't aware of, both as job seeker and job giver.

Because of some family things that happened about 7-8 years ago, my husband and I have talked about this a lot. He grew up in a home where his dad and uncles were all self-employed, his brothers, sister and he were self-employed. The difference in their attitudes about jobs and money is so drastically different that what mine had been all my life is amazing. I highly think that many of us that started out of poor backgrounds of several generations, looked at job hunting in a totally different light than those who grew up with more in their lives. As another poster mentioned, it takes money to make money, and drill that money making into the kids as a goal in life.