My response to the "privilege" MEME.

[vicarz]

I was talking to someone the other day about whether owning a ferrari means you're rich. I argued it did, and we talked about the difference between spending what you make and saving for retirement. I hadn't really thought about it, but I realized I sock away about 25-50% of all the money I make into the future. 15% of salary goes into my retirement problem off the top, then I max out my roth IRA - another 5k post taxes annum as of today. Right there I'm already over 20%, then if you figure my private stocks and property investments are retirement plans as well (they definitely are, but technically I could sell them), I might be even over 50% of my income spent on the future. My god - I don't use half of my income! Am I rich? Poor?

If I had rich parents I would probably spend my money, perhaps even earn it, in a different way. Privilege? I went to public schools, had educated parents, and received help going to college. The important thing in my current view is what I have to do based on my parents financial well-being. I've lived my life knowing I had to support myself - that I would always be responsible for me, so when the time came that I fell ill or was otherwise unable to take care of myself, I had to have the resources to take care of it. On my parent's death, I receive nothing or minimal funds. I'm strapped in a lower-middle class lifestyle because despite my income and sound financial decisions I have to invest in my future with a huge portion of my income.

I have friends of similar income levels living much better than I am. They receive gifts from parents, but more importantly have a financial situation in which they can be assured a legacy of retirement money from their parents. Several have "millionaire" parents if you count the property owned in addition to investments. Their entire lives, they have lived with the knowledge that no matter what they did, they had a lifetime of security to fall back on. Most of those friends are very successful, hard-working, and should be very independently proud of where they are today based on their labors. Had they not had rich parents, they may well still be successful at similar income levels to where they are today. However, the lifestyle they live, the risks they took, the time they spent playing, and the fact they don't sock away 25-50% or more of their income is also the product of their privilege.

If I sound proud of what I've accomplished given my resources, I am. If I sound jealous of my richer friends, I am; but I'm not bitter. I'm proud of them too. I just wish I could get back those years I was living on beans and rice while I worked in a factory through grad school, and I wish I had their retirement plan so I could play with my hard-earned money today.

Comments

[djpsyche.livejournal.com]

If you can AFFORD to save that much of your income, I'd call that pretty well to do. But then I have a weird concept of rich. In my view, if you never find yourself worrying about money you're rich. I therefore find myself rich having pretty much the exact average income for the country I live in. Most people with my income would not consider themselves at all rich. But then again they probably have never been poor -- estranged from one's parents, having to make the difficult decisions on whether to pay the water bill or eat this week, having to sleep with someone in order to have a place to stay that night, NOT having a place to stay that night, being too underweight to donate plasma for $20. Compared to my 18-year-old self I am swimming in money -- and damn grateful for it.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_blackjack_/]

Those of us with negative income would like to point out that you are in fact rich. Now buy me something.

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

The meme seemed to focus more on the perceived socio-economic class of one's parents than oneself.

[blindtillnow.livejournal.com]

my ridiculous subjective definition of rich is "excess income". after you pay for your mortgage/retirement/groceries/healthcare/utilities, what do you have left over?

i believe i'm fairly financially stable, but rich? ha. that's a good one.

-S

[joanarkham.livejournal.com]

To me "rich" is "fuck you money". The amount of money I would need to live my life exactly like I want to.

Right now I'm "comfortable", but when I think about what it's going to take to achieve my immediate goal (get the hell out of the exurbs) it's crushing. If I lived in Iowa on my salary I'd be living like a damn hell ass king!

[turbogrrl.livejournal.com]

it possible to buy a ferrari and not have any savings. It's possible to buy a ferrari for under $20k. Just like it's possible to buy a BMW for less than $10k. The problem with using absolute markers like [ferrari, house, expensive watch] and not taking into consideration the whole picture [debt load, theivery, gifts] is that it's very hard to be at all accurate.

Rich is relative. Always has been, always will be. If you ever thought you were rich, you'd feel comfortable and let it all go. You can't afford to do that with your personailty, so no matter how much capital you amass you will never consider yourself rich.

[underfiend.livejournal.com]

Don't you own two condos?

Dude, you're rich. Deal with it.

That privilege meme is false, however, because it's not really measuring privilege per say, but socio-economic background. Privilege is more tied into culture, not really money, at least when you consider that race can be a big factor. Example: A minority who makes as much as Bill Gates would not be able to get away with the same nutty or illegal behavior as Gates. That's an example of privilege.

[cweaselle.livejournal.com]

Many people wish they could get days back. :p

I didn't do well with putting money aside for when I retired as far as I know, but that would be gone now anyways.

[topaz720.livejournal.com]

I will be working until I die, I know this, and accepted it a long time ago.

I have often felt 'out of place' next to friends who had more money.

I would like to be to be 'rich' enough to able to pay off my debt. I'm a long way off.

Of course, I would also consider myself rich because I have a roof over my head, a car, and a job. Compared to some, I'm a millionaire.

:)

[cyaneyed.livejournal.com]

give yourself an allowance for fun too v. not to sound pessimistic but what happens if you get hit by a bus tomorrow?

when you spend so much time working towards future, you can overlook the joys of now. mind you, i like stuffing money/investments away for the future, but don't get to 70 and think, finally, now i get to enjoy everything i worked so hard for. :)

gotta do as much quality living today as you can while you work for tomorrow, 'cause tomorrow may never come.