"Yeah, we make a lot. But we spend a lot, too."

Heh. I totally feel wealthy. And the fact of the matter is, I did quit my job. We were making $100 grand together when we left the field. Sometimes I joke that I skipped the rock star bit and went straight to the social justice work. And in some ways that's literally true; I'm living off the money of a rock star.

So I guess I'm better off than the dot commers, 'cause I ended up doing what I wanted to do before I hit thirty. Course I don't own a house or a car or more than two pairs of shoes, but lots of my day to day life is similar or better than theirs.

I'm poor, but frankly, I don't want to make the commitment to work that I would need to do in order to be not poor. It looks like I am about to get a promotion that might allow me to pay off my outstanding credit card debt in a yearish (I am crossing my fingers) without actually having to do any more work (it is a reclassification based on the claim that I have already been doing the higher level work). I can't really afford a car (but I don't really want to right now), but I can afford netflix and a roof over my head. I feel like what I make, once I have paid off the debt, is sufficient for my needs in comparision with the amount of effort I want to put into work. And I am WAY better off than a lot of people, but then I feel the people who pick bottles and cans out of the garbage for a living have to work way to hard, while most folks around here say "Why don't they get a real job?"

Hivemind question--

I have a student worker that my boss decided to hire (long story, I don't know the kid). My workspace consists of a reception area, where he is sitting, and my office. I can lock my office door and the outside door. If I go out for a meeting or whatever, and the student is still there, is it rude to lock my office door? Does it seem like I don't trust him? I really don't have a feeling one way or the other, but I don't want to give him a key, and don't want to leave the office unlocked if he goes out. Or make him feel like he can't leave.

The richest part of my family was probably pulling in about $5M/year. They were sure it made them better than me, but it wasn't enough. They still ran close to the edge of their budget. They lived in a grand custom built house, sent their daughters to boarding school at Cate and to the same school as Duchess Fergie was planning to send hers, and all of the girls got BMWs when they turned 16.

Nifty, I guess.

I mean, I wanted their stuff because I like stuff. But it didn't make them happier than I was.

In continuing first world news, I was just told by the (Wolfgang Puck) kitchen here at the hospital to give my food order to the butler.

Vortex, I actually do this all the time. There is often sensitive student information around and if the student worker has to go to the bathroom or something, it shouldn't be left unattended.

Why is Kremen an asshole? He has untold wealth in some parts of the world, and is outranked by a lot of people where he lives. Me too. Am I an asshole if I acknowledge that?

If you "acknolwedge" it by saying that there is simply no way to stop working eighty hours a week because you absolutely must keep up with the top 1% of the Jonses then yeah.

I would lock the door and not worry about it. If the student seemed put off, you could explain exactly that last bit to him.

I think the revelation about wealth came to me at a swanky hotel once. I was all, sure, everything in here is more expensive, but it's not altogether nicer. I'm still going to fill the bucket with ice, take a shower, go to sleep. It was just that I could pay five dollars for a bottle of water already in my room instead of walking down the hall to get a dollar bottle of water.

There are definitely some things that money can do, like travel, open opportunities, etc. And I've been fortunate in that the wealthy people I do know closely are frugal, not extravagant, so I've learned some good practices from them. They have used their wealth well, and there definitely are some material things that are nicer if you have money for them. (We slept on the world's most comfortable sleeper sofa, for example. Didn't know that was an option for sleeper sofas, but it turns out if you spend enough on them it is.)

But in general the things money is used for, like status, or upgrading existing belongings, those things are transparent to me. It just doesn't matter much. I'm sure all those people to whom it does matter wouldn't think much of me, should they come across me. But then it's fairly unlikely they'll come across me, so we'll likely continue on in our mutual ignorance of each other.

I went from doing fairly well for myself in Michigan to barely breaking even in Chicago. Sometimes I miss my old disposable income, but not enough to go back.

“I don’t know how people live here on just a normal salary,” said Ms. Baranski.

When I was a poor grad student in early-90s NY (out for dinner with my college friends who were all lawyers or in finance), someone said something to the effect of "I don't know how people live in NY with a salary under 6 figures." I was sitting right there!

Sometimes I really wish these people would use all their money to buy a cluestick.

I like stuff. I can afford stuff. So I buy stuff. I have some desire for a karmic payback to the world, but I'm slacker about it than I should be. Luckily, though, my love of krav and teaching does make it feel like I'm giving something to people (and in theory this job is public sector and benefits the community--but I'd be a hypocrite and a liar to even imply that was a deciding factor in taking it).

What do I deeply want that I can't afford? A house. As long as I live here, and am single, I won't be able to afford one. Otherwise I'm doing okay, and would like to shrug off the guilt that I shouldn't let people know I'm on my fourth iPod or anything.

However, I'm not in a game where other people's salaries matter to me very much, and that's why I look askance at some of these poor litle rich boys.