Facebook fed me an interesting article:
http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/money/a44086/four-men-four-numbers/
The article asks the same questions to a Rich Guy, a Wealthy Guy, an Average Guy and a Poor Guy about lifestyle and money.
The take-aways:
Everyone reports an 8-9 on a happiness level
Maybe this is related with the fact that they all have families, but it seems that money indeed does not buy happiness. Although it does buy an easy life. The Poor Guy admits to how tough his life is, and the shit he has to go through with ballooning speeding ticket payments.
Everyone wants to make more money - about as much to bump them to the next level up
Rich Guy wants 5x what he has.
Wealthy Guy wants 6x, but would be happy with a little over double.
Average Guy wants 4x-5x.
Poor Guy wants triple.
Everyone worries about money, it's just a matter of how.
Rich Guy thinks about money once a week, but still loses sleep over having enough to take care of his family.
Wealthy Guy always thinks about making more.
Average Guy never stresses, but saving money controls his life.
Poor Guy always worries - because he has to.
All but the poorest guy are on strict budgets
The richer guys don't complain about taxes, the poorer guys complain a lot
Debt is really only a problem for Poor Guy, and the others all have the same debt - about $7,000
Paying for necessities is really only a problem for Poor Guy
Rich Guy and Poor Guy both complain about working too much
The richest guys shun the idea of retirement, the poorest guys have vague retirement goals
They all have wish-list items
Rich Guy and Average Guy both want bigger houses, although Average Guy considers it a need
So money will always control your life, there's just no way out of it. And you'll always want more, so get used to that too. Being rich gives you more control over your life, making it more comfortable. Don't be poor, that just sucks.
Best quotes:
Rich Guy
There's a certain amount of money you need to live the life you want. Beyond that, it's really a game, and money is the scoreboard.
Wealthy Guy
At this point in my life, if I had $600,000 yearly income, I would have the life that I want to be living. But then again, when I get there, I'll want to buy the jet.
Average Guy
How often do you worry about money? Money is not something that I stress over.
Poor guy
How often do you worry about money? Always. Living like this is hard to do.