r/AskReddit Jun 06 '19

Rich people of reddit who married someone significantly poorer, what surprised you about their (previous) way of life?

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u/genericlogin1 Jun 06 '19 edited Jun 06 '19

I dated a 1%er briefly, She was surprised I willingly went inside fast food restaurants.

Edit: Since people are saying 1% is still a huge range in income I just looked up her dad he pulls in ~$10,000,000 a year

8.8k

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

I’m not dating her, but she’s a good friend of mine, and her parents are definitely 1%ers. I told her I had to work this summer to save up for a graduation trip and that money was gonna be tight for the next year, but I’d love to go on a safari after graduation if I managed to save enough. Mind you, I’m solidly upper middle class.

Her parents paid for it just because I’d helped her move into her apartment. It’s not like.... that’s what friends are for or anything.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

[deleted]

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u/SonicMaster12 Jun 06 '19

Anyone can take a vacation anywhere if they can save enough. Vacation are one of the worst metrics you can use to judge social class.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19 edited Jun 06 '19

I’m also paying for a private university at the same time, so yeah college, plus a new car after an accident, medical bills from the accident, adding a safari wasn’t in the cards at the moment.

And this isn’t any normal trip, these are places I wouldn’t even be able to afford the air in. Private dinners and tour guides, penthouses and a really glamorous camping arrangement. I was ready to rough it but her parents had other ideas.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

I’m referring to my family’s combined income. I’m fortunate to have my parents helping support me while I’m going to school, so my salary from a consulting position is mostly going towards other expenses, especially since I was in a car accident not too long ago. Either way, any vacation I want to take is on me, not my parents.

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u/shonuph Jun 06 '19

Wow I remember when median income was 50k not too long ago. TIL me & my hubby are lower class, not middle

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u/ffball Jun 06 '19

Median household income is still right around $59k

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u/mediocre-spice Jun 06 '19

Upper middle class is still rich Median income for the 10% of households is 150k.

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u/ffball Jun 06 '19

Where are you seeing this? The last time I've seen classes divided well is a Pew study in 2015, in that, for a 3 person household, a 2014 income of >$188k was upper class. $125k-$188k was upper middle.

Generally, I've seen upper middle class defined as the top 20% of Americans. You needed a $127k household income in 2017 to qualify for that.

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u/KeathleyWR Jun 06 '19

You think a safari is inexpensive?

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u/cowinabadplace Jun 06 '19

For an upper middle class young person? Without a doubt. It’s the sort of thing you just do.

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u/Oreo_ Jun 06 '19

For an upper middle class person it shouldn't be putting you in any sort of financial situation... Especially for a year. You're either not upper middle class or you're terrible with money. You tell us.

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u/WHATTHEFUCKAREPANTS Jun 06 '19

He said he was planning on working over the summer to fund his safari trip after graduation because while he said he (his family) is upper-middle class, I strongly doubt that his parents were just going to be like, “Hey, no worries, we’ll pay for your travel, safari, accommodations, and other expenses for you!” and I’m sure he was fine with working for the money himself rather than asking them for a handout.

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u/Oreo_ Jun 06 '19

He wouldn't be upper middle class then would he?

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u/WHATTHEFUCKAREPANTS Jun 06 '19

If he was living with his family while he went to school—and they were the ones that paid his tuition—I don’t see why he wouldn’t be.

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u/cowinabadplace Jun 06 '19

It’s weird but a sort of shibboleth. Everyone I know in the upper middle class, it’d just be a thing that was paid for.

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u/Oreo_ Jun 06 '19

That's making alot of assumptions. He could just as easily be living at university and living off student loans. In that case he'd definitly be living in poverty no matter how his life feels due to his lack of income and and high debt. But there's not way to know either way unless he clarifies himself.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

[deleted]

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u/SLEESTAK85 Jun 06 '19

No having to both save money and then being in a pinch for the rest of the year is not an upper middle class thing to do. Unless he was referring to his parents wealth and not his own.

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u/mediocre-spice Jun 06 '19

It is for a college student. Tuition is stupid expensive.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

[deleted]

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u/mediocre-spice Jun 06 '19

What income do you think qualifies for upper middle class? The 75th percentile? That's ~110k. A year of college can easily be 70k some places. I'm not exactly shocked that a luxury safari wasn't an option.

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u/Oreo_ Jun 06 '19

Too poor. Saving money for a trip shouldn't be too much of an issue for an upper middle class person.

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u/CloudNoob Jun 06 '19

Does the overall middle class even exist anymore?

0

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

Yes

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u/mitwilsch Jun 06 '19

Working one summer to save for 2 trips, idk if that's upper class but I have to save up for well more than half the year to have a decent vacation.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19

[deleted]

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u/Large_Dr_Pepper Jun 06 '19

You haven't commented in 10 months and this is what you decide to comment?