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Tacky question

Laila619

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Sorry for the tacky question, and I know I'm going to sound like DF when I ask this (love you DF!), but are most people on Pricescope pretty wealthy?

I assume yes, because it's a forum for diamonds and luxury jewelry, so naturally it's going to be mostly people with a lot of disposable income posting on it. I know it's a very personal question, but do you consider yourself well-off?

I will answer my own question first. I would not classify myself as wealthy by any means, but DH and I inherited a house free and clear from a family member, so we have no rent or mortgage. That has freed up a lot of our (very modest) income. We also are savers by nature, and I think we are pretty smart with our money management.
 

packrat

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hahahahahaha not us. We don't qualify for reduced lunches at school but that's about the extent of it. And actually, for a few years we did qualify but never used it. So it makes no sense for me to have a wedding set that was three years worth of my part time wages but I do and I'm not sorry. We've gotten quite a bit of help from my parents, especially the last year and a half, starting the side business at home and such. I don't have a problem discussing money, tho some consider it tacky, probably b/c we don't have any, so it's not like people could consider me a braggart or a show off. (tho I'll take any chance to show off my rings b/c they kick ass..)
 

Niel

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No ma'am.
 

jaysonsmom

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I would describe our family as comfortable. I don't stress about making bills, or eating out, or buying what I like (within reason), and I don't balance my checkbook....but I also don't have extravagant spending habits or shop in designer stores etc. I am happy with my bling collection, and do not plan on frequent bling purchases. I only buy diamonds for big milestone anniversaries, like 10th, 15th, 25th etc.....I'm just on PS to ogle at all the big beautiful stuff that people with REAL disposable income buy :)
 

Dancing Fire

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Laila619|1453339159|3978848 said:
Sorry for the tacky question, and I know I'm going to sound like DF when I ask this (love you DF!), but are most people on Pricescope pretty wealthy?
You mean Kenny!.. :lol:
Anyhow, I am far from being wealthy especially after losing a lot of $$$ in the stockmarket in the past two yrs. .. ;( . I lost half of my wife's 401K and she is piss off at me, plus both of our Roth IRA is now basically worthless... ;( . My regular trading account is almost worthless... ;(

Looking for a PSer "sugar mama".. :naughty:
 

telephone89

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Nope. We are not pay cheque to pay cheque or anything, but would certainly be worried if one of us lost our job for several months. I'm MOSTLY here to oogle, and all of my jewels are quite small in comparison. I also keep an eye out for nice things on the pre-loved board :) I look forward to the days I can shop for one of the honkers on this board!
 

VirginiaZee

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Lol, nope, not at all. I'm just here to look at all the gorgeous gems. =)
 

Jambalaya

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Delete.
 

woofmama

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Not wealthy. We don't spend on vacations, expensive cars or designer clothing. I have to budget and/or sell other things if I want to purchase new bling. Due to owning a business, I end up with quite a bit of cash back bonus on my credit cards, I always earmark that for my bling fund too.
 

Amber St. Clare

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Not wealthy. I was laid off back in 08 and developed a crippling autoimmune disease and a serious illness. My husband had great corporate job with excellent medical benefits. We had developed the habit of over paying the mortgage to retire it early. Well we finally did, and then he as laid off!

We still have the benefits, he was given a nice severance package plus the pension plan. He was able to find a job, however it is not corporate, he now works for a non-profit for considerably less.

So our disposable income is down, but we re doing OK {so far}. We are in an OK place {nowhere extravagant, but OK} and I know some people our age who have lost everything so I'm not about to bitch that our weekly Wednesday night pasta dinner at the local is now monthly, and certain things I used to splurge on now require careful thought. But you won't catch me complaining, all in all things are OK.
 

stracci2000

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I am not wealthy by any means.
My job in the retail food industry pays the bills.
Most of my jewels were gifts, or acquired for very little.
I learned silver smithing so I could make my own jewelry, and I shop
mostly at thrift stores.
 

RissaLou

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Nope! But I'm okay with that :))
Before our son was born, I had a very good job, and while we weren't rich by any means, we had quite a bit more extra cash. I amassed a pretty decent sized collection of jewelry, all smaller pieces (around $500 each). I was able to spend because my husband also had a very good job that covered almost all the bills, plus savings, plus depositing to our retirement account, and saving for a house. During 2008 I was laid off and there went our extra cash, plus finances were tighter. I found work, but not nearly what I use to have. Then my husband also got laid off. He also found a sub-par job compared to what he had and we used up all the savings we had, and the small retirement fund we had started. My mom started to struggle as well, so...

My husband our son and myself now live with my mother and her fiance, and we all share the bills. None of us could afford to live on our own, however I really enjoy our family living, we all help each other. My son gets to grow up with his grandmother, and I wouldn't have nearly as good of a relationship with my future step-dad, as well as my husband and mother getting along as well. I am now a stay at home mom, but I do sew and sell little items, so that helps us to save. My husband, mother, and her fiance, all work full time jobs.

I upgraded my wedding set right before our son was born, and currently I have three jewelry projects being completed by the end of February, BUT the only way I have been able to do this is because I have literally been selling all of my jewelry collection that I had accumulated previously. My husband and I both agreed that whatever I made selling my jewelry, it was okay to put back into jewelry VS. adding to our household finances. Once these projects are done though, they are all items I don't see myself ever wanting to part with, so my buying days will be over for the foreseeable future, until our situation changes.

But I have learned A LOT from everything, and my husband and I are still young (early 30's) so we have a long time (God willing) to slowly get back on our feet as far as buying our own home and replenishing our retirement.
 

sonnyjane

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We're ok. I comment often to others about how "broke" I am, but the truth is we live in a nice house, have manageable debts, and have a tiny bit in savings which is more than many can say.
 

LLJsmom

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RissaLou|1453351476|3978932 said:
My husband our son and myself now live with my mother and her fiance, and we all share the bills. None of us could afford to live on our own, however I really enjoy our family living, we all help each other. My son gets to grow up with his grandmother, and I wouldn't have nearly as good of a relationship with my future step-dad, as well as my husband and mother getting along as well.

I agree with this. There are so many pros and blessings to living with parents, provided all parties get along reasonably well. Grandparents love grandchildren so differently from parents. My kids have only been blessed by living with their grandparents. Grandparents can focus on the kids, where the parents are more concerned with putting food on the table, and just managing and dealing with the kids.

We are definitely not rich. We are just careful about what we spend. My DH does not really have any expensive hobbies. That is my job. ;-) We have cut back on vacay, eating out lunch or dinner, haircuts, random spending. No expensive cars, electronics, clothes, grooming. Priorities are saving for retirement, 529 plans, bills, organic foods, home maintenance as required, all the lessons for the kids, and that's about it. I try to be savvy about all my purchases, with a view toward reuse and recycling if my tastes change, and options to upgrade without losing $$.
 

kenny

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Laila619|1453339159|3978848 said:
Sorry for the tacky question, and I know I'm going to sound like DF when I ask this (love you DF!), but are most people on Pricescope pretty wealthy?

I assume yes, because it's a forum for diamonds and luxury jewelry, so naturally it's going to be mostly people with a lot of disposable income posting on it. I know it's a very personal question, but do you consider yourself well-off?

I will answer my own question first. I would not classify myself as wealthy by any means, but DH and I inherited a house free and clear from a family member, so we have no rent or mortgage. That has freed up a lot of our (very modest) income. We also are savers by nature, and I think we are pretty smart with our money management.

Hello.
Uhm ... "DH and I inherited a house free and clear from a family member, so we have no rent or mortgage"

IMO, that makes'ya wealthy.

My parents left me ZIP, ZERO, NADA ... well ... they left me a phone bill. :nono:

I had to work for/earn every single frigging penny.
I got not even a dime for edjumacation from parents/government/anyone/anything/anywhere.
 

jordyonbass

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kenny|1453366343|3978987 said:
Laila619|1453339159|3978848 said:
Sorry for the tacky question, and I know I'm going to sound like DF when I ask this (love you DF!), but are most people on Pricescope pretty wealthy?

I assume yes, because it's a forum for diamonds and luxury jewelry, so naturally it's going to be mostly people with a lot of disposable income posting on it. I know it's a very personal question, but do you consider yourself well-off?

I will answer my own question first. I would not classify myself as wealthy by any means, but DH and I inherited a house free and clear from a family member, so we have no rent or mortgage. That has freed up a lot of our (very modest) income. We also are savers by nature, and I think we are pretty smart with our money management.

Hello.
Uhm ... "DH and I inherited a house free and clear from a family member, so we have no rent or mortgage"

IMO, that makes'ya wealthy.

My parents left me ZIP, ZERO, NADA ... well ... they left me a phone bill. :nono:

I had to work for/earn every single frigging penny.
I got not even a dime for edjumacation from parents/government/anyone/anything/anywhere.

I've always been curious Kenny - what do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking? I'm in emergency services but ran pubs, bars and restaurants until 3 years ago.

Wouldn't say I'm wealthy, I took a big pay cut to do what I'm doing now. But I get by with all the stupidly expensive hobbies that I have. Obviously don't have a mortgage lol
 

AGBF

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jordyonbass|1453368398|3978990 said:
Obviously don't have a mortgage lol

Jordy,

It isn't obvious to me. I don't know what you mean. Do you have an entire house paid off (or more than one of them) or do you rent?

Deb ;))
 

rubybeth

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No, I wouldn't say we are wealthy, but we make choices with our money every day that allow us to do the things we value (save, travel, buy the occasional piece of jewelry, etc.). I would say we are middle class, and the Pew calculator agrees with me: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/09/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/ Certainly, some of your ability to save money depends on the cost of living in your area--we live in the midwest, not a large city, and have a relatively low cost of living, which helps us save even more. I am also a big fan of Mr. Money Mustache: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/

Edited to add: part of the fun of jewelry shopping for me is the thrill of the hunt and finding a good deal. Many of my favorite pieces are pre-Loved.
 

partgypsy

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You are going to get answers all over the place. Polls show that a high percentage of rich people don't classify themselves as rich
For example 42% of people who have 1 million net worth do not describe themselves as wealthy.
http://fortune.com/2011/03/14/survey-the-rich-dont-think-theyre-rich/

So, (and I know this is tacky) unless you have a poll for household income, or networth, this question is worthless.

I am also curious what Kenny does for a living!
 

arkieb1

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I honestly think it depends on how you define "wealth."
 

missy

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arkieb1|1453389168|3979070 said:
I honestly think it depends on how you define "wealth."

Yes this was my first thought too. To answer your question Laila I don't consider us wealthy but we are comfortable. Depending on where one lives however that definition may change as cost of living takes a big chunk of one's money.
 

Jambalaya

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part gypsy|1453387510|3979056 said:
You are going to get answers all over the place. Polls show that a high percentage of rich people don't classify themselves as rich
For example 42% of people who have 1 million net worth do not describe themselves as wealthy.
http://fortune.com/2011/03/14/survey-the-rich-dont-think-theyre-rich/

So, (and I know this is tacky) unless you have a poll for household income, or networth, this question is worthless.

I am also curious what Kenny does for a living!


Me too! I don't think he's ever said...

There is a bench jeweler a couple towns over and he is so much like Kenny personality-wise, I've wondered if they are one and the same! :lol:
 

Arcadian

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Defo not wealthy! Worked very hard for every penny.

Sorry Kenny but owning a house free and clear really doesn't make one wealthy, we're living proof!

I'm the sale queen. I love sales, discount stores, flea markets the like. I'm always on ebates before I buy anything (I love ebates) I am also very careful with how I use credit... myFico is probably my 2nd favorite place tbh...

I drove a beater car for MANY years because we had made ourselves a 15 year plan. And when I had car issues, I had a Chilton book that helped me be able to fix most of the problems (except the transmission issue that was awful!!)

The years I got sick were the worst because we also were in the middle of a very nasty economic downturn in this country. It didn't make things easier for either of us. We lost a lot of money from our retirement plans. Lots of people took a bad hit unfortunately. But it was something to learn from.

We don't have kids and for the area we live in, and these days we have a good income. We both worked hard to get where we are though.

As the price of gemstones have went up, I've spent less. I don't buy like I used to. Since I've been back I've finished one ring which was 4 years late but hey I'll take that!

I won't get a dime from my parents. I didn't when I was in college (I paid for everything I didn't get a grant or scholarship for), nor do I expect it. Last year I got my first brand new car in over 15 years. I think I deserved that one.
 

Laila619

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arkieb1|1453389168|3979070 said:
I honestly think it depends on how you define "wealth."

Yes, true. Like for instance, I'm sure there are people making $200,000 a year who would not consider themselves well-off. Cost of living plays a big role too though. $200,000 in southern CA might not go very far, but here where I am, you could live like an absolute king with that income and you would most definitely be considered "rich."
 

Laila619

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kenny|1453366343|3978987 said:
Laila619|1453339159|3978848 said:
Sorry for the tacky question, and I know I'm going to sound like DF when I ask this (love you DF!), but are most people on Pricescope pretty wealthy?

I assume yes, because it's a forum for diamonds and luxury jewelry, so naturally it's going to be mostly people with a lot of disposable income posting on it. I know it's a very personal question, but do you consider yourself well-off?

I will answer my own question first. I would not classify myself as wealthy by any means, but DH and I inherited a house free and clear from a family member, so we have no rent or mortgage. That has freed up a lot of our (very modest) income. We also are savers by nature, and I think we are pretty smart with our money management.

Hello.
Uhm ... "DH and I inherited a house free and clear from a family member, so we have no rent or mortgage"

IMO, that makes'ya wealthy.

You think? The house is an absolute money pit and was in pretty bad shape. We had to gut the entire thing and renovate/paint/remodel. It's still a work in progress and we need new windows and doors now. Plus the property taxes are ridiculously high. It was definitely a huge gift though, I won't deny that.
 

LLJsmom

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rubybeth|1453383870|3979040 said:
No, I wouldn't say we are wealthy, but we make choices with our money every day that allow us to do the things we value (save, travel, buy the occasional piece of jewelry, etc.). I would say we are middle class, and the Pew calculator agrees with me: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/09/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/ Certainly, some of your ability to save money depends on the cost of living in your area--we live in the midwest, not a large city, and have a relatively low cost of living, which helps us save even more. I am also a big fan of Mr. Money Mustache: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/

Edited to add: part of the fun of jewelry shopping for me is the thrill of the hunt and finding a good deal. Many of my favorite pieces are pre-Loved.


Interesting little test. I think it needs to take location into account. But I do like that it considers how many people you are supporting.
 

blingbunny10

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This is kind of tangential, but I don't think "well-off" and "wealthy" are interchangeable terms.
A lot of "well-off" people would not consider themselves "wealthy" or "rich." I plugged in several test numbers into the income calculator someone linked to above, and I could definitely see how a couple or family in the "upper tier" would simply feel middle class or comfortable rather than rich. Especially if you've got multiple student loans and live in a high cost of living area. $100k in Houston =\= $100k in San Francisco!

Then again, I can see how a couple making $25-30k each would think $100k a year classified as rich enough to not worry about expenses. On a radio program a couple years ago, I heard the host describe a survey in which people were asked what their DREAM salary is-- the amount that they fantasize about, sufficient to live large and not worry about a thing.... and I think the number was a surprisingly low amount, around $60-70k.

So, I guess my short response is that I don't want to answer your question myself, but I think it's an interesting topic. :))
 

yssie

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Completely agree that this depends on how you define wealthy, but it's very interesting to read people's thoughts on their own households! I remember several years ago a similar question was posed in Hangout and there was a poster who felt that $350k/year was middle-of-the-road. If I recall correctly she lived in an extremely expensive part of the world but it definitely startled me nonetheless! Perception really is everything :bigsmile:

I also vaguely recall reading... hearing... somewhere... that the US is somewhat unique in that most Americans feel - and want to feel - that they're middle-class, vs. other cultures where showcasing climbing the ladder is more the norm. Me, like everyone in this thread - not wealthy, not well-off, but comfortable. I will say that I define "comfortable" as "not having to worry about how to pay for emergency living or medical expenses for us or our pets", and I feel very, very lucky to be in that position.

ETA: I will also say that when I was younger I used to think people had a lot more control over Where They Wound Up In Life, and... over the past few years I've come to realise how wrong so many of my assumptions and beliefs were. I used to think that passion, hard work, and commitment always led to success and prosperity - well, unless you're born into wealth I still think they're requirements, but now I'm convinced that the other requirement is just a plain ol' pot of good luck.
 

december-fire

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Its not just about how much money you make, its also about what you do with the money you make.

As income rises, lifestyle creep can lead to increased financial expenditures and commitments.

More cars or homes mean more money that must go to insurance, maintenance, repairs, etc. And lets not forget about furnishing those homes.

Expensive, and multiple homes, can mean a large on-going financial commitment for recurring expenses; everything from property tax to security monitoring and lawn care services. Larger, or multiple homes, also mean higher costs for heating and cooling.

There can also be a premium charged because its assumed a person can afford it. For example, deciding to get custom window treatments in one room can mean an inflated price if the company arrives to get a quote at an 8,000 square foot home versus a 2,000 square foot home.

I think some multi-millionaires don't feel 'wealthy' because they've committed themselves to substantial financial expenses and may feel pressured to ensure a certain level of annual income. Family members might feel hard-done by if told the fancy cars and lifestyle need to be cut-back.

Sometimes we read about famous people going bankrupt. There can be a variety of reasons, but sometimes its because the person has developed an attitude of 'I'm rich, I can afford it!'.

No matter what your income, its simple math.

If expenditures are greater than income, there's a problem.

This is true whether the income is $50 million or $50,000.

Hmmmm, I was going to write a quick response and return later to write more when I have time.

So much for a quick response.

But I reserve the right to return later and write more. :lol:

Finances are one of my favorite topics! :love:

Personal financial decisions have an impact on your quality of life; whether you can sleep at night or stare at the ceiling worrying about how to pay your bills.

Oh, Kenny's profession!

That should have its own thread! :appl:

I'd love to speculate on the answer to that one! :dance:
 

baby monster

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We're middle class for the area we live. Definitely not wealthy by my definition. We had a conversation with a few friends at a recent dinner party about what they consider rich and one person said rich was not having debt beyond a mortgage. Seems like an odd concept as many people are house poor in my area because of insanely high cost of real estate.
 
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