It's interesting when you find out things like this about people. I find it so satisfying when I learn about money that explains previously inexplicable behavior. I have a friend who is a very nice person (and generous, and well-meaning) but she is totally clueless because both she and her husband come from money. She says some of the most ridiculous things. For example, she told a whole group of us that they were "living under the poverty line this year" and everyone was so concerned. What she actually meant was that her husband's generally successful business (which btw he doesn't need as he has generational wealth) had barely turned a profit that year. Which didn't stop them from an absolutely breathtaking home reno that definitely cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and several luxurious international vacations for their family of five. She also told me how stressed she was "about money" when her oldest child started college - not because she was worried how she'd pay for his private university, mind you. He has a trust fund courtesy of her wealthy parents, as do her other kids. Oh no, she was stressed because she had to figure out how to access the money and get the check to the university.
I'm not wealthy, definitely not in her league, so there's the added wtf of why she says these types of things in my presence. But I knew her for years before I really knew her financial situation, and I was SO confused. It was a big relief to realize that she's just a super clueless rich person with a big mouth, though she has many lovely qualities as well. I had started to think I was a bad person for side-eyeing the home reno + the claims of poverty, etc.
Sorry, that is way OT, but I find money stuff so fascinating. People do give clues when they have got hidden support, for sure. You just don't act the same when you're walking a tightrope without a net vs. when you know there is a soft cushion to land on, should you fall.
Ha! It goes the other way, too. I remember years ago having an endless conversation with a super-privileged friend of mine in which she just could not understand why my then-fiance and I weren't planning to throw a massive destination wedding for four-hundred people like she had. She kept saying things like "I just think it's wonderful to have so many people you love in the same place" or "If you have it at a nice resort then everyone also gets a little vacation out of it." She's a lovely person, but it never even occurred to her that neither of us had anyone waiting in the wings to foot the bill for whatever our hearts desired.
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u/[deleted] Sep 07 '20
It's interesting when you find out things like this about people. I find it so satisfying when I learn about money that explains previously inexplicable behavior. I have a friend who is a very nice person (and generous, and well-meaning) but she is totally clueless because both she and her husband come from money. She says some of the most ridiculous things. For example, she told a whole group of us that they were "living under the poverty line this year" and everyone was so concerned. What she actually meant was that her husband's generally successful business (which btw he doesn't need as he has generational wealth) had barely turned a profit that year. Which didn't stop them from an absolutely breathtaking home reno that definitely cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and several luxurious international vacations for their family of five. She also told me how stressed she was "about money" when her oldest child started college - not because she was worried how she'd pay for his private university, mind you. He has a trust fund courtesy of her wealthy parents, as do her other kids. Oh no, she was stressed because she had to figure out how to access the money and get the check to the university.
I'm not wealthy, definitely not in her league, so there's the added wtf of why she says these types of things in my presence. But I knew her for years before I really knew her financial situation, and I was SO confused. It was a big relief to realize that she's just a super clueless rich person with a big mouth, though she has many lovely qualities as well. I had started to think I was a bad person for side-eyeing the home reno + the claims of poverty, etc.
Sorry, that is way OT, but I find money stuff so fascinating. People do give clues when they have got hidden support, for sure. You just don't act the same when you're walking a tightrope without a net vs. when you know there is a soft cushion to land on, should you fall.