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I tried to buy dishes on Ebay -- shipping is very high due to packing dishes for transport, and also a lot of the sellers aren't as careful as they should be in descriptions. I love 1950's abstract-y funky dinnerware -- think Jetson's rather than floral -- and a few sellers outright LIED about stuff. So with ceramics I have to SEE and handle it first.
I know that there are plenty of people who do wear X designers who are not rich. They are just posers and want to look rich.
The rich wear them but live below their means.
I think it goes without saying that those who wear designer clothing or drive expensive cars are not necessarily rich. It's is not wise to judge someone's networth based on outwards appearances. But it's also not wise to assume that everyone who does purchase luxury items is the one who cannot afford it and is simply stretching the budget to appear rich. There are many people who are rich and many of them do enjoy luxury goods and yes they still live below their means like you are saying. This is because there is a huge gap between those who can barely afford the luxury goods and choose to buy them and those who are really rich and for whom it is not a luxury or a splurge.
I think it goes without saying that those who wear designer clothing or drive expensive cars are not necessarily rich. It's is not wise to judge someone's networth based on outwards appearances. But it's also not wise to assume that everyone who does purchase luxury items is the one who cannot afford it and is simply stretching the budget to appear rich. There are many people who are rich and many of them do enjoy luxury goods and yes they still live below their means like you are saying. This is because there is a huge gap between those who can barely afford the luxury goods and choose to buy them and those who are really rich and for whom it is not a luxury or a splurge.
I am sure there are the rich who buy luxury cars, whether its new or used.
I think it goes without saying that those who wear designer clothing or drive expensive cars are not necessarily rich. It's is not wise to judge someone's networth based on outwards appearances. But it's also not wise to assume that everyone who does purchase luxury items is the one who cannot afford it and is simply stretching the budget to appear rich. There are many people who are rich and many of them do enjoy luxury goods and yes they still live below their means like you are saying. This is because there is a huge gap between those who can barely afford the luxury goods and choose to buy them and those who are really rich and for whom it is not a luxury or a splurge.
Sam Walton, one of the richest men in the world drove an old Ford Pickup and wore jeans most of the time...
I know several ranchers that are worth millions on paper and you wouldn't be able to tell them from the ranch hands...
Many of the new SUV, Escalades and Expeditions at work were bought by twenty something people making $10 to $12 an hour back in 2006...
I remember because I was chided a few times for still driving my old 72 Plymouth Valiant to work... the one I paid $800 for in high school... I never make payments on depreciating assets.
I still have my valiant and at least one Escalade and one Expedition plus a King Ranch Truck belonging to my co-workers have been repossessed...
Sam Walton, one of the richest men in the world drove an old Ford Pickup and wore jeans most of the time...
I know several ranchers that are worth millions on paper and you wouldn't be able to tell them from the ranch hands...
Many of the new SUV, Escalades and Expeditions at work were bought by twenty something people making $10 to $12 an hour back in 2006...
I remember because I was chided a few times for still driving my old 72 Plymouth Valiant to work... the one I paid $800 for in high school... I never make payments on depreciating assets.
I still have my valiant and at least one Escalade and one Expedition plus a King Ranch Truck belonging to my co-workers have been repossessed...
You are referring here to outward appearances and items you can observe - clothing, cars, etc, and you can't judge one's wealth by that. You also can't judge one's lifestyle by that.
You don't know for sure whether these wealthy people such as Sam Walton live in luxurious mansions full of domestic staff and own several residences across the US or the world, you don't know if he belongs to any exclusive golf clubs or yacht clubs where memberships exceed sometimes high 6 figure salaries. He may have 5 race cars in his garage, but you just simply haven't seen him drive them or haven't seen him engage in exotic activities accessible only to the rich. You don't know much about their lifestyle, you simply see what you see - how they dress, what they drive. You don't know what they eat, you don't know how they live, you don't know how they travel, how they vacation and how many people they employ to do basic tasks that you and I must do ourselves. You are making an assumption here that a wealthy person who drives a modest car and wears modest clothing does indeed have a middle class lifestyle and all that goes with it - e.g. modest home (and only one of them) in a modest neighborhood, travels coach on the plane, vacations at more modest accommodations, does most of the housework, doesn't employ personal assistants, sends kids to public schools etc. etc.
There is much much more to lifestyle than clothes one wears or a car one drives.
Outward appearances are deceiving and this goes both ways. there are those who are not rich but buy clothes and cars that scream 'rich' even if they struggle and borrow money to do so. there are also those who are indeed very rich, but prefer to not advertise their wealth to everyone they work with or deal with on day to day basis, yet still spending their fair share and enjoying what wealth gives you.
The key difference is percentage. Wealthier people spend a smaller proportion of their income on stuff, even though that stuff may seem like a lot of money to people with less wealth.
For example, if you make $150,000/year, a $70,000 car is almost 50% of your annual salary. However, for someone making $1,000,000 a year, $70,000 is only 7% of her annual salary.
This means that if you both bought the $70,000 car, the millionaire is being frugal, while you're being fiscally irresponsible . To be as thrifty as the millionaire, you'd have to pay no more than $10,500 for your car (7% of your income).
The secret is to spend a smaller proportion of your income on stuff.
I am sure there are the rich who buy luxury cars, whether its new or used.
We buy 'em when they've got 60,000-100,000 miles on 'em.
This wasn't a luxury car, but DH bought a really nice LeSabre for $400. Drove it every day to work and anywhere else he needed to go for 5 or maybe 6 years and re-sold it for $350. Put the usual oil changes, etc, and 1 set of tires into it. Drove it on vacation a couple years, too.
We live 3.5-5 hr away from any of either of our families & I have back problems, so the nice comfy ride & extra leg room of some of the higher end cars is almost a MUST.
The key difference is percentage. Wealthier people spend a smaller proportion of their income on stuff, even though that stuff may seem like a lot of money to people with less wealth.
For example, if you make $150,000/year, a $70,000 car is almost 50% of your annual salary. However, for someone making $1,000,000 a year, $70,000 is only 7% of her annual salary.
This means that if you both bought the $70,000 car, the millionaire is being frugal, while you're being fiscally irresponsible . To be as thrifty as the millionaire, you'd have to pay no more than $10,500 for your car (7% of your income).
The secret is to spend a smaller proportion of your income on stuff.
When you could get an item of equal quality for a cheaper price and you chose not to then you aren't being frugal. I don't care how much you're making a year, it just isn't frugal to buy a 70 grand car. It many not be irresponsible or stupid to buy it if you're making millions, but it still isn't frugal.
When you could get an item of equal quality for a cheaper price and you chose not to then you aren't being frugal. I don't care how much you're making a year, it just isn't frugal to buy a 70 grand car. It many not be irresponsible or stupid to buy it if you're making millions, but it still isn't frugal.
Spoken like someone who doesn't understand money . It's all in your valuation system, which is highly personal and subjective. You've just got to adapt your fiscal status to your valuation system.
The concept of "equal quality" depends on your own value. If you see a car's primary purpose as getting from point A to point B, then a Kia = Audi. However, if you also value safety (8 airbags when most cars only had 2 at the time, ABS, rear sensors, etc...), comfort (leather seats, seat warmer), acceleration, performance, handling, etc... then you might say that the Audi is a higher quality car.
Similarly, a McDonald's burger will fill you up as surely as one of my buffalo burgers. However, my burgers feature whole wheat buns (high fiber), avocado (good fats), brocco sprouts (high in anti-oxidants), jalapeno pickles (high in yummy factor), buffalo meat (less fat), fancy mustard, organic ketchup and no mayo. So far, all of my friends prefer my burgers
My personal philosophy about money is that it helps me to achieve my goals, but it doesn't define me. I don't need it to be happy. I've been happy with less, just as I'm happy with more. And no, having money doesn't mean that you worry less. You just worry about different things.
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. To be as thrifty as the millionaire, you'd have to pay no more than $10,500 for your car (7% of your income). 
. It's all in your valuation system, which is highly personal and subjective. You've just got to adapt your fiscal status to your valuation system.