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You guys act like you would see people with designer clothes with a Mercedes-Benz coming from a public housing projects. I barley see any luxury cars from a middle class nehiborhood.What do you not understand that there income is low they get everything free like food stamps and public housing that they have no extra money to spend?
It depends where you live. Have you been to Hollywood, CA or the San Francisco Bay Area? Plenty of people driving Mercedes and paying with food stamps here. It's quite a sight to see when you drive around the San Jose suburbs and see the most beat up old homes and apartment complexes with nothing but BMWs and Mercedes parked out front, and the million dollar home areas have nothing but old beat up Toyotas and Hondas in front. I kid you not.
i think it goes like this.
-they have nice teeth. poor's can't afford dentist.
- they drive a Mercedes-Benz.
- they have nice clothes such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren etc.
Anything else im missing?
...or you could root through their trash in order to look at a bank statement of theirs if you are obsessed with knowing other people's financial condition...
i think it goes like this.
-they have nice teeth. poor's can't afford dentist.
- they drive a Mercedes-Benz.
- they have nice clothes such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren etc.
Anything else im missing?
I was looking at a piece of land at one point and ran into the neighbor...
Guy was missing 1/2 his teeth, had a 12 inch beard, stained overalls and a 1970's pickup truck.
Turned out this good ole boy owned a welding shop, a small trucking outfit, and a few thousand acres of farm land.
What you described is what the book 'the millionaire next door' called: "Big hat, no cattle"
As others have said, I saw what you described in section 8 housing when I was an EMT.
i think it goes like this.
-they have nice teeth. poor's can't afford dentist.
- they drive a Mercedes-Benz.
- they have nice clothes such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren etc.
Anything else im missing?
Flashing wealth is more often an indication that they are not wealthy.
Of course bad teeth likely indicate poor dental hygiene, which may be a sign of lower income.
A Mercedes? Maybe, maybe not. I have known folks who drive them, and actually those who have had larger Net Worths did not. A Mercedes is known for being a long lasting automobile. Want to buy a car and drive that same car for 40-years? Then a Mercedes is a good choice. So people who buy them are sometimes long-term investors. But I think from your post you are looking at flash. People showing 'wealth' with a 'NEW' Mercedes. Perhaps a 20-year old Mercedes would be a better indicator. Those who are building their Net Worth are not going to buy a new vehicle every decade, they want vehicles that last, so they can focus on investing.
Gucci, Ralph Lauren? No, in all cases I have seen, that indicates the exact opposite.
My little sister made poor life decisions for a while, and that included being a trophy for a few sugar daddies. Now she had lots of new designer clothes and hand-bags, and often carried thousands of dollars in clothing and jewelry on body. She drove new cars, and took lots of vacations to hotspots. She was never wealthy. Her boyfriends were middle class guys going through mid-life crisis. Those men liked spending $20,000 on an athletic 20-something.
People I have known, who I discovered to be wealthy, did not flash it. None of them flash wealth. Durable work clothes. A nice truck or an American made luxury car [never a sports car, but more for the smooth ride], the wife might have a convertible [whatever make/model was popular the year she graduated highschool].
I know a guy that dresses and smells like a bum. Drives a 25 year old rusty Toyota truck. You guessed it-very well off. When the local mall came up for sale he looked at buying it. Probably the smartest guy I know. Certainly one of the most interesting.
Want to know if someone is rich? Look at their income statements. Anything else is a guess.
I know a guy that dresses and smells like a bum. Drives a 25 year old rusty Toyota truck. You guessed it-very well off. When the local mall came up for sale he looked at buying it. Probably the smartest guy I know. Certainly one of the most interesting.
Want to know if someone is rich? Look at their income statements. Anything else is a guess.
Before I retired, when I was filing taxes for folks. I saw a lot of W-2s. If you focus on salary income, then you are likely not looking at earnings of very much. How many people are paid salaries over $500k?
If your entire income is from a salary then your a wage-slave, and likely not very wealthy. Granted there are a very wage-slaves who have high salaries, but those are very rare.
America has thousands of people who 'bring in' Multi-millions every year, more often it is from businesses they own, and most of that is being re-invested and sheltered so they do not pay taxes on it.
When I was collecting apartment buildings, I never took an income from any of them. On my tax filing, my Schedule Es always showed they were flush. I reinvested every penny back into them to build their Net Worth. Instead of being paid a taxable income.
Say you own a cleaning service: a building, 8 vans loaded with equipment and 10 employees. If your building Net Worth then you likely only draw as much as you need for your family, and you keep the rest of the profits in the business so your not paying taxes on it. You might Gross $10Million a year, but your W-2 might only show $80k or $100k. Your W-2 will likely not show your true income.
That is why businesses often run multiple sets of books.
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Plenty of people driving Mercedes and paying with food stamps here. 
It's quite a sight to see when you drive around the San Jose suburbs and see the most beat up old homes and apartment complexes with nothing but BMWs and Mercedes parked out front, and the million dollar home areas have nothing but old beat up Toyotas and Hondas in front. I kid you not.
