re: What did “being rich” mean to you when you were a kid

I thought it was having a new house. Didn't matter if it was a spec home or a 10k sq ft mansion.

I lived in a trailer until I was 10 for reference.

Until I was around 10 I thought people that lived in brick houses with air conditioning, and two cars were rich. When I was 10 my dad got his engineering degree after going to night school for 15 years. He got a big boost in pay, and we moved to a 3br 1 bath house with air conditioning, and a used car for my mom. we were rich! Having that perspective taught me about delayed gratification, working toward a goal, and appreciating everything I earned that others didn’t have.

when I was middle school and below, it meant someone that had all the He-Man or GI Joes. Also someone that got McDonalds or pizza more than me, which was never

when I was in high school it was someone that wore Polo, Guess, and Girbaud. It was someone that had their own baseball bat and bat bag. Also a kid that didnt have to work to pay for their car

Having a swimming pool.

For me it was Capri Sun. They were like a luxury item when I was 7.

Going out to eat at a restaurant, having cable tv, owning a three wheeler.

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you can afford better doctoral care. So maybe it can buy better health

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I have a great aunt worth probably $50 million. Not exaggerating one bit. She has the best healthcare any of us can imagine and doesn’t blink at the cost of things but that woman is on her last leg at 88 with two bum knees, a mind that can’t think on its own anymore, a bad heart, going blind, and has kidney failure.

Meanwhile, my 93 year old grandfather living on only social security who had to move in with my very middle class parents, just started losing his ability to walk on his own and now uses a walker to assist. fricker is sharp as a tack and could probably remember things I can’t.

Going out to eat was sign of wealth when I was a kid. Going out to Chili’s was a big treat for me. I remember going to a sleepover at a friend’s and his parents took us to Outback - I knew at that moment that they were loaded. I was amazed that someone could afford to take someone else’s kid out to a restaurant!

Making six figures was “rich” to 10 year old me. I really thought if I ever made $100,000 that I’d live such a cushy lifestyle.

It wasn’t even until I moved to Dallas that I understand what “rich” really is.

How naive I was.

Not being told my parents weren't made of money all the time. Close second was family dinner night at McDonalds. I knew at the time we were poor when that was our once a week treat.

Also remember my mom pricing groceries in the cart in her head to make sure she had enough money to pay. That was sobering as a kid.