Photos: You know you’re wealthy when…
“You know you’re wealthy when you’re happy,” a teenager from Australia says. A retiree from Los Angeles says you know you’re wealthy when you aren’t worrying about what’s in your checking account. For a musician and DJ living in Southern California, being wealthy means moving out of an old neighborhood and into a better place.
The Venice Beach boardwalk attracts all sorts, and we got all sorts of answers when we asked people to finish the sentence: You know you’re wealthy when…
You know you’re wealthy when…
“You know you’re wealthy when you change zip codes,” says Jerome Dyson, a DJ and musician who lives in Los Angeles. Dyson says that when you achieve wealth, you can move up – which means moving out of your old neighborhood. His current zip code is 90929, “but I moved from 90291. So I guess I made it.”
The simple life
“You know you’re wealthy when everything in life brings you joy,” says Vanessa Donatucci, a regional sales manager for a construction company in Pennsylvania. “To be wealthy isn’t necessarily about money. It’s more about living simply and taking pleasure in the small things you do daily.”
You’ve got it covered
“You know you’re wealthy when you don’t have to worry about your check bouncing,” says Melrose Sprague, a retired textbook coordinator for a public school district in Southern California. Sprague says she’s not worried about bouncing checks at this point in her life. “I do have a six-figure checking account, but it hasn’t changed me. I’m still the same Melrose.”
Doing what you want
Ronald Lentz, a Long Beach retiree, says that wealth is being able to do what you want to do. For Lentz, that means literally searching for wealth with a metal detector at various beaches in Southern California. “I go do what I want to do when I get up in the morning. So yeah, I’m wealthy.”
Safe and secure
Musician Robert “Robot” Knott says you know you’re wealthy when you feel secure. And that goes for money as well as one’s sense of self: “You could be insecure with yourself and I would say that’s not a wealthy person.”
Living happy
“You know you’re wealthy when you’re happy,” says Benjamin Boutros, a student from Sydney, Australia. “If you could choose between having nice things and not having nice things, I would choose to have nice things. But if I’ve got what I need and I’m happy, I’m happy with that.” Pictured: Mariano Meza, left, Boutros, center, and Taylor Maxfield, right.
What about you? Here are some responses we’ve gotten on Twitter and Facebook. Take to the comments below to finish this sentence: You know you’re wealthy when…
And see more from our series to find out what Washingtonians had to say about wealth in the nation’s capital and to hear from New Olreans residents about life in the Big Easy.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
