What does it take to feel rich?
This morning a friend of mine said, “So, now that you’re rich and famous are you going to have someone come clean your house every week?” Ah, the decadence of something like that. But the answer is no, in part because I’m not actually rich or famous, and in part because it seems like too much of a luxury. Maybe some day . . .
But it did get me thinking. I remember Oprah saying the first thing she did when she started making money was go out and buy herself stacks of huge, soft towels. That was being rich to her. If you think about it, we all have something like that–some secret gauge of what it means to be wealthy.
Mine is Charmin toilet paper. It seems like the kind of thing you have to deserve before you can have it. It’s too soft, too thick, and your little bottom definitely notices the difference. For years and years I’ve bought bargain toilet paper–including one name brand that was touted in Backpacker magazine as being the best to take on backpacking trips because it’s lightweight and does the job–which, it turns out, was a lie because although it might have been lightweight, it also had the bad habit of disintegrating at the first drop of moisture, and isn’t the whole point of toilet paper to be there when you’re moist? But maybe we don’t need to go into that. Suffice to say, for far too long I’ve been a parsimonious cheapskate with my tush, and that ends now.
Today I bought Charmin.
Time for some of you to confess: What one item or service do you hold in your mind as the very definition of being rich? Is it having someone else mow your lawn or clean your bathrooms? Is it having a Mercedes or a Lexus or just a car that works? Is it being able to treat someone else to dinner, or give a thousand dollars to some charity you admire, or have someone else color your roots or give you a manicure?
One of my favorite books is A Widow for One Year by John Irving. There’s a character in there–a police detective–and he saves all his money for the two items he views as luxuries: fire wood and books. I love that. That’s what I’m talking about.
So send me your one- or two-item detail of what it means to be rich. I’ll post a list that we can all work off of. Who knows? Maybe you already have what someone else considers a luxury. Maybe you’re already rich and you don’t even know it.
Technorati Tags: Charmin, Wealth, John Irving, Success
April 20th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Definitely would be paying someone to do some of the, er, physical labor attached to being a homeowner — mowing the lawn, cleaning, etc. You don’t actually have to be rich to do this. We did it for a couple of years. It’s just a matter of being willing to sacrifice something ELSE. But if I could pay someone to do that stuff and not have to give up something else, yeah, I’d feel pretty rich.
April 20th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
I could never feel rich, NEVER!!!!! I am always afraid that the rug is just about to be pulled out. So, even if I had 10 billion dollars, I would still live on a budget and keep my safety bank account for a rainy day.
April 20th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
As a poor college student, just about everything is a ‘when I’m rich’ luxury… first and foremost, having a bedroom to myself.
April 23rd, 2006 at 10:48 am
I can’t really think of one “thing” that would make me feel “rich”. Sitting on top of Mt. Lemmon yesterday, eating a pear, looking at the beautiful mountains and enjoying the company of friends, I felt rich. Isn’t that what it’s really about?
April 25th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
I have to say, Charmin’ is nice. I go with whatever is on sale, i.e. CHEAP, being in the college profession myself, and, like many, on a budget. Let me tell you, I would have to to be willing to forgo many other niceties to go lux on TP, and reduce my chocolate budget(hah, hah). It is all going to the same place, and is all disposed of anyway (I hope).
Not that the soft stuff isn’t awful nice .