“Being rich” has almost as many definitions as being happy. Mostly it means having enough _ love, health, wealth, security, whatever. But the most common idea of getting rich in this society is having lots of money.
That narrows the problem considerably, although there is the pesky problem of exactly what “lots” means. JP Morgan once quipped something to the effect of “if you have to think about how much it costs to maintain a yacht, you can’t afford it.” In the same sense I would say if you constantly feel constrained by lack of money you are not rich.
We easily agree that there is some level of affluence _ security, food, freedom, etc _ beneath which the idea of being rich is silly and wrong. But above that level, almost none of us agree. As much as the average person? More than the neighbors? Approaching the lifestyles I see on media? An almost endless set of possibilities.
Extending Morgan’s point, I would claim that if you have to think about money all the time you are not rich. My simple personal solution has obviously been to train myself to be content within my means so I don’t have to think about money all the time. Within limits, that has worked extremely well.
So I feel rich, although others (including my wife) would not agree. But for me, my opinion matters, and my definitions are correct.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 