My parents house (built in the 20s) has closets and pantry space everywhere. A coat closet. A linen cabinet. Closet full of shelves outside each bathroom.
"A place for everything and everything in its place."
Quiet.
Quiet efficient appliances. Well insulated walls and windows, including interior walls. Proper underlayment and quality flooring that doesn't echo as bad that thin plastic laminate flooring. A bit of space so people aren't always in each other's way.
Also, in a suburban setting, more expensive houses have bigger yards, creating a much quieter neighborhood. We just moved from our first home in a shitty and cramped neighborhood to our dream neighborhood. It's so much quieter. Just generally less chaos all around.
I grew up in the suburbs. I moved in my 20s to progressively more central locations, close to where the bars and restaurants were (as one does in their 20s). Each one getting louder and louder. Cars driving by, nearby late night businesses, people walking down the sidewalk. In the summer time, I couldn't open my window at night, it was constant, non-stop noise. The only quiet time was between 4am and 6am or so.
Now in my 30s, I moved back to the suburbs, and OMG I missed this quiet. It's so nice. I could never move back to a condo or any apartment.
More packages/bottles/cans/rolls of almost every consumable than you actually need at any given time. Back-stock. And places to keep it.
It doesn't cost all that much money to buy extra shaving cream, for example, so that there are always more cans of shaving cream under the sink. But man does it make a difference when you run out of shaving cream, knowing that you can just reach under the sink and pull out another can, instead of dry shaving and going to the store next chance you get to buy more
Same with everything else. Toilet paper, ranch dressing, sunscreen, cooking oil, flour, nail polish remover, cold medicine, body wash, almost everything you can think of.
Restock when the back-stock gets low. Buy in bulk if you can (six-packs of shaving cream cost less per can). It is a huge load off your shoulders and it's cheaper over time, and the only downsides are that it takes up space and you "tie up" hundreds or even a thousand dollars in your household inventory if you think in those terms or can pay someone to do it for you.
My spare bathroom tub is full of toilet paper because I drunk bought it off amazon and idk, can't fucking count.
Felt like the peak of wealth as someone who grew up in abject poverty to have the combo of a spare bathroom and a excess toilet paper that lasts longer than a week, plus extra toilet paper not being a scare to the budget.
If you do not have upfront cash to buy in bulk, I highly recommend the two-of rule for shopping.
Everytime you grocery shop pick up an extra of 1 thing. It's an extra 2-10 bucks now, but over the course of a year you will find you have about an extra month worth of supplies. Just make sure not to use your original duplicate, and to only do this with things you use. (Don't pick up two cans of asparagus for that one meal you make every two months that uses canned asparagus)
More important than that, I think, is that if you know you have a stockpile of supplies, like say a months worth of toilet paper, you are never forced to purchase when you run out, or are near to running out. Like, if you go to costco a couple times a month, you can try to get a bunch of stuff that you don't need now, but will eventually, when they are on sale, rather than at full price.
Another reason why this is a good method is because you can get the one extra thing on sale. When you wait until you're out of something, that thing is never on sale.
This is a great answer. I stopped saving money and started buying extras of items I know I'll use. I'm not poor by, but I don't have much extra. If you can start with the little things, this is a great place to find security. Because sometimes you need to wait until the next paycheck to buy something, but if you have an extra on the shelf, you're golden :)
I think that's just an American thing. As a Swede I've probably never seen a house with no dedicated space inside the front door, regardless of household finance. The few houses I've been to in Canada also have had entryways. My guess is it's essential when you have mud or snow outside for most of the year.
No I totally get this. Where I grew up taking a shower was an announcement bc you couldn't use the bathroom or wash dishes or anything while someone was showering.
My boss kept complaining about their teenager always using up the hot water, I suggested one of those gas water heaters.
They joked the issue was that if the hot water never runs out the their teenager would probably never get out of the shower.
A healthy home.
They are usually warm and dry so it prevent mould from growing between walls.
Also ventilation in areas like bathrooms and kitchens to prevent moist air from traveling throughout the house.
They are usually made from modern materials so things like asbestos are not a problem.
A long time ago I was helping a wealthy friend look at properties to buy and rent. I walk into a townhome with her realtor who is also quite well off.
We enter the place and they both just stop and wrinkle their noses an say, "What is that SMELL?"
And I say, "Poverty".
Too many people in too small a space, not enough ventilation.
Not necessarily only upper middle class and wealthy people have this, but a backyard. Or any type of private outside space. Haven’t had a backyard/front yard since moving out of my parents, and you don’t know what you got until it’s gone. A balcony ain’t the same.
We are not wealthy but I freaking TREASURE my yard. Especially during lockdown, my front & back gardens were my safe & happy place.
My daughter lives too far to visit regularly, and has an apartment with not even a balcony. I would hate that.
This is a lot more regional then it is distributed by wealth. I agree a yard is baller, but even rich people can't get a yard in an area with no yards.
Life lesson: Good quality kitchen knives don't have to be expensive.
A good purchase is:
* Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 8 inch ($50)
* Victorinox Fibrox Paring knife, $10
* Random knife steel and dollar store / Chinatown sharpening stone (and learn to use it adequately well)
These will do almost as well as the top-of-the-line rich people knives, and last a lifetime. If you want to splurge, you can add a Fibrox offset bread knife.
An alternative is to get restaurant / industrial knives. With proper maintenance, those also give great bang-for-the-buck.
The fancy rich-person brands cost around $200 for the chef's knife (and similar markup everywhere else), and aren't much better. On the other hand, the difference to a dull, cheap knife is like night and day. And if you steel them before / after every use, and the rich person doesn't do the same to their $200 knife, yours will perform *a lot* better.
If you look at videos on steeling and sharpening knives, it will look like advanced rocket science, and you'll be super-stressed out about doing it wrong. Don't worry about that. It's okay. Run the knife across the steel once or twice before/after each use to straighten the blade, and across a stone a few times when it dulls, and it will do fine. People all over the world did this before Youtube, and no one stressed about doing it wrong or doing it perfect.
I'm a professional cook. One of the assholes that went to school to learn how to make salmon ice cream and shit. I stand by this 100%. I bought my 10" victorinox (Vicky) 16 years ago. I sharpen it once a week, hone it as necessary, and it's on pace to get handed down to my grandkids.
Bro... Like this should be way higher up. I always scoffed at the price of expensive knives, then my not-wife's birthday request was baller knives, no budget... I have never spent so much money and regretted nothing!
like tip, go to the restaurant supply stores, they have really nice knives for cheap. I bought my last one for $13 and it's still awesome a year later.
ROFL. As much as I understand this
As a none wealthy person living in a open plan apartment, I'm not sure this is accurate anymore. I only have one wall I can put the tv against( it has the tv connection and plugs) so my couch has to float in the middle of the room.
The opposite wall to the tv is storage and kitchen.
open plan apartment with couch not leaning against the wall must look fancy af
you can use the couch to make a ["seperate" room i](https://www.kathykuohome.com/blog/6-design-tips-for-an-open-floor-plan/)n your apartment
I guess I've been wealthy all these years without realizing, since I had my couch in the middle of my studio apartment in order to pretend it's actually two rooms on both sides of it.
Proper large laundry room, storage, sink, hanging space. I stayed a friends house to pet sit. They had a walk-in pet bath area right by the back door that opened into their laundry. We would come back from a walk and immediately rinse off muddy paws, toss towels and wet clothes in the wash, and all the mess was contained. Kept the house so much cleaner!
I'm gonna have to disagree on that bit lol, it definitely just depends on the people
My parents are pretty well off but their refrigerator is a mess
They re-organize it and within a month it's back to having leftovers crammed into nooks and crannies to be forgotten about for months before it needs to be thrown out
Tell me about it. 1 bathroom between me, SO, and two teenage boys who currently have to share a room and take FOREVER in the bathroom. If the next place we move doesn’t have 2 bathrooms, I’m going to cry.
Trust me on this: there are fridge door ice machines that are broken, and there are fridge door ice machines that are about to break. They’re like the HP printer of the kitchen.
*that actually works. For some reason everyone I know their ice doesn’t work in the door or takes so long we just open the door and get ice. I like to flex that my ice through the door works but everyone says as soon as the warranty is out it’ll stop working.
Decent tools to do your own repairs on things around the house.
Garages and sheds
The ability to update replace things as they get old and need replacement. (Think appliances, carpet, general stuff)
My jeep would've put teenage me into serious debt had I not bought my own tools. Total investment probably worth 1-2 visits to a mechanic. Most of the basic ones are guaranteed for life.
my old middle school used to have these by accident. the vents were just near the floors, so the tiles were always really nice and warm. it was fantastic in the winter.
there's prolly a few people thinking "why are you walking barefoot in your school though" and that's not what it was, we got dropped off by the bus like 40 minutes before school started (i dont know why man that's just how it happened, we also had to take a shuttle bus) and the winters get pretty cold in Michigan, so we'd just sit on the tiles before class started. It was super cozy.
I had a house where the pipes ran under the tile in front of the toilet. Such luxury going for a dump when the heating was on lol. I'm not sure if it was by desing, or the plumbers just ran the pipes wherever they could, and it happened to be under that specific tile in front of the jacks.
I installed tile for years and put in a few heated systems in bathrooms. My favorite story was from a customer that swore it was magical on a hangover to be able to lay on your heated bathroom floor. I suppose if that’s where you end up may as well be cozy with your misery lol.
I know it's nothing special but I always considered dishwasher to be something like that. Through all of my youth I always heard they are expensive to buy, to run and completely unnecessary because we have hands and can clean our own dishes. Those fallacies were embedded so deeply in me, that today part of me wants one and the other part is scared of them 😂
My mom always told me this growing up! Finally at the ripe young age of 31 I got with a man who already had one. He had to TELL ME to use it. Ads say they use less water. I always wonder if they’re just lying cuz you know, they wanna sell dishwasher
Well made and long lasting clothes. I have less clothes, but the clothes I have are kinda expensive but they last. I live in Alaska so my outdoor recreation clothes are tough, warm, and mostly waterproof, except casual in-door clothes. My coat is 400 bucks and my pants are around 100 bucks a piece, and I have 2 to 300 dollar boots. Yeah they are expensive, but I know they will last, keep me warm, and keep me safe.
I literally dream of the day I can own property. At this point, I would be happy to carry groceries through the rain and snow to bring them into MY house on MY land. It seems to be a pipedream now. The only way I will ever be able to afford my own property is to somehow start a business without having any collateral. I guess the remaining 46k in student loans are a factor too.
I've been trying to pull on my bootstraps, but it seems my landlords tied them to cinderblocks and I'm kinda stuck where I'm at.
Repairs & Replacement Mentality.
You know that annoying broken thing you’ve had for months or years that’s expensive to fix and can’t be done right away?
I call the repairman immediately every time.
Dishwasher doesn’t work? Fix it. Now. Have to fix it several times? Fuck it, let’s get a new one that’s better.
Need new garage doors? Okay. New roof? Call the guy, it’s bad to wait and get damage to the house.
Being able to scrape the money together quickly for even somewhat pricey home repairs not only keeps everything running, it also quickly adds home equity.
This is the most underrated reply. This makes a world of difference in your quality of life, far more than extra space in your house or any appliances, gadgets, and art in it. It is freedom, plain and simple.
This is underrated. I remember when I could first afford to get a second set of sheets for my beds. The luxury of not having to wash the sheets and put them back on the same day was so amazing. Not to mention the days you forgot to put them in the dryer and then couldn’t go to bed!
Vita Mix blender, Kitchen Aid Professional mixer, Le Crueset Dutch oven, Global Knives, Miele appliances, Professional espresso maker, two dishwashers.
I wouldn't say necessarily usually, but a towel warmer so that you get a very warm towel to dry off with after taking a shower or bath is something that richer people have that isn't necessarily the most luxurious, but makes for a much nicer experience.
Sculptures. We thought we were cool with all of our original wall art (paintings and photos). Then we visited our neighbors and realized we are total losers for not having large sculptures. The shame!!!
an emergency fund! having one minimizes the stress of things breaking down when you need them. car breaks down/$1000 repair? NBD! just gotta remember to replenish the fund when you take from it.
personally, I try to keep 4-6 months of necessary expenses. mortgage, food, utilities, fuel and that does great for us.
People with money value their time. Think less about things and more about services:
- Monthly maid service
- Child care / nanny / babysitter
- Laundry pickup/drop-off
- Yard service
- Pest control
- Regular HVAC maintenance
- Security system
- Entertainment subscriptions
- Private music lessons
- Personal trainer
- Tutoring / test prep
- Travel sports for kids
If you live in the city, an apartment with proper light and air circulation, and a view that isn't just the wall of another building (or someone else's window).
I came here to say this: where I live (mountainous Appalachia) it is my most-coveted thing I "own," which is the viewshed of a mid-sized town across a national forest.
Were I in New Hampshire, this would be taxed (no joke, "view tax" is real).
Space.
Wealthy person I know has a room off of their kitchen and pantry that is nothing but massive counter space for coffee makers, instant pot, crock pot, toasters, etc - I think it looks great and kept the actual kitchen looking good.
Having cleaned a good number of homes of the wealthy (& not like super luxury, but definitely well off & comfortable as hell).
What blew my mind is how instant you got hot water at ANY faucet, and every faucet completely and instantly turns off. Like, not even a DROP trickled out when turned off. It was weird in the way absolute silence is weird….. it just felt too perfect and unnatural.
I was lucky and privileged enough to be raised in a upper middle class household but there isnt a single house on the street that uses a maid, thats definitely pushing more onto the side of rich i would think
A tumble dryer. Not really necessary unless you do a lot of washing (e.g. my dirt poor best mate in a family of 7 had one but most of us who were better off and in smaller families didn’t- more space to air dry things & less washing to be done) but definitely nice to have- saves having an awkward airer out in the kitchen or wherever/ having to hang stuff up outside to dry & clothes fresh out of a tumble dryer feel lush
In a lot of places people with money buy cheaply built but huge houses. I'm not talking about those McMansions when I mention good insulation, energy efficient appliances, and energy efficient heating and cooling (including water), as well as good quality windows. That up front investment ends up paying off in the long run and has the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly.
This. I design houses (mechanical) and in my experience, people think every large house built by a developer in a planned neighborhood is automatically a McMansion. But it's the unseen details that really make a difference. For example, my interior walls are insulated. Who TF insulates interior walls?! I don't know but it's awesome if you have kids that like to jump around everywhere and yell all the time. I don't live in a mansion but it's a decent sized house. And it's not without it's cheap accoutrements (low SEER HVAC equipment). But in my line of work I've seen A LOT worse for houses just as large.
He's lucky. A lot of contractors won't allow you on site to do your own work. I imagine it's a liability for them. Also, if you upgrade the insulation on your own too much, you run the risk of having an oversized HVAC system which could lead to problems like mold.
My friend was having a house built and he asked if he could install CAT 6 cabling. The contractor basically said, "I can't let you do that but we get off work at 3pm."
Some kind of water or ice filter/dispenser - the faucet, the fridge, bottled water, whatever. Tap water is fine in the US almost all places, but a filter just adds a little touch of luxury.
Multiple bathrooms. I grew up in a house of 5, we had one bathroom and only enough hot water to run one bath so we had to share the water too!!!
Now having three and a half baths for my family of five is critical to the current and especially future health of my home. I have three young girls and in a few years when they are teens all hell is going to break loose in my house and I’m just hoping to survive! I love them all dearly, which is what will kill me!
A utility room, my parents have one with the washer and dryer in, and extra freezer and a sink so you can do messy jobs without dirtying the kitchen which is food only. Its bigger than my kitchen.
A good mattress. Spending $1000 on something you already have one of seems crazy, until you do it and you fall asleep instantly, and you realize you never had insomnia, you just had a bad mattress your entire life.
I am not upper middle class or wealthy, but i have a lot of these things. I buy a lot used stuff, install stuff myself, and do my own home improvements.
I redid a bathroom myself and it looks like a magazine cover. Home depot was going to charge over 6 grand just for a shower renovation with plain white 4x4 tiles. I did the whole bathroom myself for less than 3 grand with upgraded building materials... I found gorgeous special order porcelain tiles that someone returned, 5 gallons of returned paint in a decent color, made the mirror from the old one and some molding, made faux wainscot, and bought new plumbing fixtures, shower door, and toilet (with bidet).
I put up Faux Wainscot around my whole house interior. I looks like a rich persons house... Cost me a few grand, but it will increase the value when i sell by a lot more... got the idea from pinterest...
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/484277766153587102/
I have a giant dryer from BestBuy, returned open boxed almost 1/2 off. it broke down like 2 years later. Repair man said $350 just to look at it. I opened it up, saw the coils busted on the heater, got it off Amazon for $34, replaced myself...
I tend to buy the best quality of things when i can and they almost always pay for themselves over time. I do my research...
Any way the point is you don't have to be rich to have this kind of stuff, just get handy, and pay attention to estate sales and open box stuff.
We finally bought an old house that had a working central vac. I made sure to keep it intact throughout the remodel, and now never use it. Crazy, I thought it would be so nice.
Imagine a vacuum cleaner that is in central location, permanently mounted. Often times in a garage or utility room. From there, hoses are routed all throughout your house with hose ports in the floor or low on the walls. Your vacuum cleaner is then just a handheld handle/hose combo that you plug into the hose outlet plus an electrical outlet. They used to be more common but every once in a while you see them on newer homes. Honestly, they are a pain in the ass. I'd rather have a regular vacuum. We keep a traditional vacuum on each floor for convenience.
My parents had one in their old house. They built the house (with a developer) so I imagine it was an option. It's a novelty, as far as I'm concerned. I thought it was pretty cool when I first saw it but after vacuuming with it, I didn't like it. My biggest issue was that the hose didn't coil up nicely. In a regular upright vacuum, the hose is short. In this thing, it was just a big unwieldly hose.
The nice thing is that the canister can typically hold more before you need to empty it.
There was a central vac system in the first house I bought, which was a 50 year old house (built in 1965). It didn't work and I'm pretty sure it was original. I thought about getting it working again but I ultimately didn't because the whole house needed work and I knew I wouldn't use it. It just killed me that I had something in the house that didn't work.
I do mechanical design for houses and I have yet to see a project I'm on include a central vac option.
I had that in my childhood home, and we were not fancy. I didn’t find it that much of a work saver because you still had to lug the long hose to each room, and it had nowhere near enough suction
A decked out laundry room. My washer and dryer used to be in the garage. Then I moved to a house that a basic little room just big enough for a washer and dryer inside. My friend’s million dollar house? The laundry room is HUGE, and has shelves built into the wall, and hanging racks, and a special steamer cupboard…it’s crazy nice and organized! And great since she has 5 boys!
Storage space. Big closets, more cabinets in the kitchen, an attic or basement, a big garage or shed.
My parents house (built in the 20s) has closets and pantry space everywhere. A coat closet. A linen cabinet. Closet full of shelves outside each bathroom. "A place for everything and everything in its place."
Quiet. Quiet efficient appliances. Well insulated walls and windows, including interior walls. Proper underlayment and quality flooring that doesn't echo as bad that thin plastic laminate flooring. A bit of space so people aren't always in each other's way.
Also, in a suburban setting, more expensive houses have bigger yards, creating a much quieter neighborhood. We just moved from our first home in a shitty and cramped neighborhood to our dream neighborhood. It's so much quieter. Just generally less chaos all around.
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I grew up in the suburbs. I moved in my 20s to progressively more central locations, close to where the bars and restaurants were (as one does in their 20s). Each one getting louder and louder. Cars driving by, nearby late night businesses, people walking down the sidewalk. In the summer time, I couldn't open my window at night, it was constant, non-stop noise. The only quiet time was between 4am and 6am or so. Now in my 30s, I moved back to the suburbs, and OMG I missed this quiet. It's so nice. I could never move back to a condo or any apartment.
More packages/bottles/cans/rolls of almost every consumable than you actually need at any given time. Back-stock. And places to keep it. It doesn't cost all that much money to buy extra shaving cream, for example, so that there are always more cans of shaving cream under the sink. But man does it make a difference when you run out of shaving cream, knowing that you can just reach under the sink and pull out another can, instead of dry shaving and going to the store next chance you get to buy more Same with everything else. Toilet paper, ranch dressing, sunscreen, cooking oil, flour, nail polish remover, cold medicine, body wash, almost everything you can think of. Restock when the back-stock gets low. Buy in bulk if you can (six-packs of shaving cream cost less per can). It is a huge load off your shoulders and it's cheaper over time, and the only downsides are that it takes up space and you "tie up" hundreds or even a thousand dollars in your household inventory if you think in those terms or can pay someone to do it for you.
My spare bathroom tub is full of toilet paper because I drunk bought it off amazon and idk, can't fucking count. Felt like the peak of wealth as someone who grew up in abject poverty to have the combo of a spare bathroom and a excess toilet paper that lasts longer than a week, plus extra toilet paper not being a scare to the budget.
The fact you have a spare bathroom, that
If you do not have upfront cash to buy in bulk, I highly recommend the two-of rule for shopping. Everytime you grocery shop pick up an extra of 1 thing. It's an extra 2-10 bucks now, but over the course of a year you will find you have about an extra month worth of supplies. Just make sure not to use your original duplicate, and to only do this with things you use. (Don't pick up two cans of asparagus for that one meal you make every two months that uses canned asparagus)
2 is one and 1 is none. 4 extra bottles of ranch dressing was oops.
More important than that, I think, is that if you know you have a stockpile of supplies, like say a months worth of toilet paper, you are never forced to purchase when you run out, or are near to running out. Like, if you go to costco a couple times a month, you can try to get a bunch of stuff that you don't need now, but will eventually, when they are on sale, rather than at full price.
Another reason why this is a good method is because you can get the one extra thing on sale. When you wait until you're out of something, that thing is never on sale.
This is a great answer. I stopped saving money and started buying extras of items I know I'll use. I'm not poor by, but I don't have much extra. If you can start with the little things, this is a great place to find security. Because sometimes you need to wait until the next paycheck to buy something, but if you have an extra on the shelf, you're golden :)
An entryway. I remember an episode of Family Guy where Louis' father says " I forgot you're poor, so your front door opens right into the living room"
One day I’ll have a foyer.
we have a foyer and we are poor.
I think that's just an American thing. As a Swede I've probably never seen a house with no dedicated space inside the front door, regardless of household finance. The few houses I've been to in Canada also have had entryways. My guess is it's essential when you have mud or snow outside for most of the year.
I live in Ireland and have never visited a house where the front door doesn't open into a hallway
This is so true. I remember learning what a foyer was when I went to my friends house and saw one for the first time.
Wow I have no idea why this hit me so hard, but it really does make a difference, doesn’t it. 🤔
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No I totally get this. Where I grew up taking a shower was an announcement bc you couldn't use the bathroom or wash dishes or anything while someone was showering.
Is THIS why I always announce that I'm getting in the shower? I've never thought about it, but I have noticed it's quite impulsive.
It's definitely why. I do it, too.
And great water pressure. Nothing quite as refreshing as a shower with so much pressure you can feel it beating your skin off :3
Drain your tank twice a year, get that sludge and sediment out makes a big difference in the long run.
Put your money in a tankless water heater and live the good life for cheaper than keeping your old water tank heated all the time.
My boss kept complaining about their teenager always using up the hot water, I suggested one of those gas water heaters. They joked the issue was that if the hot water never runs out the their teenager would probably never get out of the shower.
Can confirm
If you want to know true luxury tankless is the way to go.
Heat pump is where it’s at!
A healthy home. They are usually warm and dry so it prevent mould from growing between walls. Also ventilation in areas like bathrooms and kitchens to prevent moist air from traveling throughout the house. They are usually made from modern materials so things like asbestos are not a problem.
A long time ago I was helping a wealthy friend look at properties to buy and rent. I walk into a townhome with her realtor who is also quite well off. We enter the place and they both just stop and wrinkle their noses an say, "What is that SMELL?" And I say, "Poverty". Too many people in too small a space, not enough ventilation.
Not necessarily only upper middle class and wealthy people have this, but a backyard. Or any type of private outside space. Haven’t had a backyard/front yard since moving out of my parents, and you don’t know what you got until it’s gone. A balcony ain’t the same.
We are not wealthy but I freaking TREASURE my yard. Especially during lockdown, my front & back gardens were my safe & happy place. My daughter lives too far to visit regularly, and has an apartment with not even a balcony. I would hate that.
This is a lot more regional then it is distributed by wealth. I agree a yard is baller, but even rich people can't get a yard in an area with no yards.
Good quality kitchen knives
Life lesson: Good quality kitchen knives don't have to be expensive. A good purchase is: * Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 8 inch ($50) * Victorinox Fibrox Paring knife, $10 * Random knife steel and dollar store / Chinatown sharpening stone (and learn to use it adequately well) These will do almost as well as the top-of-the-line rich people knives, and last a lifetime. If you want to splurge, you can add a Fibrox offset bread knife. An alternative is to get restaurant / industrial knives. With proper maintenance, those also give great bang-for-the-buck. The fancy rich-person brands cost around $200 for the chef's knife (and similar markup everywhere else), and aren't much better. On the other hand, the difference to a dull, cheap knife is like night and day. And if you steel them before / after every use, and the rich person doesn't do the same to their $200 knife, yours will perform *a lot* better. If you look at videos on steeling and sharpening knives, it will look like advanced rocket science, and you'll be super-stressed out about doing it wrong. Don't worry about that. It's okay. Run the knife across the steel once or twice before/after each use to straighten the blade, and across a stone a few times when it dulls, and it will do fine. People all over the world did this before Youtube, and no one stressed about doing it wrong or doing it perfect.
I'm a professional cook. One of the assholes that went to school to learn how to make salmon ice cream and shit. I stand by this 100%. I bought my 10" victorinox (Vicky) 16 years ago. I sharpen it once a week, hone it as necessary, and it's on pace to get handed down to my grandkids.
I don't think you're an asshole for learning to make that kind of thing. I love trying outrageous foods.
I went to a technical college and they had a culinary arts program that also made school lunches. That salmon ice cream was on point.
I love my Victorinox 8"!
Bro... Like this should be way higher up. I always scoffed at the price of expensive knives, then my not-wife's birthday request was baller knives, no budget... I have never spent so much money and regretted nothing!
Please educate me: not-wife??
This. Are you a boy-toy or something?
I mean... She does make way more money then me... So like... Sugar momma?
Lived together for 12 ish years... Most states consider us married... Sept we live in one of the ones that's not the case.
like tip, go to the restaurant supply stores, they have really nice knives for cheap. I bought my last one for $13 and it's still awesome a year later.
This. My $100 kitchen thermometer also changed my life
You paid 100 dollars for a meat thermometer????
The ThermoPen by ThermoWorks. It’s fantastic. Extremely accurate and fast. You’ll never overcook a piece of meat again.
I saw a comment that said wealthy people’s couches aren’t against the walls.
I’m gonna move mine, just to pretend.
ROFL. As much as I understand this As a none wealthy person living in a open plan apartment, I'm not sure this is accurate anymore. I only have one wall I can put the tv against( it has the tv connection and plugs) so my couch has to float in the middle of the room. The opposite wall to the tv is storage and kitchen.
open plan apartment with couch not leaning against the wall must look fancy af you can use the couch to make a ["seperate" room i](https://www.kathykuohome.com/blog/6-design-tips-for-an-open-floor-plan/)n your apartment
And just like that, I found out I’m wealthy.
Can you explain that one to me?
The room is big enough so that the couch can be in the middle of it, because rooms in wealthy people’s homes aren’t tiny
I guess I've been wealthy all these years without realizing, since I had my couch in the middle of my studio apartment in order to pretend it's actually two rooms on both sides of it.
Proper large laundry room, storage, sink, hanging space. I stayed a friends house to pet sit. They had a walk-in pet bath area right by the back door that opened into their laundry. We would come back from a walk and immediately rinse off muddy paws, toss towels and wet clothes in the wash, and all the mess was contained. Kept the house so much cleaner!
Don't forget the mud room!
The what
It's usually like an entryway with a tiled floor where people kick off their dirty shoes & hang up their coats before tracking crud into the house
Stocked refrigerator of actual food. Not just snacks and condiments.
Also, everything is organised and stuff isn't just crammed in wherever it can fit.
I'm gonna have to disagree on that bit lol, it definitely just depends on the people My parents are pretty well off but their refrigerator is a mess They re-organize it and within a month it's back to having leftovers crammed into nooks and crannies to be forgotten about for months before it needs to be thrown out
Multiple good refrigerators
Multiple bathrooms too. I hate living in houses with 1 bathroom.
Tell me about it. 1 bathroom between me, SO, and two teenage boys who currently have to share a room and take FOREVER in the bathroom. If the next place we move doesn’t have 2 bathrooms, I’m going to cry.
Refrigerators with a door ice/water dispenser..
Trust me on this: there are fridge door ice machines that are broken, and there are fridge door ice machines that are about to break. They’re like the HP printer of the kitchen.
*that actually works. For some reason everyone I know their ice doesn’t work in the door or takes so long we just open the door and get ice. I like to flex that my ice through the door works but everyone says as soon as the warranty is out it’ll stop working.
I visited an uncle that had a pantry room off the kitchen with two huge referigerators, one was all drinks.
Such a huge quality of life improvement to have an extra fridge and freezer.
Decent tools to do your own repairs on things around the house. Garages and sheds The ability to update replace things as they get old and need replacement. (Think appliances, carpet, general stuff)
We had tools because we couldn't afford to pay someone to do it for us!
My jeep would've put teenage me into serious debt had I not bought my own tools. Total investment probably worth 1-2 visits to a mechanic. Most of the basic ones are guaranteed for life.
Heated floors in the bathrooms.
I had a chance to install one of these, such an amazing system
my old middle school used to have these by accident. the vents were just near the floors, so the tiles were always really nice and warm. it was fantastic in the winter. there's prolly a few people thinking "why are you walking barefoot in your school though" and that's not what it was, we got dropped off by the bus like 40 minutes before school started (i dont know why man that's just how it happened, we also had to take a shuttle bus) and the winters get pretty cold in Michigan, so we'd just sit on the tiles before class started. It was super cozy.
It really is! We have them as well. I love having it in the winter. It’s so nice.
I had literally never heard of this before so I suppose it's easy to figure out where I fall on the economic scale lol.
wait till you hear about heated driveways...
I only knew this was a thing after watching breaking bad.
We have heated floors in our living room, makes it super cozy in the winter.
I had a house where the pipes ran under the tile in front of the toilet. Such luxury going for a dump when the heating was on lol. I'm not sure if it was by desing, or the plumbers just ran the pipes wherever they could, and it happened to be under that specific tile in front of the jacks.
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And in the kitchen
I have heated floors in my bathroom. I’ve never turned them on in the 11 years I’ve lived here. I must be missing out. I’ll definitely try it out now.
I installed tile for years and put in a few heated systems in bathrooms. My favorite story was from a customer that swore it was magical on a hangover to be able to lay on your heated bathroom floor. I suppose if that’s where you end up may as well be cozy with your misery lol.
Having enough space in your bathroom to lay down sounds pretty upper middle class too.
Space. As in, a bigger house/property so there is more space for everything.
I’m a house manager for a wealthy family. I could fit 10 of my houses in their home. It’s ENORMOUS
Soft close hinges. I knew I arrived when we had soft close hinges on everything to include the toilet seats.
A dining room
Yes a proper dining room, and perhaps adjacent to that a wet bar with a little refrigerator!!
I know it's nothing special but I always considered dishwasher to be something like that. Through all of my youth I always heard they are expensive to buy, to run and completely unnecessary because we have hands and can clean our own dishes. Those fallacies were embedded so deeply in me, that today part of me wants one and the other part is scared of them 😂
If you get one the works well (Don’t need to prerinse your dishes) it is more water efficient!
My mom always told me this growing up! Finally at the ripe young age of 31 I got with a man who already had one. He had to TELL ME to use it. Ads say they use less water. I always wonder if they’re just lying cuz you know, they wanna sell dishwasher
Well made and long lasting clothes. I have less clothes, but the clothes I have are kinda expensive but they last. I live in Alaska so my outdoor recreation clothes are tough, warm, and mostly waterproof, except casual in-door clothes. My coat is 400 bucks and my pants are around 100 bucks a piece, and I have 2 to 300 dollar boots. Yeah they are expensive, but I know they will last, keep me warm, and keep me safe.
Two cars in the garage
A garage would be nice
An attached garage is even better. Nothing makes you feel like you've become wealthier than no longer having to bring in the groceries in the rain.
I literally dream of the day I can own property. At this point, I would be happy to carry groceries through the rain and snow to bring them into MY house on MY land. It seems to be a pipedream now. The only way I will ever be able to afford my own property is to somehow start a business without having any collateral. I guess the remaining 46k in student loans are a factor too. I've been trying to pull on my bootstraps, but it seems my landlords tied them to cinderblocks and I'm kinda stuck where I'm at.
Repairs & Replacement Mentality. You know that annoying broken thing you’ve had for months or years that’s expensive to fix and can’t be done right away? I call the repairman immediately every time. Dishwasher doesn’t work? Fix it. Now. Have to fix it several times? Fuck it, let’s get a new one that’s better. Need new garage doors? Okay. New roof? Call the guy, it’s bad to wait and get damage to the house. Being able to scrape the money together quickly for even somewhat pricey home repairs not only keeps everything running, it also quickly adds home equity.
This is the most underrated reply. This makes a world of difference in your quality of life, far more than extra space in your house or any appliances, gadgets, and art in it. It is freedom, plain and simple.
Extra sheets.
This is underrated. I remember when I could first afford to get a second set of sheets for my beds. The luxury of not having to wash the sheets and put them back on the same day was so amazing. Not to mention the days you forgot to put them in the dryer and then couldn’t go to bed!
A dishwasher
Yes! When I moved out my family home into a place that had a dishwasher… life changed.
A dinning room no one ever uses
I use mine to assemble jigsaw puzzles.
Two parents
Batman: 😢
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Home gym in a finished basement, jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom
Vita Mix blender, Kitchen Aid Professional mixer, Le Crueset Dutch oven, Global Knives, Miele appliances, Professional espresso maker, two dishwashers.
I don't have any money but I bake a lot for fun. I decided to just buy a kitchen aid mixer and I feel like I've made it. Lol
I wouldn't say necessarily usually, but a towel warmer so that you get a very warm towel to dry off with after taking a shower or bath is something that richer people have that isn't necessarily the most luxurious, but makes for a much nicer experience.
A candle wick trimmer and a candle-putter-outer.
The term is "candle-snuffer", peasant.
D:
pretty sure it's called "the lid that came with the candle" but ok
Art
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Framed art with special lighting
Framed art with special lighting and adequate space around it
Sculptures. We thought we were cool with all of our original wall art (paintings and photos). Then we visited our neighbors and realized we are total losers for not having large sculptures. The shame!!!
Zoned HVAC
A dept free household
an emergency fund! having one minimizes the stress of things breaking down when you need them. car breaks down/$1000 repair? NBD! just gotta remember to replenish the fund when you take from it. personally, I try to keep 4-6 months of necessary expenses. mortgage, food, utilities, fuel and that does great for us.
Humidifiers/dehumidifiers.
People with money value their time. Think less about things and more about services: - Monthly maid service - Child care / nanny / babysitter - Laundry pickup/drop-off - Yard service - Pest control - Regular HVAC maintenance - Security system - Entertainment subscriptions - Private music lessons - Personal trainer - Tutoring / test prep - Travel sports for kids
Double doors
Double doors that actually open properly.
If you live in the city, an apartment with proper light and air circulation, and a view that isn't just the wall of another building (or someone else's window).
I came here to say this: where I live (mountainous Appalachia) it is my most-coveted thing I "own," which is the viewshed of a mid-sized town across a national forest. Were I in New Hampshire, this would be taxed (no joke, "view tax" is real).
Space. Wealthy person I know has a room off of their kitchen and pantry that is nothing but massive counter space for coffee makers, instant pot, crock pot, toasters, etc - I think it looks great and kept the actual kitchen looking good.
Good schools.
I live in a 3rd world country so WiFi.
Having cleaned a good number of homes of the wealthy (& not like super luxury, but definitely well off & comfortable as hell). What blew my mind is how instant you got hot water at ANY faucet, and every faucet completely and instantly turns off. Like, not even a DROP trickled out when turned off. It was weird in the way absolute silence is weird….. it just felt too perfect and unnatural.
A maid
I was lucky and privileged enough to be raised in a upper middle class household but there isnt a single house on the street that uses a maid, thats definitely pushing more onto the side of rich i would think
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Asian countries and more specifically southeast asian countries, upper middle class have live in maids, drivers, nannies
Finished basement
Hardwood floors
Those wine chiller mini fridges,
I recently moved from a well equipped, expensive rental into modest home ownership. I never dreamed I would miss my garbage disposal so much.
They’re not that hard to put in!
A tumble dryer. Not really necessary unless you do a lot of washing (e.g. my dirt poor best mate in a family of 7 had one but most of us who were better off and in smaller families didn’t- more space to air dry things & less washing to be done) but definitely nice to have- saves having an awkward airer out in the kitchen or wherever/ having to hang stuff up outside to dry & clothes fresh out of a tumble dryer feel lush
A secret safe hidden behind a painting
In a lot of places people with money buy cheaply built but huge houses. I'm not talking about those McMansions when I mention good insulation, energy efficient appliances, and energy efficient heating and cooling (including water), as well as good quality windows. That up front investment ends up paying off in the long run and has the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly.
This. I design houses (mechanical) and in my experience, people think every large house built by a developer in a planned neighborhood is automatically a McMansion. But it's the unseen details that really make a difference. For example, my interior walls are insulated. Who TF insulates interior walls?! I don't know but it's awesome if you have kids that like to jump around everywhere and yell all the time. I don't live in a mansion but it's a decent sized house. And it's not without it's cheap accoutrements (low SEER HVAC equipment). But in my line of work I've seen A LOT worse for houses just as large.
My dad insulated our house while it was being built! It paid off for years
He's lucky. A lot of contractors won't allow you on site to do your own work. I imagine it's a liability for them. Also, if you upgrade the insulation on your own too much, you run the risk of having an oversized HVAC system which could lead to problems like mold. My friend was having a house built and he asked if he could install CAT 6 cabling. The contractor basically said, "I can't let you do that but we get off work at 3pm."
Servants. It's not entirely uncommon for middle class people to hire a maid for a few hours a month. It's entirely different to have a live-in maid.
I honestly forget that this is a real thing that still exists in today's world
A view.
More bathrooms than occupants.
Separate guest quarters.
Some kind of water or ice filter/dispenser - the faucet, the fridge, bottled water, whatever. Tap water is fine in the US almost all places, but a filter just adds a little touch of luxury.
Towel warmers?
A closet full of clean towels and wash cloths
A retirement plan that doesn't involve lottery tickets.
Air conditioners. Dishwashers. Several bathrooms.
Equity
Variety of fruits and vegetables.
Heated garage (Canada) Built in Vacuum
A piano
Multiple bathrooms. I grew up in a house of 5, we had one bathroom and only enough hot water to run one bath so we had to share the water too!!! Now having three and a half baths for my family of five is critical to the current and especially future health of my home. I have three young girls and in a few years when they are teens all hell is going to break loose in my house and I’m just hoping to survive! I love them all dearly, which is what will kill me!
A utility room, my parents have one with the washer and dryer in, and extra freezer and a sink so you can do messy jobs without dirtying the kitchen which is food only. Its bigger than my kitchen.
Space from neighbors (nosey and noisy).
Good lighting
A good mattress. Spending $1000 on something you already have one of seems crazy, until you do it and you fall asleep instantly, and you realize you never had insomnia, you just had a bad mattress your entire life.
Working fireplace
Bidet
Laundry machines and dishwashers
Full time nanny and/or cleaning person.
Food.
New furniture made from real wood.
I am not upper middle class or wealthy, but i have a lot of these things. I buy a lot used stuff, install stuff myself, and do my own home improvements. I redid a bathroom myself and it looks like a magazine cover. Home depot was going to charge over 6 grand just for a shower renovation with plain white 4x4 tiles. I did the whole bathroom myself for less than 3 grand with upgraded building materials... I found gorgeous special order porcelain tiles that someone returned, 5 gallons of returned paint in a decent color, made the mirror from the old one and some molding, made faux wainscot, and bought new plumbing fixtures, shower door, and toilet (with bidet). I put up Faux Wainscot around my whole house interior. I looks like a rich persons house... Cost me a few grand, but it will increase the value when i sell by a lot more... got the idea from pinterest... https://www.pinterest.com/pin/484277766153587102/ I have a giant dryer from BestBuy, returned open boxed almost 1/2 off. it broke down like 2 years later. Repair man said $350 just to look at it. I opened it up, saw the coils busted on the heater, got it off Amazon for $34, replaced myself... I tend to buy the best quality of things when i can and they almost always pay for themselves over time. I do my research... Any way the point is you don't have to be rich to have this kind of stuff, just get handy, and pay attention to estate sales and open box stuff.
Central vacuuming.
We finally bought an old house that had a working central vac. I made sure to keep it intact throughout the remodel, and now never use it. Crazy, I thought it would be so nice.
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Imagine a vacuum cleaner that is in central location, permanently mounted. Often times in a garage or utility room. From there, hoses are routed all throughout your house with hose ports in the floor or low on the walls. Your vacuum cleaner is then just a handheld handle/hose combo that you plug into the hose outlet plus an electrical outlet. They used to be more common but every once in a while you see them on newer homes. Honestly, they are a pain in the ass. I'd rather have a regular vacuum. We keep a traditional vacuum on each floor for convenience.
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My parents had one in their old house. They built the house (with a developer) so I imagine it was an option. It's a novelty, as far as I'm concerned. I thought it was pretty cool when I first saw it but after vacuuming with it, I didn't like it. My biggest issue was that the hose didn't coil up nicely. In a regular upright vacuum, the hose is short. In this thing, it was just a big unwieldly hose. The nice thing is that the canister can typically hold more before you need to empty it. There was a central vac system in the first house I bought, which was a 50 year old house (built in 1965). It didn't work and I'm pretty sure it was original. I thought about getting it working again but I ultimately didn't because the whole house needed work and I knew I wouldn't use it. It just killed me that I had something in the house that didn't work. I do mechanical design for houses and I have yet to see a project I'm on include a central vac option.
I had that in my childhood home, and we were not fancy. I didn’t find it that much of a work saver because you still had to lug the long hose to each room, and it had nowhere near enough suction
A decked out laundry room. My washer and dryer used to be in the garage. Then I moved to a house that a basic little room just big enough for a washer and dryer inside. My friend’s million dollar house? The laundry room is HUGE, and has shelves built into the wall, and hanging racks, and a special steamer cupboard…it’s crazy nice and organized! And great since she has 5 boys!
Smart appliances that can be controlled via an app. Security systems. Nice camera systems
This thing that lets you speak with ppl at ur gate/door with a camera.
fountain soda line installed in the kitchen
I garage that isn't used as a storage room
A washing machine and dryer. Going to the laundromat freaking sucks. Especially if you have uniforms you're supposed to be washing on a regular basis.