Most people who are rich don't think of themselves as rich. An income of about $32,400 a year for your family puts you in the richest 1% in the world. That is about £25,000 or R460,000. 'Rich' is normally defined in more relative terms. Relative to your friends, family, and the people you don't like but seem to be doing better than you. Rich is those other people who should be paying more tax.
Rather than income, an alternative measure is Engine size. The study I am referencing says $770,000 would put you in the '1% club'. That is if all you have, less all you owe, has a market value of more than that. Some lower combination of income and a smaller Engine would also do the trick.
The problem is, someone who has $770,000 would be considered loaded by most people. Perhaps even by themselves. That is a lot of money. Isn't it? Surely you could spare a little bit to go on a nice holiday? Buy a bigger house? Have a few extra meals at fancy restaurants? You are Rich!
No.
Living off an Engine requires a completely different mindset. It requires an internalised discipline. If you are living hand-to-mouth off $32,400 a year, you get $2,700 a month into your account. Then all the bills and taxes get deducted. As an accountant, nurse or school teacher in a rich country, you are probably in the club. Yet, you won't feel rich. Each month, you will probably feel like you are just getting by.
If you had a $770,000 Engine, and worked on things that didn't pay money (but that you valued) you wouldn't be able to just go large. You would have to think of it as a salary paid in advance. You have to be disciplined enough not to spend the money just because it is there.
People often get the wrong impression of what the super Rich like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezoz actually have. They think you can just take the number that gets quoted for them and divide it amongst the masses. Like it is a big pool of Gold Coins. The latest quote I heard for Bezoz was $160 Billion. He doesn't have that. If he was to sell everything, today, or even over the next year, I can guarantee the number of Gold Coins would be far, far, far, less than that.
Similarly, a $770,000 Engine would require discipline. It is 'a lot of money' but it isn't. Like looking at the Fossil Fuels we have, and saying, 'but there is so much?'. There isn't if you consider the very long term, and the consequences.
Part of living off an Engine is shifting to a 'custodial mindset' rather than a consumer mindset. As a consumer living hand-to-mouth, you run out of money some time before pay day. You are forced to wait. As someone living off an Engine, you can always start selling off bits of the Engine. The consequences won't be felt immediately. They will eventually be felt.
I chose to start living off an Engine about 4 years ago. I have to pretend to earn an imaginary amount, and create a discipline around that. An internalised discipline. One that means I live a lifestyle that is similar to that of the person living on a salary of the imaginary amount I aim at.
This frees me up. I am Time Rich. I am able to spend time with people I care about, read, write and learn things. That is what I love. I am a Universal Basic Income activist. I would love to see Community Wealth Funds that provide UBIs to their community. It would be wonderful for the benefits of basic Financial Security to spread to everyone. I wouldn't be able to do that anymore if lost my spending discipline. If I started spending more than my Engine can sustainably make.
It is worth remembering that not all we see is as it is. Some constraints are external, some are internal. We make up some rules for ourselves. Some rules are made up for us. Those rules have consequences. We can't avoid rules. The best we can do, is be kind to each other, and help empower people to have a part in the making of the rules. Rules that work for us.
People often get the wrong impression of what the super Rich like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezoz actually have. They think you can just take the number that gets quoted for them and divide it amongst the masses. Like it is a big pool of Gold Coins. The latest quote I heard for Bezoz was $160 Billion. He doesn't have that. If he was to sell everything, today, or even over the next year, I can guarantee the number of Gold Coins would be far, far, far, less than that.
Similarly, a $770,000 Engine would require discipline. It is 'a lot of money' but it isn't. Like looking at the Fossil Fuels we have, and saying, 'but there is so much?'. There isn't if you consider the very long term, and the consequences.
Part of living off an Engine is shifting to a 'custodial mindset' rather than a consumer mindset. As a consumer living hand-to-mouth, you run out of money some time before pay day. You are forced to wait. As someone living off an Engine, you can always start selling off bits of the Engine. The consequences won't be felt immediately. They will eventually be felt.
I chose to start living off an Engine about 4 years ago. I have to pretend to earn an imaginary amount, and create a discipline around that. An internalised discipline. One that means I live a lifestyle that is similar to that of the person living on a salary of the imaginary amount I aim at.
This frees me up. I am Time Rich. I am able to spend time with people I care about, read, write and learn things. That is what I love. I am a Universal Basic Income activist. I would love to see Community Wealth Funds that provide UBIs to their community. It would be wonderful for the benefits of basic Financial Security to spread to everyone. I wouldn't be able to do that anymore if lost my spending discipline. If I started spending more than my Engine can sustainably make.
Time Rich Grandfather Clocks
(i.e. clocks my Grandfather made)
It is worth remembering that not all we see is as it is. Some constraints are external, some are internal. We make up some rules for ourselves. Some rules are made up for us. Those rules have consequences. We can't avoid rules. The best we can do, is be kind to each other, and help empower people to have a part in the making of the rules. Rules that work for us.
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