How do you know if you are rich?

I'm going to mention something no one else has. Read till the end.

Basic needs is what you need to be safe, healthy and secure. Needs met, but scraping by, working most of the time (perhaps even multiple jobs) without much time for Family and friends and little to no entertainment. If an unforseen financial or health event happens - you're screwed.

Mid range is meeting your basic needs, having evenings and weekends with family and friends + some reasonable entertainment such as eating out or perhaps one holiday a year. Plus a little savings. All very modest still. If an unforseen financial or health event happens - you will struggle, but might just get by with help through loans or the government.

Rich is meeting all the above needs with passive income streams that allow work to become much less or even optional altogether. Assets are more than your liabilities. Allowing more quality time with people you care about while still having solid investments for a financially secure future that also allows yourself to spend some additional money on the fun and finer things in life without any worries. If an unforseen financial or health event happens - you should be able to handle it.

Here's the kicker:

If you have an unforseen health issue which renders you permanently unable to work - do you have the passive income streams set up to be able to get by?

Can you afford to pay for private medical treatment with those passive income streams? Might even have to go international to find specialist doctors. (Not depending on the NHS etc.)

Can you afford to pay privately for all the disability equipment and adaptations needed?

Even those to retire on the "FIRE" concept will usually be completed skewed if they encountered a significant health issue.

Being "rich" in my opinion, isn't about big houses and fancy cars - its the ability to keep yourself and your family safe, healthy and financially secure throughout extreme hardships.

/r/AskUK Thread