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Reduction in stress.
I still get up in the middle of the night to check that my 401K is still there. Then I go back to sleep.
The biggest perk in my opinion is that you really do not have to be stressed about money as often. That is a huge quality of life benefit in and of itself.
Not my circumstances, but a friend of mine went from poor, to well paid, and while he didn’t go crazy, I noticed that he accepted more invites for outings, and looked less stressed in stores, and restaurants (didn’t seem to consider pricing as much – the items he bought tended to lean towards the quality, over temporary-function side, meals looked more substantial when we dined out – actually, at home as well). He appeared less stressed towards the end of each month (he was much more so prior to his change in situation).
Basically large expenses and vacations without going into a lot of debt. In the past year, my fiancée paid for a kitchen renovation, a 10 day road trip in Quebec, and 6 day trip to London and Paris. However, now that we are planning and saving for a wedding and a bigger place, we are feel it now.
Not having to count on what I consider hobbies now to survive like hunting and fishing and growing a garden. When I was younger it always seemed strange when parents would be pissed because some animal destroyed part of our vegetable garden. Later on figured out that it provided more than half our food. Ahhhhhh the 70’s were a great time.
Growing up, going out to eat was rare and it was Ponderosa or Sizzler.
Now it’s a few times per month and I rarely go to a chain restaurant, and typically choose the nicer “local” places that serve amazing food.
Growing up, we had terrible cars. Frequent breakdowns, poor safety.
Cars are not something I prefer to spend my money on because it’s mostly just a waste – but at least I can afford nicer, reliable vehicles with the newest safety features.
One other benefit is more about growing up working/middle class:
I’m frugal. I don’t waste money on stupid shit like fancy clothes, fancy cars, expensive furniture, etc.
Clothes and furniture from Costco or a thrift store are perfect. Buying stuff from FB marketplace 2nd hand is awesome. 2 year old used cars are great, and luxury brands are ridiculous. I would rather take the $40k difference and invest it.
Being able to go to the dentist or doctor when I need to
The best thing has been stability.
As a kid I moved around a lot and always had to start over making friends, meeting teachers, etc. As a maladjusted smartass immigrant kid this rarely went well and at some point I didn’t even bother anymore.
My kids have grown up in the same house all their lives and have deep relationships with their their friends, teachers, grownups and are nourished by the community they live in. It’s taken a lot of the work off of me!
Not worrying about money is definitely a plus, knowing i dont have to take out a loan to buy a new car and not worrying about a mortgage anymore, all those little stressful things add up, when you dont have to worry about it anymore it feels like a breath of fresh air.
Well I wouldn’t know, still working my way there! I assume never worrying about money will open my life up a bunch more to vacations and having higher end equipment.
Not looking in the car and couch cushions for change so you can buy groceries.
Affording high quality food and having the time to make it.
It’s less expensive. Lower interest rates, no need to take out expensive loans or credit cards to buy things. No late payment or overdraft fees.
It’s expensive to be poor.
Answering the phone.
Better food that makes you healthy instead of sick or plump.
Watching your kids grow up accustomed to things that took decades to earn/access.
When things break you can just get them fixed or replace them. I can’t express enough how much of a game changer this is. When i was growing up and things broke we either just had to live with it or spend endless amounts of time and money on half fixes that never lasted very long.
Not having to constantly look at your bank account before making small or even medium sized purchases.
One more I thought of….I can afford to make more sustainable (and likely healthy) choices. I buy organic things. Grass fed beef from non-“factory” farms. I can afford to buy local and frequently shop at farmers markets.
Walking into a grocery store and being able to buy whatever you want is an amazing feeling.
If you’re a high earner, your job is usually willing to be a lot more flexible with you. I can leave in the middle of the day to get my car registration renewed. Places at McDonald’s are never going to let you do that lol
You work way less! This mainly applies to highly specialized independent contributors, but the more value you can create, the less you have to work, the better your pay, and the better employers treat you. So you may only work a couple hours a day and goof off or do side projects most of the day.
I have so much more energy.
I grew up in an upper-middle-class rust belt suburb, but moved to the city and was fully on my own financially from 18 onward. Because I couldn’t afford a car, I moved to an apartment near my work, which had a bus to the college I was going to, and that was near my other job. The bus ride was 40 minutes door-to-door and ran every hour. If I missed one home, I was now an hour behind, which meant that I missed my window to go to the laundromat that night. The laundromat was a 20-minute walk away. So every night was some combination of walking 2 miles, working at a bar, making/planning food (because the grocery store was also a far walk), or something else. It was exhausting even before I spent an hour in bed panicking about money. I think my tax return said I made $25K when I was 21.
I’m 37 now, and only got to the place where I’m not worried about money constantly about 7 years ago, mostly because I got lucky. I moved to NYC, found some good startup jobs that eventually gave me a chunk of change to throw at my student loans, and I got married. I’d say I moved from “not worried constantly” to “pretty content” last year. Combined, we now make about $180K/year, which isn’t *wealthy* in NYC, but it sure as heck is the least stressed I’ve ever been.
I’ll never forget talking to my mother about this and she remembered that she didn’t feel this way (happy with work, good pay, able to afford the life she wanted, etc.) until she was… 25. The 70s and 80s were different, man.
I finally get to buy the GI Joe action figure collection my mom wouldn’t buy me when I was a kid.
Auto Pay. God I fucking love it.
I get guac on my burrito at Chipotle every time.
For me it’s mostly been health related.
I got covid pretty bad last November and was out 2 weeks and I didn’t spend those 2 weeks panicking about potentially being homeless. When I needed to follow up with a doctor and they wanted a chest xray I just said okay instead of asking how badly did I really need one.
When I found out I needed 2 root canals because I hadn’t been to the dentist in 10 years that was definitely an “oof” moment because it was still 3 grand, but I was able to get them done.
And also just little things like getting takeout Friday nights when previously that was a once in a blue moon sort of thing, or seeing a shirt or something I liked in a store and just buying it without checking my bank account first.
I’ll echo what others are saying. But it’s mostly a drop in stress. As long as you aren’t one of the jackasses that increase their spending to match their lower income to their upper income.
I know quite a number of people with a household income of over 250k living paycheck to paycheck.
It’s all about stress reduction. It impacts every other part of your life. I remember growing up, listening to my parents argue as we reached the end of the groceries and payday was still a few days away. I remember my dad losing his job once and them being in a panic. I remember them not being able to afford things I wanted to do and that hurting them-they wanted to be able to say yes to me. It was hard on their relationship with me, with each other, with the whole world. Now… my husband and I don’t have to fight about money because we have it. We decide what the kids can have based on what we want to give them, not what we can afford. I take zero crap from my boss because I don’t need this damn job. And I go to the store whenever we need to, with zero regard for the money I spend. The weight of financial problems is massive, so living life without that weight makes a huge difference.
Being able to buy better-quality durable goods like shoes, tires, furniture, etc. rather than having to buy cheap stuff that needs to be replaced frequently. Being able to pay cash for a new roof or other major repair rather than having to take out a loan. Being able to buy commodity products like propane and heating fuel with bulk discounts rather than having to buy small amounts at spot price. Being able to buy solar panels that will make the electricity bill go away.
My mortgage costs half of the average rent in my area.
Having everything on autopay and not spending any time and mental capacity worrying about which bill takes priority this month.
Putting the income to use to save even more time & energy on things like cleaning, cooking (prepared food or restaurants), or transportation (Ubers vs bus, flying instead of driving).
They seem too many too list.
One is space. It’s so easy to keep a home clean when you have closets and plenty of room. The stress of living in a home that’s too small is pretty great.
All hours of the day and night it’s in your face.
I grew up in a small 2 bedroom home with 5 in our family. One tiny bathroom with frequently no hot water. If you flushed the toilet the shower all water stopped. Still, 40 years later I sometimes don’t flush because I remember getting yelled at because I flushed while someone was showering (yes we were both in the same bathroom but I just did it automatically).
Only one small area that’s not the bedrooms. So no personal space. None. Ever. And there stacks of bills and work everywhere because there no closets or filing cabinets or drawers to put things away in.
You can never find anything because stuff doesn’t exactly have a place because there’s just no room.
Want to iron? Well, you’ve gotta ask everyone to move so you can put an ironing board up.
You can fir a bureau in the bedroom but one bureau isn’t enough for 3 people. So milk crates hold your clothes but it’s impossible to keep it orderly.
Everything from using the bathroom, taking a shower, doing homework, making a meal, getting a phone call, sleeping, getting dresses, to watching TV is a constant negotiation over space and consideration.
Being able to put the majority of my bills on auto-pay. No longer stressed about missing due dates.
Not having to worry about things is so amazing. Need gas? No problem, fill it up. Got a medical bill? Just pay it. Plumbing issue? Hire a plumber.
Travel. My 5-year-old has seen more of the world than I did my first 30 years. To the point I feel like he might take it for granted when he’s older, and it won’t be as special for him as it is for me.
Don’t feel nearly as limited, your world gets a lot bigger when you have the money to go places. Anything feels possible.
In general, my kid is just a lot more spoiled. Playing baseball? Here’s all your gear. He’s always wearing cool clothes, cool sneakers. Cool toys..cool experiences like museums, zoos, theme parks, sports games. He’s been to a World Series, MLB All Star Game, and almost took him to the NFL pro bowl.
The challenge is not making my kid a spoiled person because I’m giving him my dream childhood and living vicariously through him. Force myself not to buy him stuff all the time, make him do chores, only reward for him good grades, good behavior, effort.
As far as just me and my wife, definitely feels like being a different class than when I was a kid. Not feeling out of place in most places. Feeling comfortable. I think people who’ve been broke/working class and have become financially secure understand the feeling.
And this isn’t being wealthy, but middle class/financially secure. I still have to budget , far from worry free. But things are a lot easier and a lot more of the world feels accessible.
Lower stress.
People who say money doesn’t make you happy don’t understand the everyday crippling anxiety of never having enough money to cover basic necessities. That basically forces you to constantly scramble for money, and you never have time to even care what you would do with your life should you have that luxury.
Paying for things up front and saving money. I pay for my insurance 6 months at a time and have many subscription services that I’ll pay for the whole year. Even though it saves money, it’s an option that aren’t available to many people
Better wine, better whiskey, eating out more, and defo better sneakers
Lower anxiety overall.
Being able to have dinner or drinks with friends without stress and shame.
Being able to go to regular ass doctors appointments.
Being able to leave a job that I hate.
General mindset shift from constant vigilance, scarcity and guilt to one where I feel I deserve peace and joy and fun.
Best of all, being able to be generous with other people.
Life is just plain cheaper when you’re not living week to week. Buying in bulk makes groceries cheaper, no late fees for bills, better interest rates, etc
Having “fuck you” money. I’m more confident, outspoken, and happier at work because I know that if they piss me off badly enough I have enough money set aside to just quit and live off of it for several months while I find a new job.
I just…buy groceries. I don’t comb the ads to shop specifically only what’s on sale, I don’t weigh my produce and put back one banana, I sometimes just buy name-brand because I like it better, I buy cage-free eggs and grass-fed beef, I’ll pay a little more to do curbside pickup. That’s not to say I just go nuts and buy everything I want and never put things away/delete them out of my cart because it’s excessive, but the time and energy spent on groceries now vs. before are like two different processes entirely.
Not having to check my bank account before every purchase is nice
My parents were thrifty by choice rather than from necessity (Dad was definitely a saver, but their house was paid off 10 years early, so there’s that) so in comparison to a lot of friends and neighbors who liked to ‘live the good life’, i thought we were kinda poor. It prepared me for being a poor college student and an even poorer teacher.
My favorite thing is being able to pay bills as they come – and pay them in full- rather than having to do the ‘wait until the next paycheck’ dance. In my late 20s i did go through a ‘spending’ stage and then ended up having to pay off a lot of debt. Having zero balances makes me happy now.
It’s nice to be able to take the car in for an oil change instead of changing the oil in the abandoned grocery store parking lot. If I was even wealthier I’d be able to save more money by just doing it myself in a garage or covered parking area.
It’s a lot of little things like this, for every single aspect of your life. Everything takes longer when you’re poor, you work longer, you work harder, you pay more for food, you pay more for vehicle maintenance, you pay more for medical, you spend hours in lines, your rented appliances are shit, you have a small living space. You feel like a trapped animal, laboring during the day and caged at night. No real autonomy, your landlord is yelling at you for topping off your oil or rotating your tires, or cleaning your bike, or decorating for the holidays.
Quality paper towels and garbage bags.
Simply put? Because we don’t live on a knife edge financially, not every single reverse in life is a disaster in the making. Just not having to sweat out the bills every month is a huge boon to one’s emotional health.
At this point, our mortgage, insurance, and utilities constitute something like 20% of our net earnings. We hang on to our mortgage because paying 2.75% interest and averaging a 9-10% in equities is just a better plan. As a result, we save money like freaking bandits.
That you never argue with your spouse about money for basic needs.
While money doesn’t buy happiness, it sure helps in emergencies. Furnace blown, no problem. Big car repair, no problem. Inflation no problem. Nice vacation to tropical destination yearly, check. Of course the obvious maxed out RSP, house paid off, no debt, check.
I don’t think i make enough to qualify myself as a high income earner, but I do make more as a single person than the median US household income. Even in this position, a lot less stress for sure.
Not that I go for some crazy shopping spree every season, but I do spend money on hobby or things that I am personally interested in once in a while.
Oh, and I get to eat good foods too.
Instead of buying budget/value picks, i pick up items that are higher quality & more expensive.