Summary:<\/strong> True wealth is best kept quiet, it avoids awkward conversations, requests for money, and potential kidnappings for ransom. The joy of buying expensive stuff is also fleeting and what you own eventually owns you. And the way to keep quiet is simple, don\u2019t talk about it.<\/p>\n When I read The Millionaire Next Door by William Stanley<\/a>, I was amazed at how many millionaires lived in plain sight.<\/p>\n If you think about popular exposure to wealth \u2013 it\u2019s pretty flashy. We\u2019re trained, by television and social media, to think that millionaires live a life of excess. Big mansions, expensive cars, lots of jewelry, and partying non-stop. The reality is far more nuanced.<\/p>\n There are very wealthy folks who live lavishly. They get a lot of the publicity because it\u2019s interesting.<\/p>\n There are far more wealthy folks who aren\u2019t flashy at all. For every Kardashian, there are hundreds of wealthy people who live modest lives.<\/p>\n At the risk of holding up one extreme example to prove a point, I point to one of the richest men in the world \u2013 Mr. Warren Buffet. He is north of 160 billion dollars and lives in a modest house. His only vice is drinking full-calorie Coca-Cola.<\/p>\n We know about Warren Buffet\u2019s wealth not because of his flashy lifestyle but because his company, Berkshire Hathaway, is a publicly traded company. You could easily drive by that house and have no idea that the man who lived there was worth more the annual GDP of many countries (source<\/a>).<\/p>\n There\u2019s a name for this phenomenon \u2013 Stealth Wealth.<\/p>\n And there\u2019s a reason so many people hide their money\u2026<\/p>\n No one has any clue how much you make.<\/strong> Unless you reveal bank account<\/a> and brokerage statements (which would make you a socially awkward weirdo, and honestly, a target), they can only guess. They can only guess based on what you reveal in your purchases.<\/p>\n When you think about who is rich vs. who is wealthy<\/a> \u2013 the only signals are what they show you.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason why real estate agents<\/a> drive expensive cars.<\/p>\n They may be wealthy but they want to project success, even if they are not financially stable, because you pick real estate agents based on their ability to sell. An agent earns money only when they sell a house.<\/p>\n In that scenario, driving an expensive car has a purpose beyond vanity.<\/p>\n When I suggest you be stealthy with your wealth, I don\u2019t mean you should hide it against your own best interests. I am not suggesting you hide it because everyone is out to get you. It\u2019s just better to be stealthy about it.<\/p>\n You avoid uncomfortable conversations and situations.<\/strong> Money makes people weird. Having it, especially with people who are in need, can create strange and uncomfortable situations that you don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n Do you want friends and family members asking you for loans or to invest in their new (probably bad) project?<\/p>\n Do you want to have to tell them no?<\/p>\n What if they\u2019re in a dire situation and they need \u201cjust a little bit\u201d of help to get out? What if you think that little bit of help won\u2019t help but is actually enabling them? What if it\u2019s your brother or sister? Or your parents? Or a childhood friend?<\/p>\n If it looks like you have wealth, people think they can get some of it. In some cases, it\u2019s innocent, like an old friend who is seeking investment in his new project. But some are not, like an old friend who is seeking investment in his new project \u2013 will you know the difference?<\/p>\n No one can see your bank account unless you show them.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t pay the driveway tax.<\/strong> The \u201cdriveway tax\u201d is the markup contractors add to a job whenever the driveway is super long and super nice. With services that have no set price, people wise up to how rich people can pay more for the same things (they are price insensitive). It\u2019s human nature.<\/p>\n They\u2019re not being dishonest when they do this, they\u2019re merely responding to market forces. It\u2019s no different when you compare the price of services in Manhattan and Omaha. Is it fair to charge more prices in a higher cost of living area when the work itself will be the same? Of course. Your expensive house is a higher cost of living.<\/p>\n Do they like you or do they like your access to money?<\/strong> Imagine the recently rich lottery winner who goes to a bar and meets a potential mate that they feel is \u201cout of their league\u201d \u2013 are they interested in him because he\u2019s awesome or because they have an awesome amount of money?<\/p>\n What about the tech entrepreneur who meets up with an old friend and discovers he\u2019s perfect for this new business venture?<\/p>\n This is a common concern for individuals who have wealth. It\u2019s hard to know who likes you for you and who likes you for your net worth.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason why LeBron James\u2019 entourage and business associates consist of friends he\u2019s had since childhood. These guys, like Maverick Carter, were initially ridiculed as business associates because they had no experience. They\u2019ve since proven themselves to be more than capable of the task.<\/p>\n Part of it is loyalty and a \u201cdon\u2019t forget where you came from\u201d but a lot has to do with trust. How can you tell the difference between a legit operator and Bernie Madoff?<\/p>\n You can\u2019t.<\/p>\n You won\u2019t be kidnapped.<\/strong> Kidnappers don\u2019t kidnap poor people.<\/p>\n This is a morbid way of saying you won\u2019t become a target. Whether it\u2019s a target for kidnapping, fraud, or other ill will; being flashy makes you a target and it can be for any number of reasons.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t give them a reason!<\/p>\n You won\u2019t feel the pressure to maintain that appearance.<\/strong> Stealth wealth is very affordable. When you throw your money around, whether it\u2019s for good or for attention, you have to keep throwing it around. That attention is like a drug and the only way to fuel it is by burning money. New stuff becomes old stuff and you\u2019ll have to buy more stuff.<\/p>\n When you lend financial support, it leads to more financial support. How many stories have you heard where someone gave someone else $500, they got on their feet, paid it back, and all was well? Not too many because it\u2019s rare. $500 usually is a precursor to more. Or it\u2019s a precursor to an uncomfortable conversation.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve decoupled your wealth from the number, you realize the truth about money.<\/strong> Money isn\u2019t about what it can buy but what it can enable \u2013 your freedom. So many people are seeking financial independence, so much so that there are dozens of great FIRE blogs<\/a> out there showing folks the way. Early retirement and independence come down to having enough money to not work.<\/p>\n As children, we focus so much on grades and doing well in school because it ranks you for the next stage in life. Good grades in high school will lead to a good college. Good grades in college will lead to a better job. A better job means more money. But once we leave schooling, there is no obvious next stage. The next stage isn\u2019t in your career but in your life.<\/p>\n Achieving financial independence, so you can control all of your time, is the next step. You can continue working if you want to but wealth gives you options. Accumulating more stuff and converting that wealth into material possessions restricts your options.<\/p>\n None.<\/p>\n Seriously \u2013 name me one and I\u2019ll add it.<\/p>\n OK, maybe there\u2019s one. And I\u2019d argue this answer is a lot like the BS people say whenever a job interviewer asks for a weakness.<\/p>\n The drawback is that you will unlike to be the center of attention. There will always be someone who wants the attention and they may think that being flashy will attract it.<\/p>\n They are right. Being flashy will attract it.<\/p>\n So if you practice stealth wealth, you will be unnoticed and rarely fawned upon by others who want to get a piece of the action. \ud83d\ude04<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say I\u2019ve convinced you that stealth wealth is the way to go \u2013 how do you keep your money under wraps?<\/p>\n There are guides out there that tell you to do this or that but it all boils down to one thing \u2013 shut your mouth.<\/strong><\/p>\n Unless you\u2019re a public employee, your income is unknown.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t share your address, no one can look up the property tax<\/a> records to see how much your home cost.<\/p>\n Even if they did, there are plenty of people who own massive expensive homes who are not wealthy and are on the brink of financial ruin\u2026 just look at what happened during the last housing bubble.<\/p>\n If you want reminders of your wealth, let it be when you track your net worth<\/a> or when you log into an aggregator tool like Empower Personal Dashboard<\/a>, not with the things you own.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an old saying \u201cAll hat, no cattle.\u201d The folks who show off the most often have little to back it up. All talk and no substance.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/warren-buffett-house-omaha-nebraska.jpg\")
Table of Contents<\/summary>\n
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Wealth Is Stealth Until You Reveal<\/h2>\n
Benefits of Stealth Wealth<\/h2>\n
Drawbacks of Stealth Wealth<\/h2>\n
How to Become Financially Invisible<\/h2>\n