[Editor's Note: This post originally published on WCI Network partner site Physician on FIRE. I love the idea of stealth wealth, even if we're not very good at doing it thanks to transparency and non-anonymity of this blog. Still, my assistant editor and neighbor Jill thinks 9 out of 10 of our neighbors have no idea we're multi-millionaires. Sure, they've seen a boat parked in my driveway recently, but all the years of having beaters parked there might be hard to forget.]
I’ve been publishing a Sunday Best since April of 2016. While I’m certainly not the first to compile and present a weekly collection of posts I’ve enjoyed, the concept has proven to be quite popular. The post is usually well read, and many featured posts get at least a hundred clicks the first day. It’s not Rockstar Finance popular, but it does direct some traffic.
One fringe benefit that I receive is a look at what sort of articles are popular with my readers. In recent weeks, I featured several articles on something called Stealth Wealth from bloggers Financial Samurai, Joshua Kennon, and Justin from Root of Good.
The Stealth Wealth posts were consistently fan favorites. As of this writing, they have been viewed a remarkably similar 272, 274, and 267 times respectively, and have been the most popular featured articles from the last month’s Sunday Best posts. I hear you, readers. You like to read about Stealth Wealth!
Here’s my take.
Stealth Wealth: I’m Just an Ordinary Average Guy
What is Stealth Wealth?
You’ve heard of the Stealth Bomber — the sleek jet that flies through the skies undetected by radar. Stealth Wealth is like that, but rhymes so much better. It’s wealth that exists but goes unnoticed by standard means of detection.
Stealth wealth is blending in with your surroundings. It’s jeans and a tee shirt. It’s watching football with a cold one. It’s mowing your lawn with a cold one. It’s tent camping. Yes, with a cold one, but around a warm fire. It’s basically a country & western song.
That’s the Stealth part. In order to be stealthy, you’ve got to Stop Acting Rich. In another book by Drs. Stanley and Danko, The Millionaire Next Door, you learn quickly that many of America’s rich don’t do what we think rich people do. They drive Ford vehicles more than any other make. They eschew the caviar and champagne for crackers and, of course, a cold one.
Wealth is the other necessary component. What qualifies as wealthy? That’s for an individual to decide, but being a millionaire is a good start. If you’ve got your first million, and nobody but your closest friends and family would guess it, you’re probably practicing Stealth Wealth.
What is Not Stealth Wealth?
Frequent displays of material wealth disqualify you. These include, but are not limited to:
- Driving a luxury automobile
- Wearing a ridiculously expensive watch or similar jewelry
- The Kardashians
- McMansion with weekly visits from the gardener and “pool boy”
- Facebook check-ins at The French Laundry
- Decadent Maui accommodations (unless reimbursed by employer)
view from our balcony. not bad.
Not only are these things not indicative of Stealth Wealth, but they are also often the enemy to actual wealth. Drs. Stanley and Danko referred to the practice of trying to look wealthy as “all hat, no cattle,” a phrase borrowed from a Texan who no doubt listens to country & western music.
How Do I Stealth Wealth?
I’ve got the Wealth part down. I’m a millionaire twice over thanks to a great career, a high savings rate, and some dumb luck with the stock market that I’ve invested in heavily over the last ten years.
The Stealth* part?
Joe Walsh, a member of The Eagles said it better than I can in Ordinary Average Guy.
I’m just an ordinary average guy
My friends all are boring
And so am I
We’re just ordinary average guys
We all lead ordinary average lives
With average kids
And average wives
We all go bowling at the bowling lanes
Drink a few beers
Bowl a few frames
We’re just ordinary average guys
Ordinary average guys
And every Saturday we work in the yard
Pick up the dog doo
Hope that it’s hard (woof woof)
Take out the garbage and clean out the garage
My friend’s got a Chrysler
I’ve got a Dodge
We’re just ordinary average guys
Ordinary average guys…
I’ve got an awesome wife, and two amazing kids, but otherwise it’s pretty much spot on. We’ve got the Chrysler and a Chevy (no Dodge). Replace bowling a few frames with curling a few ends and there’s not much else to say.
But I will, anyway. Although I do like to bring attention to this blog (thank you for the latest feature, J. Money), I don’t like to bring attention to myself in everyday life. I live in a safe middle-class neighborhood. It’s a nice home, but nothing extraordinary.
I don’t own designer brands. I don’t wear a watch or even a Fitbit. My boys are enrolled in a public school. I don’t pay much for flights; I’ve become skilled at getting free flights.
I downplay the doctor card. I don’t lie about what I do for a living, but I only offer it up when asked, and quickly move on if at all possible. My job doesn’t define who I am, and I’ve got more interesting things to talk about. Well, interesting for a boring, ordinary, average guy, anyway.
*[It’s tough to be completely stealthy when you’re building a blog, and writing about financial independence, investing, and wealth creation. For what it’s worth, I’m anonymous to almost all of you, but I can’t very well establish myself as a writer worth reading in the personal finance arena without establishing some credibility as a physician who has achieved financial independence and some level of wealth.]
Have I Always Been Stealthily Wealthy?
I wish I could answer in the affirmative, but the truth is I wasn’t always this way. I bought a convertible when I was in residency. It was a used Mustang, but it set me back $12,000, which probably exceeded my net worth at the time. When I took my first permanent job, I hired a contractor to build us a stunning 4,000 square foot home on a six-figure lot I purchased with the help of a 0% interest credit card check.
I had worked hard, and I bought into the concept of delayed gratification. It was my time. My time to shine. Time to show the world that I had arrived. On my 31st birthday, I arrived at my birthday dinner in a limousine that my wife had arranged for a couple of friends and us. The year before, I rented the limo to drive my friends and me around town to celebrate my Big Three – Oh.
I would never rent a limo to celebrate myself these days.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed these things while they lasted, which was, unfortunately, not all that long. The Mustang convertible was impractical as a sole vehicle for a traveling locum tenens physician, so I sold it. The house was impractical to own after the only hospital in a 40-mile radius went bankrupt. So I sold it — years later at a huge loss.
fun while she lasted
I learned something from my non-stealthy, wealth-deterrent ways. One is that the finer things didn’t make me all that happy, and became a burden when I no longer had a use for them. They didn’t matter much to other people, and didn’t matter much to me, either. People, the good people anyway, care more about who you are and how you behave than what you have.
Are There Benefits to Stealth Wealth?
Ya, sure. You betcha. Lots of ’em.
You’re less likely to be quoted the doctor price / lawyer price / rich man’s price if you don’t look or act like a rich man.
You’ll have an easier time fitting in most social settings that don’t include terms such as yacht, polo, or Illuminati. An ordinary, average appearing guy (or gal) is simply more approachable.
As a result, you’ll find yourself associating with peers whose living and spending habits are rather ordinary. It’s easier to keep up with the Joneses who have potluck gatherings in the backyard than the Joneses who hold catered events at the golf club.
“People, the good people anyway, care more about who you are and how you behave than what you have.”
When your Wealth is Stealthy, the expectations of you will be tempered. People won’t automatically turn to you when the check arrives, or be offended if you’re not feeling generous enough to pick up the tab for everyone’s bad decisions at the bar. No one’s going to ask you what fancy car you’ll be getting next if you’ve never leased one in the first place.
Possibly the best benefit? The look of shock and awe when you share the news of your pending early retirement. I haven’t experienced that yet, but when you don’t appear to be “doing all that well,” the last thing your co-workers will expect is that you can somehow afford to retire when you can’t seem to afford jeans without holes in them or drive anything better than that rust-bucket. Soon, the time will come when I prove them wrong.
Do you practice Stealth Wealth? Care to share your methods? Have your habits changed over time as mine have?
Life gets a lot easier and more fun when you don’t give a crap what other people think — whether you want to impress them with your purchases or, for some reason, “shock” them when you announce early retirement. It cuts both ways. Make yourself and your family happy and to hell with the appearances otherwise— on either end of the scale.
Insights into the American Dream from my Cuban immigrant waiter at breakfast last week :
“ The poor have a house cluttered with stuff , drive a car that breaks down . The guy in the middle drives expensive cars , lives in expensive house but owns nothing ., bank owns him . The rich guy drives a Prius , money is working for him , shows no signs of wealth .”
Very astute observations.
We visited Cuba this fall, and it’s a sad state of affairs there. Most American doctors earn more in a day (or the first few hour a day) than a Cuban doctor makes all year. The government pay its workers $20 to $60 a month.
Best,
-PoF
Somewhere, a healthcare analyst just salivated.
I wish I could say I practice the stealth wealth mantra but it is a bit difficult in my circumstances.
Even though I can almost guarantee my property is below the median price of any physician, it gives the impression of being quite an expensive property (7.6 acres, 2 natural waterfalls, the largest 50 ft). Those who I have shared the price I paid for it have their Jaws dropped (when I bought it it was 1.6 x my annual salary, now that price would be closer to 0.5x).
But I know I get the “doctor’s rate” whenever I have work done on it because you just can’t hide it.
I do drive a Tesla Model S, but compared to other luxury cars it seems to be the stealthiest at that price range (not ostentatious like a Ferrari, etc). I also do wear a luxury watch (was a wedding gift from my former in-laws).
But most people still are shocked to learn I am a doctor when they ask as I don’t really dress or act the part as I am very down to earth in my interactions. One landscaper guy said you are one of the nicest docs I have met, most don’t talk to me the way you do.
That sounds like an amazing property, XRAYVSN. Worth giving up a bit of your secret to have a place like that.
Cheers!
-PoF
where I live a guy does airport drives with his beautiful Mercedes benz
figure that out-guy needs bread
While I am not a physician, I have been an avid reader of the blog and listener of the podcast for over a year. I too have found my personality and what matters most to me has changed over the years.
When I was in my 20s out of college, very broke and in debt, I wanted to prove I was important and would buy drinks for friends when we went out. In my 30’s I started a family, bought a house, and realized the importance of stability so worked to pay everything off as soon as possible to pave the way for an early retirement. Now in my 40’s, everything is paid off, I don’t feel the need to show off and buy expensive things even though I can afford them. I also don’t care as much about retiring early and have increased our expenses to accommodate nicer vacations and experiences.
None of our neighbors would know or understand we just crossed into the multi millionaire line in assets and are liquid enough to go years without working as we live in a modest home and drive 2 year and 7 year old reliable cars. It will be fun to see their faces in the coming years when I retire or cut back significantly.
In looking back over the last 20 years and realizing how priorities have changed as I mature I can only wonder what will be important in the future.
I’ve been on a similar path. When I couldn’t afford much, there were all kinds of expensive things I thought I wanted to own. I wasted some money on small things to make me look / feel rich, like the very first digital cameras, flaat screen monitor, etc…
Now that I can easily afford the finer things, I don’t have much of an appetite for them. We splurge a bit on extended travel, but freedom and time are the true luxuries we have now.
Cheers!
-PoF
People have different scales and aspirations. From my point of view, $3 million is not “multi-millionaire,” and $2 million isn’t even enough to say “twice over.” I’m jealous that such a relatively small amount of money makes you feel so amazing and rich!
I don’t think you get to have your own definition of multi-millionaire. It is what it is. $2M = multi-millions.
as a dentist who did quite well my daughter would get a kick when I visited the card dealership not dressed really well and told them I was a postman
One of the best times not to appear wealthy — when shopping for a vehicle. Tell them you’re a doctor, and the salesman will smell blood in the water.
Of course, when you tell them you won’t be financing, but paying in cash, they will suspect you’re a person of means.
Cheers!
-PoF
An acquaintance has a Tesla. He drives for Uber. Says it works out for him, because it helps pay for his insurance.
That is sad. When you factor in time and depreciation per mile, there’s no way he’s coming out ahead. Unless you’re only picking up fares when you were on your way to the airport or something, I can’t see how that makes financial sense.
Best,
-PoF
Some uber drivers only pick up fares on the way to/from work on their commute
I feel like living in a “regular” town vs. a very affluent one makes it easier to not get caught up in buying stuff to keep up with the jones. While a BMW or Mercedes wouldn’t be so out of character for my town, a Ferrari or Lamborghini would be. I think the key with buying “displays” of wealth is to buy stuff that makes you happy and not necessarily to display your wealth.
Absolutely. I live in a very middle class town. The vacationers might look down on the cars we commoners drive, but I couldn’t care less.
Not only would an Italians sports car stand out, but a Chevy, Ford, or Honda isn’t out of place here either, even among physicians.
Cheers!
-PoF
Shorts, flip flops, and T-shirt ( preferably concert with older tour date) topped off with a day’s growth is the proper apparel for vehicle shopping. You know you got it right when it’s tough to get a salesman.
When the scribbled note with a price slides across the table , write TTL included? Listen, then write a check for your final offer. Be prepared to walk. Sometimes they catch you in the parking lot!
Don’t even bother going in until you know the final out the door price. That’s what email is for.
PoF Go Gophers!
This is the way to go. The Millionaire Next Door was an expose on those who practice this path. I have no interest in impressing anyone. The technical term is “No More F%&#s to Give”, The NMFTG lifestyle is how we live.
Refreshing take on a solid piece of wisdom. Back in training, the residents parking lot was full of MBs and BMWs. I used to carpool (in a Civic) with my husband (who was a fellow) those days. It used to amaze me that the other residents had the means to buy/lease such expensive cars. Now I know better. Some of them may still be paying down student loans now after a decade of being out of training, if they’ve kept up those habits. A lot has to do with the culture of the place. That was Miami and uber expensive cars are everywhere in that city. The Midwest was a stark contrast.