You may have heard the saying “Money Talks, Wealth Whispers,” capturing how wealth can be communicated. As I’ve heard it put, “either you have money, or you talk about it.”
What “Money Talks, Wealth Whispers” means, is that money can be loud and flashy, but true wealth is often quiet and does not need to be shouted to be heard. Think of the people you know that start driving nice cars, buying jewelry, or wearing designer the moment they get a taste of money. They’re trying to show others that they have money.
Then, contrast that to the people who are truly wealthy. They have no need to show off, and just go about their life, showing their wealth in much quieter ways.
I remember when I was in school, I learned the image that was conveyed was not a true representation of people’s financial situation. The kids wearing the newest clothes often did not have money, whereas the people who had money showed it in much quieter ways.
Here’s 17 examples of “Money Talks, Wealth Whispers” from around the web, showing how you can tell the truly wealthy:
Their Personal Image
“I work at a private school, and you can always tell the difference between the super wealthy and the nouveau rich. The super rich moms are immaculately dressed, everything fits perfectly, not a hair out of place. They have a put together look you cannot emulate. They also wear perfume that smells amazing but not overpowering. Nouveau rich parents usually show up in brand name stuff (Gucci, Prada, etc.), wear their sunglasses indoors, much flashier makeup. I also notice that the old money parents treat their kids like anyone else regardless of their wealth, while the new money have unreasonable expectations.”
– BuzzFeed
Their Clothes
“The clothes they wear — for truly wealthy people, it doesn’t matter if it’s designer or thrift shop. Everything fits them well and is clean. They can afford tailors, dry-cleaners, and stylists, and always look put-together.”
– BuzzFeed
“Their shoes. Rich people may have designer shoes, but true wealthy people have shined, clean shoes.”
– u/Thirty_Helens_Agree
“Rich people (and wannabe rich) buy T-shirts with big bold letters of designer brands to broadcast they spent $500 for their shirt. Wealthy people might buy the same brand shirt as the rich guy, but it has no logos.”
– u/kukukele
“The richest people wear brands you’ve never heard of and wouldn’t recognize. Fake rich people wear loud clothing to appear richer [than] they are. As my father told me, anyone can lease a corvette.”
– u/sleekandspicy
Their Cars
“I’m on a forum with a bunch of successful investors. Almost everyone over there is worth $5 million or more, yet drives a 12-year-old used car because they know that frugality and avoiding debt and living beneath one’s means while always investing in index funds is the way to wealth.”
– u/peterinjapan
Their Food
“They have good, healthy food — always. Healthy, quality food costs a LOT of money.”
– BuzzFeed
“Not having to pick the cheapest brand of food, but just getting what they like best.”
– u/ImAStark_B*tch
Their Time
“They spend money if it saves them time. Time is more valuable than money.”
– u/tocksin
Buying Quality
“They buy expensive things that don’t last forever. For example, they’ll buy expensive flowers, expensive alcohol, expensive skincare. Non-rich people usually only splurge on products that will have longevity.”
– Yahoo
“They will never complain about the cost of something, but will nitpick the quality of work to death.”
– u/weaselpoopcoffee
“They buy things that are expensive but non-aspirational. Lots of people without a ton of money will have saved up for a designer handbag, Omega watch or BMW, or bought them on credit, because people aspire to own these things. But find the people who have a bed with a $3,000 mattress, or good quality flowers lying around their house for no special occasion, or top quality sportswear, and you’ll find the people with serious quantities of cash”
– u/PixieBaranicsi
“Everything is bought for functionality first, style second. They buy nice [stuff], but nice [stuff] that serves a specific purpose, never have particularly “flashy” buys, unless the item just happened to be the best AND the flashiest.”
– u/burnsguy97
“There are $40 scented candles in most rooms, and they get used.”
– u/T_Max100
How They Talk About Money
When people never talk about money. If they’re not talking about it, it means they don’t have to think about it.
– u/brewvalu904
Buying What They Need
“If there’s one thing rich people have in common, is if they need to pay for something that falls into the “will need it” bucket in their mind rather than the just “want it” bucket, they will just buy it. Immediately, without thinking about it at all, or worrying in the slightest, and generally buy new.
They don’t um and ah or try and think of another way.
Say their washing machine breaks down. They just go “ah dang” and buy another. They don’t think “Ohh maybe I can just do the washing at my parents place for a while” or “I wonder if I can find one on craigslist that will fit the budget”, they just do it.”
– [deleted]
And lastly, just because this made me laugh as someone who has a three-year-old phone with no case:
“No case on your iPhone”
– u/sk8rtilld3th