Listen — everyone is always up in everyone else's business. Yes, that means you, too.
And what's the one thing we all love whispering behind each others' backs about? That's right — it's money.
U/AdMiserable9433 recently asked the people of Reddit, "What screams 'I’m upper class'?" Man, a lot of these answers...maybe you should just read for yourself:
1. "Being totally unaware of the cost of common items. I remember an interview with Bill Gates years ago, and he hadn’t purchased groceries in so long that he had zero clue what things cost. I remember they asked him the cost of a box of instant rice, and he guessed $20, I think."
2. "I work in entomology and often have to go to professional conferences and awards ceremonies where people are vying to connect with potential donors. There’s one older lady I always see, and while everyone else is dressed in suits and ties, or formal dresses, she’s dressed like a monarch butterfly. Butterfly earrings, butterfly wings on her back, orange as the setting sun. If you can dress like a goddamn butterfly in a room full of professionals, you have enough money to not give a shit about anyone else."
3. "Talking about going to your lake house, but not in a boastful way — in an 'I assume everyone has a lake house' kind of way."
—u/AdUnfair3836
4. "I teach rich kid preschool. I looked up prices for some of the brand name coats they wore over the last winter, and they average around $1,000. They are 4-5 years old. They're not gonna fit in those next winter. They don't realize they're rich; they're mostly pretty wonderful kids."
—u/serpentax
5. "My partner and I picked up one of our kids from a play date, and the other kid's mom commented on my beard because her husband also grows one ‘at the same time.’ Confused, I asked her if her husband’s beard was seasonal, and she explained that he grows one in advance of piloting the yacht to ‘the islands,’ but she makes him shave it off after she and the kids have taken the plane to meet him. I grow mine to keep bits of egg in."
—u/MikeSizemore
6. "Using the word 'summer' as a verb."
7. "Not caring how expensive your belongings are. People who flaunt wealth aren't upper class."
—u/9Divines
8. "The way someone walks into a room. At least here in the UK, there’s a kind of old money upper class you can just spot as soon as you meet someone. Their level of self-confidence is wholly uninfluenced by their surroundings, it’s just something built-in. No matter the situation, no matter if they make a fool of themselves, they are completely oblivious and unaffected by it."
—u/tams2232
9. "When they visit your tiny house, and say, 'It's cozy.' My upper class friend said this the first time she came over, and I teased her about it to no end; we had a good laugh."
10. "Going to a prestigious school despite having mediocre grades."
11. "'Back when I was the ambassador to...'"
12. "'No, I CAN park there. It’s just $30.' This was said when parking in a 'No Parking' zone."
—u/Banrt
13. "No cash, but asset-rich — with a crumbling family home built in the 14th century that hasn’t been maintained."
14. "Praising pauper's behavior as 'a lifestyle.' Recently, French journalists were writing about hard-discount as 'a new trend for smart people.' No, it is not a trend or a lifestyle. Families are struggling financially so much that they have to buy cheap-ass products of low quality. Stop romanticizing the symptoms of inequality."
15. "Flying private."
16. "It’s the rustle of the smartly-pressed outfit with no obvious labels…because it’s custom-made and, more importantly, they don’t need to convince anyone of their wealth."
17. "They never had to work a customer service job or pick up some kind of work while in university, high school, or in between to cover expenses. Because they never had to do this kind of work, they might look down on or mistreat waitstaff and service people."
—u/dudebro1275
18. "'Why don't you just take a vacation and travel? It's not that expensive.' Yes, yes it is, but the main thing here is that most people cannot miss a single paycheck. Hell, I missed two days of work, and my paycheck went down, like, $300. That's only four days."
—u/kaybet
19. "People who say they aren't rich. 'We're comfortable.'"
20. "Thinking everyone retires at some point."
—u/horns247
Agree? Disagree? Have your own additions? See you in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.