The whole issue of what level of income should be considered as "rich" misses the key issue.

There are a whole variety of measures, but the two that I think are crucial: income and life. Income is what you earn, and life is what you spend. Having heard the stories of the depression in the 30s from parents and others, I've always felt that the second measure needed to be less than the first one.

You coudn't always buy with cash (like mortgages), but since depression's kids HATE to pay interest, cash is really king. But we're scared now, because we thought we were well positioned for retirement. But after the last year, we're not so sure (wish I could lose weight like my IRA has shed its pounds and dollars).

Nonetheless, we were lucky, because we didn't care what the neighbors made nor how they spent. Our race wasn't in the "consumption" lane, but rather in the "acquisition" lane. I wanted to make sure the brokers had a good reason to send us a montly statement.

We've made--and lost--a lot of money over the years (I took a big "bond bath" about 35 years ago, but now that I'm getting creaky, bonds sound pretty good again). I've got a full basket of bonehead buys and sells, mostly in stocks, but I didn't get too shaky because I didn't need the money at the time. You lick your wounds and move on.

After all, investments aren't really money until you need to spend them. Now that I'm there, I'm getting far more careful with showing my cards.