By Lauren Schwahn, NerdWallet

A six-figure salary used to be the benchmark of wealth and success. But now, it’s not uncommon for high earners to feel financially stretched.

That raises the question: What does it actually take to be rich? We asked a few six-figure earners to share their thoughts.

“Rich” is subjective

For many high earners, being rich isn’t about hitting some magic number, driving a flashy car or buying a mansion. It’s about living the lifestyle you want without giving money a second thought.

Rob Bacharach, a certified financial planner near Charlotte, North Carolina, says being rich means having the freedom to spend without incurring debt. Wealth traditionally comes from building assets, he says, but having the time to do as you please while still covering your bills can make you rich, too.

A high income doesn’t always guarantee those circumstances.

“I work with a few young surgeons. They are mid-30s, they make over $1 million per year, they live in large houses, but their net worth is negative $1 million between mortgages and student loans,” Bacharach says. “These individuals are not rich.”

“If they are good savers they may be rich in the future, but for right now, they work a lot, they spend a lot,” he says.

Kim Rippy, a licensed professional counselor in Burke, Virginia, considers “rich” a state of being rather than a dollar amount earned.

In Rippy’s view, being rich is having the ability to stop working without having to change your lifestyle. It’s the mentality that you don’t have to worry about money or make adjustments due to lack of it, she adds.

Patrice Williams-Lindo — a business consultant and CEO of Career Nomad, a career coaching company near Atlanta — says it takes about $20,000 a month to support her version of a rich lifestyle.

That’s enough to comfortably cover household expenses, help her three kids through college and stay on top of debt payments.

But it’s not just income that makes you rich, she says. “It’s having a sense of peace, having a sense of accomplishment.”

For Williams-Lindo, being rich is also about building generational wealth. She and her husband want their daughters to have the freedom to make decisions that aren’t money-driven.

“If they wanted to take a gap year, what does that look like? If they got laid off from their jobs as they started working, do they have to find a job in the next month or will they have a three-month or six-month emergency fund?” Williams-Lindo says. “That’s what we’re setting them up for.”

Not all high earners feel rich

Rippy doesn’t consider herself rich despite earning six figures and owning her own therapy practice. Living in the high-cost Washington, D.C. area, much of her income is tied up in housing, student loans and child care costs for her two children. She and her husband call themselves “day care broke.”

“I think if the debt wasn’t there, then that actual joy and feeling of being rich would probably be more prevalent,” Rippy says.

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Bacharach doesn’t feel rich at this point in his life either.

“I have a good income that allows me to live very comfortably, but I’m in my mid-30s. I’ve only been making that income for so long and so I have not had the accumulation of assets outside of my business,” he says.

Bacharach wants to build a pool at his home, but would need to take on debt to make it happen.

“I could put a little cash down, I could borrow from my HELOC to do the rest if I want,” he says. “But I think that that feeling of wealth or richness really comes from the ability just to write the check and do whatever it is that you want to do.”

Williams-Lindo, on the other hand, does feel rich — not only because she’s setting her family up for success, but because she finds purpose in building a legacy through her work.

“I am helping people that have either been laid off or that work in toxic workplaces, specifically, Black women like myself, find their next season,” she says.

“I consider myself wealthy, because I have the capacity to dream,” Williams-Lindo adds.

For many, net worth is key

We sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users define “rich.” We used an AI tool to help analyze the feedback. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.

There isn’t a clear consensus in the comments on exactly how much money makes a person rich. But it’s obvious that income is just one part of the equation. Redditors say there are other factors to consider, such as a person’s location, debt load, lifestyle costs, family situation, age and career stage.

Users generally agree that being rich requires:

Having a high net worth that includes significant assets beyond a primary residence.
The ability to maintain a high standard of living without working.
Having no major debt obligations.

Many users say they won’t consider themselves rich until they have at least a few million dollars in net worth and are financially independent.

Everyone has their own definition of “rich.” If you’re striving for wealth, it’s worth taking a moment to ask yourself: What does being rich mean to you?

Lauren Schwahn writes for NerdWallet. Email: lschwahn@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lauren_schwahn.

The article What Does It Mean to Be Rich? We Asked 3 People. originally appeared on NerdWallet.

(Ben Sargent)

To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section or find Observer political reporting here.

The post Loon Star State: Entering… appeared first on The Texas Observer.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, ASHRAF KHALIL and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s capital challenged President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department in court on Friday, hours after his administration stepped up its crackdown on policing by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department, with all the powers of a police chief.

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District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a new lawsuit that Trump is going far beyond his power under the law. Schwalb asked a judge to find that control of the department remains in district hands and sought an emergency restraining order.

“The administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call D.C. home. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it,” Schwalb said.

The lawsuit comes after Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday night that Drug Enforcement Administration boss Terry Cole will assume “powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police.” The Metropolitan Police Department “must receive approval from Commissioner Cole” before issuing any orders, Bondi said. It was unclear where the move left the city’s current police chief, Pamela Smith, who works for the mayor.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back, writing on social media that “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”

Justice Department and White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the district’s lawsuit Friday morning.

Chief had agreed to share immigration information

Schwalb had said late Thursday that Bondi’s directive was “unlawful,” arguing it could not be followed by the city’s police force. He wrote in a memo to Smith that “members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor,” setting up the legal clash between the heavily Democratic district and the Republican administration.

FILE – Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith speaks during a news conference with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser on President Donald Trump’s plan to place Washington police under federal control and deploy National guard troops to Washington, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Bondi’s directive came even after Smith had told MPD officers hours earlier to share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody, such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. The Justice Department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief’s directive because it allowed for continued enforcement of “sanctuary policies,” which generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers.

Bondi said she was rescinding that order as well as other MPD policies limiting inquires into immigration status and preventing arrests based solely on federal immigration warrants. All new directives must now receive approval from Cole, the attorney general said.

The police takeover is the latest move by Trump to test the limits of his legal authorities to carry out his agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to bolster his tough-on-crime message and his plans to speed up the mass deportation of people in the U.S. illegally.

It also marks one of the most sweeping assertions of federal authority over a local government in modern times. While Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city’s homicide rate ranks below those of several other major U.S. cities and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse the administration has portrayed.

Residents are seeing a significant show of force

A population already tense from days of ramp-up has begun seeing more significant shows of force across the city. National Guard troops watched over some of the world’s most renowned landmarks and Humvees took position in front of the busy main train station. Volunteers helped homeless people leave long-standing encampments — to where was often unclear.

FILE – Washington Metropolitan Police investigate near the U.S. Capitol, Oct. 19, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Department of Homeland Security police stood outside Nationals Park during a game Thursday between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies. DEA agents patrolled The Wharf, a popular nightlife area, while Secret Service officers were seen in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood.

Bowser, walking a tightrope between the Republican White House and the constituency of her largely Democratic city, was out of town Thursday for a family commitment in Martha’s Vineyard but would be back Friday, her office said.

The uptick in visibility of federal forces around the city, including in many high-traffic areas, has been striking to residents going about their lives. Trump has the power to take over federal law enforcement for 30 days before his actions must be reviewed by Congress, though he has said he’ll re-evaluate as that deadline approaches.

Officers set up a checkpoint in one of D.C.’s popular nightlife areas, drawing protests. Troops were stationed outside the Union Station transportation hub as the 800 Guard members who have been activated by Trump started in on missions that include monument security, community safety patrols and beautification efforts, the Pentagon said.

Troops will assist law enforcement in a variety of roles, including traffic control posts and crowd control, National Guard Major Micah Maxwell said. The Guard members have been trained in de-escalation tactics and crowd control equipment, Maxwell said.

National Guard troops are a semi-regular presence in D.C., typically being used during mass public events like the annual July 4 celebration. They have regularly been used in the past for crowd control in and around Metro stations.