Faking Rich, Being Poor...The Thirty Thousand Dollar Millionaire

I live in South Florida where the girls are hot, the guys are rich, the club scene is vibrant, and every where you look there is a luxury car. I know what you're thinking-"Oh but you live in Miami, that's how it is down there." On the contrary, I don't think my reality is much different from what's going on in other parts of America, Miami is just a microcosm. The reality is that there is no reality; there is an ever growing trend of Americans who are faking an ideal lifestyle with their expensive clothes, luxury cars, and their expensive club lifestyle. Dallas, Texas and Scottsdale, Arizona are just a few places where this phenomenon is popping up. Instead of buying we're leasing, instead of owning we're renting, American debt is rising and yet more people are looking like millionaires.

Someone said, "The clothes make the man." Well the clothes are making us all right, their making us poor. Lots of Americans are suffering from a delusion; lots of Americans are thirty thousand dollar millionaires or thirty thousandaires for short. These individuals are out renting and buying designer handbags and clothes to give the appearance of being rich.

Just what is a thirty thousand dollar millionaire? It's a common term that describes a person (usually a younger person) who gets a job making thirty thousand a year and thinks they're a millionaire. A thirty thousand dollar millionaire is someone who lives above their means or wants people to think they are rich. Urban Dictionary states, "They usually lease a Lexus...generally treat restaurant servers like crap....and rent a condo...a thirty thousandaire."

Newsweek reports that, "For the first time ever recorded, Americans owe more money than they make. In 2006 the Federal Reserve Board reported that Consumer debt is now at a record $2.17 trillion. While many people are borrowing more money not because of over-consumption, but because they are trying to keep up with the cost of living there are still many others who are not managing their money because they want live out their lives like they are on MTV.