They may go to Whole Foods instead of Smart and Final. They may also be house poor and/or shitty cooks and get by on frozen taquitos or grubhub. I doubt that it’s all that different.
I knew a couple (not super well) who became extremely wealthy through serendipity. They didn’t really work for it. Right time, right place, right stock options.
They were constantly building new, huge homes. No sooner would they get one done than they became disillusioned and were on to designing the next one. Included in each new home was a massive, gleaming wall-to-wall, state-of-the-art, spare-no-expense kitchen.
They never cooked, never touched a pot or pan. Everything was take-out, including morning coffee. I think it pained them to run water into the sinks.
These were the same people who would travel to exotic locales, complain about the awful native cuisines and seek out the nearest McDonald’s. They traveled so they could say they had been to a place, not to immerse themselves in the culture.
I don’t believe many wealthy people are like these folks, but such people do exist.
The couple from whom my husband and I purchased the home where I currently live went on to build a 6,000 sf home of their dreams on top of a hill. They are both hard workers and very down-to-earth types. Also smart and modest. But no one is infallible!
This couple raised 3 very active children in the home we purchased from them, but when they started out, it was a 1 bedroom, 1 toilet room home with one shower stall in the mud room. The kitchen was teensy. After 7-some years of struggling with this inadequate amount of space, they added what I characterize as a second half to the existing home. They created a new larger living room astride what is now termed the family room (weird arrangement). They added 2 new bedrooms, each with a private bathroom. They never did anything with the teensy kitchen. (My husband and I took care of that when we made it our home.) At its largest for them, the house was around 1,800 sf. For 5 people. With the teensy kitchen.
I guess their impetus for subsequently building the massive 6,000 sf home was how crowded things were for all those years raising their children here. But the new house was mostly empty since by then, the kids had flown the coop.
Being situated on a hill meant that water blew in underneath the door frame on one side and ruined their beautiful custom wood flooring. The views are incredible, but the winds are dreadful.
They spent a massive amount of money sinking a well – over 800 feet deep. They also spent big paving the steep road up the hill to the house. Even then, they couldn’t safely descend in a vehicle after a snow storm.
The house required an immense amount of upkeep for just two people rattling around in it.
They sold it after a couple of years.
I’ve heard of people living in Manhattan who have very nice kitchens with all the best appliances but who eat out for almost every meal. But I could understand that; with the number of fine restaurant in New York of every cuisine, why not eat out a lot. As long as you can afford it.
Having once had a 6-figure income and worked with lots of other people who also did, I may be able to afford better cuts of meat, fancier vegetables, etc. than in my college days, but most of the people I worked with ate their share of chicken fingers, McDonald’s, frozen pizza, etc. especially if they had young children. I did work with one woman who had (I kid you not) a personal chef who would cook for them for the week, and then freeze the meals, but she and her husband and kids were trainwrecks for other reasons.
I now live in a modest 2BR apartment, but my brother lives in a Big House, which doesn’t look big from the street but that’s because it’s built into a cliff, with his wife and 2 young adult daughters. I had wondered if they could afford it, but they said they could, and who am I to argue? They are planning to downsize (and move to another city) in the next year or two, but they were saying that even before COVID.
My farmland is adjacent to my house lot, and we’ve had horses and ponies kept about 200 feet from our back door. I’ve a few miles of trails and paths thru the local woods/swamp for walking/riding. But riding them on the beach is forbidden by local ordinance.
We’ve also had fainting goats, chickens, and an argyle highland bull kept on the farm in the past.
We have plenty of room and a large kitchen, but my typical dinners include bowl o’ meat (hamburger, onion, peppers and either macaroni or rice, spaghetti and meatballs with eggplant, some prepared thing from the freezer or a large salad. Sometimes I dispatch Jeeves to the back forty to shoot a possum or raccoon. So it’s a varied but not exclusive diet.
I don’t live in a giant house, but there are McMansions all around me, and I can afford to eat whatever I want. Last night I roasted a chicken. I made bean soup the night before that. We had takeout from 5 Guys the day before that. Tonight is my husband’s turn to cook, and I’m guessing it will be chickpeas with rice, and a side of broccoli.
We do a lot of cooking, and put most of the dishes in the dishwasher. We get takeout about twice a week. No, it’s not easy to keep thin. I decided not to bother after I had children, and I’ve been overweight ever since then.
My SIL did that. She had her kitchen redone with all the fanciest appliances, but her “pantry” was a drawer with takeout menus. She didn’t like to cook, and neither did my brother. But she wanted a pretty kitchen, so she had one put in. I’ve lost touch since the divorce, but I think she runs some large mutual fund, and she can afford whatever kitchen she likes to look at.
The only thing I’d want a big house for.