[morgante]

> True, though nothing short of hitting the lottery (either in the traditional sense or through a large startup exit) would really produce that kind of 'rich'.

I wouldn't go that far. A doctor in most parts of the country probably meets that kind of "rich."

I make 6 figures, but I'd never even think about being able to afford a luxury car or any of the things which people usually equate with a 6-figure salary.

Especially when you factor in taxes, the picture looks a lot less rosy. On $150,000 your take-home is really only $75,000. Factor in $5,000/m for expenses in SF or NY and that's only $15,000 of savings a year—at that rate, it takes many years to even save up a good emergency fund.

Don't get me wrong: my family also comes from a very modest background, so I feel incredibly lucky to have the excess income to do things like help my dad buy his first house (in a cheap, low-cost area).