Man keeps his millionaire status a secret from wife, family, and friends. AITA? UPDATED. Q&A included.
"AITA for not telling anyone that I became a millionaire this year?"
33 M… I’ve been self employed for 10 years this year, I also started an LLC about 7 years ago. So far this year I’ve made more money than the last 10 years combined.
I grew up very poor and my mom passed away when I was just 10 years old, after my mom passed I was raised by my Grandmother, I told her about 2 years ago that I would be a millionaire before she leaves this earth and she said not to tell anyone if I ever did.
I haven’t made any major purchases since I recently became a millionaire but I’m always nice to people close to me and 90% of the time I’ll pick the tab If I go out with friends or family. So my question is. AITA for not telling anyone (including my wife) about it so far?
UPDATE:
First, let me address those saying this is a humble brag or something of that sort. I know myself well and I'm the last person to ever want to seek validation, Especially on the internet, I made this post out of curiosity to see if it is worth sharing this information and to hopefully inspire others who might have dreams of starting or currently running a small business. Again I would like to humbly state that this post is not to brag but to definitely Inspire.
Q & A:
I will answer some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) since it would take so much of my time to answer the comments.
Q: Why haven't you told your wife? For the females in the comment section saying ITA for not telling her as yet...These comments made me appreciate my wife even more because she didn't marry me for money... I notice most of these comments are geared toward a transactional marriage. I didn't say I was opposed to letting her know I said I haven't told anyone as yet.
I've made 6 figures per year most years for the past few years, so it's not like I'm hiding that.. Last year we made around 270k and she was super excited about that until she found out how much we owed in taxes, that was only because we didn't prepay enough money and have enough taxes from our W2 income since our tax bracket got significantly higher than the previous year.
So it's not like she doesn't know about me earning 6 figures, she's just as humble as I am and she doesn't ask for a lot... Her Birthday is coming up and she only asks me for a bag that's less than $200 even knowing that I made all that money before, so yeah, I said that to show how humble she is... With so many people saying she would be upset if I didn't tell her right away.
I asked her this today 'Would you feel any type of way if I were to become a millionaire and I didn't tell you right away' And would she tell anyone? Her answer was 'absolutely not but she would be happy for me and us because I work so hard.
Q: What type of business do you have? Started off by doing business in my name first, A couple of years after it got super profitable I formed my LLC.. It was never always a lot of money, My business kind of fluctuates like Bitcoin... In 2013 I made around $4,200 in 2014 I made $76,000 after that it was like a rollercoaster.
I first started off by making YouTube videos 6 years later after my income slowed down, I transitioned to E-commerce and tried to drop ship via various platforms but it didn't work for me until I tried Amazon FBA Few years after that I got into music production and I started to ghost produce and releasing music that get a lot of streams.
Please note I have nothing to sell you here, I'm just sharing my story and I hope that I'll be able to inspire and motivate anyone who needs to hear this...I must also note that everything I'm doing now, I've learned is all for free on YouTube.
Remember people will always try to sell you stuff when you watch their video, be smart and try to be curious and figure stuff out by yourself.... Everything I've listed here is a passion of mind that I was always curious about, i never got bored when trying them out.
Q: 1 Million is like 100k back in the late 90s/do you have 1M? So far this year I'm estimated to make around 1.9-2.1M by the end of the year.
Q: Do you spend a lot of money? I don't spend a lot but we go on vacation once or twice a year sometimes. On average I would say I spend about 5% of my income monthly.
My car is paid off and my wife's car is paid off as well. The only debt we have right now is the mortgage of around 210k and around 150k in equity, i see no sense in paying it off early since the interest rate is only 3% which is like free money if you ask me, i could easily invest that 210k and make 6-9% on it annually.
Q: I want to stop working a 9-5 and start a business, what type of business should I start? Find something that you're passionate about and educate yourself on it and you'll never be broke but be patient and believe in yourself and you find a way to monetize it.
Here's what top commenters had to say:
ImTheCraftyOne said:
Your grandma is right - don’t tell anyone about this. Your financial situation is no one else’s business. Edit: Yes, he should tell his wife. But everyone else needs not know.
Maggie94542 said:
I don’t think Grandma meant your wife. Honestly. Would she ruin your marriage over money? No! Plus big hit on the taxes, you will have to discuss it with her before then since you will get caught.
Do you need her signature for the LLC? Or will your income be combined with hers? Other than your wife and an attorney, I wouldn’t tell anyone.
ttnl35 said:
I mean I was with you until you said your wife didn't know lol. I have trust issues and like privacy, but I don't want to ever get married because (amongst other things) I know I would be wrong to treat a spouse like that.
TheDarkHelmet1985 said:
Estate attorney here. Go speak to one of us and set up a good estate plan. You never know when something can happen. You can use a trust(s) who can own things instead of you individually and put in place a business succession plan.
Also if you are earning that kinda coin at 33, federal estate tax planning could become important very fast for you. Don’t want to wait to the last minute. Never tell people if you can avoid it. It leads to all types of invasive requests and expectations.
Wasacel said:
Tell your wife. If she figures it out and thinks you’re hiding the money it could erode the trust in the relationship. NTA otherwise. Your business is no one else’s business.
BigMikeArnhem said:
YTA for not telling your wife. It's nobody else's business but you should tell your wife.