I can tell you precisely why they do not 'feel' rich. There are two interrelated issues: wealth and social status.
Their high power jobs are unable to accumulate 'wealth.' Wealth is traditionally an accumulation of your time and labor *stored* in investments and money. At some point, you trade that wealth in for time and freedom from labor...
They are turning their income around right back into paying bills, hence there is no accumulation of wealth.
However, they want to feel that their efforts are productive (aka: they would like to be accumulating wealth), so they try to spend their little wealth on things that imply high status: go to SWPL festivals, buy Kors, drive Audi, etc. They pressure themselves to be 'on' 99% of the time, never actually taking a break to vacation, be with the kids, etc. They spend all that time servicing their own social status and see no other way.
Yet a person who is loaded with debt and obligations to nameless people is indeed 'poor.' Poor in wealth and poor in spirit.
Their high power jobs are unable to accumulate 'wealth.' Wealth is traditionally an accumulation of your time and labor *stored* in investments and money. At some point, you trade that wealth in for time and freedom from labor...
They are turning their income around right back into paying bills, hence there is no accumulation of wealth.
However, they want to feel that their efforts are productive (aka: they would like to be accumulating wealth), so they try to spend their little wealth on things that imply high status: go to SWPL festivals, buy Kors, drive Audi, etc. They pressure themselves to be 'on' 99% of the time, never actually taking a break to vacation, be with the kids, etc. They spend all that time servicing their own social status and see no other way.
Yet a person who is loaded with debt and obligations to nameless people is indeed 'poor.' Poor in wealth and poor in spirit.