The first time I can remember thinking someone was rich was when I visited a schoolfriend who lived on the top floor of a newly built tower block near our school. It was a lovely flat with big rooms and very modern. We had to take our shoes off at the door and it was like walking into a great big blob of cottonwool, everything was white with the occasional pop of black or red. I remember sitting on the white leather sofa and looking out of the window and wishing we were posh.
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Thinking all the way back to when I occassionally snuk into the family’s pawn brokers shop close to the pub, some of the articles brought in to secure a loan was eye opening. Even more surprising was most of the punters (clientele) then went straight into the pub to drink some of the money away. As my grandparents used to say, “good bye for now and thanks for your business, see you again soon” because sure as eggs were eggs, they were right and back came the punters on payday to retrieve some of the things pawned. Unofficially, grandfather also ran a ‘book’ and again the pawn brokers helped keep the ‘book’ in good health.
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Those who got bought new shoes.
Mine were often passed down from my siblings.
No harm in that but, had quite a problem with high heeled shoes!
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Having a phone in the house
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A car.
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I can’t recall what I thought. I’ll ask my servant to see if he made a note of it for me.
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Well me dad used to push me in me pram all the way to Hack bridge
Station to sneak coal out of the station yard, take me out of the pram and then
put me on top of it and push me back home again !!
We did have a large range and oven though ??
And we only did that after we had chopped up all the furniture !! 
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A farmer with an Armstrong Siddley.
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A local woman had a Jensen Interceptor. Not only was it a new car, but the sound of fuel being consumed, mixed with the sound & smell of tyres being ripped, as she pulled away from the village shop just had to be the sound of a healthy wallet.
two local farmers owned their own aircraft & had private runways on their farms. That also felt rather a good symbol of wealth.
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I think it was. I was probably about ten at the time and that was over sisty years ago.
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Living in a house that the German bombers had missed.
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Some Teachers used to shout out the names of those kids who got free school dinners.
They had to go forward & tick something.
I wasn’t one of them, but I cringed on the classmate’s behalf!
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If they had a new or new-ish car.
If they owned a colour TV
If they owned more than one TV
If they could go on an airplane somewhere
If they could afford to go on a cruise
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If they had a bidet.
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You must have gone to a godawful school my school never did anything so crass .
We knew who got free dinners and didn’t care there weren’t any cruel kids in my class .
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You have made me feel old, I think only the first in your list would have even been considered when I was at school and even the single B/W TV would have been rented not owned., I don’t think I knew anybody who even thought of having two.
As for holidays, a week at Butlins was considered the height of sophistication and luxury
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Going back further, I would add one more which just come to mind…
If someone had a TV which could pick up BBC 2.
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As a child I remember thinking how lucky some - but not many - of my friends were when they got brand new clothes and not hand-me-downs.
At first year Grammar School I remember being TOTALLY impressed with another girl who had money EVERY day to get one of those chocolate biscuits covered in foil paper from the tuck shop!!
We are still good friends … which is better than biscuits !!
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If they had a private plane they were definitely rich and my idol. My godfather had one, when I was 8 he was going to take me flying for my birthday. He was flying back from Scotland the day before and crashed into the North Sea. Some mystery about it as there was supposed to be a mystery passenger but they were never found and my godfather died. Wasn’t so sure that being rich was all good after that.