Money, That's What I Want

I was sitting with a group of friends in a post-college apartment. (Let's call him) Vy asked (let's call him) Paul how much he was making. Paul laughed a little and said "I'd rather not say. Enough." Whatever enough means. Enough to not live at home. To rent a modern 2 story apartment with 3 other guys. And have a car.

I was talking to (let's call him) Andrew about a job offer. He said "If they don't offer me over $30,000 a year, its not worth taking the job. I'm worth more than that." Then Andrew looked at me and said "But you decided a while ago to not make money." Did he mean that I worked in a sector where my salary didn't equal my worth, as opposed to his? Or was he embarrassed that he had called my salary small?

As a general rule, we spend money based on how much we make. And its hard to hang out with people who spend more than you. Do we hide our salaries to pretend we're all equal or because we really believe our salaries determine our worth? Why is money such a touchy subject?