Feeling rich ?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I feel rich.

Have all the money I need, within reason, while realizing that more money would make me want to buy stuff that'd make my life miserable. Maintenance, hassles and...well...that 50' yacht with a crew looks kind of okay...but...

A loving and beautiful wife, a happy, very nutty child, a good roof over my head. And it just occurred to me the other day that its been six months since I raised the hood of my truck, or even thought about it (praise be the gods of Honda...)

And NO FRICKIN BOSS. Except the wife. And the baby. And on some days one or two of the dogs.

Few problems and I doubt more money solves any of them...might create a couple though

I feel rich.

 

[unclemick]

I feel rich.

Have all the money I need, within reason, while realizing that more money would make me want to buy stuff that'd make my life miserable. Maintenance, hassles and...well...that 50' yacht with a crew looks kind of okay...but...

A loving and beautiful wife, a happy, very nutty child, a good roof over my head. And it just occurred to me the other day that its been six months since I raised the hood of my truck, or even thought about it (praise be the gods of Honda...)

And NO FRICKIN BOSS. Except the wife. And the baby. And on some days one or two of the dogs.

Few problems and I doubt more money solves any of them...might create a couple though

I feel rich.

Hold those thoughts - when you find yourself thinking - maybe some more RE?

heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

See what I mean?

 

[retire@40]

DR. EVIL Here's the plan. We hold the world ransom...
(dramatic pause)
...FOR ONE MILLION DOLLARS!

NUMBER TWO
Don't you think we should ask for
more than a million dollars? A
million dollars isn't that much money
these days.

DR. EVIL
All right then...
(dramatic pause)
...FIVE MILLION DOLLARS!

NUMBER TWO
Virtucon alone makes over nine billion
dollars a year.

DR. EVIL
(pleasantly surprised)
Oh, really?
(slightly irritated)
One-hundred billion dollars.

 

[ladelfina]

more money would make me want to buy stuff that'd make my life miserable. Maintenance, hassles and...well...that 50' yacht with a crew looks kind of okay...but...

Yeah, but my idea of who is "rich" is not people with more toys, but people who don't have to worry about hassles and maintenance no matter what toys they have, because someone else takes care of all that. I wouldn't want a 50' yacht (a smaller one would do ), but if I did I wouldn't want to have to give a second thought as to who's going to scrub it, or whether I could afford the marina fees.

To me it would be having enough to fly first class and not think 2x. I said $5 million. That for me personally would be a level that would probably sustain my modest fantasies without straining.

But really, now that I think about it, at a 4% swr that's what.. $200,000/year? Is that really enough to maintain, say, a medium-size NYC apartment (3br upper west side rentals in the $5k-$8k range), maid service, a nice meal out once or twice a week, taxis, entertainment, a bit of travel, a limited nice wardrobe with some designer stuff.. It'd be a stretch on $200k p.a.

Objectively these days in the US, "rich" is probably > $10-20 million.

What cost $1000000 in 1975 would cost $3745609.97 in 2005.

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

Coach, you're shortchanging yourself with the $2mill!

---
just saw this in the NYT this am:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/realestate/greathomes/07gh-london.1.html

900 s.f. 2-bedroom in London (Kensington) => $6500+/month.
That's nigh on $80k/year for 900 s.f.

Can I change my vote?

 

[Texas Proud]

Yea.... if you want to live in London or NY, then my answer would have been different... I would say you would need $20 mill or more for comfort...

I lived in Sloan Square which is right next to Kennsington (and a bit better some think)... it was a 2 BR, maybe in the 800 sq ft... cost 3,000 to 3500 pounds per month... since this was considered 'income' to me (because the company was paying for it)... THAT was my largest W-2.... and I will tell you, it was not that great of a place!!!! But it was just across the street from the Tube...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yeah, but my idea of who is "rich" is not people with more toys, but people who don't have to worry about hassles and maintenance no matter what toys they have, because someone else takes care of all that.

Sure but then you have to worry about what those people are doing...they're now your maintenance item. You're a manager instead of a worker bee in your own grand scheme!

And then theres all that stuff about black tie balls you are and arent invited to, which of the seven homes you'll be whisked away to this weekend, etc.

 

[Moemg]

I think rich is more a state of mind than a number .I have more than I ever thought I'd have and I don't feel or act rich .I also think CFB got it right .The things that make us rich are our families.Thanks everyone for voting !

 

[lowflyer]

At various times through the "accumulation" phase of life, I have felt "rich" when I hit certain financial milestones. I also felt "rich" when I finally nailed down my/our portfolio and had a solid plan to RE. The key was knowing that in general, we had enough to retire and that any additional work we did was just gravy.

Of course, everywhere I turn, I see others with more and nicer stuff. I wonder if they feel rich...

 

[tryan]

That is why people are never happy.

Are they unhappy OR do over-achievers thrive on achievement.

Anyone who has achieved "alot" early in life knows success is a journey (not an end goal). Most just want to continue the journey.

Now, if it came to you on a silver platter (inhierited, lottery, ... ) then I could see being "unhappy".

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Eh, I'd be pretty happy if I won the lottery.

 

[W2R]

Of course, everywhere I turn, I see others with more and nicer stuff. I wonder if they feel rich...

No. They are too busy trying to figure out how to meet their minimum payments.

Besides, is more stuff all that desirable? I'd rather have more privacy than more stuff.

As CFB pointed out, having a staff can be a pain in the rear, and also I think it is antithetical to having privacy. Maybe a secluded cottage on an acre surrounded by a big wall, with one yard man to mow it. Nobody else, though!

OK, as long as we're daydreaming it could be on an isolated, rocky shoreline but no more stuff for me, please!!

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

"rich" is...people who don't have to worry about hassles and maintenance no matter what toys they have, because someone else takes care of all that.

that nails it ladelfina. for me, everyone up to that is simply, as best defined, well-off.

odds are i will never have a fortune. but mostly i have always felt & continue to be fortunate. and that's rich enough for me.

 

[bssc]

Sure but then you have to worry about what those people are doing...they're now your maintenance item. You're a manager instead of a worker bee in your own grand scheme!

True. We had a yard service last year but got rid of them because they did the things that they wanted to do (mow, rip up our flowerbeds) instead of what we wanted them to do (mow and edge, weed our flowerbeds without taking out the rose bushes).

 

[Nords]

The key was knowing that in general, we had enough to retire and that any additional work we did was just gravy.
Of course, everywhere I turn, I see others with more and nicer stuff. I wonder if they feel rich...

I enjoy being able to kick back with a second cup of coffee in the morning after the kid's out the door to school, and say to my spouse "Well, the budget says we have to spend $15 today on entertainment, dammit. Any ideas on how we can make quota?"

That's all it takes us to feel rich.

 

[Martha]

"Well, the budget says we have to spend $15 today on entertainment, dammit. Any ideas on how we can make quota?"

So, what are some of those ideas?

 

[Nords]

So, what are some of those ideas?

I'm blushing.

Actually the comment is usually "Look how much Berkshire Hathaway went up today. You can't spend it fast enough!"

She took that as a challenge. Our tenants are vacating at the end of the month so we're getting rid of the 28-year-old popcorn ceilings (including the size 10 hole left by some clumsy handyman) at a price yet to be determined, replacing a 15-year-old vinyl floor with a $900 higher-end laminate, and spending another $6350 for 150 square yards of carpeting to replace the 14-year-old stuff. But we're jacking the rent way up so that stuff should pay for itself in the next year or two. And we're doing the shrubbery pruning (more like bushwhacking) ourselves.

In the last three months she bought a blue leather sofa off Craigslist ($575), a new refrigerator nicknamed Fridgezilla off Craigslist ($750 and a whole 'nother post), a front-loading washer/dryer set for $600 (Craigslist again), and $2500 on new master bedroom/staircase carpeting. As she says in her new Reserve pay billet "It's my big bucks."

Not to be outdone, I've been cruising eBay for used photovoltaic panels at $4/watt or less. Just a couple hundred more watts and I'll have all I need, and this time I really mean that.

Those of you who claim this is home improvement, not entertainment, haven't met the people we've met through Craigslist. And our home improvement projects tend to resemble the plot of "I Love Lucy" (they only ever had the one plot, right?), especially the "Shut it off!!!!" part.

Strictly "entertainment" would be the $15 we spent last week at the local Home Improvement show, or letting me carry her luggage on a trip later this month. She thinks nothing of spending $1-2 for CDs at garage sales. We also went to a guy's promotion party last month, and I've had to buy surf wax & tae kwon do supplies, too!

We'll have to see how much Al & I fritter away when he comes to Waikiki.

 

[laurence]

I also have never felt richer than I did when I first had $30k in the bank.

I would be very comfortable with $5M, but not really rich until I hit something more.

This is my thought, too. When we had no cc debt for the first time and 10k in the bank, making our networth 10k without having to sell anything, that's when I felt the wealthiest. Since then I now have about 300k in equity in the house and about 120k in investments, but I don't really feel any richer. I'm in that long middle grey zone before you reach possible FIRE scenarios.

 

[Gumby]

Here is the most recent census bureau report on net worth and asset ownership of households -- http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p70-88.pdf -- which is data from the 2000 census.

To boil it down, the median net worth of american households in the year 2000, including home equity, was $55,000. Home equity constituted 32% of that net worth. Even if you counted only those households in top 20% of income (earning more than $72,000 per year), the median net worth was only $185,000. Even for this top quintile, home equity constituted 25% of their net worth.

By these objective measures, I would have to say yes, the young wife and I are rich. But I sure don't feel like it, and I'm certain no one could tell by looking at the way we live.

 

[laurence]

Yeah, I looked up those numbers last year and I remember laughing ruefully when I realized we were in the ~93% for NW. That's not good.

EDIT: This article says we are in better shape than that, my % is lower according to it, but I'll survive:

http://www.fee.org/publications/the-freeman/article.asp?aid=5600

Interesting that the top 25% of U.S. households are actually pretty well off! Half a million or more NW.

 

[W2R]

Even if you counted only those households in top 20% of income (earning more than $72,000 per year), the median net worth was only $185,000. Even for this top quintile, home equity constituted 25% of their net worth.

Wahoo, I'm rich, rich, rich, I tell you, RICH!!!!

 

[REWahoo]

Wahoo, I'm rich, rich, rich, I tell you, RICH!!!!

OK, OK, I believe you! Congratulations.

 

[W2R]

OK, OK, I believe you! Congratulations.

ROFL!!! I guess you figured out I didn't mean YOU, REWahoo! Guess that was just the Aggie in me shining through.

 

[Gumby]

EDIT: This article says we are in better shape than that, my % is lower according to it, but I'll survive:

http://www.fee.org/publications/the-freeman/article.asp?aid=5600

Interesting that the top 25% of U.S. households are actually pretty well off! Half a million or more NW.

The article uses mean versus median, which is somewhat misleading. If you look at the Federal Reserve Report linked to the article at footnote 1, you can see that the mean for all households exceeds the median by a factor of four. Even among the top 10% in net worth, the mean is double the median. This is caused by a very few, incredibly wealthy people (think Buffet, Gates and Ellison) skewing the curve to the high end.

But your conclusion remains valid -- the top 25% are not doing all that badly

 

[ladelfina]

I was thinking about, gee.. why did NYC and London come into it?

I think it's because in those places there are lots and lots of nice expensive things and conveniences to spend $$ on.

From personal experience I know that living in a small town there are very few ways to spend $200k/year in a satisfying way. Between the feed store and the Denny's and the Wal*Mart.. whaddya gonna do, exactly? Plus it puts you completely out of synch with everyone else around you.

Whereas if I REALLY had a lotta dough, Manhattan would be extraordinarily tempting (with a place in Truro/Jamestown/Nantucket for the summer).

I dream of being able to get Thai food delivered.. even at 6 p.m., much less at 4 a.m.. but there's essentially no amount of money here where I live that could make that happen. So I guess for where I am, I'm rich enough.