Comfortable or Wealthy?

[gauss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko "Hey, he lives in that big, big house and drives a luxury car. Dah?! He's obviously very rich!" Why can't you see that?

"Obviously"

Actually, I dug into the Charles Schwab survey and their press releases. I found that 3/5 of the respondents say they live paycheck to paycheck.

Probably good at putting square pegs into round holes too.

[Bir48die]

We are a society and people that like to measure things. Especially one to another. Im in the camp of just knowing that I should be able to survive until my untimely death comfortably.

[jazz4cash]

Quite a lot to dig into here beyond the comfortable vs wealthy labels. Good job by Schwab, I think. Thanks for posting.

[kgtest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maenad There was a philosophical article making the rounds earlier this fall that stated, "Most people don't want to have a million dollars, they want to spend a million dollars". Those are the people interviewed here.

So true! I am from St Paul, hello neighbor.

[footenote]

+1 for LCOL + SS + paid-for-house strategy, which I am living here in LCOL Central Minnesota resort country.

[ at kgtest and Maenad]

[ncbill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucethebroker More HCOL, "rule of thumb", big city nonsense. Is there a definition of 1.4M? Investable assets vs. net worth, for example? In many parts of the USA, 2 SS checks, paid off house and car(s), no debt and $600,000 of investable assets will produce a comfortable life style. Total net worth would be well under $1M. 1.4M of investable assets, using the same scenario, would be princely. These writers need to take a month long trip, by car, across the US-avoiding any city of more than 1M people. It might just add common sense to their articles.

Close relative did the above nearly 25 years ago when they retired from their blue-collar job w/ a paid-off house, & investable assets closer to $60,000.

They've enjoyed life just fine since with their modest (but COLA'd) pension & nearly-free retiree healthcare.

[mystang52]

I define myself (and I think I've done so on some other threads) as being financially comfortable. My definition is based on having no realistic money worries, able to live my happy (which is not exotic) without financial concerns, able to give my grandkids money just for fun, etc.
And, although I could technically afford to do so, I (and more importantly DW) can't bring myself to buy that gorgeous $8500 bicycle I see in my local bike shop showroom. I guess I'd be wealthy when I can bring myself to buy it, without guilt or recriminations from DW!

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncbill Close relative did the above nearly 25 years ago when they retired from their blue-collar job w/ a paid-off house, & investable assets closer to $60,000. They've enjoyed life just fine since with their modest (but COLA'd) pension & nearly-free retiree healthcare.

I don't remember his specifics, but I would guess that member "imoldernu" has numbers that are pretty close to this and he has mentioned VERY OFTEN how great his retirement has been.

We don't have a ton of investible assets, but the monthly pension from Uncle Sugar and very VERY cheap health insurance makes retirement pretty damn comfortable for me.

[Koogie]

I prefer being comfortably numb...

[travelover]

I also look at lack of pain or stress as "enjoyment". So, money available but not actually spent gives me a lot of stress avoidance, knowing I can deal with most any expense that pops up. That makes me happy.

[jjquantz]

Fun responses. I don't think about how I compare to others for "comfortable" and "wealthy". For me, comfortable means that I can do anything that I want. Wealthy would mean that I could do EVERYTHING that I want. There weren't going to be enough work years in my life to get to that definition of wealthy. But I think that I am pretty solidly at my definition of comfortable.

Of course, the phrase "anything I want" is going to be shaped by one's means and what is culturally available, but I hope you get my drift. My parents, on the other hand, were lucky to be able to "Do SOMETHING that I want" every now and then.

I think that these phrases have been mentioned here before, but I could be misremembering.

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjquantz For me, comfortable means that I can do anything that I want. Wealthy would mean that I could do EVERYTHING that I want.

For me, being able to do everything that you want is the definition of "rich", not wealthy. Wealthy seems more limited and more technical in its common usage. I think I'd be considered wealthy by most people, considering my net worth, but I certainly can't do (or buy) everything that I want. I can afford to do most things that I'd reasonably like to do, though, as long as I do them infrequently and with some restraint. In order to move from "wealthy" to "rich", I feel like I'd need to be pulling in something like $30,000+ per month from my investments. Of course, according to that book referenced in an earlier post, I'd need $1 million/year in passive income to be truly "rich".

[jjquantz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner For me, being able to do everything that you want is the definition of "rich", not wealthy. Wealthy seems more limited and more technical in its common usage. I think I'd be considered wealthy by most people, considering my net worth, but I certainly can't do (or buy) everything that I want. I can afford to do most things that I'd reasonably like to do, though, as long as I do them infrequently and with some restraint. In order to move from "wealthy" to "rich", I feel like I'd need to be pulling in something like $30,000+ per month from my investments. Of course, according to that book referenced in an earlier post, I'd need $1 million/year in passive income to be truly "rich".

Interesting point about a "technical" definition. I'm just thinking for myself that there's a scale something like:

Doing "all right" - I don't feel any threats to my well-being, but I can't do very many things that I would "like" to do

Doing well - I can do some of the things I want

Comfortable - Able to do anything I want - although some of the big choices might foreclose the possibility of doing other things

Wealthy - Able to do everything I want, but maybe not all at once

Rich - Not having to think about the fiscal impact of doing things

Filthy Rich - Able to crush peasants under my financial thumb

Again, what you "want to do" is shaped by your culture and financial ability so this is a very fluid set of definitions

[Milton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjquantz What you "want to do" is shaped by your culture and financial ability so this is a very fluid set of definitions

Agreed.

Per your definitions, anyone with few/modest wants is 'rich', or at least 'wealthy': even if they have have a very small income, all that matters is that the latter is sufficient to exceed those wants (and needs, natch). Which sounds plausible.

[Cut-Throat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgtest So true! I am from St Paul, hello neighbor.

Also from the Western Suburbs of Minneapolis !



I think all of us want to Spend a Million Dollars, but you should probably have a Million Dollars before you spend it. And a lot of these folks want to Spend it, BEFORE they have it, and often they do!

[HadEnuff]

Comfortably wealthy.

[brett]

I suspect one of the variable as to how one feels is their burn rate/spend rate vis a vis their resources.

Someone with $1M can feel very wealthy based on their upbringing and their spend. Someone with $3M may not if they indulge in a very expensive lifestyle.

It is all relative.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milton Agreed. Per your definitions, anyone with few/modest wants is 'rich', or at least 'wealthy': even if they have have a very small income, all that matters is that the latter is sufficient to exceed those wants (and needs, natch). Which sounds plausible.

The richest I have ever felt was the first day I walked into the grocery and bought anything that looked tasty, without knowing or caring how much it cost. That happened a long time ago. I have substantially more assets now, but I have never had that feeling since.

[Car-Guy]

By their definition I'm wealthy but I've never felt that way. Still don't. Comfortable, yes, wealthy no.

To me, 25m+ starts getting into the wealthy category.

[FireBug]

I've invested well. My attic is FULL of collectible "Beanie Babies". Put me down as wealthy.