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01-20-2010, 07:17 AM
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#21
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 920
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Retired couple in rural Alabama with nice govt pension and home they own outright, no debt, and with 250k to invest = possibly affluent.
Retired couple in New York with no pension, a mortgage, car payments and cc debt with 250k to invest = possibly not.
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01-20-2010, 07:22 AM
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#22
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by chemist
I belong to a survey panel called "Affluent Dynamics". Periodically they send me short surveys to fill out and give me 3000 United Airline miles as a reward. 
Their criterion for acceptance to the panel was a liquid net worth (not including home equity) of $1 MM. |
How do they define liquid? Do you need to keep it in a savings account?
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Yet Another definition of Affluent
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01-20-2010, 07:28 AM
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#23
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,391
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Yet Another definition of Affluent
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01-20-2010, 11:52 AM
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#24
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,296
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__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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01-20-2010, 11:56 AM
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#25
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 5,214
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To me, affluent is someone who can spend money (big and small, but not as big as a house) frivelously without giong into debt, and who actually accumulates high quality material possessions. So by my definition, someone with tons of money (in the millions) who lives on the cheap, is not affluent.
Either way, 250K won't cut it.
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01-20-2010, 12:16 PM
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#26
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tmm99
To me, affluent is someone who can spend money (big and small, but not as big as a house) frivelously without giong into debt, and who actually accumulates high quality material possessions. So by my definition, someone with tons of money (in the millions) who lives on the cheap, is not affluent.
Either way, 250K won't cut it.
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Hey, even those of us who have a less-than-lavish lifestyle spend frivilously! It's the *amount* that one spends frivously on a low budget is obviously less. I bought a Timex watch in December for $30 and that could be considered frivolous, since my cell phone will tell me what time it is. I bought a Wii game recently, and so on. I buy whatever I want but I am happy with what I have, for the most part.
Still, I agree with what you are saying, but would change it to say,
Quote:
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someone with tons of money (in the millions) who lives on the cheap despite wanting to spend more, is not affluent.
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__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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01-20-2010, 01:28 PM
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#27
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,629
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In this case "affluent" is just a handy title for a market segment that someone at Merrill concocted. A firm with a higher target market than Merrill would probably use a different number. For most of us, there's so much psychological baggage with such a word that it will generate endless debate.
If you're looking for numbers, the Fed does a triennial survey on household finances. According to the 2007 survey, the median finacial assets (excluding home equity but including retirement accounts) for:
all families was: $29,000
families with "head" aged 65-74: $68,000
families at the 82nd percentile: $215,000
Financial Assets, Median Value of Holdings
From a Merrill marketer's perspective, $250,000 narrows the market meaningfully without shrinking it excessively.
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01-20-2010, 02:15 PM
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#28
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 215
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelover
How do they define liquid? Do you need to keep it in a savings account?
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It is all tradeable assets, in other words does not include home equity, rental properties, etc. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CD's all count.
In other words stuff a Full Service broker could salivate over, trying to convince you to eschew low cost Vanguard funds so that he could generate huge commisions trading your portfolio!
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01-20-2010, 07:27 PM
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#29
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Texas~29N/98W Just West of Woman Hollering Creek
Posts: 6,674
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What a great photo! Where did you get it? link?
__________________
Part-Owner of Texas
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.
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01-20-2010, 07:37 PM
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#30
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: North of Montana
Posts: 2,769
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeyd
What a great photo! Where did you get it? link?
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Right click and <Properties>
__________________
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate conclusions from insufficient data and ..
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01-20-2010, 07:41 PM
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#31
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Portland
Posts: 2,038
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I'm wondering what the guy on the left needs a watch for...
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01-20-2010, 07:49 PM
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#32
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 23,038
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I recall this picture from an exhibit at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford (the oldest public art museum in the country), about two years ago. They had a whole series of pictures of equally unusual people from the same small town out West (at least I think it was out West; I could easily be wrong about that)
__________________
Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
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01-20-2010, 08:05 PM
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#33
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
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I thought the photo was from a Supercuts ad.
__________________
Numbers is hard
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01-20-2010, 08:08 PM
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#34
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Texas~29N/98W Just West of Woman Hollering Creek
Posts: 6,674
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo
I thought the photo was from a Supercuts ad.
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Bring your own bowl?
__________________
Part-Owner of Texas
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.
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01-20-2010, 08:10 PM
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#35
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
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Hey you two, I get my haircuts at Supercuts! I regard it as a grab bag. You never know quite what you will get until you get home. 
Not sure if a "senior cut" at Supercuts for $11.95 is better, or if cutting my own hair is better. Now that I am not working I might try the latter again, like I used to do years ago. It's hard to do, but possible.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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01-20-2010, 08:17 PM
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#36
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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Those rechargeable batteries are not reliable . I'd go with EverReady !
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01-20-2010, 09:08 PM
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#37
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,296
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Ahhhh ha!  Woo Hoo!
Note to self….
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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01-20-2010, 09:24 PM
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#38
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Leeward Oahu
Posts: 17,915
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby
I recall this picture from an exhibit at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford (the oldest public art museum in the country), about two years ago. They had a whole series of pictures of equally unusual people from the same small town out West (at least I think it was out West; I could easily be wrong about that)
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Probably WEST Virginia  Apologies to West Virginians
__________________
Ko'olau's Law -
Anything which can be used can be misused. Anything which can be misused will be.
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01-20-2010, 10:17 PM
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#39
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,684
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R
Hey you two, I get my haircuts at Supercuts! I regard it as a grab bag. You never know quite what you will get until you get home.
Not sure if a "senior cut" at Supercuts for $11.95 is better, or if cutting my own hair is better. Now that I am not working I might try the latter again, like I used to do years ago. It's hard to do, but possible. |
Have tried some cheap haircut places in recent months. They seem to have different people there every time I go in, and W2R may be right about not knowing what you will get until you get home.
Anybody ever tried Flowbee factory direct Also Flowbee deluxe with vacuum? Guess I wouldn't expect much "style" from it.
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01-20-2010, 10:51 PM
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#40
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
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Interesting! I just use scissors, a hand mirror, and clips to separate my hair into sections...
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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