Okay, things are all better.

[RonBoyd]

U.S. millionaire ranks up 16 percent last year

Well, maybe not for all of us:

The current total is still well below the record 9.2 million millionaire households reported in 2007,

 

[freebird5825]

A memory cell fired and I just couldn't resist posting this...(turn your speakers down a bit)

IMDb Video: How To Marry A Millionaire

 

[Steve O]

U.S. Dollar down though

A million ain't what it used to be

 

[ziggy29]

Well, the fact that I'm almost 3/4 of the way there using the net worth definition tells you how "watered down" being a millionaire is these days...

 

[W2R]

I am surprised that there are so few households with a net worth of a million or more. I think most are board members.

 

[Gone4Good]

I am surprised that there are so few households with a net worth of a million or more. I think most are board members.

Only 2.5% of the US population.

And yet in a prior thread, most folks here didn't think that having more money than 97.5% of the US population made you "Rich".

 

[REWahoo]

And yet in a prior thread, most folks here didn't think that having more money than 97.5% of the US population made you "Rich".

It doesn't - but being retired and having more free time than 97.5% of the US population sure does!

 

[Gone4Good]

U.S. Dollar down though

A million ain't what it used to be

Boy, you must really liven up a party.

(BTW, the US Dollar Index is about flat with where it was at the beginning of 2009 and up about 6% from 2008. So cheer up.)

 

[brewer12345]

Boy, you must really liven up a party.

(BTW, the US Dollar Index is about flat with where it was at the beginning of 2009 and up about 6% from 2008. So cheer up.)

Actually, I hear he does this great trick with some tinfoil, a dollar bill and a glass of vodka...

 

[walkinwood]

A graph from the group that created the report

Affluent Market Insights 2009
I guess NIPR is Not Including Primary Residence.
Unfortunately, the report is not free.

 

[Alan]

Only 2.5% of the US population.

And yet in a prior thread, most folks here didn't think that having more money than 97.5% of the US population made you "Rich".

Not quite but I get your point. 7.8 million households have net worth over $1M. I've seen an estimate of 112 million households in the USA so that would be 6.8% of households with nw > $1M

 

[travelover]

Not quite but I get your point. 7.8 million households have net worth over $1M. I've seen an estimate of 112 million households in the USA so that would be 6.8% of households with nw > $1M

Right. And the number of actual individual millionaires is even less. Your spouse's lawyer can explain this.

 

[aaronc879]

A million dollars is still a lot of money. I have never met anyone that I know of that has amassed a savings of a million dollars. I will very likely retire(quit) before ever reaching that milestone. There are more people who never reach $100,000 than there are who top $1,000,000.

 

[VaCollector]

Right. And the number of actual individual millionaires is even less. Your spouse's lawyer can explain this.

I actually laughed so hard I was choking

Thanks!

 

[Gone4Good]

Not quite but I get your point. 7.8 million households have net worth over $1M. I've seen an estimate of 112 million households in the USA so that would be 6.8% of households with nw > $1M

Yup.

Right. And the number of actual individual millionaires is even less. Your spouse's lawyer can explain this.

And Yup.

 

[midlifeguy]

This report did surprise me a bit. 2.5% of the population strikes me as pretty low, but maybe that's because I live in New York, where everyone is pretending to be a millionaire.

I recently became a millionaire (in fact, by the strict technical definition, I am a multi-millionaire) but can't say it makes me feel any different. In fact, I actually think I'm less happy than I used to be because my mind is obsessing about wealth preservation. I'm also not working right now, wihch probably makes me even more obsessive.

Does anyone else find that having more money in the bank actually adds stress to your life? Is this an obnoxious question?

 

[Free To Canoe]

A graph from the group that created the report

Affluent Market Insights 2009
I guess NIPR is Not Including Primary Residence.
Unfortunately, the report is not free.

Upon hearing the news on the radio, my 1st impression was that these guys knew how to time the market downturn (and I didn't). The graph tells a different story.

Free to canoe

 

[Alan]

Does anyone else find that having more money in the bank actually adds stress to your life?

Nope.

May be I don't have enough money in the bank to get stressed about it - so just as well I ER'ed in time, as I don't like stress

 

[Koolau]

Does anyone else find that having more money in the bank actually adds stress to your life? Is this an obnoxious question?

Can't recall the source but reminds me of a famous quote - to the effect: I never been in no situation where havin' more money made it any worse.

But, seriously, I think I know what you mean. I've come to believe that money and possessions own US rather than the other way around. I too worry more about keeping what I have than I ever did about getting it in the first place. I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with that kind of thinking, but it's the unfortunate truth. Still, I wouldn't cut my savings in half to lessen the effect - so go figure!!

 

[ksr]

Right. And the number of actual individual millionaires is even less. Your spouse's lawyer can explain this.

I read this twice and then LOL!

 

[RonBoyd]

Can't recall the source but reminds me of a famous quote - to the effect: I never been in no situation where havin' more money made it any worse.

I never been in no situation where havin’ money made it any worse. – Clinton Jones (The Minnesota Viking football player, I believe.)

Famous quotes about money

 

[cardude]

Does anyone else find that having more money in the bank actually adds stress to your life? Is this an obnoxious question?

If you're obsessing/worrying about preserving all your money then you may have it in the wrong type of asset allocation. Maybe too much in equities? I found that I worried about the same thing when my AA was 70% equities, but now that I'm 50/50 I'm a happy camper.

 

[NW-Bound]

Right. And the number of actual individual millionaires is even less. Your spouse's lawyer can explain this.

Also, the term "net worth" means the home equity may be included, while true FIRE people want to talk about investable assets only.

Arghh... I remember that we have countless threads on this issue already

 

[Alan]

Also, the term "net worth" means the home equity may be included, while true FIRE people want to talk about investable assets only.

Arghh... I remember that we have countless threads on this issue already

From the article that OP started the thread with.

Households with a net worth of $1 million or more, excluding their primary residence, totaled 7.8 million in 2009, up from 6.7 million in 2008, according to Spectrem Group.

 

[traineeinvestor]

If you're obsessing/worrying about preserving all your money then you may have it in the wrong type of asset allocation. Maybe too much in equities? I found that I worried about the same thing when my AA was 70% equities, but now that I'm 50/50 I'm a happy camper.

Sometimes I think the opposite is true - if you are not worried about your investments then you are not taking enough risk.