How much do you need to be wealthy in America?

[GravitySucks]

Damn.
On the bad side of the curve again.
Ain't going back to work anyways.

 

[Jerry1]

I am sorry but I read stuff like this and I break out laughing. $100 million please...

Yeah, I know. I should have said $500 million.

 

[bclover]

lol, well good. one less thing I have to worry about every achieving.

 

[LARS]

Yeah, I know. I should have said $500 million.

You trying to cause death by splitting a side? It can happen. Honest. ;-)

 

[youbet]

Has anyone spotted where the article defines the amount of money needed to be considered "wealthy" given in the chart is for a single or a couple? I'm assuming it's for a single person and you double it for a married couple.

We enjoy a happy, comfortable life but are certainly not financially "wealthy" by this definition.

I also noted they didn't account for guaranteed income. For example, I'd consider someone with a one million bux invested portfolio and a very generous fed pension (say $120k plus benefits) to be wealthy. Someone with just the one million bux, not so much.........

 

[youbet]

I feel wealthy because I do not need to feel wealthy. It sounds like a paradox, but it really is not.

I feel slim because I do not need to feel slim. It sounds like a paradox and doc says "lose some weight, fat ass!"

 

[RetireBy90]

Has anyone spotted where the article defines the amount of money needed to be considered "wealthy" given in the chart is for a single or a couple? I'm assuming it's for a single person and you double it for a married couple.

We enjoy a happy, comfortable life but are certainly not financially "wealthy" by this definition.

I also noted they didn't account for guaranteed income. For example, I'd consider someone with a one million bux invested portfolio and a very generous fed pension (say $120k plus benefits) to be wealthy. Someone with just the one million bux, not so much.........

Just to let the others know, I must be really stooped. My DW and I both draw a fed pension, and not knocking it at all, but 2 pensions together we only get about $50K. Did I miss something when I out-processed

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Gosh, I don't know. How long's a piece of string? I'm having trouble getting my head around why this is important to people. I'm just as happy as punch that I have a reason to get out of bed in the morning, and that I don't have to work in order to pay my way. Everything on top of that - cars, vacations, a new set of skis, a second house, a private jet, gasoline-powered turtleneck sweater*, fur-lined sink*, is gravy.


(*These last two lifted shamelessly from Steve Martin.)

This, big time. And thanks for the Steve Martin reference. Really made me smile. Just a few days ago, was discussing pet names with some friends. One had named his cat ****head. He really loves that cat.

 

[ncbill]

The article says the overall average response is $2.4M. Take out $200K for a median USA house (the article says net worth) and you have $2.2M to live off of. Using the good ol' 4% rule that is $88K/year to live on.

A good income but hardly wealthy. The article does not address individual versus household income, so perhaps double that - then you are approaching what I might call wealthy.

Agree.

IIRC, it now takes $10 million to be today's equivalent of a 1950s/60s millionaire.

 

[RobbieB]

Yup, that's why we have so many millionaires now!

 

[kgtest]

Yes, that is true. Then, once they have that, they want more, I think because it gives them some feeling of safety margin. Plus, to change your lifestyle appreciably, you need to double the expenses. Have a house twice as large. Buying a $70K car instead of a $35K one. Or upgrading from a $70K car to a $150K one.

I still remember when I had only 1/4 of the investable assets I do now. My wife bought me XO Cognac then. If anything, I drink less of it now because I am getting old. I can buy all the filet mignon I care to eat (it
's not that expensive), but it gets boring quick, compared to the boeuf bourguignon I make using lesser cuts that taste wonderful (my guests told me so).

Oh, and if you do this dish, get the frozen pearl onion from Trader Joe's. Not only it is inexpensive, it saves you a lot of hassle with peeling the outer layer.

So, I think I have enough. I still like to have more though. When I worked, I wanted to make more money because it meant I was good. Now, if I make more it tells me that I am a good investor.

I read a book to DS who is 3 titled "If you give a mouse a cookie"

And the next page says, if you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. Life creep at 3 lol.

For me feeling "rich" is filling my life with good choices, good people, and good experiences. Those vary for everyone and I swear it some people strive on making terrible choices, hanging out with the wrong crowd, and basically having a totally different experience than me.


But hey, I'd take 2x

 

[RobbieB]

Of course you would, everyone would.

All those that would like half as much as they have please post now -

 

[Red Badger]

I believe that if you're living comfortably, not "having" to w*rk, and have minimal stress in your life, you are wealthy beyond measure.

Sometimes, when I see people much older than me grinding out at one store or the other, I think, "They're probably here because they want to be." But in my heart, I know that in most cases, I'm bullsh!tting myself.

I volunteer at the local soup kitchen, and many of our customers are seniors on fixed incomes that aren't "fixed" enough. Some are there 'cause life dealt them a crappy hand, but most are there from poor decisions during their working years.

So yup, if you're just hanging out (or maybe travelling), while keeping an eye on your investments (or an eye on your FA ), and posting here, you are very wealthy indeed.

 

[Mdlerth]

My G-g-generation

"Millennials displayed some youthful optimism when it came to their financial future. Some 64 percent of twenty- and thirty-somethings believe they’ll be wealthy (the cash kind) at some point in their lives, compared with 22 percent of boomers."

Now wait a minute. Everything else I've read, says that younger people are very pessimistic about their financial future, what with college loans, scarce jobs, Social Security about to be "gutted," etc. Usually, they blame their parents' generation for having, in some unspecified way, ruined everything.

"Never trust anyone over thirty." Now where did I hear that before?

 

[NW-Bound]

I read a book to DS who is 3 titled "If you give a mouse a cookie"

And the next page says, if you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. Life creep at 3 lol.

For me feeling "rich" is filling my life with good choices, good people, and good experiences. Those vary for everyone and I swear it some people strive on making terrible choices, hanging out with the wrong crowd, and basically having a totally different experience than me.

But hey, I'd take 2x

Here is Maslow's Hierachy of Needs:

Level 1 - Physical Survival Needs
Level 2 - Physical Safety Needs
Level 3 - Love and Belonging
Level 4 - Self Esteem
Level 5 - Self Actualization

I think wanting more money is at all levels, up to Level 4, and most people are stuck there.

For myself, I think it is part of Level 5.

Self Actualization Definition: the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone.

See, if I get more money it is not because it falls from the sky or I inherit it. It was because employers liked my work and paid me. Now, it would be because I understand how the stock market works. I don't just go out to buy a lottery ticket hoping to get rich.

 

[RobbieB]

I have actualized.

I do want I want to do and I don't have to work anymore -

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I would say it depends. If I have 5 million and move to New York City, I would be doing okay, not great, I've seen the real estate prices in NYC. If I had 50 million , that is much better, but I'm not sure I would call myself wealthy. Better than most, for sure. If I had 100 million and up in New York City now we're getting somewhere.

Being wealthy might start creeping into the conversation at that point. If I lived in, oh I don't know, Kansas City,Missouri, maybe 5 million and up I might start to feel wealthy. It would certainly be much, much less than New York City, San Francisco,Zurich,etc.etc, needed to feel wealthy. But being wealthy never really mattered to me much, all I want is to be comfortable.

Whatever amount I have when I die, it goes to someone else. That holds true for everyone, no matter how much one has.

 

[friar1610]

I believe that if you're living comfortably, not "having" to w*rk, and have minimal stress in your life, you are wealthy beyond measure. ....

....So yup, if you're just hanging out (or maybe travelling), while keeping an eye on your investments (or an eye on your FA ), and posting here, you are very wealthy indeed.

Great post and great philosophy!

 

[HI Bill]

So, at 52, wanting to retire at 53, I'm thinking if I work One More Year, I can buy a house instead of a condo, and if I work 2 more years, I can buy a house AND a Lamborghini. Then I'd feel 'tapped out' at only having $2MM in investments and $100K income. Or I could work 5 more years and add more than $1M to the pot, but then I'd be 57 and miss out on my remaining healthiest years. I think I'll settle for FIRE at 53, a condo and a Alpha Romeo 4c.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I believe that if you're living comfortably, not "having" to w*rk, and have minimal stress in your life, you are wealthy beyond measure.

+1. I grew up pretty blue collar so I rich to me is not having to worry about what to do if the car needs new tires or the water heater goes out. All the extras we get to do like wine tastings and concerts are icing on the cake.

 

[MarieIG]

$300M would get you $1M/month at 4%WR. That's comfortable.

$3B would be better, $10M/mo. Now that's WEALTHY.

TRUE!

 

[W2R]

I have everything I want, with money left over, but articles like that one would not label me as wealthy.

I guess that there are zero people who know me IRL and are thinking, "Gosh, she is so wealthy! I wish I had that much money."

I am neither wealthy nor poor in comparison with others in my suburb. Apparently I am wealthy compared with the earth's population, as are most of us from what I understand.

 

[flintnational]

So, at 52, wanting to retire at 53, I'm thinking if I work One More Year, I can buy a house instead of a condo, and if I work 2 more years, I can buy a house AND a Lamborghini. Then I'd feel 'tapped out' at only having $2MM in investments and $100K income. Or I could work 5 more years and add more than $1M to the pot, but then I'd be 57 and miss out on my remaining healthiest years. I think I'll settle for FIRE at 53, a condo and a Alpha Romeo 4c.

Congrats. Then you will be one of the "idle rich". Which is even better than being wealthy. Not all the wealthy are idle.

 

[MarieIG]

Might be lack of creativity on my part, can't imagine what I would spend that kind of money on that would actually make a difference in my quality of life.



That's $2000 USD per waking hour.


Anything about $10k per month I'm already well into frivolous territory by my standards.

Actually, I could image, but that level of income is way beyond my personal desires, which means supporting worthy causes and charities.

 

[Red Badger]

So, at 52, wanting to retire at 53, I'm thinking if I work One More Year, I can buy a house instead of a condo, and if I work 2 more years, I can buy a house AND a Lamborghini. Then I'd feel 'tapped out' at only having $2MM in investments and $100K income. Or I could work 5 more years and add more than $1M to the pot, but then I'd be 57 and miss out on my remaining healthiest years. I think I'll settle for FIRE at 53, a condo and a Alpha Romeo 4c.

The Alpha Romeo would be nice - I had a used one when stationed in Germany. Loved my 12 mile drive through the country after work. I guess I would suggest if you want more stuff, keep working. But if you want more experiences, keep your time.

But ya'll might need to saddle up out there. That nuisance might be the next St. Helen's or Pinatubo. But def not wishing that on anyone/anywhere.