Is $250,000 Affluent?

tmm99 said:
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,
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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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.
 
travelover said:
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!
 
MasterBlaster said:
Fuego feeling affluent and BIL feeling bad cause he didn't save for retirement


sophisticated.jpg
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What a great photo! Where did you get it? link?
 
I'm wondering what the guy on the left needs a watch for...
 
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)
 
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. :LOL:

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.
 
Gumby said:
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 :whistle: Apologies to West Virginians :)
 
W2R said:
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. :LOL:

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.
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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.
 
Interesting! I just use scissors, a hand mirror, and clips to separate my hair into sections... :)
 
Ed_The_Gypsy said:
W2R, if I tried that, I would look like the boys in the pic.
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Well, it helps to have wavy/curly hair because it hides a lot of unevenness.

I used to cut my ex-husband's hair, which was very straight. It is easier to cut my own hair and get decent results, than it was his.
 
I agree with previous posts that a quarter of a million with a paid for home or an apartment with a liveable pension and health benefits in certain low cost areas of the country would indeed be fairly affluent depending on your mindset. You could live here in western PA on that and many folks do(and on much less) and manage quite well provided one's spending habits are not profligate. And if I got a cheap haircut, with my straight fine hair, I would look like a skinned rat. A friend with thick curly hair chops away at her mop herself and she always looks nice.
 
250K no way. When my mother was still here, I was looking for assisted living places for her to live. One place would not even talk to me unless she had 400K in liquid assets.
Old Mike
 
Gumby said:
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)
Click to expand...

After asking my friend at the Atheneum, I got some additional information. This is indeed in the collection of the Atheneum, a gift of Mickey Cartin. It is a photograph by Roger Ballen of twin brothers from Transvaal in South Africa.

Here is a link to more info for the rare few who might be even remotely interested.

CARTIN COLLECTION

http://www.rogerballen.com/

The collection is called "Platteland" under "Image Gallery"
 
How to Pretend You Come From a Rich Family

Important lesssons for you $250k posers. This is important so pay attention !

"How to Pretend You Come From a Rich Family"

Pretending that you are from a rich family takes some thought and a little money. Sometimes, you have to pretend to be rich to make money so that you can be rich. Remember that rich people place very little importance on money. Rich people are usually very classy and proper in every situation.

Step 1
Make up your story in advance. Practice saying all of the elements of your story until they are easy to remember and sound natural when you say them. If you just make things up as you go along, you may find it difficult to remember the things you said.
Step 2
Buy a few designer items. This can be an outfit and a couple of accessories. Build your wardrobe around these items.
Step 3
Know the terminology of the rich. You should be able to carry on a conversation about haute cuisine, fashion and current events that would affect someone who comes from a rich family.
<Step 4
Stay humble. Bragging will make people think twice about your background. Rich people generally accept expensive things as a part of life.
Step 5
Practice etiquette. This is very important because rich families place a lot of importance on being proper in public. Concentrate on learning the different types of silverware, the proper way to speak and proper titles used to address others.
Step 6
Tip generously when you are eating out with friends. Being too stingy is a sure sign of a poser. Your tip should be slightly above average.
Step 7
Support a charity. Buy a ticket to a benefit dinner or ball. Make sure that you are seen by everyone who is there.
 
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