Is Everyone a Multi-Millionaire?

[NW-Bound]

Yes. It takes a lot, and I mean a lot, before one can think of himself as rich.

But for a comfortable but simple living, one does not even need $1M, as many posters here have described their life.

 

[rodi]

I always find it kinda comical when this discussion of "millionaire" status comes up here and other favorite discussion groups. Seems like just about everyone has their own twist on what the heck a millionaire is or what a multi-millionaire is.

Here my take on it. Since DW and I combine all of our investable assets to form one big portfolio, it takes $2M in order for both of us to be claiming millionaire status. $1.9 million does not get it. Thus, in order for us to claim multi-millionaire status, we need $4,000,000 at the bottom line.

I'm pretty sure I'm correct on this.

Crap - now I'm not even a millionaire (investible assets.)
Time to ditch the husband.... his IRAs are a lot smaller than mine. Then I can claim millionaire status. Oh wait -he did so much work on the driveway... along with older son...

doh - do I have to count my kids in the heads/million math? Do I need $4M to be a millionair since our household is 4 people? Does the dog count? Do I need $5Million? I think I can safely exclude the kids and the dog - since nothing is titled in their names.

I guess this is like the net worth discussions.... Just what do you include in your "multimillionaire" status... Does it get divided by # of persons in the house? Do pensions count? What about that priceless video game system from days gone by.

 

[steelyman]

Crap - now I'm not even a millionaire (investible assets.)

Time to ditch the husband.... his IRAs are a lot smaller than mine.

I think you can count your husband or Back Door Man as an asset.

 

[NW-Bound]

doh - do I have to count my kids in the heads/million math? Do I need $4M to be a millionair since our household is 4 people? Does the dog count?

Tough luck! You have been demoted to the rank of thousandaires. But yours truly is still OK. Kiddos are out of college, flew the coop, and have been gainfully employed for a few years now. No money for them!

Well, maybe you can claim the kids as assets, but only if you do not pay them for labor with the driveway work.

 

[Amethyst]

I think you get to "count" anyone who could potentially contribute to a multimillion-dollar purchase which you buy together, even if you and they would never consider going ahead with such a purchase. For example, a $2 Million house.

The dog, in that case, probably would not count, as his earnings are likely to be modest [although with Grumpy Cat making big bucks for her owner, you never know], but the spouse probably would count.

Amethyst

 

[Derslickmeister]

Yes, the longer you work, the less money you will need even though you build up a bigger stash.

I am amused when seeing people running FIRECalc out to 50 years (50!), while I myself think 30 years is already optimistic for myself.

Yep, my thinking as well. I do not have a single older relative, on either side of the family tree, that has made it out of their 70's. Longevity is not a family trait, unfortunately

 

[Sea Kayaker]

Me too!

Oh man, how many times have I said that the only material thing I still wish is to have a waterfront property on the Puget Sound, so that I can row a kayak out to check my crab traps every evening to look for dinner? It is not a chore, but a privilege. But buying such a place would deplete my stash, leaving me with much less to count.

I did this very thing just a few weeks ago (I have waterfront property on an island at what is essentially the northern extent of Puget Sound - it's paradise)... paddled my kayak out, dropped the trap, let it soak for 3 hours pulled it up (tricky in a kayak, trust me) and had 5 beautiful Dungeness crab for dinner - dipped in garlic butter.

I just recently decided to ER - on a 7 week countdown now. I am a cautious person financially. I don't like risk. So, obviously, retiring at 42 is a bit of a leap of faith for me. Our current net worth is around 2.1M (1.3 in investable assets). The thing that makes me feel fairly confident about our situation (apart from the fact that my wife will continue to work a six figure job for an unspecified period of years) is that we have supreme control over our level of spending. We currently live on $2500 monthly, but could, in a pinch, probably get by on $1500. This is not necessary at this time. But should circumstances arise, we could shift into this mode.

Without kids, car payments, mortgage, and with cheap property taxes, waterfront land from which we can catch all sorts of seafood and many fertile acres on which to grow fruits and vegetables our 2.1M might as well be 5M.

At least this is what I tell myself when I think I might have made a mistake in quitting my job a week ago.

 

[HillCountry]

I did this very thing just a few weeks ago (I have waterfront property on an island at what is essentially the northern extent of Puget Sound - it's paradise)... paddled my kayak out, dropped the trap, let it soak for 3 hours pulled it up (tricky in a kayak, trust me) and had 5 beautiful Dungeness crab for dinner - dipped in garlic butter.

Sounds nice. But to think how much crab you can buy with your property tax.

I just sold my Lake Austin front lot. I was thinking to build a house there, but changed my mind after two years.

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

I am amused when seeing people running FIRECalc out to 50 years (50!), while I myself think 30 years is already optimistic for myself.

My grandmother died at 105. We have her family tree back to the late 1700s. Excluding those who died young or in war, the percentage of her ancestors who lived into their 80s and 90s is remarkable.

My ID was routinely checked into my mid 30s when buying alcohol. People guessed my age as mid 30s when I was 50. Retired at 54, so maybe living another 50 is possible, but like Pete Townshend wrote "I hope I die before get old."

 

[NW-Bound]

I did this very thing just a few weeks ago (I have waterfront property on an island at what is essentially the northern extent of Puget Sound - it's paradise)... paddled my kayak out, dropped the trap, let it soak for 3 hours pulled it up (tricky in a kayak, trust me) and had 5 beautiful Dungeness crab for dinner - dipped in garlic butter. ...

You and your wife eating 5 Dungeness crab for dinner? Are these of legal size?

Anyway, your post got me thinking... How about going away from Bainbridge, and settling for a smaller place? Like the following? A mere $219K for a little shack for about $1K/sq.ft., but right on the water? Lot size of 0.28 acre, so that tiny house still leaves enough land for a garden, plus a pad for RV?

Oh, how about just a lot to park the RV? But I'll bet not too many HOAs or CC&Rs allow that.

 

[lemming]

Firecalc says I could still become a multimillionaire in the future but was barely over$600k(2008-09) when I was retired (illness). I'm above that now but my swd was not safe the first 4 years. Now my SS and expenses are aligned with the stars.

 

[haha]

Hmmm, gotta love the internet for creating the facts. I'd rather be trolling for crabs than doing nighttime traffic stops in Houston or some other big city.

Our town is in the process of putting a cop killer in prison and we just buried a few fireman who lost their lives in a warehouse fire.

Seems like there are lots of dangerous jobs out there. When I was flying 100,000 miles per year on business, I always worried about the plane going down, or being taken hostage in a foreign country. It never happened but I was mugged and had my car and wallet taken in a big city one night (and lucky to be left without being shot). Guess my job didn't make the top ten list though.

No sure about other crab fisheries, but Alaskan king crab fishing is by far the most dangerous job in the US. One year, two of my neighbors died crabbing in Alaska.

The boats have a boom and winch used to haul the pots aboard, and pots are stored on deck. It's cold, and the deck gets icy. Too often the boats capsize. The guys are young, and usually leave wives and kids. The money can be very good, I guess that is why they do it.

Ha

 

[Lsbcal]

Late too this NW thread. Wow, 7 pages so far. Interesting too! Did do the NW poll mentioned.

Blue rabbits go down into their burrows before the spotlight shifts towards them.

 

[RunningBum]

Is anyone else transitioning their thinking from "FI" (for purposes of argument $2MM net worth) to "rich" (> $10MM net worth).


I have to admit my personal goalposts are starting to shift.

And BTW I'm writing this watching the sunset from poolside in South Ari Atoll, Maldives.

I took a shot at one point. During the dotcom boom my NW was nearly doubling every year. I went past my FI mark and decided to keep working, since I enjoyed it well enough, and figured I would never catch lightning in a bottle again. Seemed worth working another 2-4 years to go first class, enjoy a few more luxuries, etc. Unfortunately the lightning escaped, somewhat, and I had to claw back to get FI and then I hung on a couple extra years before taking ER. It could've gone better for me, but it also could've gone worse.

 

[ERhoosier]

Hmmm, gotta love the internet for creating the facts. I'd rather be trolling for crabs than doing nighttime traffic stops in Houston or some other big city.......

"Internet" did not "create" these facts. The stats in the linked articles are all freely available from US gov't Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personal occupational preference is a whole 'nother issue....and BTW I hate crabs (and crabbing)
But agree the way stats are used can be misleading. This other article on "most dangerous jobs" said hospital workers "have the safest jobs":
Most Dangerous Jobs In America - Business Insider
But that analysis was only based upon fatal workplace injuries. When BLS stats for all workplace injuries and illnesses (inc infectious diseases) are included, hospital workers are at well above ave risk (at least from 2008 data as reported by OSHA)-
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=21497
All of which still has nothing to do with how big a pension someone actually gets (if any).....or which ER's are multi-millionaires.

 

[NW-Bound]

All this talk about being multi-millionaires makes me want to be rich. I mean really rich. While people are making the observation that a couple must have at least $4M for each to be called "multi-millionaire", that amount of net worth is not enough to live in a home like this. There are a lot of truly rich people, and spending money on a home in a nice location is the surest way to spend some of that. And forget about kayak. They go crabbing with big boats or yachts, moored off their own docks. That's a true multi-millionaire.

Note: Photo linked from Zillow, viewed from a waterfront home in the Puget Sound.

 

[steelyman]

Forget multi-zillionaires. Give me someone who wants to have a cup of Joe and talk outside on a warm day.

 

[rodi]

All this talk about being multi-millionaires makes me want to be rich. I mean really rich.

I hear you. I have fantasies of riding in the front of the plane for a transatlantic flight. I'd need to be seriously rich to justify that expense.

 

[wingfooted]

I took a shot at one point. Unfortunately the lightning escaped, somewhat, and I had to claw back to get FI and then I hung on a couple extra years .

My fear as well.... But no risk , no gain and I think I would feel even worse if I didn't take my shot as well.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[check6]

These individuals are a very small part of the military. Personally I am an E-7 with 12 years in service. I have been flying and doing the same exact job as the O1-04 the entire time. I work in a training squadron and it always amazes me that I have to teach someone, who is much better payed, how to actually do their job. Then a year later I evaluate them during a checkride. The military wastes so much money on the antiquated enlisted/officer system.

Sounds like sour grapes. You knew the system, why didn't you become an officer?

 

[Amethyst]

I worked with an Army Lieutenant Colonel who had enlisted, eventually had been selected for officer candidate training, rose to O-5, then retired and was picked up by a civilian Agency as a GS-15, which he has been for about 8 years. He and his wife are LBYM'ers and I am quite sure they are multimillionaires. His gifts are being well-organized and good with people. Just a thought.

Amethyst

These individuals are a very small part of the military. Personally I am an E-7 with 12 years in service. I have been flying and doing the same exact job as the O1-04 the entire time. I work in a training squadron and it always amazes me that I have to teach someone, who is much better payed, how to actually do their job. Then a year later I evaluate them during a checkride. The military wastes so much money on the antiquated enlisted/officer system.

Sounds like sour grapes. You knew the system, why didn't you become an officer?

 

[Toocold]

I've always thought that this forum is where all the millionaires next door hung out. I think Thomas Stanley could have expedited his research using the polls on this site and got the same results.

 

[aja8888]

I've always thought that this forum is where all the millionaires next door hung out. I think Thomas Stanley could have expedited his research using the polls on this site and got the same results.

Even the millionaire wannabes are hanging out here too! It's all about LBYM and focus on saving/investing.

 

[Spanky]

I worked with an Army Lieutenant Colonel who had enlisted, eventually had been selected for officer candidate training, rose to O-5, then retired and was picked up by a civilian Agency as a GS-15, which he has been for about 8 years. He and his wife are LBYM'ers and I am quite sure they are multimillionaires. His gifts are being well-organized and good with people. Just a thought.

Amethyst

Yep! Military officers, police officers (esp chiefs, fire fighters (esp. chiefs), FBI agents, GS-13+ civilians , federal judges, congressmen (women), traffic controllers, public school/university administrators, etc have GREAT pensions.

They are (or were) all federal employees!

To be fair, there are still some great pensions in the private sector but are, in general, reserved for the upper management people even though some companies still offer pension plan for lower-paid workers. The probability of such a plan (for lower-paid workers) is subject to changes and freezes is high, however.

 

[Independent]

The concept of "millionaire" is kind of magical to me because I'm old enough to remember the TV program "The Millionaire".

Indexing with the CPI, $1.0 million in 1957 would be equivalent to $8.6 million in 2013.

The money often went to a couple, and would be on top of any other assets they happened to have.

So that's my standard for "somewhat rich". Of course, John Beresford Tipton, Jr., was much better off. He was giving away that much money (somehow, "tax free") weekly. So $450 million/year in today's dollars, plus taxes.

I can remember as a 10 year-old thinking that $1 million at 3% interest (the standard passbook savings rate, I think) would be $30,000/year. The average wage in those days was less than $4,000/year, and I think my dad was about average.

Amazingly (to me) there are episodes on youtube. People who remember the show might enjoy this 2 minute clip: The Millionaire TV Series Marvin Miller (1955) - YouTube