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So the total household wealth is 96 Trillion. And we have a population of 323 Million. Including babies, elderly, teenagers, etc. That equates to a wealth of 297K per ever person alive in America today, clearly an extremely wealthy country. But I know few people with 300K net worth. Much less babies, teenagers, or millennials with that level of wealth. Most are much lower. A few are higher, but not astronomically so. How can our country be so rich in terms of household wealth when everyone seems so poor?
Pretty much everyone I know can legitimately claim personal wealth of 297K per person. That's less than $1.2M for a family of four. Sure, a new family isn't going to fit the metric, but older families more than make up the difference.
It's mostly home equity and IRA/401(k) money. Get out more, drive around the moderately good part of town. You'll see a lot of people who have more than $297K in home equity and you can bet most of them have that much or more in IRA's and 401k's too.
Yeah, head smack all right. Don't know your age, but if over forty and you don't know many w/300K or more net worth, find some new friends.
That was about my net worth at 33, and I thought I was something of a bum. Bought a condo, then more, then more, then...never mind. There comes a point of critical mass where you can start making some real investments with bigger payoffs.
Yeah, bully for me.
Bully for you to associate with those planning for eventual retirement, if that is the question? They should be worth 5x that with good management and savings twenty years later, hopefully 7x or 8x at retirement age.
That's great if your job is investing in real estate.
You can't exactly do that if you are a teacher, a lieutenant, even a plumber... not everyone can work in real estate.
That said, you highlight what it takes to become wealthy and that is most certainly not WORK.
It's ownership. It's easy to keep getting richer if you own stuff. The money just piles on.
Most people however, don't realize that this is not just one way to get money. It's the only way. They think salaried work, a frugal lifestyle, and saving is another way, a modest way, and frankly, according to most people I know who are workers, the only honest way.
Flipping houses to get rich off of real estate? Might as well brag about those lucky investments. As you say yourself, you were something of a bum. Meanwhile we have schmucks over here researching cancer, researching reversing global warming, getting PhDs, teachers working with disabled kids... you think they aren't worth being around? Disgusting.
OP your answer is right here in this post.
Trading money and trading crap, not making it, not curing people, not creating actual VALUE but trading it and scraping off the top of those transactions, is how you get rich.
And they even brag about it and suggest that salaried workers aren't even worth being around.
Meanwhile, "why isn't cancer being cured?" "why doesn't the school have enough teachers?" "why don't the police come to my house in 5 seconds when I call?" Etc. Absolutely disgusting entitlement and preference for people who work for capital rather than creating value for humanity, society, or even in any objective sense of the term whatsoever.
Don't make. Own. Don't create. Trade. Don't think. Repeat. Don't serve. Take. Those people have $300k net worth.
Makers, creators, thinkers, service members--lol. Those people don't have wealth.
What is America? It is a contiguous expanse of land, demarcated and defended by its occupants. Those occupants are, jointly, unalienable owners of the land. Each occupant an equal shareholder.
Manny people kn ow how to use the land for personal gain. Some raise hogs or strawberries on it, some construct skyscrapers or parking lots on it. Anyone who wishes to use the land, should have to rent it, not own it. It belongs to all of us. Land can be rented from the American people, each receiving an equal share of the rent. How much they pay to rent the land will depend on how much money can be made using that particular piece of land, the lease going to the highest bidder.. The rent goes to the people, 1/330,000,000 of the rental payment to each American.
These rentals, cumulatively, would guarantee an income for life to every person, in equal amount. Those who have the desire and wherewithal to use land for additional gain, can rent it from the people, and apply free enterprise to their endeavor.
So there you have it. A guaranteed natural income to each owner of American land, and an earned income to anyone according to his ability to earn it.
That said, you highlight what it takes to become wealthy and that is most certainly not WORK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neerwhal
Most people however, don't realize that this is not just one way to get money. It's the only way. They think salaried work, a frugal lifestyle, and saving is another way
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neerwhal
Makers, creators, thinkers, service members--lol. Those people don't have wealth.
Obviously "wealthy" is open to interpretation here but it is possible to accumulate fairly significant assets, enough to live comfortably off investment returns and never need additional income again, by simply a salary working and saving over time.
Yeah, head smack all right. Don't know your age, but if over forty and you don't know many w/300K or more net worth, find some new friends.
That was about my net worth at 33, and I thought I was something of a bum. Bought a condo, then more, then more, then...never mind. There comes a point of critical mass where you can start making some real investments with bigger payoffs.
Yeah, bully for me.
Bully for you to associate with those planning for eventual retirement, if that is the question? They should be worth 5x that with good management and savings twenty years later, hopefully 7x or 8x at retirement age.
Everything you said is true. But there are many people intellectually incapable of planning for the future. That affects daily life-choices as well.
Too many people with educations actually believe wealth is finite. For one man to become rich, another man must become poor.
As if two guys met on the corner and exchanged wealth!
I know plenty of people that are middle income and above that have little to no wealth. They all have common tendencies that kill their wealth potential. The most common things they do is "upgrade" homes every few years and never build any equity. They cash out whatever little equity they may have if they had any at all when they sell their home and then they tend to do the second worst thing you can do that prevents wealth: They go trade in their cars and finance brand new cars that are above their true income level. They pay out around $16,000 to $25,000 a year in car payments and then trade them in when they are about 3 to 4 years old, having never paid them off. When they trade them in, they basically get the loan payoff amount and then start all over paying payments on the new car. In their mind they think they are wealthy because they have a new house and new cars all the time although they are really just getting by and spending every penny they make.
You would be surprised how many people you know that have been in the same home 15 years or more and keep the same cars for 10 years or more have a net worth in excess of a million. Many actually have their homes paid off and some even still own their previous home and rent it out. If they do trade cars every few years, they tend to trade for a "newer" car that is around 3 model years old with low miles on it so someone else has already taken the big loss on it. It really isn't that difficult to accumulate a net worth in excess of $297k by your mid 40's even for those with an average factory job if they have a little financial sense and self-control. Many people with high net worth appear to not be doing very well financially to those that spend it all trying to "keep up with the joneses" because they perceive not having new cars, etc. as not being able to afford them.
It's mostly home equity and IRA/401(k) money. Get out more, drive around the moderately good part of town. You'll see a lot of people who have more than $297K in home equity and you can bet most of them have that much or more in IRA's and 401k's too.
Really depends on where you're at. In a coastal or hot interior market, sure, there are a lot of long-term residents with many hundreds of thousands in home equity.
I live in northeast TN. Very weak job market. Not a tourist area. Low income area. Housing has basically gone sideways for the last decade, and is probably losing ground to inflation.
people consider themselves middle class but in reality they are dirt poor, they just won't admit. I drive around in a 10 year old pu truck and I'm worth well over a million dollars. They're driving around in a leased Mercedes and can't afford their next meal...
I love it when it all falls apart for them.
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Much less babies, teenagers, or millennials with that level of wealth. Most are much lower. A few are higher, but not astronomically so. How can our country be so rich in terms of household wealth when everyone seems so poor?
