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The only problem here is that you are not including any liabilities such as credit card balances and student loans... These are needed for a proper Net Worth valuation.
So what you're really only asking for is "What ASSETS should one have by a certain age?"
Net worth is assets minus debt. When I read the OP I took it as those numbers were the bottom line after the math was done.
Which is why I said a single person at the 70th percentile of savings rates in the United States. It is not a variable question, it is a pretty exact question. The only variability that exists is your perception of how much such a person should have saved.
Let me rephrase the question if you are confused...
Say you are 40 yrs old, regardless of your income, what do you think is the 70th percentile net worth for age 40 in the United States?
No, the correct answer is, no one should have anything because freemarket has chose to be a burger flipper.
30 is too tough to call because some careers take longer to launch than others (e.g. physician)
I think if by 40, you had $150k liquid and $250k in tax deferred accounts, you will be set. I don't think that is enough money to last or anything but I think if you achieved these milestones by 40, you know how to earn, invest, and retain money enough to do well in retirement
Of course, there is the risk that if you do skimp and save, perhaps work two jobs if necessary, there will be those down the line that feel you have too much money and some of it belongs to others.
I think if by 40, you had $150k liquid and $250k in tax deferred accounts,
do you think this represents the 70th percentile of people in the US though? Considering individual incomes in the 70th percentile are what...perhaps $50-60k/yr?
I would say anyone at 30 who has above $0 net worth is actually in the 70th percentile. People in this country don't save and most aren't making much in salary to begin with either.
No, the correct answer is, no one should have anything because freemarket has chose to be a burger flipper.
Define "has chose". If employers won't hire me for better jobs, did I really "choose" to be a burger flipper? Isn't being a burger flipper preferable to the available alternatives?
actually yes it is your doing. your boss will never pay you more than a job is worth. its not him ,its you.
what we do for a living, our skills, the demand for those skills and how we present ourselves all determnes the jobs we get.
when we cant get the job we want we have to switch gears and do something else .
my buddy was a waiter for years. i talked him into selling insurance products. he knew nothing about it, put his mind to it and today he earns 6 figures.
we get what we cultivate.
i had just posted some thoughts on this in another thread but it warrants repeating.
what jobs are worth depend on so many things . but they all boil down to the harder it is for someone to do it themselves and the more difficult it is to find someone who has the skills to do it the more the job function is worth.
remember ,in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.
if we all had some disease that restricted the use of our arms and a few folks didnt ,those folks could get paid quite alot of money simply by being able to pour our coffee. they have skills we do not.
thats how it works and always did.
skilled professions come and go and technology kills old jobs off and creates new ones. its the demand for the skills we need and the availability of those skills that create the job markets and the pay scales.
that skilled photo finisher, the buggy whip craftsman , even the corner shoe maker all faded into the past with little demand for their skills as consumer buying habits and technology killed off demand for those skills.
people have to shift gears and do what they have to do so they can stay ahead of the curve.
an old sam kinison skit really said it best.
he is sitting on the stage floor and sifting through a pile of sand. he goes this is sand... nothing grows in sand... it will always be sand. so why not send all those starving folks in these 3rd world countries u-hauls and vans instead of food. that way they can move to where the food is.
we have sand in our deserts in america too but no one lives in them and starves , we move to where the food is.it was a funny skit but soooooooo much truth. go to where the food is... what a novel idea.
folks have to do whatever it takes to earn a living. anyone stuck at min wage needs to find the food . they have to do whatever it takes to have good solid marketable skills that are in demand .
sorry but flipping burgers has a worker pool thats endless as anyone of us can do it.
if you have no skill set that sets you apart then you need to find jobs that take very common skills , things anyone can do or things where workers are over saturated and put a personal value on them and hope customers will pay them more then the job function is worth to an employer through tips.
waiters who can present themselves as suitable for the better eateries make amazing money for their job skill set.
there are always folks that just float through life like a cork just floating in a pond. they just drift around where ever they are pushed is where they end up and then they fail financially and blame everyone and everything around them.
then there are others who are in control and set their own path and they make sure things happen for them the way they would like.
your success and failure in life all boils down to which one are you.
life is full of choices ,and whether you make the wrong choice , the right choice or no choice it all falls on you. ultimately its your life and you suffer the consequences of bad choices.
Last edited by mathjak107; 08-25-2012 at 02:40 AM..
Define "has chose". If employers won't hire me for better jobs, did I really "choose" to be a burger flipper? Isn't being a burger flipper preferable to the available alternatives?
If you are repeatedly being passed up then you need to make some changes. If there are numerous tattoos all over you face an neck, have them removed, dress better, get a haircut what ever it is. No one owes you the job. Make them want to hire you. I'm reminded here of my son that wanted a job a few years ago. No one would hire him until he cut his waist length hair. If you are sure it isn't your appearance, it may just be the way you interview. You want to say the right things. Look for help with that maybe.
actually yes it is your doing. your boss will never pay you more than a job is worth. its not him ,its you.
what we do for a living, our skills, the demand for those skills and how we present ourselves all determnes the jobs we get.
when we cant get the job we want we have to switch gears and do something else .
my buddy was a waiter for years. i talked him into selling insurance products. he knew nothing about it, put his mind to it and today he earns 6 figures.
we get what we cultivate.
i had just posted some thoughts on this in another thread but it warrants repeating.
what jobs are worth depend on so many things . but they all boil down to the harder it is for someone to do it themselves and the more difficult it is to find someone who has the skills to do it the more the job function is worth.
remember ,in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.
if we all had some disease that restricted the use of our arms and a few folks didnt ,those folks could get paid quite alot of money simply by being able to pour our coffee. they have skills we do not.
thats how it works and always did.
skilled professions come and go and technology kills old jobs off and creates new ones. its the demand for the skills we need and the availability of those skills that create the job markets and the pay scales.
that skilled photo finisher, the buggy whip craftsman , even the corner shoe maker all faded into the past with little demand for their skills as consumer buying habits and technology killed off demand for those skills.
people have to shift gears and do what they have to do so they can stay ahead of the curve.
an old sam kinison skit really said it best.
he is sitting on the stage floor and sifting through a pile of sand. he goes this is sand... nothing grows in sand... it will always be sand. so why not send all those starving folks in these 3rd world countries u-hauls and vans instead of food. that way they can move to where the food is.
we have sand in our deserts in america too but no one lives in them and starves , we move to where the food is.it was a funny skit but soooooooo much truth. go to where the food is... what a novel idea.
folks have to do whatever it takes to earn a living. anyone stuck at min wage needs to find the food . they have to do whatever it takes to have good solid marketable skills that are in demand .
sorry but flipping burgers has a worker pool thats endless as anyone of us can do it.
if you have no skill set that sets you apart then you need to find jobs that take very common skills , things anyone can do or things where workers are over saturated and put a personal value on them and hope customers will pay them more then the job function is worth to an employer through tips.
waiters who can present themselves as suitable for the better eateries make amazing money for their job skill set.
there are always folks that just float through life like a cork just floating in a pond. they just drift around where ever they are pushed is where they end up and then they fail financially and blame everyone and everything around them.
then there are others who are in control and set their own path and they make sure things happen for them the way they would like.
your success and failure in life all boils down to which one are you.
life is full of choices ,and whether you make the wrong choice , the right choice or no choice it all falls on you. ultimately its your life and you suffer the consequences of bad choices.
Great post -- with one amendment -- sometimes it doesn't even have to be "skilled" labor. We own and operate a janitorial company and make in the neighborhood of 130K a year. And we don't work full time. It's hard work, it's boring work, but it sure as heck is steady work. We save a great deal of our income (about 40%) and I learned about investing and with any amount of luck we can be done with this by 55. Or we may decide to hire out and take a "pay cut" but grab more contracts to make up the difference, so we can go out and do some traveling. Can't do that now.
It's not rocket science to run this kind of business. I have to admit we were extremely fortunate in our starting of the business. We had a great "in" with a guy who was segueing out of the business, and he introduced us to another guy who was swamped with work, and he introduced us to a property management company that was in dire need of a janitorial service, so we made money right off the bat -- we started our company June 1, 1998 and by June 4 we had three small contracts. By October I gave notice to quit my job so I could join our company, because he needed the help.
owning a business is different though than trying to get paid 130k for janitorial work.
my friend made a fortune just cleaning out basements and removing scrap metal. but those that worked for him made minimm wage.
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