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Think about it: how can 1 million make us feel rich when nice houses in decent neighborhood cost over 1 million+ each in So Cal (where I live)? I don't think I can afford a new BMW or Mercedes, to be honest. With kid's college fund, retirement planning, emergency fund, 1 million is far from 'rich'..
Oh, by the way, I cut my cable TV and stop drinking starbucks for cost reason.
Last edited by hawaiishrimp; 05-07-2015 at 07:32 PM..
A lot depends on where you live. A million in New York or San Francisco buys a lot less than the same in a smaller city in the south or midwest. Its enough to make you feel downright bourgeois.
I think you missed the #1 reason. Many (most?) of the people with >$1M in assets accumulated it because they had their own business which naturally accumulated capital in land, buildings, and machinery... or they owned a house that incidentally increased in value many times over. In both cases they've probably lived on a middle class income their whole lives.
Assets and income are two different things. And spending is another.
The definition of a millionaire is not well defined. Traditionally it probably means someone or a couple that makes at least 300K a year minimum and they have investment accounts of at least 1 million and at a fairly young age of say 40.
A couple in their late 50's who have earned around 100K per year on average and now have a retirement account totaling around 1.5 million are not "millionaires".
The definition of a millionaire is not well defined. Traditionally it probably means someone or a couple that makes at least 300K a year minimum and they have investment accounts of at least 1 million and at a fairly young age of say 40.
A couple in their late 50's who have earned around 100K per year on average and now have a retirement account totaling around 1.5 million are not "millionaires".
Can you provide a source for that definition? Silly me thought a millionaire was someone who had a million dollars in assets (or networth), thus the name - millionaire.
Well, no matter how old you are, having a million in any shape or form does not mean the "life of leisure" like it did in the 1940's-early1950's. But it does mean an easier life and more security than the vast number of Americans have.
Can you provide a source for that definition? Silly me thought a millionaire was someone who had a million dollars in assets (or networth), thus the name - millionaire.
a millionaire is both a number and used to con-notate a life style that at one time meant a life of luxury , a rolls and a butler.
today it means a working couple and two leased kia's that hit a number in net worth that can generate an income of about 40k a year pretax. .not exactly a life of luxury in most cities .
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