Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Bottom line — to 95-97% of Americans $1M put in their lap is significantly life altering. Even to someone with a $5M net worth at let’s say age 60 (probably top 2% net worth nationally) — $1M is 20% of what they worked their entire life to accumulate.
Sure they may decide to make a major purchase. But in many cases it will mostly go to retirement and then their kids. By age 60 lifestyle is set, house is paid off. And say $4M in retirement savings was already more than adequate.
It might be the difference between retiring at 60 or retiring at 62… y’all poo pooing about it not being much to someone close to retirement age… if it means a year more leisure with friends and family, that’s awesome. If it means buying something that was planned for purchase several years later… awesome! More years of enjoyment
Sure they may decide to make a major purchase. But in many cases it will mostly go to retirement and then their kids. By age 60 lifestyle is set, house is paid off. And say $4M in retirement savings was already more than adequate.
They may be much more likely to spend that $1M if it’s won or given. People are probably more frugal when they know what work/time went into getting the money they earned themselves.
It might be the difference between retiring at 60 or retiring at 62… y’all poo pooing about it not being much to someone close to retirement age… if it means a year more leisure with friends and family, that’s awesome. If it means buying something that was planned for purchase several years later… awesome! More years of enjoyment
And 2 (or really even 5 or more for most) of early retirement while still relatively young and healthy at around 60 years old is VERY valuable.
You're probably right in that many people who would come to this forum are careful with their money. I am not a millionaire ( I would be if I sold my house today, lol) but I am careful with my money and am in a pretty decent spot in life financially. I still cant help but shake my head at the people who think getting a million dollars for nothing wouldn't really help them out.
Yes, you are.
Equity in your house counts the same as any other investment(s) you may have. If your equity added to your stocks, bonds, cash, etc. puts you over a million dollars, (minus any loans, credit card debt or other liabilities) then you are, in fact, a millionaire.
Bottom line — to 95-97% of Americans $1M put in their lap is significantly life altering. Even to someone with a $5M net worth at let’s say age 60 (probably top 2% net worth nationally) — $1M is 20% of what they worked their entire life to accumulate.
Yep. That’s pretty much what I said earlier.
It’s basically people being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. Or trying to compare to some old standard of what a million used to mean as if that downplays what a million still does mean.
It’s basically people being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. Or trying to compare to some old standard of what a million used to mean as if that downplays what a million still does mean.
I tend to agree with you - particularly considering CD is a relatively small (and definitive) sample. Based in re: other threads, as a whole, it’s (even) somewhat anti-education/corporation/tech. Thus, a million is going to be significant in their lives (and no one should downplay such).
Ask the same question relative to the HAA/Law/Business message board, however, you’re likely to see a (very) different response - primarily due to (potential) earned income/investments (which creates an entirely different perspective on $1M).
I guess in Florida you could do that... here in the Bay Area, you could barely even do the last part (buying a house outright).
Full disclosure: I inherited close to this when my father passed last year, and so far all I've done was to "buy" a house and new car. Didn't buy the house outright, just the down payment of $130K on a modest $640K home. But I chose to buy a house in a rural location, not even technically the "Bay Area." If I'd decided to purchase something on the Peninsula/Valley I wouldn't even have been able to get a condo. Sad but true.
Yeah the main metros in Florida have gotten expensive. Honestly if I bought a house, likely it'd be in rural north Florida or South Georgia.
Equity in your house counts the same as any other investment(s) you may have.
If your equity added to your stocks, bonds, cash, etc. puts you over a million dollars,
(minus any loans, credit card debt or other liabilities) then you are, in fact, a millionaire.
However... if too much of that total wealth is tied up in the home ...
and/or the annual costs to own it are more than a modest % of income ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by msRB311
Oh ok great then I’m a millionaire! Sure don’t feel like one.
Like that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
