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We have been living as though we were retired for the past 5 years. We started little by little seeing what we could reduce and cut out. We cut back on the steak dinners, one meal a week. Started to consolidate our errands to one or two trips a week. We have been checking most of our books out of the public library instead of spending cash on paper backs at the bookstore. Lots of small things.
At this point it has gotten much easier and hardly noticeable to DH or me. I am amazed at how much money we had wasted in the past on "stuff" that had no real value.
We still do pretty much what we want, but we have learned to simplify to the point that there is very little in a material way that we do want.
We retired 8 months ago and our life hasn't changed much over what it has been for the past 4 or 5 years. Now, if we could just get the last son out of college we could REALLY start living.
Technically, there is no "money crunch". The money is out there. It may be in someone else's hands and not yours. What you have to do is decide how to reverse the process.
Yes, it's in the hands of the top 1% of the population.
Yes, it's in the hands of the top 1% of the population.
So you would imagine that the 'wealthy' class of our society, are each sitting on drums filled with cash?
This is possible, I suppose. However I know that I have very little cash.
The people that I know who have Net Worths of seven figures or eight figures, from what I have observed none of them have much cash either.
Their 'wealth' is in investments. They own things which give them a return.
Picture a person who owns a forty year old truck and a livestock trailer, 5,000 acres and 10,000 cattle. His Net Worth may well be high, but he might have only $20 cash in his pocket.
So you would imagine that the 'wealthy' class of our society, are each sitting on drums filled with cash?
This is possible, I suppose. However I know that I have very little cash.
The people that I know who have Net Worths of seven figures or eight figures, from what I have observed none of them have much cash either.
Their 'wealth' is in investments. They own things which give them a return.
Picture a person who owns a forty year old truck and a livestock trailer, 5,000 acres and 10,000 cattle. His Net Worth may well be high, but he might have only $20 cash in his pocket.
Don't mind Al - he's that cousin we all have that isn't quite right.
And if they did earn it, why does the "trickle down" theory not work? If someone has a business like Bill Gates, the actual workers do not benefit from the profits of the company. How come U.S. real wages have stagnated for decades?
"Trickle down, schmickle down". It does not happen.
I believe something like half the millionaires in the U.S. inherited, and the majority of the rest are small business owners. I think I read this in "The Millionaire Next Door."
Now, I know a lot of ordinary working people who inherit something from their ordinary working relatives- if nothing else, a long-owned triple-decker in a place like Boston or something that is now worth serious money. I'd say the average inheritance is around $100K. Not enough to make someone wealthy, but more than enough to have a down payment, pay for college, get out of debt, etc.- enough to make a real improvement or change in life.
I am frankly surprised at the many inheritances like this I see among my hospital co-workers, most of whom are inheriting from their local retired grandparents or parents, who were ordinary working people.
I believe something like half the millionaires in the U.S. inherited, and the majority of the rest are small business owners. I think I read this in "The Millionaire Next Door."
That is really cool, you got the quote exactly opposite.
"Only 19 percent receive any income or wealth of any kind from a trust fund or an estate."
"Fewer than 20 percent inherited 10 percent or more of their wealth."
"More than half never received as much as $1 in inheritance."
"Fewer than 25 percent ever received "an act of kindness" of $10,000 or more from their parents, grandparents, or other relatives."
"Ninety-one percent never received, as a gift, as much as $1 of the ownership of a family business."
"Nearly half never received any college tuition from their parents or other relatives."
"Fewer than 10 percent believe they will ever receive an inheritance in the future."
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