Wealth in America

I'll consider myself wealthy when I don't have to carefully budget each month.

I make ~$80k now with 1 kid, a modest house and otherwise modest material things. I like to think of wealth in terms of annual income, so for me that threshold would be around $150k. At that point I could fully fund my retirement accounts, buy new cars, fully furnish my home, and take nice vacations every year.

I believe that's worth about $2 million in present value at a 7% interest rate.

fdfasdfsadf wrote:

I'll consider myself wealthy when I don't have to carefully budget each month.

I make ~$80k now with 1 kid, a modest house and otherwise modest material things. I like to think of wealth in terms of annual income, so for me that threshold would be around $150k. At that point I could fully fund my retirement accounts, buy new cars, fully furnish my home, and take nice vacations every year.

I believe that's worth about $2 million in present value at a 7% interest rate.

That's an odd definition of wealthy. You could live like a homeless person and not have to "budget" if you made 15k / year.

Wealth is not to be conflated with annual income. In fact, they are very very different things.

BuddhistMonque wrote:

Wealth is not to be conflated with annual income. In fact, they are very very different things.

They are related. A steady income stream has a high net present value if you think of it that way.

superald wrote:

BuddhistMonque wrote:

Wealth is not to be conflated with annual income. In fact, they are very very different things.

They are related. A steady income stream has a high net present value if you think of it that way.

Exactly. Of course I could be laid off or become disabled, or whatever. But that's not really what the thread is asking.

I'm not giving a scientific definition of wealth here. I'm merely listing what "wealthy" would look like to me. I'd expect everyone's definition of wealth varies. If you want to travel 6 months out of the year, $150k probably isn't enough. That's not me.

To me wealth would be a stress free existence with my family while enabling all the activities that I (and they) enjoy. $150k would do that easily.

BuddhistMonque wrote:

fdfasdfsadf wrote:

I'll consider myself wealthy when I don't have to carefully budget each month.

I make ~$80k now with 1 kid, a modest house and otherwise modest material things. I like to think of wealth in terms of annual income, so for me that threshold would be around $150k. At that point I could fully fund my retirement accounts, buy new cars, fully furnish my home, and take nice vacations every year.

I believe that's worth about $2 million in present value at a 7% interest rate.

That's an odd definition of wealthy. You could live like a homeless person and not have to "budget" if you made 15k / year.

Wealth is not to be conflated with annual income. In fact, they are very very different things.

Not with a kid in America you dolt. This poster probably wants the best for his kids as any parent would. 15k scrubbing dishes isn't gonna do sh!t for a parent.

You can go squat someplace else

Rerererererrre wrote:

BuddhistMonque wrote:

That's an odd definition of wealthy. You could live like a homeless person and not have to "budget" if you made 15k / year.

Wealth is not to be conflated with annual income. In fact, they are very very different things.

Not with a kid in America you dolt. This poster probably wants the best for his kids as any parent would. 15k scrubbing dishes isn't gonna do sh!t for a parent.

You can go squat someplace else

Thanks for COMPLETELY missing my point and having a room temperature IQ. Better luck next life.

$5M is pretty close.

But it's a good question because politicians always say they are going to help "the middle class" and only tax "the rich". Rarely do they ever attach numbers to these terms because EVERYONE thinks they are in the middle, and only the most wealthy (usually those with inherited wealth) acknowledge that they are wealthy.

BuddhistMonque wrote:

Thanks for COMPLETELY missing my point and having a room temperature IQ. Better luck next life.

I kinda thought yours was a dumb post, too. A good standard of living is implied in the OP's question.

comicbookguy wrote:

It's a good question because politicians always say they are going to help "the middle class" and only tax "the rich". Rarely do they ever attach numbers to these terms because EVERYONE thinks they are in the middle, and only the most wealthy (usually those with inherited wealth) acknowledge that they are wealthy.

+1

I had a friend in middle school who lived in a badass mansion on a huge estate (custom architecture, lighted swimming pool, art on the walls and flatscreens when they were still hella expensive, etc) and he earnestly believed his family was poor. I met another guy, an adult this time, who said he made $250k/yr but that he was "poor as sh!t".

We may shake our heads at those people. But we should remember that if we earn $28,000 per year, that is more than 95% of people globally. And if we earn $52,000 per year, that is more than 99% of people globally. And yes, that is already adjusted for how much money can buy in various countries (i.e. 'purchasing power parity' adjusted, based on baskets of goods). So, from somebody else's perspective, we are those self-deluded rich guys also.

The real definition of wealth is when you can't outspend your market and real estate investments. When your money is growing faster than you can spend it. That is wealth.

Mercedes e class wagon wrote:

The real definition of wealth is when you can't outspend your market and real estate investments. When your money is growing faster than you can spend it. That is wealth.

You can do that on as little as ~$10k per year

anyone could easily out spend that. I mean buying everything you can think of, rolls royces, 5 star hotel stays for months, 10,000 shoes, 250,000 fundraisers for Hillary Clinton, private jets, etc. and your money is still out growing that.

Keep in mind that cost of living is MUCH, MUCH lower outside the 1st world. Apples to oranges.

Agree wrote:

The other thread got me thinking - how much money is "wealthy" in America?

I grew up with weird parents who always made it seem like we had more money than we did. I grew up in a house worth 400k today, which by most standards isn't much. In many cities you cannot buy ANY house for this low of a price. I'd say $5 million + is a point where you can truly consider yourself rich.

I responded to a similar thread about a month ago and I pointed out that back in the 1960s many economists pushed the idea that to be considered wealthy one must be worth your weight in gold (though gold was cheap in the 1960s). For a 70kg male (154.4 lbs) it would mean a net worth currently of $2.81 million which is vaguely accurate.