hello. not so many get rich while they're young enough to run (at least conspicuously). the correlation between rich and old is high. as is the one between rich and lack of *consistent* daily leisure time.
not rich, i had to disappear from running when kids and career forced me to miss enough days that i couldn't stay fit AND healthy. (and healthy by itself wasn't enough fun)
And speaking of 'super-rich,' who run, Marion Jones is pretty wealthy. A $7000 check is meaningless to her according to a press conference.
wasted wrote:
Incorrect. Most wealthy people are first-generation wealthy; using $1MM as a threshhold. I'm not sure what the "SUPER RICH" threshhold is.
Sure, but I don't think that many people today consider having a million in investments, equity, etc. as counting the way it did 20, or 30, or 50 years ago (truly "wealthy"). Chances are, by that accounting, many middle-aged or older folks with a 6 figure income are "millionaires". I would guess there are more than a couple on this message board. Yes, they may have accumulated that much while their parents never did, but I wonder how much of that is due to inflation (effectively pulling the millionaire threshold down in terms of buying power). I'm not saying it's easy for the average person to get there, but it's not as meaningful as it used to be. OTOH, accumulating 10's or 100's of millions of dollars is very difficult to do without having the "proper background" (i.e., inheriting $ and connections).
You don't buy yachts, planes, and estates (the toys of the super rich) with a net worth of a million $.
I agree
JimFiore,
Agreed. A million dollars does not make one wealthy. I would say that even a couple million doesn't make you wealthy.
Let's say you had $2 million and to be safe you just kept it in your credit union interest-bearing account at 3.5%. You would earn $70,000 per year on that - halfway decent retirement income, but nothing to write home about, and certainly not enough to make you wealthy. As far as having INCOME coming in, you can't touch the principle, so you really can't eat into that 2 million dollars.
Need to have more than 10 million these days I think to even begin to think that you're wealthy. My plan puts me at about $4.5 million when I retire in 22 years at age 59 1/2. This is based on many factors though that could change - my wife eventually going back to work and earning a reasonable salary, the stock market just doing marginally well, and no unexpected personal financial burdens. The plan does NOT include any money I may inherit when relatives pass on (as I hope they all live forever of course).
Anyway, I agree with you JimFiore.
JimFiore wrote:
Sure, but I don't think that many people today consider having a million in investments, equity, etc. as counting the way it did 20, or 30, or 50 years ago (truly "wealthy"). Chances are, by that accounting, many middle-aged or older folks with a 6 figure income are "millionaires". I would guess there are more than a couple on this message board. Yes, they may have accumulated that much while their parents never did, but I wonder how much of that is due to inflation (effectively pulling the millionaire threshold down in terms of buying power). I'm not saying it's easy for the average person to get there, but it's not as meaningful as it used to be. OTOH, accumulating 10's or 100's of millions of dollars is very difficult to do without having the "proper background" (i.e., inheriting $ and connections).
You don't buy yachts, planes, and estates (the toys of the super rich) with a net worth of a million $.
Well said Jim. I am one of those to which you refer. My net worth classifies me as a millionaire, I have a 6 figure income, and in my mid-30s, I have accumulated more wealth than my parents combined. While certainly this financial position is comforting, the million dollar threshold is not nearly as "wealthy" as it was 20-30+ years ago. I worry about my parents in their upcoming retirement years.
I do not live a lavish lifestyle. I drive a beat-up 10-year old Geo Metro to work and live in a modest home. My family does not take expensive vacations, eat at fancy restaurants, or wear the most stylish clothes. In short, you would not know my wealth if you met me on the street, especially on a run.
The book "Millionaire Next Door" is a good read in this regard. Your wealthy neighbors are probably the ones who live like they are poor. Achieving true financial wealth often requires lifestyle sacrifies along the way. Bottom line, I think there are generally big differences in the outward appearance and true wealth of our friends/neighbors. We might be inclined to live a less lavish lifestyle if our homes, cars, SUVs, clothes, etc. came affixed with signs that noted the total amount of debt (mortgage, auto loan, credit card) still owed for all of the world to see.
Flagpole Willy wrote:
iSoup wrote:The super rich are too busy to run. But I know there are some super rich men that were competitve runners in their younger (college) years.
Exactly! Mostly they are super rich because they maximize every minute of the day to make more money.
I've got a friend who's a multimillionaire after starting his own business. He's got the whole deal - three houses, cars, etc. He also has maid service for all three of his houses, and on more than one ocassion, I've heard people say "Why doesn't he clean his own house! Is he now too good to clean his own house?" NO. It isn't worth his time. He pays a cleaning service $200 twice a month to clean his house which takes them several hours to do. He makes almost a million dollars a year now, and is still a workhorse when it comes to operating his business. Not sure what it breaks down per hour for him, but he makes more than what he needs to pay for cleaning service and laundry service and yard service, etc.
Yeah and thats what life is all about, making and spending and consuming as much as you can. Can't take time off to wipe my ass, I could make $50 in that time!! CONCHITA, get your your tail in here and wipe my ass for me, I'M BUSY earning cash to buy another house I won't live in.
9 wrote:
where I live, it is customary to see a gaggle of rich women talking about boob jobs and their new GPS watches as they trot six-abreast at the local trails...yes, the rich "run".
I like the "boob job" and six abreast combination. Kudos!
Anonymous Lurker,
You and I are of the same ilk. At age 37, I drive a 1995 Saturn SL 1 and plan to drive it seemingly forever. I don't own a shirt that cost more than $10, I live in a modest home albeit in a nice neighborhood, the kids go to public school, we don't spend tons of money on any one thing except for investment or savings, and that of course isn't spending, it is saving.
The Millionaire Next Door is a great book, and I have pimped it several times here.
I got bad financial advice from my parents, but luckily for them my father has a great pension, and so I don't worry about them - they are doing better financially in retirement than they did while working.
Bunghole Billy,
Couple things for you.
1) My buddy lives primarily in one, and the others are vacation houses that he uses, and while he's not using them he RENTS them out. Pretty good way to have someone help you buy a house.
2) By using the "CONCHITA" line, I'm assuming that you're a racist - that you believe that only Hispanics clean houses. It is NOT a crime to have money and not a crime to want to make more money. In fact, he is employing these people, so they and you should be happy about that.
Willy, tell us more about your wonderful life PLEASE!
I think the post about being focused on finances as a priority explains this matter. My dentist is about my age but lives in a $2 million dollar home that's been featured in Architectural Digest and runs a local investment club that turns profits of 20-30% off its portfolio each year. Back in the 90s, he went thru 7 splits of Cisco stock. What does it take? He typically leaves work at 5:30 each night, goes straight home and by 6:00 is logged on to his PC with the day's issue of Investor's Business Daily open and CNBC on the TV. He gives it 3 hrs of uninterrupted focus, then has dinner with his wife at 9;00 and goes to bed at 10:00. He usu starts his day pretty early, with some appts at 7;00 so he doesn't usually have time to do any reading in the morning unless something majour is happening in the market. On the weekends, he catches up with Forbes, Business Weekly, and Barron's. So the guy is putting in roughly 20 hrs per week of work towards making his investments grow.
And as he said to me, it's not rocket science, it just has to be a priority...you on the other hand choose to run.
+++++++
As far as the SuperRich go, they prefer exercise like tennis and golf or like to work out indoors on treadmills, weights, TaeBo, what have you. It's cultural.
Willy,
you live life in fear. Cut loose, live a little.
Tony.
Stop giving all the money to the super rich...vote bush out of office...when you combine a dick (cheney) and a bush, you're going to get screwed (unless you're super rich)
His life sucks and you only get one.
LIVE YOU DUMB ASSES.
Mr. Gates wishes for me to pass along the following message to you:
"In the past, I have considered taking up running as a hobby. However I am too busy right now. I am trying to develop a new supercomputer program which can count high enough to accurately calculate my wealth."
Tony Robbins wrote:
Willy,
you live life in fear. Cut loose, live a little.
Tony.
Tony Robbins,
Ye of big teeth, why do you say I live in fear?
Nothing could be further from the truth. My Saturn takes me to and from work. It does the same job a BMW would do. The family tools around in the Windstar.
No living in fear for me. I'm saving every dime I can just so as to not be tied down to a full-time job as soon possible. I still have fun within my modest allottment for entertainment, but I will have a lot more fun come age 59 1/2 (or even 55 if we can swing it). How is wasting money living?
YEAH ooooh yeahhhhhhh....does anyone else get off on this stuff? More Willy please more, I'm almost there.
You've bought into the American Nightmare. Work all day for "the man" and give him back all your meagre scraps of money to invest for you so you won't have to work for him anymore when you're too old to enjoy whats left of your life.
You work for him and then you give him all your money right back and you think you are getting good returns on those "mutual funds" and that 401K. Oh how the gullible swallow this crap.
They tell you if you don't give them all your money you'll have to work in Wallmart as a greeter until you're 105 and you buy it.
You're a worker bee Willy, a drone to the machine. On your deathbed you'll wake up and say "awwwww shit, I wasted my life" and then you'll die a sorry man.
I fear you are too far gone to be saved.
Bunghole Billy wrote:
YEAH ooooh yeahhhhhhh....does anyone else get off on this stuff? More Willy please more, I'm almost there.
I'm sorry that my stories excite you so. Really I am.