Had a thought today about how people define "millionaire". If you're married, do you need to have a household net worth of 2 million for each partner to be considered millionaires or are you a millionaire if you just have 1 mil between the two?
People act like being a millionaire is makes you 'rich', so I'd think it needs to be at least 1 million per person, otherwise every middle-class 40-something couple would all be millionaires as they pay down their mortgages and contribute to 401ks.
Being a millionaire means you have 1 million in CASH in your checking account. It’s not stocks, 401k, house, oranyother assets. And it’s not a big deal there’s millions of us.
Silicon Valley wrote:
Being a millionaire means you have 1 million in CASH in your checking account. It’s not stocks, 401k, house, oranyother assets. And it’s not a big deal there’s millions of us.
What kind of moron keeps $1m in their checking account?
Silicon Valley wrote:
Being a millionaire means you have 1 million in CASH in your checking account. It’s not stocks, 401k, house, oranyother assets. And it’s not a big deal there’s millions of us.
i beg to differ. It doesn't have to be in cash. It could be invested.
Yes, the term Millionaire is used colloquially to refer to a person who lives in a household whose net assets (total assets - total liabilities) is equal to or greater than $1M. I also agree that in this day and age, $1M is not what it used to be. Many financial services firms don’t designate households as “high net worth” until their net assets exceed $5M.
that would be stupid wrote:
Silicon Valley wrote:
Being a millionaire means you have 1 million in CASH in your checking account. It’s not stocks, 401k, house, oranyother assets. And it’s not a big deal there’s millions of us.
What kind of moron keeps $1m in their checking account?
I can only have about 780k currently. Christmas hot my a bit hard.
Silicon Valley wrote:
Being a millionaire means you have 1 million in CASH in your checking account. It’s not stocks, 401k, house, oranyother assets. And it’s not a big deal there’s millions of us.
So you're saying to be a billionaire you need a billion dollars in cash? I HIGHLY doubt people on the billionaires list have that much in cash.
Silicon is a clueless turd...and it’s not even Jamin!
[quote]Silicon Valley wrote:
Being a millionaire means you have 1 million in CASH in your checking account. It’s not stocks, 401k, house, oranyother assets.
Really?
Someone with $5 million in stocks is not a millionaire? With $3 million in a 401(k)? With a paid off house worth $2 million?
You're not a millionaire unless you have >/ = 1 million in cash in various bank accounts. Your spouse is not included in this calculation. I fail to see how someone who marries a rich person is suddenly a millionaire. Letsrunners will tell you differently.
I am in my mid 50's - net worth of around $4M with no debt - no mortgage, car debt, etc. No defined benefit pension, either, so as extreme as this may sound I don't feel all that well off (I concede I don't have anxieties about making ends meet or being homeless), I don't feel that well off. I save and invest and am a conceptual follower of Dave Ramsay (without the religious stuff). He motivated me to get my mortgage done in 10 years (an 800k home).
Wolf's Bane wrote:
You're not a millionaire unless you have >/ = 1 million in cash in various bank accounts. Your spouse is not included in this calculation. I fail to see how someone who marries a rich person is suddenly a millionaire. Letsrunners will tell you differently.
Thank you wolf. We all have multiple homes, stocks, investments, etc. the poster above described an everyday engineer here in Silicon Valley. If you don’t have cash totaling 1 million in your checking accounts you just don’t have the real money to call yourself a millionaire.
Billionaire status is different but I assure you the high rollers certainly have over 500 million cash available at all times.
Assets less liabilities (i.e. debt)
Do you think someone is a millionaire if they own a house valued at a million with an $800k mortgage?
John Utah wrote:
Assets less liabilities (i.e. debt)
Do you think someone is a millionaire if they own a house valued at a million with an $800k mortgage?
You reminded me of this fact:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/08/02/if-you-have-10-and-no-debt-you-are-richer-than-15-of-american-households-put-together/#59de0a85989ePro tip: always pay cash. No credit cards, no car payments or student loans. Live Within your means, work hard & pay cash for your house.
Silicon Valley wrote:
Wolf's Bane wrote:
You're not a millionaire unless you have >/ = 1 million in cash in various bank accounts. Your spouse is not included in this calculation. I fail to see how someone who marries a rich person is suddenly a millionaire. Letsrunners will tell you differently.
Thank you wolf. We all have multiple homes, stocks, investments, etc. the poster above described an everyday engineer here in Silicon Valley. If you don’t have cash totaling 1 million in your checking accounts you just don’t have the real money to call yourself a millionaire.
Billionaire status is different but I assure you the high rollers certainly have over 500 million cash available at all times.
This is garbage. With the click of a button, I could liquidate my non retirement accounts and have a couple mil sitting in my bank and have it available in a few business days yet I am not a millionaire?
Puhleeze.
Liquid assets are fungible.
John Utah wrote:
Assets less liabilities (i.e. debt)
Do you think someone is a millionaire if they own a house valued at a million with an $800k mortgage?
You don’t own the house if you have a mortgage on it. Read the actual contract. You are literally assigning ownership of the home to the lender when you execute the mortgage. You only own the home once you’ve paid the loan in full.
You accumulate equity as you pay the loan down. That equity, not ownership of an asset, is the value that contributes to your net worth.
mortgage != ownership wrote:
John Utah wrote:
Assets less liabilities (i.e. debt)
Do you think someone is a millionaire if they own a house valued at a million with an $800k mortgage?
You don’t own the house if you have a mortgage on it. Read the actual contract. You are literally assigning ownership of the home to the lender when you execute the mortgage. You only own the home once you’ve paid the loan in full.
You accumulate equity as you pay the loan down. That equity, not ownership of an asset, is the value that contributes to your net worth.
No s#it, mr pedantic. That’s my point. Assets minus liabilities. I think some are incorrectly using an assets only measurement to calculate “millionaire” status.
John Utah wrote:
mortgage != ownership wrote:
You don’t own the house if you have a mortgage on it. Read the actual contract. You are literally assigning ownership of the home to the lender when you execute the mortgage. You only own the home once you’ve paid the loan in full.
You accumulate equity as you pay the loan down. That equity, not ownership of an asset, is the value that contributes to your net worth.
No s#it, mr pedantic. That’s my point. Assets minus liabilities. I think some are incorrectly using an assets only measurement to calculate “millionaire” status.
The asset is only the equity you have in the home. There is no liability to subtract, as this is already accounted for in the equity calculation.
Middle Class Man wrote:
Had a thought today about how people define "millionaire". If you're married, do you need to have a household net worth of 2 million for each partner to be considered millionaires or are you a millionaire if you just have 1 mil between the two?
People act like being a millionaire is makes you 'rich', so I'd think it needs to be at least 1 million per person, otherwise every middle-class 40-something couple would all be millionaires as they pay down their mortgages and contribute to 401ks.
You are GROSSLY underestimating consumer debt and consumer spending. Most middle class families are not close to millionaire status if you subtract debt from assets. If home values go up people refi and take money out to buy stuff that really has no value (vacations, furniture, cars (massive depreciation)). Little to no savings on top of that.