Also isn't rich a little relative in some sense? Sure you can be rich compared to others, but if you made 100k and had everything you wanted, just happened to be a very modest person, wouldn't you be considered rich in your mind?
Exactly. I just spent 2 weeks on the trike with the wife and my Cuz later asked how much did it cost. I had no idea...couldn't even guesstimate. He said he had only a few friends who could answer "I don't know" and thought of me being rich without being rich.
Rich is relative to a persons lifestyle. And its definition is subjective as noted in this thread. For me, wealth is defined by what you own at that very moment. Having a 300k salary doesn't mean much in wealth status if you can lose all of that with a single pink slip.
My point was more that you're not rich if you need to work to put food on the table. If you can't afford to be out of work for 3 years you're not rich. There will always be responsibility and stress, but money actually does make more go away rather than add to it. A $600 car repair bill would usually ruin my month in college, but now just chalk it up to monthly expenses. That said, if you ever stop working, you know all the issues that went away when you were doing well will come back, thus making you not rich. Pretty much this. I'll add to it changes in economy, industry or demographics. You might've had a really successful video rental business but now everyone is Netflixing, that goes away.
Not sure. Used to think a family with 100k should be rich, now I think maybe 200-300k would be rich. But who knows what people with 200-300k thinks, maybe they think they are not rich either. I guess 100 mil in net asset should definitely make you rich.:grin:
hmm. I would agree that living well off and being "rich" are different. I guess my original quote was living well. "Rich" as most people want to put it on here I'd say that you'd probably have to make $2MM/yr to be considered rich. My friends Grandfather (who is rich) once said "Once you make your first million, the next million is easier". He also said, "There is really no big difference in lifestyle between a man who has $10MM and a man who has $50MM".
My (senior) partner still takes coach when he goes on transoceanic vacations. It's quite sad, really (for the rest of us). Being content will make you feel rich. Nobody rich is ever content.
If you have three kids in private school, $20K/month is not all of that. I have found that as the wife and I have had ever increasing income spending the collective paycheck each month is very doable.
Single, no kids. Would definitely need more if I had more mouths to feed. Anyhow, I live well below my means but i'm hardly a miser. when i say i'll live like a king, it's by my standards. i don't buy the latest gadgets, new cars, or live in a big house. to others that's important which is ok. i prefer the freedom (and savings) from not having to maintain, worry, and insure that stuff. i'm not surprised that a lot people think 50k year isn't enough in houston. i can certainly live with it.
There's a difference in between comfortable, rich, and wealthy. The more, the merrier. Texx is spot on with his post. It seems like it's never enough. You make more. You spend more.
This is what I came to say. Rich people might work, but not for income. Unless you mean interest and capital gains income....
"Rich" is different than "well off"... Rich means you dont have to worry about finances. I think it would be around 40k a month for me. You figure almost half of that will be taken up by taxes...then I have a wife, future kids, school loans (3k a month), house payment, 2 car payments, food, entertainment, travel, etc... I'd barely be saving any money.
i agree with others stating that you're only truly rich (financially) if you live off of passive income. you'll never achieve wealth by trading hours for dollars until you accumulate enough money to have it generate more monthly income that exceeds your expenses.
Agreed with everyone else stating that if you make more, you spend more. I make a little under 80K/year, I'm 24 and single but I also live in Chicago. Just never seems like enough. That being said, iHappy.
I'm actually shocked at the financial thinking in this thread. Cable/satellite is NOT A NECESSITY for anyone Smart phones are NOT A NECESSITY for the majority of people Cell phones are NOT A NECESSITY for many people..especially your 11yr old kid 120K a year is way more than enough for a single person in Houston...WAAAYYY more than enough. Heck, they should live on 50K and save the other 40K a year (taxes would take the rest). The majority of millionaires (who are first-generation rich) make between 75K-150K a year and yes, most of them have families. Wealth is determined by net worth - not salaries. There are many people who have a high net worth and a low income. And there are many people who have a low net worth and a high income. I highly, highly, highly recommend this book for reading: Its threads like these that remind me that the American Dream is not dead...its just that Americans have no idea how to live the American dream.
My buddy makes a ton of money. He works at a large insurance company and is one of the head honchos for the entire southeastern district. He works very hard and is constantly traveling - probably 70% of the time. Married and has 3 boys, ages 3 to 11. He is constantly missing his family and always missing his boys football/basketball games, etc. One day we were all out by the pool and a plane flew over us. He youngest boy looked up and said "there's daddy!" He said "yep, that's me....father of the year" and got a little teary eyed. Money is nice, but it's not what's important in life. You can't take it with you, guys.
