You May Say You Want to be Wealthy ... but What Exactly Does Wealthy Mean?
by www.SixWise.com
We all have our own version of the American Dream. A four-bedroom
house in a nice neighborhood would certainly qualify, or maybe
a two-bedroom condo in the city, with its own garage, would
suffice? Your neighbor may want a yacht to satisfy his American
dream ... your office-mate to travel wherever and whenever
she wants.
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Who's rich? Are you rich? Is your neighbor? How about
your boss? Americans' definitions vary widely from earning
$74,000 a year to needing at least $5 million.
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But there is one tie that binds most all American Dreams
together, and that is wealth. It takes money to live a dream-life,
and a lot of it. While we're all so busy fascinating about
living the good life, planning what we'll do when we strike
it rich, and, perhaps, envying those who are already there,
has anyone stopped to consider what
being wealthy really means?
How Much Does it Take to be "Rich"?
It takes an annual income of $120,000 to be rich. If you
have assets that total $1 million, you also qualify.
Surprised? Did you think it took more? Less? The above definition
of rich comes from a 2003 Gallup poll, and is the median definition
of rich, according to those who responded to the poll. About
8 percent of respondents kicked things up a notch: they said
it takes an income of $1 million a year to be rich.
But "rich" is clearly relative. A poll of over
11,000 people by MSN Money found that majority thought you'd
need at least $5 million before you're rich.
And here's some interesting food for thought -- it appears
that the more money you earn, the more you need to feel rich.
Among those who earned under $30,000, a household income of
$74,000 was "rich." For those who earned between
$30,000 and $50,000, it took $100,000 a year to be rich.
And those who were in the top half of income earners already?
They were more likely to think it took an income of $200,000
to join the ranks of the rich.
"I'll Be Rich One Day"
About a third of Americans (31 percent) expect to get rich
at some point in their lives, according to the Gallup Poll
(a lucky 2 percent say they already are). But is getting rich
really likely, or are we all just chasing the proverbial white
rabbit?
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What Kind of SUPER Rich Person Would
You Be?
Just for fun, let's say you are suddenly in possession
of a lot of cash. Not just enough to splurge on a new
pair of shoes or golf clubs, but serious money.
Given the opportunity, what kind of "big spender"
do you think you would be? A "Paris Hilton"...
a "Bill Gates"... a "Warren Buffet"...
or a "George Soros"?
Find
Out What Kind of SUPER Rich Person You'd be Now!
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If you ask Americans under 30, the chances of getting rich
are pretty good: 51 percent of them believe they may very
well be rich one day. Ask someone over 65 and the odds go
down -- only 8 percent in this group think they'll become
wealthy.
Who's right? If you ask Thomas DiPrete, a professor of sociology
at Columbia University, the more mature Americans may have
it.
DiPrete analyzed income levels back to 1968 to find out how
likely different salary earners were to become rich. You may
want to cover your ears here: He found it was extremely unlikely
that most people will one day earn $1 million a year, even
for those who would be considered above-average earners. For
instance, those who earn $120,000 a year today have only a
19 percent chance of raising their income to $340,000 in the
next 15 years.
The chances seem to grow even slimmer when you consider these
statistics reported in an MSN
Money article:
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People are saving at the lowest rates ever since the
U.S. Federal Reserve began tracking it in 1946.
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Consumer debt in the United States is at a high of
$2.1 trillion -- not including mortgages.
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From 2001 to 2003, Americans spent 51 percent of $333
billion worth of cashed out equity from their homes on
paying down debts and covering living expenses like rent
and groceries.
'What about all of those rich and famous celebrities out
there?' you may be thinking ... 'If they can make it big,
why can't I?'
Well, according to Edward Wolff, a professor of economics
at NYU, even those we think of as fabulously wealthy may not
be all that rich.
"These are people with big incomes, but that doesn't
necessarily translate to big wealth," he says. "Just
getting it is half the battle -- then you have to maintain
it, and that takes a continuous flow of big income."
Creating Wealth in Your Life (Money Optional)
Hopefully hearing these statistics does not leave you feeling
discouraged but rather more in touch with reality. Because
the bottom line is, if you're waiting to be happy until you
earn a magic amount of dollars (and it's easy to get caught
up in this mentality), you may never be truly happy.
Rather, we recommend that you count your riches right now
-- those that come from your character, the smiles on your
kids faces, and the satisfaction you have with your life right
now -- and then decide for yourself how wealthy you really
are.
Recommended Reading
Why
Your Income Has Very Little to do With How Happy You Are
Spending
Your Money on Doing Things vs. Owning Things Will Make You
Happier
Sources
The
Gallup Poll
MSN
Money: Just How Rich is Rich, Really?
Taipei
Times: Americans Cling to Alluring Myth of 'Getting Rich'