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Post by Larry Madsen on Mar 24, 2024 10:52:49 GMT -5
In a recent discussion with some friends the topic of being a millionaire came up. I'm sure some/many here are millionaires be any definition and some maybe by another definition. The discussion I mention revolved around this: If you simply have a million dollars' worth of total assets (in excess of debt) are you a millionaire? Would it be limited assets such as the home (you live in) plus savings of one sort or another? Or would it be more a case of having the million in relatively liquid assets? Granted many people own multiple houses for whatever reason. I would consider those (beyond the home one resides in) as easily saleable/almost liquid assets. For me I would never feel like a millionaire if I were including the house I live in to justify millionaire status. Not that I know what feeling like a millionaire is to begin with.  What is your sense of it? |
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Mar 24, 2024 11:03:22 GMT -5
I think "millionaire" has lost its status as anything extraordinary. To me the definition is more relevant with "multi" in front of it. I suppose one could call themself a millionaire if they have a total worth exceeding $999,999 in assets, liquid or otherwise. I certainly wouldn't (and can't, lol).
I'm a "thousandaire"😂
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Post by Larry Madsen on Mar 24, 2024 11:07:33 GMT -5
I think "millionaire" has lost its status as anything extraordinary. Yes indeed, agreed on that point. I think in our discussion the Millionaire term was mentioned as the historical benchmark we have used in casual discussion about "rich" people for as long as I have been alive. My sense regarding the house I live in is ... if I have to sell my house to have the million and I then have no place to live, I have a major problem. Not that anyone would sell their house purely for the joy of becoming a "numerical" millionaire in cash. |
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Mar 24, 2024 11:19:58 GMT -5
I have a few family members that I suspect have more than a million in assets, some considerably so when tallying investments in stocks, etc. I don't consider them millionaires and have never heard them make any such declarations. Really I think it's more of a qualifier if one has that kinda dough they can withdraw at that bank without selling their home.
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Post by revtones on Mar 24, 2024 11:27:15 GMT -5
I don't have a pot to p*** in,a window to throw it out of,or a fence to hit....
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Post by Taildragger on Mar 24, 2024 11:57:45 GMT -5
I think "millionaire" has lost its status as anything extraordinary. ^this^ Million dollar houses are quite common in California these days, and they ain't mansions: the mansions are where the "multi" comes into play... |
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Post by Seldom Seen on Mar 24, 2024 12:01:38 GMT -5
I believe it’s customary to use total net worth. I recall when, in the early seventies, my father told me he had become a millionaire because he had assets in excess of $1M. That was fifty years ago and now the general rule of thumb is $5M in assets to be considered “rich” and $50M in assets to be considered “ultra rich”. This is consistent with the “gross domestic product implicit price deflator” trend which was ~22 in 1975 compared to ~123 today, or 5.6 times higher. Keep in mind that even your home, if you own it, can be monetized to see you through to the end. Hang onto your boots though.
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Post by tahitijack on Mar 24, 2024 12:24:16 GMT -5
A million dollars isn't what it used to be....
We are very comfortable but still mindful of those famous lines a Hemingway novel...
How did you go bankrupt?
Slowly at first, then suddenly.
So we have created annual budgets for decades and lived with them accordingly.
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Post by Seldom Seen on Mar 24, 2024 12:32:41 GMT -5
Short answer is, in this day and age, one can be a millionaire and not be rich.
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Post by Taildragger on Mar 24, 2024 12:49:34 GMT -5
In 1963, $100,000.00 held about the same purchasing power as $1,000,000.00 does today.
The minimum wage in California in 1963 was $1.25, about $12.68 in today's dollars.
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Post by Larry Madsen on Mar 24, 2024 12:55:58 GMT -5
As far as whether my example term "Millionaire" still means "rich" ... I know back in the 80s when I was getting more seriously into the career and money-making game it was often said, " By the time we retire a million dollars might not buy you anything more than tickets to the ball game, but that's still better than having to miss the ball game."  Our discussion the other day wasn't about what a million might buy. It was more a discussion of how people calculate Millionaire. I think it goes without saying that the term "Rich" (whatever that is) is dependent on one's lifestyle expectations. |
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Post by Seldom Seen on Mar 24, 2024 13:34:05 GMT -5
Second short answer is you're a millionaire if your net worth exceeds $1M. I'm notoriously bad at staying on topic and it's one of the reasons I don't post much anymore. My brain just yearns to expound!
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Post by gato on Mar 24, 2024 13:44:07 GMT -5
When I was a kid, "millionaire" was a term reserved for the likes of Scrooge McDuck, diving into piles of cash.
On paper, I'm "worth" more than a million these days, but as pointed out by others, "millionaire" is pretty nebulous. I bought my house for $240,000 in 2002, and its value has increased to $750,000, but so what? If I sold it, and took all the cash to buy another house, it would be a lesser home than I now have, unless I opted to move to a less valued neighborhood.
I prefer the term "comfortable." My income is unencumbered by a private plane or yacht to maintain ... more money comes in than goes out, so I'm able to help out my son and his wife with their new baby now and then, and that's what matters to me.
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Post by Larry Madsen on Mar 24, 2024 13:50:20 GMT -5
Having unencumbered income allows Queenie and I to "feel" much richer than we are.
We will pay off her 2023 Honda CRV next week (still owe $606.00) ... Then we are, once again, back to ZERO debt status.
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Post by rickyguitar on Mar 24, 2024 14:20:40 GMT -5
Remember in The Spy Who Shagged Me Mini Me states a ransom of "1 million dollars" and everybody laughs, he had to go up to 10 million or something. Yeah, things change.
We have never hit it, kinda close a couple times but...
Don't think we will die broke though. Won't have to move in with any of the kids.
Barring the unforseen.
Fingers crossed.
Toes too.
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Post by Taildragger on Mar 24, 2024 14:27:19 GMT -5
Second short answer is you're a millionaire if your net worth exceeds $1M. I'm notoriously bad at staying on topic and it's one of the reasons I don't post much anymore. My brain just yearns to expound! An MT2 thread that wanders off-topic?
This is "unprecedented"!!!!
Probably "out-of-context", as well...
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Post by Leftee on Mar 24, 2024 14:32:54 GMT -5
Think of all the guns one could buy.
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Post by markfromhawaii on Mar 24, 2024 19:34:39 GMT -5
I keep on thinking about that scene in Austin Powers.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Mar 24, 2024 21:56:39 GMT -5
I keep on thinking about that scene in Austin Powers. This is exactly what I was thinking. |
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Post by Leftee on Mar 25, 2024 6:19:50 GMT -5
I look at it two ways. Total assets and liquid assets - the latter being the better of the two. And little to no debt regarding the fixed asset(s).
In my mind, a house that carries no debt is a bit of the jello asset. The reason being that living costs are relatively low as there’s no mortgage. So not quite liquid, but not entirely fixed. If that makes sense.
Which I sometimes don’t.
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Post by slacker 🐨 on Mar 25, 2024 9:25:19 GMT -5
I think "millionaire" has lost its status as anything extraordinary. Yes indeed, agreed on that point. I think in our discussion the Millionaire term was mentioned as the historical benchmark we have used in casual discussion about "rich" people for as long as I have been alive. My sense regarding the house I live in is ... if I have to sell my house to have the million and I then have no place to live, I have a major problem. Not that anyone would sell their house purely for the joy of becoming a "numerical" millionaire in cash. I would agree with this perspective with one caveat. If you live in a much nicer house than you really need, you could downsize and the difference could be considered in your count for millionaire status. For example, I know someone who lives in a house that's valued near a million, but they could downsize to a smaller place with a value closer to $250k. |
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Post by slacker 🐨 on Mar 25, 2024 9:27:28 GMT -5
I think "millionaire" has lost its status as anything extraordinary. ^this^ Million dollar houses are quite common in California these days, and they ain't mansions: the mansions are where the "multi" comes into play... Living in Iowa, I couldn't afford to move to California (not that I'd want to). If I sold my house, not sure I'd have enough to even buy a starter home there. |
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Post by Larry Madsen on Mar 25, 2024 9:54:51 GMT -5
If you live in a much nicer house than you really need, you could downsize Certainly, could be the case. For many years our house was staying right at the median price point for houses in Vegas. In recent years it has slipped below the median. The place was built over 50 years ago, so the neighborhood is aging a bit. |
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Bopper
Wholenote
Motor City USA
Posts: 507
Age: 72
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Post by Bopper on Mar 25, 2024 10:26:36 GMT -5
For context, the (Richmond) Federal Reserve says that for the U.S. in 2022,
Their definition of wealth includes real estate.
A million five may not be that much anymore, but it's good for top ten percent.
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Post by langford on Mar 25, 2024 23:02:50 GMT -5
I sold my house in Toronto a few weeks ago. The deal closes on April 23, and a day or two later, I’ll be millionaire in cash and liquid investments for a few months while I go house hunting. (I’m downsizing and moving back to Montreal, where houses are cheaper.) I got a very good price for my place and it sold within eight hours of the listing going live, which was cool. So is the cash. But it won’t last. When all is said and done, I’ll have a mortgage-free roof over my head and enough of a nest egg to support a modest retirement when the time comes. Plus a new amp. I’ve got no complaints, but a million bucks ain’t what it used to be.
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kfay
Halfnote
Posts: 89
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Post by kfay on Mar 26, 2024 10:50:21 GMT -5
I'm a rock solid thousandaire.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Mar 26, 2024 11:48:15 GMT -5
I'm a rock solid thousandaire. Me too. The grandkids are impressed when I go flashing the Washingtons. 😀 |
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