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The article said they interviewed people with at least $1 million net worth but $1 million net worth isn't really rich is it? In SF you might be able to afford

The article said they interviewed people with at least $1 million net worth but $1 million net worth isn't really rich is it? In SF you might be able to afford a 1 bedroom studio apartment. I'm guessing the same is true in NYC, London, much of Los Angeles, Tokyo. Sure, with $1 million maybe you could retire in Cambodia but for most 1st world people $1 million is not enough be able to stop working for someone else and do what you want. I guess that'S my definition of rich. It would basically be, can I afford to have say a 3-4 bedroom apartment or house for a family of 4, be able to travel 2 or 3 times a year, and not have to go to work for someone else if I don't want to. I'm not saying want to do nothing. I am saying to me "rich" equals enough money to have no more income for the rest of your life and still live like you're making enough to support a family of 4 without having to pinch pennies. I'm confident $1million is not even close enough to be able to do that in most 1st world countries.

aembleton 8y ago
$1 million isn't enough to stop working for someone else if you're in a first tier city like NYC or London, but if you move out to a cheaper part of the country then you can. You might not have an extravagant lifestyle, but you can certainly live on the interest and returns on investment.
ryanmercer 8y ago
>Sure, with $1 million maybe you could retire in Cambodia but for most 1st world people $1 million is not enough be able to stop working for someone else and do what you want. . >I'm confident $1million is not even close enough to be able to do that in most 1st world countries. The average HOUSEHOLD income in the US is around 59k. 1 million is about 300k more than I need to retire today at 33 with a 3% safe withdrawal rate assuming I never work another day in my life and never marry. I only gross 34k a year.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  So, in other words, it's not enough to meet GPs threshold of not work for anybody and support a family of four. It's enough (by your description) to not work for anybody and support a family of 1 (at a level a little over to the US current median individual income.)
  - ryanmercer 8y ago
    >So, in other words, it's not enough to meet GPs threshold of not work for anybody and support a family of four. I have a co-worker that supports a family of four, with a mortgage, on not much more than I make. Do they take fancy vacations? No. Do they drive new cars? No, in fact they have 1 car. Do they eat out, buy convenience foods, buy fast food? No, they make their meals and enjoy them together. Do they have the latest gaming consoles? No but his kids are both teens and are still happy with 2-3 generation old consoles. Do they wear new clothes? No, most of their clothing comes from second hand stores, often barely warn. You don't have to spend gobs of money to have a family. Loo at any number of Christian denominations and you'll find people living quite happily with not a lot of money going out, if you want to really see it look at many families that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints (colloquially known as Mormons) and you'll see families larger than 4 that do are quite healthy and happy, in the US, on household incomes well under 6-figures. Simply buying food in bulk, buying used cars and buying clothing on sale and/or second hand (and passing it down when it comes to children) stretches money considerably: - 50lbs of rice $17.98 29,550 kcals - 25lbs steelcut oats $32.98 42,500 kcals - 15lbs potatoes $6.98 5,205 kcals - 5lb bag instant mashed potatoes $6.98 9,600 kcals - 25lbs flour $6.98 41,275 kcals And for meat, if you buy as little as 1/4 of a cow at a time you get rather steep savings. A quarter beef is anywhere from 80-100lbs of meat (a lot of steak but mostly roast, chuck roast, 3-5lbs of short ribs and the bulk being ground beef) for 6-8$ a pound. Buy a whole beef and you're talking 350lbs~ of butchered weight at 8-9$ a pound.
    - mywittyname 8y ago
      Living costs drop dramatically when you don't need to work. The costs of transportation and time-saving meals is pretty incredible. Ignoring depreciation and interest, even a Civic costs thousands in gas, maintenance, and insurance to run 40 miles daily. Side note: the prices on your bulk beef sound pretty high. My local grocery has ground beef at $3.29/lb, $9/lb is almost what they charge for t-bone steaks. For cheap meat, I stick to whole chickens at <$1/lb or pork when it's BOGO.
      - 8y ago

aembleton 8y ago

$1 million isn't enough to stop working for someone else if you're in a first tier city like NYC or London, but if you move out to a cheaper part of the country then you can. You might not have an extravagant lifestyle, but you can certainly live on the interest and returns on investment.

ryanmercer 8y ago

>Sure, with $1 million maybe you could retire in Cambodia but for most 1st world people $1 million is not enough be able to stop working for someone else and do what you want. . >I'm confident $1million is not even close enough to be able to do that in most 1st world countries. The average HOUSEHOLD income in the US is around 59k. 1 million is about 300k more than I need to retire today at 33 with a 3% safe withdrawal rate assuming I never work another day in my life and never marry. I only gross 34k a year.

dragonwriter 8y ago
So, in other words, it's not enough to meet GPs threshold of not work for anybody and support a family of four. It's enough (by your description) to not work for anybody and support a family of 1 (at a level a little over to the US current median individual income.)
- ryanmercer 8y ago
  >So, in other words, it's not enough to meet GPs threshold of not work for anybody and support a family of four. I have a co-worker that supports a family of four, with a mortgage, on not much more than I make. Do they take fancy vacations? No. Do they drive new cars? No, in fact they have 1 car. Do they eat out, buy convenience foods, buy fast food? No, they make their meals and enjoy them together. Do they have the latest gaming consoles? No but his kids are both teens and are still happy with 2-3 generation old consoles. Do they wear new clothes? No, most of their clothing comes from second hand stores, often barely warn. You don't have to spend gobs of money to have a family. Loo at any number of Christian denominations and you'll find people living quite happily with not a lot of money going out, if you want to really see it look at many families that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints (colloquially known as Mormons) and you'll see families larger than 4 that do are quite healthy and happy, in the US, on household incomes well under 6-figures. Simply buying food in bulk, buying used cars and buying clothing on sale and/or second hand (and passing it down when it comes to children) stretches money considerably: - 50lbs of rice $17.98 29,550 kcals - 25lbs steelcut oats $32.98 42,500 kcals - 15lbs potatoes $6.98 5,205 kcals - 5lb bag instant mashed potatoes $6.98 9,600 kcals - 25lbs flour $6.98 41,275 kcals And for meat, if you buy as little as 1/4 of a cow at a time you get rather steep savings. A quarter beef is anywhere from 80-100lbs of meat (a lot of steak but mostly roast, chuck roast, 3-5lbs of short ribs and the bulk being ground beef) for 6-8$ a pound. Buy a whole beef and you're talking 350lbs~ of butchered weight at 8-9$ a pound.
  - mywittyname 8y ago
    Living costs drop dramatically when you don't need to work. The costs of transportation and time-saving meals is pretty incredible. Ignoring depreciation and interest, even a Civic costs thousands in gas, maintenance, and insurance to run 40 miles daily. Side note: the prices on your bulk beef sound pretty high. My local grocery has ground beef at $3.29/lb, $9/lb is almost what they charge for t-bone steaks. For cheap meat, I stick to whole chickens at <$1/lb or pork when it's BOGO.
    - 8y ago