How rich is rich, really?
We all have our own imagination of how much money it would take to fulfill our financial perspectiv. Some say they want to be 'comfortable and live without worry's.* Me, I'd like to be rich!
Who wants to be rich ? Do you want to be rich? I Want To Be Rich! At least I thought I wanted to be Rich. But what is rich, exactly?
Not everyone attaches an amount of money to that word, and not everyone uses the R word to describe the life they want, as I discovered when I asked the Women in the public place that question.
But we all have vague, beautiful ideas billowing through our heads and in our mindset:
Christine: "I want to own a home in Los Angeles City; I want security, stability. I want the flexibility to be able to do what I want."
Laura: "Being rich means not living from paycheck to paycheck. I'd like to own a nice house, a nice car -- to help out my parents and my beloved ones if they needed it."
Belinda: "My idea of rich would be to pay any bill I get , straight away ! To quit my current job and fire my boss maybe find a new job that inspire's me every day . To travel wherever i liked to and whenever I want. To ensure my extended family is financially secure. So maybe just being comfortable is enough for me."
Wealthy vs. comfortable
I can't tell whether my financial comrades think it would be tacky or unrealistic (or both) to just admit that -- hell, yeah! -- they'd like to be rich. Or whether they value stability and "being comfortable" more than wealthy.
See, I like the IDEA of being comfortable. But the more I consider what it would cost to be comfortable, I think I'm actually aiming for rich. Not only is my personal definition of "rich" at a crossroads right now, like most people I find that the golden threshold keeps moving farther and farther out of reach.
As Dr. Smartars would say in his most evil voice, for some people "one MILLION dollars" wouldn't even buy the " R " in rich. For others, it might be a small fortune.
That's because what constitutes wealth is not only subjective, but confusing.
There are many ways on the internet in these days to become rich and to make riches beyond
your wildest Dreams for example Bill Gates or the founders of Google despite all economic problems they make this year over 4 Billion U.S Dollars revenue .
Thats Rich ! isn't it ?
Take PAUL . He was the only one in the workshop group who admitted to a specific desire for gobs of money . He wants to be capital-R rrrrrrrrrich -- and he was also the only one with a targetet specific amount in his mind.
Paul would like to own a couple of houses ("and be able to afford the mortgages comfortably"), a couple of cars, be able to "take great trips" and pay for his children's education. And shoping with
his wife without fear or guilt.
How much would that take? "Millions," He said emphatically. "At least 10 million to 20 million euros."
In the eye of the beholder
My stars. It had never occurred to me to want 10 million euros
Paul estimate may be way beyond what most people on this planet would call rich, but there's an amazing variation in money and dollar amounts that people attach to that four-letter word.
* Those who earned less than 3o,000 euro thought that a household income of 78,000 euros would qualify as rich.
* Those who made 30,000 euro to 50,000 said an income of 100,000 euros would be rich.
* And people in the top half of earners were more likely to say that an income of 200,000 euros earns you the right to the "Rich" word.
So the less money you have, the less money you think you'll need to become rich. And the wealthier you are, I suspect, the more money it takes to make you feel rich.
How to define wealth
In short, how you -- and I mean you, personally -- determine what constitutes wealth depends on your expectations.
A million bucks, wisely invested, will yield an income of about 40,000 euro a year, if you follow the financial planning rule of thumb that says you can only draw income equal to 4% of your assets (a must if you're not working and want to be sure your money lasts as long as you do). That's comfortable, but hardly rich.
Caroline from Milan started out saying she really didn't want to be rich. But when I asked her to specify what her desired not-really-rich lifestyle would look like, she answered the following:
* A two-bedroom home in Milan City.
* A car (and a garage to go with it).
* Between 200,000 euros and 500,000 euros in savings.
* 500,000 euros in her retirement accounts (which is about 10x what she has now).
* A couple of getaways per year.
"So although I just said I don't want to be rich -- that's a couple of million right there," she said, quite surprised.
Other versions of rich lets turn to ANNA, who lives in MALAGA Spain .
She and her husband are squeezing every penny, trying to save enough for both their daughter's college education and their own retirement -- on a joint income of about 55,000 euro
They are crossing their fingers that they'll be able to swing a one-week trip to Mallorca this year.
In order for ANNA to be "comfortable" -- i.e. quit her job for a more inspiring one, be able to provide for her family and "travel wherever and whenever" she wants -- she and her husband would need a lot more cash coming in. How much would it cost to have both freedom and family security? Perhaps another 40,000 euro per year, perhaps more?
These are big questions, but they're essential. At some point in this crazy world, you have to level with yourself about who you are, what kind of life you want, what will make you content. Are you on the path to great wealth? DID you put your goals in reach to become rich ?Or have you achieved what millions of others might consider -- what you yourself might want to consider -- a very wealthy life indeed? or Love ,Peace ,Health and a harmonic famelie ?
Rich, after all, is relative!
We all have our own imagination of how much money it would take to fulfill our financial perspectiv. Some say they want to be 'comfortable and live without worry's.* Me, I'd like to be rich!
Who wants to be rich ? Do you want to be rich? I Want To Be Rich! At least I thought I wanted to be Rich. But what is rich, exactly?
Not everyone attaches an amount of money to that word, and not everyone uses the R word to describe the life they want, as I discovered when I asked the Women in the public place that question.
But we all have vague, beautiful ideas billowing through our heads and in our mindset:
Christine: "I want to own a home in Los Angeles City; I want security, stability. I want the flexibility to be able to do what I want."
Laura: "Being rich means not living from paycheck to paycheck. I'd like to own a nice house, a nice car -- to help out my parents and my beloved ones if they needed it."
Belinda: "My idea of rich would be to pay any bill I get , straight away ! To quit my current job and fire my boss maybe find a new job that inspire's me every day . To travel wherever i liked to and whenever I want. To ensure my extended family is financially secure. So maybe just being comfortable is enough for me."
Wealthy vs. comfortable
I can't tell whether my financial comrades think it would be tacky or unrealistic (or both) to just admit that -- hell, yeah! -- they'd like to be rich. Or whether they value stability and "being comfortable" more than wealthy.
See, I like the IDEA of being comfortable. But the more I consider what it would cost to be comfortable, I think I'm actually aiming for rich. Not only is my personal definition of "rich" at a crossroads right now, like most people I find that the golden threshold keeps moving farther and farther out of reach.
As Dr. Smartars would say in his most evil voice, for some people "one MILLION dollars" wouldn't even buy the " R " in rich. For others, it might be a small fortune.
That's because what constitutes wealth is not only subjective, but confusing.
There are many ways on the internet in these days to become rich and to make riches beyond
your wildest Dreams for example Bill Gates or the founders of Google despite all economic problems they make this year over 4 Billion U.S Dollars revenue .
Thats Rich ! isn't it ?
Take PAUL . He was the only one in the workshop group who admitted to a specific desire for gobs of money . He wants to be capital-R rrrrrrrrrich -- and he was also the only one with a targetet specific amount in his mind.
Paul would like to own a couple of houses ("and be able to afford the mortgages comfortably"), a couple of cars, be able to "take great trips" and pay for his children's education. And shoping with
his wife without fear or guilt.
How much would that take? "Millions," He said emphatically. "At least 10 million to 20 million euros."
In the eye of the beholder
My stars. It had never occurred to me to want 10 million euros
Paul estimate may be way beyond what most people on this planet would call rich, but there's an amazing variation in money and dollar amounts that people attach to that four-letter word.
* Those who earned less than 3o,000 euro thought that a household income of 78,000 euros would qualify as rich.
* Those who made 30,000 euro to 50,000 said an income of 100,000 euros would be rich.
* And people in the top half of earners were more likely to say that an income of 200,000 euros earns you the right to the "Rich" word.
So the less money you have, the less money you think you'll need to become rich. And the wealthier you are, I suspect, the more money it takes to make you feel rich.
How to define wealth
In short, how you -- and I mean you, personally -- determine what constitutes wealth depends on your expectations.
A million bucks, wisely invested, will yield an income of about 40,000 euro a year, if you follow the financial planning rule of thumb that says you can only draw income equal to 4% of your assets (a must if you're not working and want to be sure your money lasts as long as you do). That's comfortable, but hardly rich.
Caroline from Milan started out saying she really didn't want to be rich. But when I asked her to specify what her desired not-really-rich lifestyle would look like, she answered the following:
* A two-bedroom home in Milan City.
* A car (and a garage to go with it).
* Between 200,000 euros and 500,000 euros in savings.
* 500,000 euros in her retirement accounts (which is about 10x what she has now).
* A couple of getaways per year.
"So although I just said I don't want to be rich -- that's a couple of million right there," she said, quite surprised.
Other versions of rich lets turn to ANNA, who lives in MALAGA Spain .
She and her husband are squeezing every penny, trying to save enough for both their daughter's college education and their own retirement -- on a joint income of about 55,000 euro
They are crossing their fingers that they'll be able to swing a one-week trip to Mallorca this year.
In order for ANNA to be "comfortable" -- i.e. quit her job for a more inspiring one, be able to provide for her family and "travel wherever and whenever" she wants -- she and her husband would need a lot more cash coming in. How much would it cost to have both freedom and family security? Perhaps another 40,000 euro per year, perhaps more?
These are big questions, but they're essential. At some point in this crazy world, you have to level with yourself about who you are, what kind of life you want, what will make you content. Are you on the path to great wealth? DID you put your goals in reach to become rich ?Or have you achieved what millions of others might consider -- what you yourself might want to consider -- a very wealthy life indeed? or Love ,Peace ,Health and a harmonic famelie ?
Rich, after all, is relative!
