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31% of millionaires say they’re part of the middle class, survey finds. ‘People feel squeezed,’ advisor explains
CNBC ^ | NOV 10 2023 | Jessica Dickler

Posted on 11/13/2023 3:27:53 PM PST by george76

Only a small share of millionaires say they feel wealthy,..

Persistent inflation has taken a toll on most Americans’ financial security, making it harder to feel well off..

What does it take to be rich? “The short answer is more...

Feeling “rich” is increasingly elusive.

Even among millionaires, only 8% would characterize themselves as wealthy these days.

Roughly 60% of investors with $1 million or more of investable assets said they are more likely upper middle class,

...

Even doctors, lawyers and other highly paid professionals — also referred to as the “regular rich” — who benefit from stable jobs, homeownership and a well-padded retirement savings account, said they don’t feel well off at all. Some even said they feel poor,..

Of those making more than $175,000 a year, or roughly the top 10% of tax filers, one-quarter said they were either “very poor,” “poor” or “getting by but things are tight.”

Even a share of those making more than $500,000 and $1,000,000 said the same.

Despite their high net worth, just 44% of all millionaires felt “very comfortable,”

...

In the past year, credit card debt spiked to an all-time high, while the personal savings rate fell.

...

Where there was a time in the U.S. when a married couple, with children, could get by with a single-wage earner in the house, those days are mostly vestiges of the past.”

Money continues to be the No. 1 source of stress among households,

(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: covid; covid19; middleclass; millionaires; wboopie
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To: SamAdams76
I don't need any rules to tell me that we are poor....yes, we own a nice home on acrerage, and yes we owe huge property taxes on it...

yes we have paid off cars and yes our cars are older....

yes we have some retirement savings and yes if the markets collapse, yes we will loose everything...

I worked for a non profit with no defined pension....most hospitals are like that....so whatever I saved, and what little they threw in, that's it...

husband's company which would have paid a nice pension of course went bankrupt so he exists on the little Pension guarantee money..

luckily he has a pension from his Nat guard but it ain't much....

I feel very poor now that I am not working at age 70 and I feel that its only going to get worse....

with all these huge wage increases our income looks poor and is poor....

21 posted on 11/13/2023 4:20:44 PM PST by cherry
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To: Uncle Miltie

$20 gold eagles are close to $2000


22 posted on 11/13/2023 4:23:17 PM PST by Keyhopper (Indians had bad immigration laws)
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To: CA_soon_gone

Get rid of stuff.

I am doing ok financially, but I am at the point where I don’t want new stuff, I’d rather get rid of all the stuff I don’t need, and simplify.

Money should buy freedom, not stuff.


23 posted on 11/13/2023 4:26:44 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: george76
Today's "dollars" are now worth three cents, when compared with the value of the dollar at the beginning of the 20th century. It won't be long before the almighty dollar will be worth the same as a copper penny. Or less.

So, yes, "millionaire" isn't what it used to be. Now, you have to be a billionaire before you talk about real money.

24 posted on 11/13/2023 4:29:38 PM PST by asinclair (What doesn't kill you makes you stronger)
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To: Uncle Miltie

How many millionaires have 1 million dollars in total assets and no more, and nothing more coming in, no income, no SS, no nothing?


25 posted on 11/13/2023 4:31:41 PM PST by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: Uncle Miltie

Bingo! Damn few people understand this.

An ounce of gold is always worth an ounce of gold. It never loses its value.


26 posted on 11/13/2023 4:34:47 PM PST by MeganC (There is nothing feminine about feminism. )
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To: george76

“Roughly 60% of investors with $1 million or more of investable assets said they are more likely upper middle class,”

Thanks to the government and the effect of inflation a million isn’t what it used to be anymore obviously.

If one wants to retire and continue with even a modest standard of living for 20-30 years you will need to save a lot of money.


27 posted on 11/13/2023 4:40:34 PM PST by plain talk
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To: george76

Lots of jobs out there for lawyers at $22 - 25 an hour.


28 posted on 11/13/2023 4:41:02 PM PST by PAR35
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To: Uncle Miltie
Common advice in retirement is to spend no more than 4% of your assets annually. So a millionaire can only spend $40,000 per year. Does that feel “rich”?

Don't forget the $24-30,000 a year (gross from social security. So while you won't feel rich, you can maintain a middle class lifestyle if you've paid off your mortgage and don't need a new car every 4 years.

29 posted on 11/13/2023 4:44:47 PM PST by PAR35
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To: PAR35
Common advice in retirement is to spend no more than 4% of your assets annually. So a millionaire can only spend $40,000 per year. Does that feel “rich”?

Assuming you get an average 4% return on assets, yes you can spend $40,000/yr without reducing the principal, with a million in assets.

30 posted on 11/13/2023 4:46:39 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: catnipman
divide any dollar amounts mentioned by 20 and then multiply by 2,000 to get a quick estimate of equivalence to current dollars

Doing it the hard way there. Just add a couple of zeros to the original number and you end up the same place.

31 posted on 11/13/2023 4:50:02 PM PST by PAR35
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To: george76

When I started working in 1980 a million was a lot of money. You could park it in a boring, old fashioned passbook savings account at 5-1/4% and live nicely off the interest. $52,000 was a very, very, very nice income at that time.

Now? What does such an account (withdrawals on demand) pay? You’d be lucky to get 2 or 3 percent. Say 2-1/2, about half. You would need a bit over $2-million to generate the same income. But you need $150,000 min to have the equivalent purchasing power of the 52. So you would need $6-million.

What was gold in 1980? $600? So 86 ounces of gold was about $52K.
86 ounces of gold at $1,950 gives you $167,000.

The currency is being destroyed.


32 posted on 11/13/2023 4:54:21 PM PST by wny
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To: SamAdams76

Same here. If you just have $1M in a 401k, you will need to be frugal in your retirement.


33 posted on 11/13/2023 5:03:20 PM PST by SauronOfMordor (Either you will rule. Or you will be ruled. There is no other choice.)
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To: george76

Phony definitions.
Misleading use of words.
What do you call a person with a paid-off home mortgage in California, if they have no other assets?
A MILLIONAIRE.
Having a million dollars of investable assets is not much for people who worked to full retirement age.


34 posted on 11/13/2023 5:25:51 PM PST by Honest Nigerian
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To: CA_soon_gone
Rich is when what comes in exceeds what goes out. Adjust accordingly.

My wife and I are millionaires. We don't feel rich, just living a middle class existence. We always spend far less than what comes in, always have lived within our means. Neighbors saw me last weekend duct-taping the roof on my 23-year-old truck, because of rust holes that leak, a ritual I do every 6 months. Keep it patched until it no longer runs. No new cars, I get at least 15 years from daily drivers before considering getting a newer one. House long paid off, no debts, and we do most repairs ourselves. With our excess funds we help our adult kids and their families.

The true riches are being around our families and helping them.

35 posted on 11/13/2023 5:27:33 PM PST by roadcat
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To: dfwgator

Actually, you need to earn about 7% per year to spend 4% of assets. 2% has to go back into the kitty to cover inflation and at least 1% for taxes....


36 posted on 11/13/2023 5:33:04 PM PST by Uncle Miltie (islam is a totalitarian death cult founded by a child rapist.)
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To: wny

Correct. My nieces, early 20’s, didn’t at first understand it when I explained that it wasn’t just that the cost of things was going up, but they were also getting a cut in wages-— that their time/energy/life were being devalued. My house is paid for. I have a very strong pension and almost a million in some ‘safe’ investments. Five years ago, I felt OK/well-off. No more. The future indeed looks bleak, with fewer and fewer people being able to afford a decent standard of living.


37 posted on 11/13/2023 5:34:08 PM PST by drwoof
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To: MeganC; Uncle Miltie
An ounce of gold is always worth an ounce of gold. It never loses its value.

Sure it does. The value changes quite a bit...and when the value goes down, value has been lost.

Gold is worth something because people agree that it is worth something. Like any object of value.

The gold coin in question may be worth more than its value in gold simply because it is an old coin no longer in print. Same with old versions of paper currency - they can go for many thousands of dollars. However, if they were spent as normal, they have their face value. Same with the gold coin.

38 posted on 11/13/2023 6:33:06 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
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To: catnipman

Handy link:

https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm


39 posted on 11/13/2023 7:42:37 PM PST by Graybeard58 (There are only two sexes but there are 57 different types of queers.)
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To: george76

I had a good paying job for 35 years. Paid off my house and have no debt. But I am shocked at the prices of everyday items. I had a talk with my grown kids about inflation when Biden got selected and told them that it would be brutal.
They are becoming economic conservatives.


40 posted on 11/13/2023 7:46:36 PM PST by Texas resident (Biden=Obama=Jarrett=Soros)
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