Do you consider a net worth of 2.5 million "rich?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can easily spend 350K a year on a nanny, preschool, car payment on 2 new cars and normal sized new home with little down, summer and winter vacations, cleaning service and lawn service.

PP, all these things aren't within grasp of your average middle class family. You may not be rich compared to the Joneses living up the street, but you are rich beyond most of the country.

DC is such a bubble!

If people living outside DC had to commute and work the hours we do, and pay what we do for real estate, they wouldn't feel rich either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread clearly shows that most people think $2.5 million is rich and set for life.

Most people could happily live the rest of their lives with this. Especially if they are willing to move. Working is optional, not required.

Some people say this is not enough. Those people probably want expensive homes, private school, luxury vacations, etc. etc.

So the final answer is that this is rich for most people, but not all.

I could absolutely live on that for the rest of my life.

Really? Do you realize if you have that much money, you're paying 100% out of pocket to educate all your children in college? You could live on $75,000 a year for the rest of your life?

Yep. I live on less now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can easily spend 350K a year on a nanny, preschool, car payment on 2 new cars and normal sized new home with little down, summer and winter vacations, cleaning service and lawn service.

PP, all these things aren't within grasp of your average middle class family. You may not be rich compared to the Joneses living up the street, but you are rich beyond most of the country.

DC is such a bubble!

Seriously. On our HHI - we have a townhouse, no nanny, one car (hyundai), no vacations except to visit family, no cleaning service. And we are just fine.

True but that is not the definition of rich

I was commenting on how much of a bubble DC lives in. Not saying I was rich. Although compared to a great majority of the world - the list I provided does make me rich indeed.

We need to compare rich in america not to the rest of the world. You could say you are poor in comparison to someone who lives in the midwest .

I am comparing my wealth to the majority of the world's population that lives in poverty. And I can compare anyway I want to. I feel very fortunate to have what I do - rich or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread clearly shows that most people think $2.5 million is rich and set for life.

Most people could happily live the rest of their lives with this. Especially if they are willing to move. Working is optional, not required.

Some people say this is not enough. Those people probably want expensive homes, private school, luxury vacations, etc. etc.

So the final answer is that this is rich for most people, but not all.

I could absolutely live on that for the rest of my life.

Really? Do you realize if you have that much money, you're paying 100% out of pocket to educate all your children in college? You could live on $75,000 a year for the rest of your life?

Yep. I live on less now.

Do you have kids? If your HHI is less than $75,000, they will get need based aid for college. Not so if your nest egg is $2.5 million.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread clearly shows that most people think $2.5 million is rich and set for life.

Most people could happily live the rest of their lives with this. Especially if they are willing to move. Working is optional, not required.

Some people say this is not enough. Those people probably want expensive homes, private school, luxury vacations, etc. etc.

So the final answer is that this is rich for most people, but not all.

I could absolutely live on that for the rest of my life.

Really? Do you realize if you have that much money, you're paying 100% out of pocket to educate all your children in college? You could live on $75,000 a year for the rest of your life?

Yep. I live on less now.

Do you have kids? If your HHI is less than $75,000, they will get need based aid for college. Not so if your nest egg is $2.5 million.

one kid - no worries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread clearly shows that most people think $2.5 million is rich and set for life.

Most people could happily live the rest of their lives with this. Especially if they are willing to move. Working is optional, not required.

Some people say this is not enough. Those people probably want expensive homes, private school, luxury vacations, etc. etc.

So the final answer is that this is rich for most people, but not all.

I could absolutely live on that for the rest of my life.

Really? Do you realize if you have that much money, you're paying 100% out of pocket to educate all your children in college? You could live on $75,000 a year for the rest of your life?

Yep. I live on less now.

A major illness to you, your spouse or your child and you'd start to worry real fast...

Do you have kids? If your HHI is less than $75,000, they will get need based aid for college. Not so if your nest egg is $2.5 million.

one kid - no worries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread clearly shows that most people think $2.5 million is rich and set for life.

Most people could happily live the rest of their lives with this. Especially if they are willing to move. Working is optional, not required.

Some people say this is not enough. Those people probably want expensive homes, private school, luxury vacations, etc. etc.

So the final answer is that this is rich for most people, but not all.

I could absolutely live on that for the rest of my life.

Really? Do you realize if you have that much money, you're paying 100% out of pocket to educate all your children in college? You could live on $75,000 a year for the rest of your life?

Yep. I live on less now.

A major illness to you, your spouse or your child and you'd start to worry real fast...

Do you have kids? If your HHI is less than $75,000, they will get need based aid for college. Not so if your nest egg is $2.5 million.

one kid - no worries.

Apparently you don't understand how most of this country lives. Do you know that the median income in the US in 2013 is $51,000???

[Anonymous]

The PP insisting that you are only rich if you make $450,000 per year is on crack. That is not the government's definition of "rich," that is simply the government's delineation of the highest tax bracket. If you are only making $425,000 per year, you are still rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The PP insisting that you are only rich if you make $450,000 per year is on crack. That is not the government's definition of "rich," that is simply the government's delineation of the highest tax bracket. If you are only making $425,000 per year, you are still rich.

I'm beginning to think all of DC is on crack.

[Anonymous]

Don't bitch the rich

[Anonymous]

You. Are. Rich. BAM!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can easily spend 350K a year on a nanny, preschool, car payment on 2 new cars and normal sized new home with little down, summer and winter vacations, cleaning service and lawn service.

PP, all these things aren't within grasp of your average middle class family. You may not be rich compared to the Joneses living up the street, but you are rich beyond most of the country.

DC is such a bubble!

If people living outside DC had to commute and work the hours we do, and pay what we do for real estate, they wouldn't feel rich either.

One can be rich and have a low quality of life, or be unnhappy and depressed. Over years, very wealthy individuals have committed suicides. The bottom line is, if you count your net worth in millions, you are rich, regardless or where or how you live.

[Anonymous]

You can easily spend 350K a year on a nanny, preschool, car payment on 2 new cars and normal sized new home with little down, summer and winter vacations, cleaning service and lawn service.

I think the person above is a troll. Perhaps it's the OP? Maybe this whole thread is trolled. But interesting results.

[Anonymous]

OP here- I am not a troll. This thread got way longer than I ever anticipated. I get it- we're rich compared to the rest of the world and most other parts of the country. However, around here, some say yes, rich, others say middle class. I'm definitely ready, either way, to lay this discussion to rest. Thanks all!

[Anonymous]

I'm dying to know the motivation of the OP of posting this question to the group. It isn't clear to me. It seems obvious that she is, if she compares herself to the average person in this area. Did she think that people would tell her she was poor, or even regular middle class? And if so, what would she do with that information? If she's told she's rich, what would that do for her? Seriously, you can't figure out that you are rich with $2.5 million in assets? The OP must know - assuming she reads newspapers - that the median net worth of people in this area is much lower. Yes - there are the super wealthy in this area - more than elsewhere. But to not be able to recognize that you are extremely comfortable, doing better than 99% of the population, and protected from any downturn just seems a bit out of touch to me.

I hope she walks away from this humbler, respectful of her fortune, supports charity, and focuses on other things. Were we all so fortunate.