Are you a millionaire?

[Anonymous]

Spouse and I are 49. NW is $21mm. Hit 1mm NW around mid-30s probably? We came from very poor backgrounds and had about 300k in loans combined from undergrad and grad school (schools weren't as generous with aid for FGLI as they are these days). But our jobs have high salaries so we've been able to do very well. We both plan to retire by 55.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you going to survive with less than a million? Lol! How do you think most people do it? They live off SS. My mom lives exclusively off hers. Her row house is paid for. Her expenses are low- taxes, utilities, food, gas. She goes out with friends and on trips with them. Reads, volunteers. She has no pension and no other savings.

So you think the 15 or so people who have posted on here in their 40s and 50s as having more than $1m net worth in the dc area…. Are lying and actually their retirement plan in a few years is to live off social security?

Listen, I’m fully aware lots of people in the us have no retirement savings and are poor. But to claim that the people posting on dcum — a site with notoriously well educated, well employed people in one of the wealthiest highest income regions of the world where readers skew gen x — can’t possibly have as many people with net worth of a million dollars as the posters suggest….. that makes you delusional.

I never wrote that I doubt these posters. I’ve worked for very wealthy people in this area. I know they exist. What I think is ridiculous is that the PP wonders how people retire and live on less than a million dollars. Most retirees didn’t have their entire adult working life to contribute to a 401k. Why? 401ks weren’t even in existence when they started working. My mom never contributed to hers because there was no employer match. I don’t consider her poor at all. She owns her home, pays her bills, etc. Plenty of people are in her position so obviously it’s doable.

Does your mom live inside the beltway?

[Anonymous]

^ Yes. In Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ Yes. In Silver Spring.

You mom lived inside the beltway, has no pension, less than $1m of net worth, and her only source of income is 3600 a month social security?

[Anonymous]

We likely became millionaires in our early 40’s and our net worth really soared during our 50’s. We are now UHNW but don’t spend like it.

[Anonymous]

DH and I are mid 40s. We have over 1m each outside of our home value. We live in a cheap house relative to our income and it’s almost all paid off. This has let us save and invest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Yes. In Silver Spring.

You mom lived inside the beltway, has no pension, less than $1m of net worth, and her only source of income is 3600 a month social security?

Correct. She paid off her place right around the time she retired so she's paying taxes, utilities, basic upkeep on the home. She worked as a nurse her whole life and raised two kids by herself. She's always been frugal and she said what she likes most about retirement is having more time to cook and clip coupons. She was that mom with a coupon box at the grocery store back in the day. I'm frugal and so is my kid.

[Anonymous]

Yes, $2M in liquid assets and $1M in home equity. $200K plus a year in pensions and social security.

Live comfortably, enjoy travel working on building additional wealth to pass on to the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Yes. In Silver Spring.

You mom lived inside the beltway, has no pension, less than $1m of net worth, and her only source of income is 3600 a month social security?

Correct. She paid off her place right around the time she retired so she's paying taxes, utilities, basic upkeep on the home. She worked as a nurse her whole life and raised two kids by herself. She's always been frugal and she said what she likes most about retirement is having more time to cook and clip coupons. She was that mom with a coupon box at the grocery store back in the day. I'm frugal and so is my kid.

Your mother is probably less depressed and happier than a lot the rich people posting here.

[Anonymous]

52 and 60, $8.5m + $1m home equity
No inheritance, no business, no stock options, just savings from modest 300k income

[Anonymous]

I quickly checked Chatgpt and it says about 8.3% of Virginia's resident have a net worth of 1M+

Let's assume chatgpt underestimates their rank and let's bump it by 10%. You still have 80% of people with a net worth under a million

I'm not impressed by a bunch of millionaires telling other millionaires they are millionaires.

In other words if you have a representative sample of 10 units (married, singles, etc) only 2 are millionaires.

What's the point of this thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I quickly checked Chatgpt and it says about 8.3% of Virginia's resident have a net worth of 1M+

Let's assume chatgpt underestimates their rank and let's bump it by 10%. You still have 80% of people with a net worth under a million

I'm not impressed by a bunch of millionaires telling other millionaires they are millionaires.

In other words if you have a representative sample of 10 units (married, singles, etc) only 2 are millionaires.

What's the point of this thread?

I don't think people are posting to impress you.

What was the point of your post??

- np

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, $2M in liquid assets and $1M in home equity. $200K plus a year in pensions and social security.

Live comfortably, enjoy travel working on building additional wealth to pass on to the kids.

I said no, but if we are counting pensions then maybe.

[Anonymous]

When people ask this, should we include
- Retirement accounts like 401k, IRA, and TSP?
- Home equity?
- 529s?

If you strip all that, we are not millionaires. If you count retirement accounts, we are almost multimillionaires. No inheritance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When people ask this, should we include
- Retirement accounts like 401k, IRA, and TSP?
- Home equity?
- 529s?

If you strip all that, we are not millionaires. If you count retirement accounts, we are almost multimillionaires. No inheritance.

Net Worth is literally Assets minus Liabilities. It includes everything. Yes that ignores lots of complexity from accounts with special rules, deferred taxes, etc but it's how the whole industry defines the term.