After how much money did you think you "have money"?

[Anonymous]

We have 150k in our checking accounts for the first time. Its a nice sense of relief but we still do not think of ourselves as "having money".

What would "having money" mean like for you?

[Anonymous]

I’ve always felt like I had money because I have always been able to pay my bills and cover my lifestyle without going into debt. If you are asking when I felt like I was approaching a good nest egg, I would say I felt that when our invested assets reached $1 million.

[Anonymous]

I think for me it happened when we crossed above 5 mil in net worth. I remember eating a meal for 200 dollars for the four of us and not caring. That was a clear "before/after" event. I understand that there are many experience-focused people for whom a $50/person meal is perfectly normal even with far less net worth. This was just an example, I am sure everyone has their own examples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think for me it happened when we crossed above 5 mil in net worth. I remember eating a meal for 200 dollars for the four of us and not caring. That was a clear "before/after" event. I understand that there are many experience-focused people for whom a $50/person meal is perfectly normal even with far less net worth. This was just an example, I am sure everyone has their own examples.

Everyone is different OP. We are over 5mil and still don't feel like this PP.

[Anonymous]

I grew up buying clothing at a thrift store that sold it by the weight and was not able to go on school field trips if I didn’t earn the money first. Making six figures for the first time and being able to just put whatever groceries I wanted into my shopping cart without having to re-total to make sure I had enough money is an indescribable feeling.

[Anonymous]

A clear before/after event for me was when I realized I’d stopped checking the prices of groceries on the shelf at Whole Foods while shopping. If I happened to notice a BOGO sign, I might stock up, but I wasn’t thinking about cost or tallying things up in my head as I shopped anymore.

[Anonymous]

Is it smart to have $150k in your checking account? Shouldn't it at least be in a money market account or something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think for me it happened when we crossed above 5 mil in net worth. I remember eating a meal for 200 dollars for the four of us and not caring. That was a clear "before/after" event. I understand that there are many experience-focused people for whom a $50/person meal is perfectly normal even with far less net worth. This was just an example, I am sure everyone has their own examples.

Everyone is different OP. We are over 5mil and still don't feel like this PP.

I am under $5m and I don't think twice about a meal like that. But my long term net worth goal isn't very aggressive and I care a lot about our quality of life now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A clear before/after event for me was when I realized I’d stopped checking the prices of groceries on the shelf at Whole Foods while shopping. If I happened to notice a BOGO sign, I might stock up, but I wasn’t thinking about cost or tallying things up in my head as I shopped anymore.

That was a significant event for me as well. But I still worry about the HVAC needing replaced and things like that. We’re over 2 mil NW and have a kid six figure income. Some worries never seem to go away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it smart to have $150k in your checking account? Shouldn't it at least be in a money market account or something?

NP. The highest rate you can get on money market is 0.2% at my credit union and 0.3% at my bank. My basic deposit earns 0.15% so you're talking about a whopping $150 annual difference on 100k deposit for a money market fund. Not exactly rising to the level of a decision that matters at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have 150k in our checking accounts for the first time. Its a nice sense of relief but we still do not think of ourselves as "having money".

What would "having money" mean like for you?

You’d have a lot more money if you weren’t just letting 150k rot in a checking account. What a terrible financial decision.

[Anonymous]

When I switched from being a grad student making 20k a year to a post doc making 40k a year I was able to stop budgeting and just buy what I wanted. Yes my wants were modest, but it was plenty of money for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 150k in our checking accounts for the first time. Its a nice sense of relief but we still do not think of ourselves as "having money".

What would "having money" mean like for you?

You’d have a lot more money if you weren’t just letting 150k rot in a checking account. What a terrible financial decision.

What do you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it smart to have $150k in your checking account? Shouldn't it at least be in a money market account or something?

NP. The highest rate you can get on money market is 0.2% at my credit union and 0.3% at my bank. My basic deposit earns 0.15% so you're talking about a whopping $150 annual difference on 100k deposit for a money market fund. Not exactly rising to the level of a decision that matters at all.

True. But OP could make the extra 150 with the click of a button. Little things add up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 150k in our checking accounts for the first time. Its a nice sense of relief but we still do not think of ourselves as "having money".

What would "having money" mean like for you?

You’d have a lot more money if you weren’t just letting 150k rot in a checking account. What a terrible financial decision.

What do you recommend?

Anything else. Pay down the mortgage. Invest in an index fund. Anything. Right now you’re just letting the bank make money off of your money.