We make 450 HHI and you are delusional if you think that is anything like 5m or 50m a year. My life would be completely different. I would start a business or pursue a passion, instead of a paycheck. I would hire my nanny full time without stressing about how much she costs. I could support my family better who needs help without it affecting my life or retirement plans.

I agree with OP. Our HHI is $300k. Nice home, late model cars, private school. No beach house, but nice vacations 2-3 times a year. We fly (not first class), stay in hotels... My brother makes closer to 50k. His cars are 10+ years old. Public school. The only vacations they drive and stay with family. They do not have health insurance (until ACA kicks in). No college savings for kids, no retirment savings for them. I know they haven't paid some medical bills because occasionally a collector will call me and ask for my brother (his wife and I have the same name). Worrying about medical care is a far stretch from not having my own yacht or plane. I don't worry about not having a yacht when I go to bed at night. I don't worry about paying the enormous heating bill due to the cold winter. These are things people on 50k worry about. Wondering if you saved enough for kids college or retirment is very far from this reality.

Anonymous wrote:I would enjoy having a private plane. Other than that, I am very happy with my lifestyle and wouldn't change much.

My friend who is a licensed pilot, has a plane and a very old minivan (duct-taped too). Instead of buying an expensive car, he prefers to own a plane. This is very doable with even a smaller HHI. Just saying.

I make 35k and even going up to 50k would literally be life changing for me.

I actually made that analogy in the other thread.

My point was they have more in common with the $50k household than the $50 million household.

They may not worry as much about paying the SAME bills, but they probably are more cognizant of bills in general than the $50 million household.

I certainly didn't mean to suggest that a $500,000 household is struggling or as income-secure as a $50,000 househould (which is actually the median income in the USA).

What I meant was their expenses (however more they may be) are far more likely to closer to matching their income than the $50 million household.

And the difference between a 5k and a 20k (or more) vacation...It's like stay in a Caribbean AI or rent a luxury villa with staff. Or rent a yacht for the week. It's not that one is nicer than the other. They're barely the same thing.

Absolutely they're more like the 50k person. Are you insane? Lol. If you're making 50m a year, you're talking private plane/yacht/island people. It's a whole different stratosphere.

For us, somewhere between $200 and $300k suffices for all of our whims (except early retirement). Any more, we are donate more (as %).

For me the difference between $500k and $50M would be donating to existing charities and creating our own. That, and I would spring for first class on all long haul plane trips.

I think your numbers are a little off. $500k is 10x $50k. Using that same factor you should be comparing the gap to 10x $500k, which is $5 million. The person at $500k is definitely more like the $5 million person than the $50k person. $50 million is a whole different ball of wax. We are above $500k and I can see ways to live better on $5 million. Not saying I am striving for that, but that's when you get the beach house AND the ski house, and the non budget travel, etc.

I don't entertain what if scenarios. I'll never make $500,000 nor will I ever make $50 million so there is no point wasting time dreaming of those things.

I would enjoy having a private plane. Other than that, I am very happy with my lifestyle and wouldn't change much.

I make a similar HHI to you and I wouldn't spend $20K a week on a vacation. So, at least for me, that would be one difference if I made a lot more.

I agree with you. Though I still this a $5k vacation is tough to do. $20k for a week would be just fine. I wouldn't need to do more than that.

I think lifestyles at each of those income levels are very different.

Does the person making $500K live more like the $50K person or the $50 million person?

I am at $400K and I actually feel like a whole lot more money wouldn't make such a big difference in my life. I can already afford anything I really want in life... Nice vacations, private school, nice house and car, etc. I enjoy all those things. If I had more $$$, I could step it up a notch but my life wouldn't be that much different. $5k vacation doesn't need to be $20K. $50K car doesn't need to be $200K. $1M house doesn't need to be $10M house. etc etc.

On another thread, one person argued that this is nowhere close to a $50 million lifestyle. While that might be true, I think I am much further away from the $50K person.

$50K people still live with fear and uncertainty. They must make compromises on a daily basis.

How much do you make and what do you think?