What does 1 million dollars buy really?
Are you rich? The smart money says you answered “no” to that question, regardless of how much money you have. According to a 2013 report by investment bank UBS, only 28% of people with $1 million to $5 million in assets considered themselves wealthy. Even when you ask people with more than $5 million in assets, only 3 in 5 consider themselves wealthy.
A lot of people brag about buying lambos and we here stories of crypto millionaires. What we don't really hear about are the deeper questions such as whether or not becoming a millionaire will even make a difference? Will the average crypto millionaire even have a means of cashing it out?
A million dollars actually is not a lot of money anymore in the United States
1 million dollars seems like a lot of money for most people just starting out. If you are young and you just got into crypto or are just starting your career, or if you come from an under privileged background, then a million dollars seems like a fortune. In reality a million dollars only seems like a lot of money but due to inflation, the rise in the cost of living, and other aspects, is it really?
In reality 1 million dollars isn't even enough for a dignified retirement in a lot of places in America. In addition, houses in some places in America cost more than a million dollars so a million dollars may not even be enough to buy a house in a luxury area. 1 million dollars for certain is not enough to afford a mansion, and some cars cost a million dollars. This is not to say that 1 million should be taken lightly but that what 1 million dollars meant 20 years ago is not what it means today.
- The average salary worker with a bachelors degree earns $2.4 million over a lifetime.
- There were 8.6 million millionaires in the United States, in 2012.
How much do you need to live the way you want?
And this is ultimately what matters. It's about how much you need to do what you want. A person with 1 million dollars may be able to do everything they want but another person with a million dollars might not. An apartment complex costs a few million dollars? So with just 1 million dollars a person may not even be able to afford that.
The lesson? Don't chase the numbers, chase the lifestyles. If you like lambos, mansions, etc, you will need much more than 1 million dollars.
References
- https://seanwes.com/lambogoal/041-if-you-think-a-million-dollars-is-a-lot-of-money/
- https://www.cheatsheet.com/business/3-reasons-why-1-million-is-not-a-lot-of-money.html/?a=viewall
- https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acsbr11-04.pdf
- https://www.supermoney.com/2016/05/much-money-take-considered-rich-us/
I remember discussing once how much it takes to raise a kid in the US and it’s close to half a million dollars . 1 million might make me feel wealthy but over time I’d realize it’s not something that would get me across life and that’s where people make the mistake. For a middle class person like me , I’d feel wealthy. But for upper class people, it’s nothing . Nothing is ever enough in this world
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Once you start factoring in all people that you have to care for then you see 1 million isn't so much.
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I let go of caring for Material things , it’s like once you have it , you’re still not happy . I think I’ll focus on the little things , like creating a better future for my son
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Enough is never enough
There's no limit to what one would want if one thinks happiness could be bought. Why only lambos, mansions, why not yachts and private planes?
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How much does it cost to protect your lifestyle and the people in your life?
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I personally live a simple life that finds happiness in sharing rather than having, for there is no limit to human desires. The people in my life? My two kids, instead of leaving material wealth for them, I taught them values and skills that make them capable of making millions if they chose. It will be their choice if they chose to find happiness in having lambos and mansions or live a life of sharing whatever they have. So millions become totally irrelevant in their pursuit of happiness. :)
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Perfect answer to Maria Mannes question:
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The answer depends on the sort of lifestyle a person is accustomed to and how much income is necessary to sustain it. For most people, $1 million sounds like a lot but is not enough to sustain someone who retires at 65. It's even less when you factor in inflation, the high cost of medical care and increasing lifespans.
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Well said, friend. As of today, being wealthy in crypto has the inability to offramp to fiat easily unless you are willing to use a centralized exchange. In Vancouver, BC, Canada it is a beautiful place to live, BUT 1 million will get you an old average small house. Personally, I'm always asking people where they want to retire as I am always looking for the "ultimate" place in the world that I will get great value for my $. Btw, you always have topics that are very interesting to me :)
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I can't help but think we are taught to place too much important on "ownership of assets" as a measure of our success. More and more, I see young "techno nomads" who simply travel the world and they "job" is the laptop in their backpack... which is where they keep all their earthly possessions. We have quite a few such here on Steemit.
For a "conventional" life, $1 million is not very much. Even well-invested, the annual yield-- allowing for enough reinvestment to keep up with cost of living increases-- would be enough for little more than a modest life... once you consider healthcare, property taxes and all that good stuff... especially if you live somewhere like the US, New Zealand, Switzerland or Scandinavia.
But how much is "enough?" I think most people have little functional awareness of what enough looks like. Besides... we're taught that "enough" is basically for complacent losers... we must always want "more."
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Of course we always want more, but more of what? More life? Or more money? Beyond a certain threshold more money is more than any individual can spend in their lifetime.
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One can live a life the way he wants if he is intelligent enough to use the money in the correct manner.
This money can get 10 times if you go to a country where the currency is much lower then USA.
So money cant make u rich if you don’t have brains to use it
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MONEY = SUCCESS. Plain and simple right there. Money would get you respect, envy, buy the time and things you want, and equate to having the means to travel that's the bitter truth .@dana-edwards
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That depends on your definition of success.
If a man has $1,000 and is happy he is successful. If a man has $1 Million and is unhappy he is not successful. Money only plays a part in it if you value money above other things.
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I think it has a lot to do with feeling contentment, a million is a lot for one who doesn't have it. I have to agree with you that it's not the numbers but the value one gets out of it. In my opinion, peace is under-rated.
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1 Million dollars would be enough for retirement if markets wouldn't be so skewed and manipulated as they are now.
If interest rates would be normal and you could put 1 Million into CD's yielding 5-6%, you could easy find the place to live on 50-60,0000$ a year.
Now, with the same Million, you need to look at poor countries to try to stretch it through your retirement.
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This question has very fine details. First of all, who do we ask for? Is it for you? Or is it for me? for whom? If it is for me, this money means wealth. A start-up car and a house to build your intimacy. Yes, that's enough for me. All wealth is a relative concept. I know people who will feel the wealthiest people in the world with $ 1 million, not $ 1000.
I upvoted to this perfect post
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yaah agree i am privileged background, then a million dollars seems like a fortune. In reality a million dollars only seems like a lot of money but due to inflation!
1% of rich people have allthe money in the world and the reaming 99 are some average and live in poverty!
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very nice post sir. for most of us in the 3rd world, a million dollars can seriosuly make a difference in many lives. however, many folks in crypto are making it big time and very soon, steemit will create many millionaires and am working hard to join them. thanks for this post.
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To the question in your title, my Magic 8-Ball says:
Hi! I'm a bot, and this answer was posted automatically. Check this post out for more information.
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I think you missed the point!
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A million dollars would be much more than enough for me.
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With million dollars i retire
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it's not enough for some people if u ask me then i would say it's enough for me because something is better than nothing. @Dana-edwards
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Absolutely agree with you, what really matter is to have enough no matter how much is it :)
thank you for the great post :)
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very nice post sir. for most of us in the 3rd world, a million dollars can seriosuly make a difference in many lives. however, many folks in crypto are making it big time and very soon, steemit will create many millionaires and am working hard to join them. thanks for this post.
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You are right one million dollars have more worth than 20 years ago from now. People donot consider wealthy if they canot buy luxury home and luxury car. So trend is changing. One million has been replaced by 01 billion. But in our region one million usd is still a big money.
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Yes, it's all relative, especially with disparities in what purchasing power can afford you. 1 million in developed economies is less than in developing economies as far as how much you can buy, and it's up to each person to contain their want for more, above a certain level of reasonable comfort. Can't live without food, after all.
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I think the answer of the question should be "No", because there are alot of factors about the currency and all other factors, so in my opinion no money is enough, just be happy what you are getting in life and try to catch your goals and aims.....
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Great post @dana-edwards. I think it is money which makes you confident and successful in life.
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If a man has $1,000 and is happy he is successful.
If a man has $1 Million and is unhappy he is not successful.
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i buys bitcoin with 1million :) no lambo .
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I would definitely feel rich with 1 Million dollar.
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I prefer to rethink lifestyle! I moved to a developing area, and now need much less money to live a much higher and healthier lifestyle than I used to live in the US.
But now I see such huge investment opportunities. Thats the thing about money, its great for whatever you need it for. Luxury is so passé, but building a better world, now that is exciting!
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That's an interesting concept - having a net worth of a million dollars would be huge for me, but it is crazy to see that there are 8.6 million people in the US alone that have this net worth.
I have been doing a lot of rate of change analysis of the Steemit user base, and in my latest post I drew up the correlation between growth of the platform and the increase in STEEM's value by explaing Metcalfe's law - I would appreciate if you could check it out and give me some feedback! But my point is that I am trying to accumulate as much STEEM (and other cryptos that I believe in the future of) as possible before the user base of cryptocurrencies (and Steemit especially) increases, in the hope of growing my net worth past $1 million.
Thanks again for sharing.
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It's all about GREEDS my friend. & GREEDS will never fulfill. So stay happy with whatever you have and enjoy each and every moment like a king .....
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I agree with you. The figures don't really matter, sometimes they do, however being able to afford the things you want is what does. I just followed you :)
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Once you have more money your standard of living also goes up, any amount of money is not enough these days. As your income goes up so does your expenses equally and everytime you come at the border line. 1 million dollar is definitely not lot of money in today's time.
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Isn't there some finite amount where your expenses don't go up anymore? I would assume there is only so much an individual can spend on themselves and or their family. Then again some people may get used to having a lot of money if they've been a high spender for a long time.
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I guess the options have increased so much that there is no limit that can be set for an individual spending. Like I know of friends who were earning equivalent of 5000 $ 4 years back and it was just enough, now they earn almost double and its still just enough. But again it varies with each individual, some can bring that balance in their spending and saving and some just cannot.
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now a days, a million dollars is not worth it ten or twenty years ago.
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I'm new on here, please how can I succeed @dana edwards
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Try using SteemFollower. Also diversify your income stream over time.
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The thirst in fact greed for more and more never satisfies, cuz its demand differs area to area and person to person. Anyhow Excellent and informative post it was.
Upvoted!
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