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kenoodo
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 1092
Location: MengDai
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 Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:53 am Post subject: How rich you are going to be? |
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| Quote: | In America, millions make you middle-class
By Mark Egan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - For most people around the world, earning a million dollars makes you rich. In America, it just makes you middle class.
A new book, "The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of The New Rich And How They Are Changing America" ($24, Currency Doubleday), finds that 8.4 million U.S. households have a net worth of between $1 million and $10 million of money they did not inherit.
While these middle-class millionaires live in regular neighborhoods and send their kids to public schools, they behave very differently from their less-wealthy neighbors.
Middle-class millionaires exhibit four qualities that "have a lot to do with why they are so successful and influential," Lewis Schiff, who wrote the book with Russ Alan Prince, told Reuters.
-- Hard work. They put in a 70-hour work week compared to 40 hours a week for other middle-class Americans.
-- Networking. "They use information as if it were capital," Schiff said.
-- Perseverance. They typically fail professionally twice as often as other middle-class Americans, but they do not give up.
-- Risk. They choose jobs with greater risks and bigger pay whereas middle-class Americans tend to avoid risk and try to work in jobs they love.
Schiff and Prince, who owns a market research firm, interviewed 3,714 middle-class households, including 586 middle-class millionaires.
Their findings also show how their behaviors influence larger society. "If the middle-class millionaire likes something, it is a high likelihood that the rest of the middle class will be interested in it," Schiff said.
But while most Americans might want millions, many wonder if working 70 hours a week is too high a price to pay.
"Some people say, 'I'm not interested in living my life that way,'" Schiff said, noting a major feature in American life is middle-class anxiety over neighbors doing much better. "If you don't want to live that life, that's OK, but don't be confused anymore about the two different paths you are on."
Another middle-class millionaire behavior is choosing a house in the best public school district. Regular middle-class people say three things, almost equally, influence where they live -- schools, convenience to work and convenience to shopping.
The book also reveals that studying for a post-graduate degree, unless it's an MBA, is unlikely to make you richer.
"Once you get you bachelor's degree it is these four qualities, which we describe as Millionaire Intelligence, that have a lot more to do with where you go," he said.
The book is not alone among new titles in offering clues on how to get rich. Among others are Robert Shemin's "How Come THAT Idiot's Rich And I'm Not" ($25, Crown) and Douglas Andrew's "Millionaire by Thirty: The Quickest Path to Early Financial Independence," to be published in May by Business Plus.
But one thing seems certain -- a million dollars ain't what it used to be. Prince and Schiff reveal that, on average, people believe it takes $13.4 million to feel wealthy. Middle-class millionaires put the figure even higher, at about $24 million.
(Reporting by Mark Egan; Editing by Eddie Evans)
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I have no idea, how much money would makes you American feel it is easy to live a life.
A million dollars just makes you middle class   It seems that I would be a poor for all my life, for I could never earn that one million to be a middle class. Even my goal is a million Yuan, but not dollars.
How do you define middle class? |
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Pie32
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Joined: 17 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think that's right. If someone has a million dollars, I don't think they're middle class. The average wage for the average worker (the person who should be in middle class, I think) is only something like $15.04 an hour in the US. They would have to work like 66,500 hours (even more because of taxes and other bills) to make a million.
Even more, I don't think those millionaires are even upper-middle class. It's upper class or bust for them. From what it sounds like in the article though, this "middle class millionaires" are entrepreneurs. Those are the people that, historically, are never codified as middle class (assuming they make it), they define the upper class.
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Rashy
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Joined: 25 Sep 2006
Posts: 661
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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It doesn't help that the value of the American dollar is dropping 
Earning a million dollars through simply going to work is damn near impossible unless you have some ridiculously high paying job. Like Pie said, all that crap you purchase will stop you from making your big million (although they did say net worth {value of house and possessions}, the value of many things such as cars degrades over time).
My concern really isn't with the money, I just want to do fun stuff with my life.
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Rashy! |
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kenoodo
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 1092
Location: MengDai
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Rashy wrote: |
My concern really isn't with the money, I just want to do fun stuff with my life. |
I completely agree with you. Once you care too much about money, you will ignore so many beautiful things in your life.
But I have to say, the there are not only fun in one's life. The things are always connecting with money in their own ways. Our society or our world has a rule of money and class, we have no way to get out of it, but follow it.
And it is not a problem of a million or millions of million, no matter how much money you earned, you would never think it is enough to stop. We human beings are so pathetic. |
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mellymoo
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Joined: 10 Jun 2006
Posts: 554
Location: Scotland
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Pie32 wrote: | I don't think that's right. If someone has a million dollars, I don't think they're middle class. The average wage for the average worker (the person who should be in middle class, I think) is only something like $15.04 an hour in the US. They would have to work like 66,500 hours (even more because of taxes and other bills) to make a million.
Even more, I don't think those millionaires are even upper-middle class. It's upper class or bust for them. From what it sounds like in the article though, this "middle class millionaires" are entrepreneurs. Those are the people that, historically, are never codified as middle class (assuming they make it), they define the upper class. |
$15.04 an hour = middle class in the USA??? You poor ba***rds! |
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coralvalley
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Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 918
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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I can't really see someone who makes a million dollars a year in being in a middle class, but I suppose anything is possible. Although if they are in the middle class you would think that it was very close to being out of it in being in the upper middle class. I know that with the way that the economy is around here that a million dollars wouldn't take a person as far as it would have in the past since everything around here especially is hard on people. Houses that were once a source of profit for those who owned them are taking major losses that were not once thinkable around here. I suppose with those who are making a million dollars a year they are probably living in some of the newer, nicer homes in the area at least around here and they are keeping up with what everyone else around them has. I suppose for them it would be better to be considered an upper middle class person as opposed to a lower high class person since in the more elite circles making a million dollars a year is probably small compared to those who make much more.
In my own personal belief I cannot for the life of me imagine working that hard and that many hours to make that kind of money. I mean I guess it is one thing if you really, really love your job or career and it is your life, but that is an awfully big sacrifice to have the extra money. I think no matter how much money you have you are always going to have problems, but if you are constantly working and not enjoying the life that you have, then you are missing out. Besides, how much fun can they be having when they are working all of the time? All of the things that you work so hard to have you really can't enjoy because you aren't around to do so. At least that is my thought on the subject. |
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kenoodo
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 1092
Location: MengDai
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| Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:11 am Post subject: |
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It always confuse me when we are talking about making a living and enjoying the life.
We are desiring for something all the time. It is not wrong to spend more time on work and earn back more money. Most of us would do so, don't we?
When the work is becoming the life that push our days going on, is there any difference between enjoy the life and enjoy the work? Yeah, I know it is a sad life. But that makes the dream meaningful, we need a dream or a holp to encourage ourselves. |
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pharmer4
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Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 1870
Location: Deniliquin, Australia
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:56 am Post subject: |
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| Rashy wrote: | | (although they did say net worth {value of house and possessions}, the value of many things such as cars degrades over time). |
Posessions definately come into it. As far as value degredation, 2 things:
1) Property almost never degrades in value over time - the worst your normally see is staying the same value when inflation is taken into account. Generally, though, real estate is a good investment because it maintains the value of your money invested in it.
2) When working out net worth, a lot of "valuers" use repalcement value, not actual value. So, you own a car, even if it is a relatively old car, if it is a standard car that has not had lots of damage and is in good condition, replacement value is the value of an equivalent car built today.
And I'm not surprised that when working with this, that middle class people can be considered millionaires. I mean, my life insurance is worth more than $1 million because of possesions and lost earnings for my wife. My freaking CD collection is worth about $60000 (again, replacement value) according to my insurance company, so with a house, a car, maybe a boat, nice hi-fi and entertainment systems, furniture, clothes (these are worth a lot more than you think) and appliances, people can easily be worth $1 million, and still be "middle class"
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