Are You In "The 1%"?
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It takes more than $380,000 a year by household income, or more than $8 million dollars by net worth.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/ ... ot-income/
Note the article is based on data from a survey in 2007--PRE-recession--so I can only imagine how much higher the numbers are skewed today.
I see mention of the 1% frequently here, often in the context of "being in the 1%" or sympathizing with "the 1%" vs "the 99%", and it somewhat baffles me. The classical Jacob-style ERE of a few hundred thousand dollars and an annual income of 15k or whatever is not putting anyone in the 1%. I mean, let's call it what it is: ERE is living a "low income" lifestyle, intelligently and by design. So when people here say they're in the 1%, I usually assume they don't understand how much that takes, or that they're... well, in the wrong place. I mean, I know there'd be nothing "extreme" about my retirement if I qualified as a 1%er by either measure.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/ ... ot-income/
Note the article is based on data from a survey in 2007--PRE-recession--so I can only imagine how much higher the numbers are skewed today.
I see mention of the 1% frequently here, often in the context of "being in the 1%" or sympathizing with "the 1%" vs "the 99%", and it somewhat baffles me. The classical Jacob-style ERE of a few hundred thousand dollars and an annual income of 15k or whatever is not putting anyone in the 1%. I mean, let's call it what it is: ERE is living a "low income" lifestyle, intelligently and by design. So when people here say they're in the 1%, I usually assume they don't understand how much that takes, or that they're... well, in the wrong place. I mean, I know there'd be nothing "extreme" about my retirement if I qualified as a 1%er by either measure.
- jennypenny
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Here are some random numbers:
(from http://www.whatsmypercent.com/)
Married - 761,938
Single - 193,307
All Filers - 506,554
(of course there are different data sets and the above doesn't mesh w/ the NYT http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/ ... ot-income/)
Income - $380,000
Net Worth - $8.4 million
Plus, that's national -- you can break it down by state, age, ethnicity, compare yourself to the entire world, etc. If you compare yourself to Manhattan, it's probably a lot higher than other places.
(from http://www.whatsmypercent.com/)
Married - 761,938
Single - 193,307
All Filers - 506,554
(of course there are different data sets and the above doesn't mesh w/ the NYT http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/ ... ot-income/)
Income - $380,000
Net Worth - $8.4 million
Plus, that's national -- you can break it down by state, age, ethnicity, compare yourself to the entire world, etc. If you compare yourself to Manhattan, it's probably a lot higher than other places.
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- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Income chart:
http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/news/ec ... /index.htm
No, I'm nowhere near there, though I have one or two friends who might be.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/news/ec ... /index.htm
No, I'm nowhere near there, though I have one or two friends who might be.
I think I'm in the 99%... The 99% off people who are getting annoyed at 26 y/o NYC art students complaining about how other people have a positive net worth.
If only OWS could have forced some action/real dialog on regulatory capture, crony capitalism, monetary policy without degrading into "eat the rich" and "pay my student loans."
If only OWS could have forced some action/real dialog on regulatory capture, crony capitalism, monetary policy without degrading into "eat the rich" and "pay my student loans."
- jennypenny
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- Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm
I found the article from last year that I liked. http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/po ... nager.html
I'll never be in the 1%. By the time I have 8 million dollars it won't be worth 8 million dollars anymore.
I'll never be in the 1%. By the time I have 8 million dollars it won't be worth 8 million dollars anymore.
- jennypenny
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If we're talking medieval roles*, wouldn't we be hermetic philosophers? You know, the ones the common people think are witches and heretics, and the clergy and kings think are too smart for their own good?
*Which we're apparently not, since someone edited the reference after I posted! Haha, disregard the above paragraph.
Anyway, yeah, I remember (and enjoyed) that article. The way I see it though, ERE is even further removed from the "cultural" 1%--the "ownership class". The cultural 1% would hate, fear, and deride ERE, because self-sufficiency and anti-consumerism are anathema to their power.
*Which we're apparently not, since someone edited the reference after I posted! Haha, disregard the above paragraph.
Anyway, yeah, I remember (and enjoyed) that article. The way I see it though, ERE is even further removed from the "cultural" 1%--the "ownership class". The cultural 1% would hate, fear, and deride ERE, because self-sufficiency and anti-consumerism are anathema to their power.
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"I mean, let's call it what it is: ERE is living a "low income" lifestyle, intelligently and by design."
I really like the way you put that, Spartan Warrior.
I'm nowhere near, and never will be, in the 1%. I'd quit work way before I got even close. Besides, I plan on giving up millions of dollars over a full working career by trying to retire before 40 years old.
The more I engage in ERE and trying to become FI, the more I realize that this really is just a low-income lifestyle by design as you put it.
The more I think of it, the more I realize that I could probably just give up trying to accumulate capital and work part-time for the rest of my life as my expenses could certainly support such a lifestyle. At that point you're purposely "opting out" of the system. That really doesn't require much money to do.
I really like the way you put that, Spartan Warrior.
I'm nowhere near, and never will be, in the 1%. I'd quit work way before I got even close. Besides, I plan on giving up millions of dollars over a full working career by trying to retire before 40 years old.
The more I engage in ERE and trying to become FI, the more I realize that this really is just a low-income lifestyle by design as you put it.
The more I think of it, the more I realize that I could probably just give up trying to accumulate capital and work part-time for the rest of my life as my expenses could certainly support such a lifestyle. At that point you're purposely "opting out" of the system. That really doesn't require much money to do.
@J I'd add that people here are 1% in relative terms. They spend a disproportionate amount of resources (time & money) on investing. By aping the 1% you can become wealthier even while not achieving 1% net worth. No, not by getting a better handbag or BMW to ape the rich, but by acquiring assets under favorable conditions.
A mentor of mine (easily a 1%) once said I need to stop acting poor and start behaving like a rich man. What he meant is I wasn't chasing the deal at the time...I had a month to month plan instead of the decade plan. He was discussing how I needed to be a scaled down version of him. After that I shifted my goal to living off investment rather than wages. I feel like a rich goat trader in the third world watching 747s fly over a valley of goat herders. A 1% relatively speaking...but only in my tiny world.
I actually think that is what this whole ERE thing exposes - wealth is relative.
A mentor of mine (easily a 1%) once said I need to stop acting poor and start behaving like a rich man. What he meant is I wasn't chasing the deal at the time...I had a month to month plan instead of the decade plan. He was discussing how I needed to be a scaled down version of him. After that I shifted my goal to living off investment rather than wages. I feel like a rich goat trader in the third world watching 747s fly over a valley of goat herders. A 1% relatively speaking...but only in my tiny world.
I actually think that is what this whole ERE thing exposes - wealth is relative.
I think right now the point is moot. Most members of this forum are saving up a (compared to most retirement goals) small savings amount by living a low-money lifestyle. I guess that disqualifies most of us from being part of the 1%.
But if anyone comes up with a longevity pill in our lifetime, we'll certainly end up there.
But if anyone comes up with a longevity pill in our lifetime, we'll certainly end up there.