Millionaire - RICH or Middle Class?

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Millionaire - RICH or Middle Class?

Shiloh LundahlPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes

I have had a interesting discovery recently. At the end of last year, I was finishing updating my financials and I realized that my networth had reached over 1 million dollars. That had been one of my financial goals over the last couple of years but last week I had a sad, disappointing realization. 

I posted a question on the forums asking if there was a shortcut to wealth. Many people on the forums said yes and a few suggested I read the book The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco. I started listening to that book on Audible and it basically stated that 1 million dollars today is not worth what it used to be and that you would really need 5 million today to live a millionaire lifestyle that I saw when I was a kid.

Unfortunately, I think there is a lot of truth to this perspective. 

As my networth has gone up, I have relaxed a lot on my spending habits. I signed my kids up for music lessons, sports, and other activities without considering the cost because in my mind, I am a millionaire and millionaires are wealthy and that is what wealthy people do. When I would eat out I would think more along the lines of what do I feel like eating rather than comparing the prices of each meal and then asking myself, “how much do I want to spend on lunch.” Each month when my wife and I would do the budget, we were over spending by $500 - $1000 and I would need to pay myself more by transferring more money into our personal account from my business accounts. I was getting confused and frustrated at this. If I was a millionaire then why was I still feeling strapped financially?

DeMarco explaines in his book that the millionaires are not really wealthy but are considered the middle class or the upper middle class. And that if you spend like you are wealthy, you will ultimately become poor. So now I am back to budgeting more strictly and living more frugally - darn it! I thought that I had arrived just to find out I am only one-fifth the way there.

Have any of you come to the realization that what you thought was wealthy today isn’t really as wealthy as you thought? 

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Erik W.
Real Estate Investor · Springfield, MO · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y

For decades, I've heard people saying, "$1 million isn't a lot these days."  I wonder how many of those are broke people living paycheck to paycheck, spouting off statements like this make them feel better about their (lack of) drive and accomplishment?

Let's state the obvious: Inflation is a booger!  It's a "silent thief" that drives down our purchasing power every year.   "A loaf of bread was 10 cents and gasoline was 15 cents a gallon when I was a kid..."  Yes, yes...I get it.

But...a personal computer in the 1980s used to cost $2000 and couldn't do more than run DOS games. Today, the $50 Trak Phone from Wal-Mart can run circles around that ancient PC!

Most people's quality of life has also vastly improved.  Think about basic things such as central HVAC and indoor plumbing.  The wealthiest emperor 200 years ago couldn't make it 70 degrees inside on a 100 degree day.  You and I can with the touch of a switch or the turn of a dial (or just tell Alexa to set the NEST t-stat for us!)  You and I can travel coast to coast in 2-3 days in a car, or fly in 5 hours.  Could Dale Carnegie?   Nope.  How many multi-millionaires died on the Titanic?  Today, you and I would just hop over the Atlantic via Delta coach class and get there with far less risk (though admittedly with less comfort)...easy peasy!

Value and wealth are always relative to the time and place in which one lives.  Does that make sense?  We can't just say, "$1 million aint what it used to be".  That's a given.  But a wise person asks, "What IS $1 million today?"  I live in a medium size Midwest town.  $1 million will purchase 2-3x the assets you can buy for the same million in some high cost of living locations.  So is $1 million "a lot" in my town but barely "middle class" in San Francisco bay?

Over 98% of the world has less than $100,000 net worth.  I made that stat up, so don't bother Googling it, but I'd says it's fair since we know over half of American's can't handle a $400 emergency.  That is a real stat you can Google.  So if a person who has $1 million USD net worth today isn't wealthy, I don't know who is.  Is that person hyper-consumptive rich?  No, probably not....but is hyper-consumptive rich a true picture of what it means to be "wealthy?"  I don't think so.

In conclusion: Daddy Warbucks (movie Annie, set in the year 1933) stated, "I made my first million by the time I was 23 (around 1910)....that was a lot of money back then!"

Just for some perspective on how people view their personal wealth, always have, and probably always will.  ;-)

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  • Shiloh LundahlPro Member
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    7y

    I think I need to explain myself a little more for context. 

    I am a therapist and I live off of my counseling practice income, not my real estate income. Our real estate income stays within our real estate businesses for the time being and it goes to fund the acquisition and repairs for building our portfolio. 

    So even though my net worth has reached the 1 million dollar mark, I still live off of about 8k a month from my counseling practice which should be doable, but it means we still have to budget and forgo many things that I would like to do. For example, I went to the swap meet on Saturday and I found a beautiful large blanket for $50. I called and told my wife about it and she said, “we don’t need it, we already have blankets, and it’s not in the budget.” Now I could have purchased it, but if I want my wife to stay within the budget I have to do so as well.” 

    I though that once I amassed a certain net worth then I would be able to just buy the things I wanted without really needing to worry or think too much about it. I am now finding that is not the case. 

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  • Llewelyn A.
    Investor / Broker · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 665 posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Now that I'm older, I have gained the wisdom to know that I would gladly trade a Million Dollars to have a life long friend, spouse or family.

    Case in point there are still a lot of lonely millionaires out there and a lot of wealthy people who need to go to therapy.

    I don't count my accomplishments by the Money I have but rather the friends and family that I have!

    10Reply
  • Jason Graves
    Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 242 posts · 234 votes
    7y

    @Shiloh Lundahl

    Welcome to the club! You should be proud of yourself.

    0Reply
  • William Brown
    Rental Property Investor · North Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2014 · 93 posts · 10 votes
    7y

    @Shiloh Lundahl To me true wealth would be a net worth in the millions and a income of about $400,000 a year.......In my opinion if your keeping up with the market and your financials and earning 5x or higher above your monthly expenses then that is some good wealth and you can build and build on it with more income and great investments.....most of these millionaires are bringing in $400,000 to a $100,000,000 a year.......having smart, great increasing assets,credit, and net worth will get you life long wealth.....just in my opinion thats how I think about it

    0Reply
  • Rob Malda
    Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2017 · 43 posts · 33 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    When the inflation rate is 3%, the Rule of 72 says it takes a quarter of a century (24 years) to have your purchasing power cut in half.

    Inflation is nowhere near 3%. If you look at the growth of the M3 money supply, college tuition, government tax receipts, healthcare spending, etc. inflation comes out to 6%. It takes just a little over a decade for your purchasing power to get cut in half.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Specialist · Paradise Valley, AZ · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Llewelyn A.:

    Now that I'm older, I have gained the wisdom to know that I would gladly trade a Million Dollars to have a life long friend, spouse or family.

    Case in point there are still a lot of lonely millionaires out there and a lot of wealthy people who need to go to therapy.

    I don't count my accomplishments by the Money I have but rather the friends and family that I have!

     My greatest achievement is finding the girl of my dreams and marrying once and being happily married for 40 years. I attribute it to Harley's book "His Needs, Her Needs" and my wife's great patience. :-) Okay, she screamed at me once or twice but we both knew I deserved it. Lol

    Money is a game and a way to keep score. No more than that. Relationships are where the treasure really is.

    3Reply
  • Account Closed
    Specialist · Paradise Valley, AZ · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
    Originally posted by @Kate J.:

    @Anthony Gayden 1mil sitting in bank will get you 25k per year nowadays. So it's not that bad as a potential liability.

     add that to your 2500 a  month SSI and a paid for house and cars.. medicare .. one can manage.  plus you can always go be a greeter at Walmart for extra income. or any number of other easy jobs when your old to kill some time so you dont get too board

     Something to look forward to. Lol

    0Reply
  • Paul Allen
    Financial Advisor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2017 · 502 posts · 508 votes
    7y

    If you're truly fortunate, one day you realize the point is not to win the rat race. The point is to not be a rat.

    Best of Luck in All Your Endeavors!

    10Reply
  • Evan Rosenboom
    Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 3 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Shiloh Lundahl:

    I think I need to explain myself a little more for context. 

    I am a therapist and I live off of my counseling practice income, not my real estate income. Our real estate income stays within our real estate businesses for the time being and it goes to fund the acquisition and repairs for building our portfolio. 

    So even though my net worth has reached the 1 million dollar mark, I still live off of about 8k a month from my counseling practice which should be doable, but it means we still have to budget and forgo many things that I would like to do. For example, I went to the swap meet on Saturday and I found a beautiful large blanket for $50. I called and told my wife about it and she said, “we don’t need it, we already have blankets, and it’s not in the budget.” Now I could have purchased it, but if I want my wife to stay within the budget I have to do so as well.” 

    I though that once I amassed a certain net worth then I would be able to just buy the things I wanted without really needing to worry or think too much about it. I am now finding that is not the case. 

    Reading through all the posts in the forums, I kept thinking to myself that it really depends on how your portfolio was built. I am no where near your net worth(huge congratulations by the way!), so I could be completely wrong, but in my humble opinion it would depend on how your portfolio is built. Someone with a $1m net worth, $750k of that being in their primary, single family house obviously wouldn't be as well off as someone with a $1mil net worth in equity spread across several cash flowing properties(or invested in good stocks).  Essentially what I'm trying to say is, depending on how hard your money is working for you, could depend on how "rich" that same amount could make you feel. Either way, great job!

    1Reply
  • Randy E.
    Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Shiloh Lundahl:

    I thought that once I amassed a certain net worth then I would be able to just buy the things I wanted without really needing to worry or think too much about it. I am now finding that is not the case. 

     Hi Shiloh,

    I think that sort-of disappointed feeling originates in a childhood misunderstanding.  Several responses here have mentioned that the individuals once thought, as children, that being a millionaire meant this or that.  They had grand misconceptions, based on childhood brains not understanding how the world really works, that being a millionaire meant being Scrooge McDuck, owning a personal airplane, take frequent world-wide vacations, have chauffeurs maids and cooks, and being able to literally swim in a roomful of money.

    I think that what most net-worth people don't want to admit to themselves is that, yes, they are better off financially that the vast majority of Americans.  Being better off doesn't mean being able to spend money without consequence.  It means that, if your car breaks down and you don't have the cash on hand, you have the ABILITY to siphon money from your investment income and get your car repaired instead of waiting till the next paycheck (or the next next paycheck) to do it.  

    Being better off means that if you suffer a large unexpected expense, serious illness, temporary loss of job, major home repair, you can charge it to a credit card and siphon money from your investments over the next year to pay down the credit card gradually instead of being left in a financial desert where you know you will never be able to pay more than the monthly minimum on those cards for the next 20 years, while the principal grows and grows until you'r eventually forced to file bankruptcy.

    Being better off means, if a catastrophic potentially life-ruining event occurs, you can sell one property or take a large piece of your investment money, handle the otherwise catastrophic potentially life-ruining event, and still have more net worth than 93% of all Americans.

    All of that reduces latent stress on the brain.  All of that allows (or should allow, if one's perspective is in the right place) a person to focus on all the smaller details of life that make most people happier.  There are many studies that prove that people are less happy when they are regularly in serious financial distress are perpetually worried about how the next bill is going to be paid, or working multiple jobs that leave less time for family obligations (while will add to the sense of sadness/worry) yet still fall short of having enough money to escape financial distress.  Having $1M net worth, at the very least, should allow an individual with correct perspective to not feel the stresses of daily living the same as most of the other 96% of Americans.

    I still "feel" I'm living paycheck to paycheck, and in a sense, I am.  Yet I acknowledge that I'm in an immensely better financial situation than almost all of my friends.  Even the ones who earn more cash than I do on a yearly basis even when I account for my investment income.  They may drive automobiles that cost more than mine, they may take better and more-frequent vacations than I do, and they spend more on clothes, their personal homes, and such than I do.  But I know that if something happened that prevented them and I from being able to work our traditional jobs, they would be ruined, while I (and my family) could live a simple, comfortable life from the net worth I (and you) have built.  

    That is a benefit I don't think some people give enough credit to.  It has actual value in generating a feeling of contentment in our brains.  And that feeling of contentment allows our brains to concentrate on how to build more net worth instead of always being consumed with putting out the next financial emergency.  Also, that feeling of contentment allows me to pleasantly help my children with their homework or college plans, instead of always thinking about how I'm going to outrun the current/next financial emergency.

    We are better off for it.

    Again, congratulations.

    17Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Singapore · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    Theres wealth and theres income. Lets say I have $1M tied up in Bay Area property that generates something like 3K per month net income. Its appreciating nicely but the 3K per month aint making me feel like a millionaire is it? On the other hand, I have a job paying me $400K per year but I save nothing. No assets but Im sure gonna feel rich and able to spend at will. So to me its more about income and less about wealth that affects my state of mind.

    4Reply
  • Randy E.
    Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    Theres wealth and theres income. Lets say I have $1M tied up in Bay Area property that generates something like 3K per month net income. Its appreciating nicely but the 3K per month aint making me feel like a millionaire is it? On the other hand, I have a job paying me $400K per year but I save nothing. No assets but Im sure gonna feel rich and able to spend at will. So to me its more about income and less about wealth that affects my state of mind.

    I think that's a false comparison. If I had $1M of real estate and it generated only $3K, I'd sell it and buy RE elsewhere that could generate much more than that.  Buy ten $100,000 homes in nice B- neighborhoods where they generate at least $1K each, and that's $10K monthly easily.  So, if I make $10K/month for not working, I'd say that's a nice position to be in.  Even if I had a $400K salary, I'd appreciate the extra $120K to do with as I please.

    But, as you alluded to, it's all a matter of perspective.  Someone accustomed to earning $30K/month (and spending $29K/month) may not fully appreciate the benefit of another $10K/month the same as a person who earns only $4K/month.

    4Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Randy E.:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    Theres wealth and theres income. Lets say I have $1M tied up in Bay Area property that generates something like 3K per month net income. Its appreciating nicely but the 3K per month aint making me feel like a millionaire is it? On the other hand, I have a job paying me $400K per year but I save nothing. No assets but Im sure gonna feel rich and able to spend at will. So to me its more about income and less about wealth that affects my state of mind.

    I think that's a false comparison. If I had $1M of real estate and it generated only $3K, I'd sell it and buy RE elsewhere that could generate much more than that.  Buy ten $100,000 homes in nice B- neighborhoods where they generate at least $1K each, and that's $10K monthly easily.  So, if I make $10K/month for not working, I'd say that's a nice position to be in.  Even if I had a $400K salary, I'd appreciate the extra $120K to do with as I please.

    But, as you alluded to, it's all a matter of perspective.  Someone accustomed to earning $30K/month (and spending $29K/month) may not fully appreciate the benefit of another $10K/month the same as a person who earns only $4K/month.

    Although there is more to cash flow than real estate .. many small business will throw off considerably more than rentals. for the same dollars invested or leverage.. I mean most of us have or had a day job.. and investing in rentals ( which Is 95% of the conversation on this site) So one could amass a nice wage and then start amassing nice little companies as well. that do the same thing as rentals if not better

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  • Nathan G.
    Investor · Prosper, TX · Member since 2018 · 15 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    Yeah, I'm aiming for $1 million yearly income rather than $1m net worth.  One million net worth doesn't carry a lot of weight these days.

    1Reply
  • Chris Szepessy
    Catskill, NY · Member since 2018 · 636 posts · 668 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
    Originally posted by @Kate J.:

    @Anthony Gayden 1mil sitting in bank will get you 25k per year nowadays. So it's not that bad as a potential liability.

     add that to your 2500 a  month SSI and a paid for house and cars.. medicare .. one can manage.  plus you can always go be a greeter at Walmart for extra income. or any number of other easy jobs when your old to kill some time so you dont get too board

     I saw an article the other day about how Wal-Mart is doing away with greeters...might have to look for another way to make extra income. lol 

    I agree with a few of the people who said being rich/wealthy is more about having good friendships/relationships than it is about money. I always wanted to be a millionaire by 25 (no real reason I chose that age). Well, it didn't happen and I always joke around with my wife that if I didn't get married and have kids, I probably could've reached that goal. But, there is no way I'd give up what I have now for any amount of money.

    The guy who owns the pool company who installed our pool has some nice cars/trucks and I'm sure he is pretty wealthy. However, he's single with no kids and always tells me that I'm richer than he is because of my family.

    Either way, $1m in net worth is still something to be proud of and I'm sure in the future you'll be able to turn that into $5m plus and start ordering from the menu by what you want and not the price!

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  • Account Closed
    Investor · Singapore · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    @Randy E. I was being hypothetical. Of course I don’t spend 100% of my income. It’s just that having a solid income allows me to spend more freely than having a high net worth. And there are reasons to hold on to Bay Area property long term. Just ask @Jay Hinrichs!

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  • Ian WalshBusiness Member
    Lender · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    It's always relative so I find it best to figure out if my money is giving me what I need/want personally and is that enough for my satisfaction.

    1Reply
  • Joseph ODonovanPro Member
    Property Manager · Ridley, PA · Member since 2017 · 427 posts · 449 votes
    7y

    @Shiloh Lundahl Oh, the struggle is real

    1Reply
  • Nick Rutkowski
    Rental Property Investor · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    I wonder if the 1% consider millionaires to be the working class.

    8Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    7y

    Thoughts (probably completely disjointed, but anyway):

    1. A million certainly isn't what it used to be.

    2. Having a million in net worth isn't anywhere near the same thing as having a million in net income.

    3. Inflation calculator is marginally useful in this exercise, but as Vicky Robin notes there's a lot of things you'd buy once and not again unless you just like looking like you're rich. 

    4. I also was surprised it wasn't confetti and streamers from the sky. I think it just becomes anti-climatic, because you know it's there but you're still the same person, and it's a gradual process. Like turning 50.

    5. I think diversity and health in income streams is far more important than net worth. I'd rather have $100k in net income and 500k of net worth than $0 in net income and 1 mill of net worth. If you can look at 4 or 5 diverse, healthy, reasonably secure income streams, you've pretty much made it. That could be anything: dividends, work income, rental income, pension, social security, 401K disbursements, etc. 

    6. It's hard to talk about any of this stuff to most people because no one has any perspective. The person who's paycheck to paycheck thinks you're loaded, but they also have the latest Iphone while I'm walking around with a 3 year old android that cost 1/4 of the Iphone in the first place. I recently bought a new truck (which is a business expense), and people may look and think "wow that guy's loaded" but they didn't see me driving the old one for 15 years, doing all my own maintenance and repairs, while I took the money that would have been spent on 2 or 3 new cars in that period by others and invested it. 

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  • Shiloh LundahlPro Member
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    7y

    @Jon Haft here are some findings from a study that was done by Tom Corley on the habits of the rich:

    So what do the rich do every day that the poor don’t do?

    In this radio interview, best-selling author Tom Corley outlines a few of the differences between the habits of the rich and the poor:

    1. 70% of wealthy eat less than 300 junk food calories per day. 97% of poor people eat more than 300 junk food calories per day. 23% of wealthy gamble. 52% of poor people gamble.

    2. 80% of wealthy are focused on accomplishing some single goal. Only 12% of the poor do this.

    3. 76% of wealthy exercise aerobically 4 days a week. 23% of poor do this.

    4. 63% of wealthy listen to audio books during commute to work vs. 5% for poor people.

    5. 81% of wealthy maintain a to-do list vs. 19% for poor.

    6. 63% of wealthy parents make their children read 2 or more non-fiction books a month vs. 3% for poor.

    7. 70% of wealthy parents make their children volunteer 10 hours or more a month vs. 3% for poor.

    8. 80% of wealthy make hbd calls vs. 11% of poor

    9. 67% of wealthy write down their goals vs. 17% for poor

    10. 88% of wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons vs 2% for poor.

    11. 6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% for poor.

    12. 79% of wealthy network 5 hours or more each month vs. 16% for poor.

    13. 67% of wealthy watch 1 hour or less of TV. every day vs. 23% for poor

    14. 6% of wealthy watch reality TV vs. 78% for poor.

    15. 44% of wealthy wake up 3 hours before work starts vs. 3% for poor.

    16. 74% of wealthy teach good daily success habits to their children vs. 1% for poor.

    17. 84% of wealthy believe good habits create opportunity luck vs. 4% for poor.

    18. 76% of wealthy believe bad habits create detrimental luck vs. 9% for poor.

    19. 86% of wealthy believe in life-long educational self-improvement vs. 5% for poor.

    20. 86% of wealthy love to read vs. 26% for poor.

    Here are the links to the articles that layout methodology of his study and then the next one is the habits in list form.

    http://richhabits.net/rich-habits-study-background-and-methodology/

    http://richhabits.net/dave-ramsey-rich-habits-tom-corley/#more-365

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  • Ryan Potter
    Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2017 · 23 posts · 20 votes
    7y

    @Randy E.

    Couldn't have said it better.

    A+

    1Reply
  • Rick Stevens
    Rental Property Investor · Watervliet, MI · Member since 2018 · 49 posts · 29 votes
    7y

    I like Joel Owens take.  

    I recently discovered the same thing (net worth) but I don't feel it. My money goes back into the next investment almost immediately after the BRRR. I buy and hold so to me it's more about cash flow. I'm sure there's a great calculation that says if you net x you should cash flow y and that's important.

    At the end of the day, I know what my bank accounts say today and what my long term plan is.  I honestly don't care about the net worth aspect.  Possibly my financial ignorance :), but if I can't spend it or use it for investments to create more cash flow, I don't use much time or energy thinking about it.   That's just me.

    Congratulations though on your investing.  Keep going

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  • Shiloh LundahlPro Member
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    7y

    @Caleb Heimsoth I live in Burbank, California (in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house that's about 100 years old that has no AC or central air) with my wife and 5 kids half of the week. The other half of the week I sleep on the couch in the guest house of a house I own in Gilbert, Arizona while I run my practice. I rent out the main house and half of the guest house in Arizona and I rent out the ADU in the back of the house in California to cover all of the costs in Arizona and to cover a third of the house costs in California.

    I drive a 2013 Prius that I bought used with cash off of Craigslist last year. My wife drives a Honda Odyssey. Most of my net worth is in real estate investments. I wouldn’t say that we look like we are wealthy. And it sure doesn’t feel like I thought it would feel.

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  • Caleb Heimsoth
    Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Shiloh Lundahl:

    @Caleb Heimsoth I live in Burbank, California (in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house that's about 100 years old that has no AC or central air) with my wife and 5 kids half of the week. The other half of the week I sleep on the couch in the guest house of a house I own in Gilbert, Arizona while I run my practice. I rent out the main house and half of the guest house in Arizona and I rent out the ADU in the back of the house in California to cover all of the costs in Arizona and to cover a third of the house costs in California.

    I drive a 2013 Prius that I bought used with cash off of Craigslist last year. My wife drives a Honda Odyssey. Most of my net worth is in real estate investments. I wouldn’t say that we look like we are wealthy. And it sure doesn’t feel like I thought it would feel.

    That’s why there’s a huge difference between 1M in CA and 1M in the Midwest.  Cost of living is night and day. Either way you’re off to a great start. 

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