Money, Money, Money is that all you ever think about? Well YEAH! You know the best things in life are free, but you can give em to the birds an bees. Its money that I want. I need money.

Since Mother takes care of all my finances I don't even have a clue as to what I'm worth? All I do is get a check once a month for whatever my Bills are. All I know is that in the past 3 weeks I ESTIMATE a 38.46% return on money invested in those auction finds.

If you can't eat it....
or sleep with it,
what good is it really?

i juSt KnoW thaat eye am reeealy sPecial!!!


(having reduced all liabilities to food, taxes, medical care, and girlfriend).

So very, very true....

my net worth is dependent on how much gas is in my pickup truck

If you've got a full tank, you're loaded :)

$6.52....
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1175186056.jpg

I have four dollars in my pocket.

The highest percentage is 1M+. Hmmm Porsche = money???

But that's a fine safety net you've got... better than Social Security :)

One of the falalcies about looking at traditional net worth is that many people's largest "asset" is the equity in their home. Problem is that its not a liquid asset...except maybe to your heirs. Thus a high net worth may make you feel good and fuzzy but it is a largely inaccurate picture of your financial health if you have no liquidity. A better measure might be a question of "How long can I enjoy my desired lifestyle if I weren't working?"

I can't remeber which financial guru came up with it, but he assessed persoanal financial health by defining assets as those things that put money in your pocket vs liabilities as those things that take money out of your pocket. Thus, a home is not an asset per se since it takes money out of your pocket thru mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc.

Viewed from that angle, a more realistic picture emerges.

Good points all..Bob Brinker (Money talk, www.bobbrinker.com )
calls the ability to live the desired lifestyle without working "critical mass". I call it having "screw you" money. Money that allows you to say "screw you" to anyone you wish. Without working, of course. Some with "critical mass" enjoy working. Some don't.

Some people with lots of toys, a McMansion, etc. are running like crazy, just trying to keep up with the payments. Others living in a modest home in a quiet neighborhood could write checks for the toys and the McMansion if they wanted these things, but other aspects of life are more important to them. Having money gives one more choices. Some choose wisely, some don't.

Paul, I immediately thought of your "screw you money" analagy from some time back :). I wonder how many folks with a large net worth are leveraged to the max, and couldn't get off the "merry-go-round" even if they wanted to?

Sounds like someone is jealous of the McMansion type of lifstyle.

Personaly I like Hedonism.

Nope...I have a buddy who went that route. Built a dream home in a gated community near Lake Tahoe...6,000 square feet, guest cottage, etc. During the winter, his monthly heating bill was nearly $2,000. Once retirement loomed, and after a lengthy conversation with Cindy & I, he wised up. He sold that puppy, used the gains to buy a smaller 1,700 sq. ft. house in a retirement community. After all, he and his wife didn't need 6,000 square feet to rattle around in. So, he now plays with his two airplanes, his boat, etc. Right now I'm getting weekly email updates from the world cruise they are on. He and his wife are much happier with a smaller place to live. Cindy & I are quite happy in our 2400 sq. foot ranch house, thank you...a bigger house would just mean more to vacuum, dust, and clean. I've thought of adding a game room with a 9' Brunswick, but I just don't like it when the contractors & workers are running around. Cindy wants to redo the kitchen...I told her fine, but she'd better add my stay in Reno to the budget because I'd be pulling out the day the project started, she could call me when it's over.

At this stage in my life, I prefer to avoid hassles...just like to keep things simple and easy.

Tabby, you're a little more than a decade younger than I...you may understand, given time. (edit) And if you don't? Screw you... ;)

Interesting distribution. I have to believe that the posters here are doing better than the general pop in this regard. We are also a little older in general so we've had a little more time to stuff the sock drawer.

The net worth is representative of the age of people, simply. The older you get, the more wealth you amass. No wonder it looks like a reverse pyramid on the PP board. Porsches appeal most to the 50+ age category. Pehraps a more meaningful measure of wealth would be the net worth over age ratio.

Aurel

My folks have a huge net worth and never made more than about $130k between them in a year.

One of my best friends in subprime mortgages was, at his peak, making about $50k a month in commissions and is now about to sell his house and move back into his rental property, take a 401k loan.

I'd rather get rich slowly but surely than go straight to the top and then lose it all.

Or, as someone suggested, the amount of "wealth" that could be turned into cash within, say, a one month period (liquidity factor).

Wealth is relative (ask tabs).

Seriously, wealth is far more thanphysical assets which can be made worthless in an instant. I would posit that true wealth would include, somehow, a measure of the satisfaction one has with his or her lifestyle, including health.

+1. there are other variable that contribute to happiness.
However, money is a large component.

it is surprising to see that the majority here have a net worth over 1 million. probably due to age, as someone else suggested, and given this is a P- board, it's almost predictable?

With regards to liquid assets, anyone who has achieved a net worth over 1 million is probably smart enough to have some of that as cash or liquid assets - wich can be used on fun things like cars, boats, vacations, toys, etc..
I agree that net worth and lifestyle are very related. how often have we heard , "if you make more, you spend more" .