8 Worst Things About Being a Millionaire

[EC]

Since it is something that everyone here can relate to, right? 

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[Hondo69]

When I started the Me Foundation all I did was copy the Clinton playbook.

Once a month we send a box of band-aids to Kenya, spend boatloads of money on booze and hookers, and the rest we waste.

All of it tax free.

[goatprairie]

This article is mostly b.s. for several reasons. One, most people who have a million earned their money the hard way. The book is about twenty years old, but "The Millionaire Who Lives Next Door" detailed how most of the people who became millionaires worked very hard to make their money and weren't the types to be taken in by jive-talking conmen.
They also didn't spend their dough on frivolous items and spent considerable time debating purchasing any expensive item.
At the time, 2/3 of the people who were millionaires were people who made less than 100 grand a year but built up their fortune through hard work, wise investments, and deferral of immediate gratification.
I would guess it's mostly people who made a million through the lottery or were given the money by their parents who were susceptible to scams by unscrupulous people working assiduously to take their money.
People who worked hard to make a million are probably the least likely to fall prey to scams and worry about what to do with their dough. And furthermore, I'll bet there are many millions of people, mostly Boomers and older, who have a million or close to it counting their homes, savings, and investments.

[Restored]

We have several $100k+ cars in our town. BMW M6, Maseratis, etc. They all belong to students at the university. My understanding is that they bought them with the money they made selling apps. So they are students in college and they are already a millionaire.

[NavyCanDo]

We have several $100k+ cars in our town. BMW M6, Maseratis, etc. They all belong to students at the university. My understanding is that they bought them with the money they made selling apps. So they are students in college and they are already a millionaire.

Selling apps?  Now that's something I can do to speed up my retirement. Where can I get some to sell, or is It someting you have to make?  And can I do so to people walking out Wallmart or can I sell them on eBay or something?   Wait a minute, maybe apps is some kind of illegal substance, and if that's the case never mind.

[jmyrlefuller]

We have several $100k+ cars in our town. BMW M6, Maseratis, etc. They all belong to students at the university. My understanding is that they bought them with the money they made selling apps. So they are students in college and they are already a millionaire.

Yeah, that sounds kind of fishy. It's more likely their parents had at least some hand in buying those cars. "Selling apps" aren't going to generate enough to send that many people to college and pay for expensive cars like that, unless you belong to a real megacorporation.

[Victoria33]

When I was growing up, a millionaire was horribly rich, the richest.  These days, it isn't that much money.  I remember when my dad got mad because a cup of coffee had gone from 5 cents to 10 cents.  The worst part of having that much money now, is keeping up with it, and the amount of paper work one has to do for taxes.  Mine is simple, a millionaire's isn't.   

[Bigun]

This article is mostly b.s. for several reasons. One, most people who have a million earned their money the hard way. The book is about twenty years old, but "The Millionaire Who Lives Next Door" detailed how most of the people who became millionaires worked very hard to make their money and weren't the types to be taken in by jive-talking conmen.
They also didn't spend their dough on frivolous items and spent considerable time debating purchasing any expensive item.
At the time, 2/3 of the people who were millionaires were people who made less than 100 grand a year but built up their fortune through hard work, wise investments, and deferral of immediate gratification.
I would guess it's mostly people who made a million through the lottery or were given the money by their parents who were susceptible to scams by unscrupulous people working assiduously to take their money.
People who worked hard to make a million are probably the least likely to fall prey to scams and worry about what to do with their dough. And furthermore, I'll bet there are many millions of people, mostly Boomers and older, who have a million or close to it counting their homes, savings, and investments.

Most people who have earned a million or more aren't talking about it.

[mirraflake]

Most people who have earned a milloin or more aren't talking about it.

They drive 10 year old cars and live in 1960 or 70's ranch houses.

 I take care of  my 93 year old uncle. He worked in a steel mill and his wife had a high paying job doing bookwork. NEVER HAD KIDS. He lucked out and is is still under the old grandfathered steel mill pension plan. His wife passed away but between pension and SS receives about 2200 month and his health care  is paid or most of it.. Still lives in the 1100 sq foot home he bought in 1952 and was paid off in the 1960's. His property tax was also grandfather and it around $300 year. He has no expenses. other than food and utilities and some meds.

When he drove he bought brand news cars and took meticoulas care of them  and rove them for 10-12 years before replacing.


He has 10-11 different banks because each one only insures your money for $250k  so that tells you what he has. He has no money in the stock market

Not everyone in this country is living hand to mouth  far from it.

@Bigun

[Idaho_Cowboy]

They drive 10 year old cars and live in 1960 or 70's ranch houses.

 I take care of  my 93 year old uncle. He worked in a steel mill and his wife had a high paying job doing bookwork. NEVER HAD KIDS. He lucked out and is is still under the old grandfathered steel mill pension plan. His wife passed away but between pension and SS receives about 2200 month and his health care  is paid or most of it.. Still lives in the 1100 sq foot home he bought in 1952 and was paid off in the 1960's. His property tax was also grandfather and it around $300 year. He has no expenses. other than food and utilities and some meds.

When he drove he bought brand news cars and took meticoulas care of them  and rove them for 10-12 years before replacing.


He has 10-11 different banks because each one only insures your money for $250k  so that tells you what he has. He has no money in the stock market

Not everyone in this country is living hand to mouth  far from it.

@Bigun

You don't get to be right by acting like it. Dave Ramsey has it right when he says live like no one else now so later you can live like no one else.

[mirraflake]

You don't get to be right by acting like it. Dave Ramsey has it right when he says live like no one else now so later you can live like no one else.

Yep.

My dad bought my uncle a electric garage door opener 10 years when he was 83 ago because he never had one and refused to buy one and my dad was worried he would fall  in bad weather. 

Their kitchen still has the early 1950's metal cabinets.

Don't get me wrong house was outdated but it was spotless. He painted the basement floor every year.

@Idaho_Cowboy

[truth_seeker]

In over 25 years in real estate, I have met several fairly wealthy folks.

Most made their money by olde fashioned investment, in property.

Eventually most had luxury cars, but not in the beginning, when they started.

None were talkative, about their situations. Better to drive to the apartment building that you own in a truck, not the Jaguar your wife uses.

Buying income producing properties with leverage over time is a way to wealth. Buying income property for cash, at the bottom of a drastic price drop, is a way to double your money between 2008 and 2015.

All money spent on fancy living, is money no longer available to invest.

[mirraflake]

In over 25 years in real estate, I have met several fairly wealthy folks.

Most made their money by olde fashioned investment, in property.

I have very little in the stock market.

Nearly all my money is tied up  in office buildings and apartment complexes. Office building is paid off and just signed a 10 year lease with a company and the other 2 tenants won't move anytime soon. , apartments paid off in in another 5-6 years.

The rent from these will be my retirement. Built really nice apartments geared for seniors (no steps, 2 car garage)I have a waiting list and people rarely  move out.

When I get to the age I can no longer take care of them I will sell them. I bought or built them in great  up and coming areas.

Cash poor but land rich lol.  You are right, most wealthy person I know made it off property .
nce and other os more vacation

We also own two homes The other home sits empty as we built a new home and not sure if we are going to rent it out to the up and coming gas families moving in or sell it.


@truth_seeker

[Restored]

I am a lowly state worker and I have more than a million in assets thanks to two people investing in a 401k since their 20's, inheritance, and two neighbors with million dollar homes which caused my home to more than double in value. Because I am a state worker, I will live on a pension after retirement.
It's an illusion. I drive a 2003 auto. Having a million dollars in assets doesn't mean you have a million dollars. Most of it is tied up in money you shouldn't touch and a house you can't sell.
However, I turn 59 this year so the party is about to begin.

[mirraflake]

I am a lowly state worker and I have more than a million in assets thanks to two people investing in a 401k since their 20's, inheritance, and two neighbors with million dollar homes which caused my home to more than double in value. Because I am a state worker, I will live on a pension after retirement.
It's an illusion. I drive a 2003 auto. Having a million dollars in assets doesn't mean you have a million dollars. Most of it is tied up in money you shouldn't touch and a house you can't sell.
However, I turn 59 this year so the party is about to begin.

Yep, A million dollars is not enough to retire on today unless you have a gov't pension and some health care support.

@Restored

[Hurricane Andrew]

The #1 worst thing about being a millionaire is that you're not a billionaire 

[ABX]

When I was growing up, a millionaire was horribly rich, the richest.  These days, it isn't that much money.  I remember when my dad got mad because a cup of coffee had gone from 5 cents to 10 cents.  The worst part of having that much money now, is keeping up with it, and the amount of paper work one has to do for taxes.  Mine is simple, a millionaire's isn't.

Exactly correct. Frankly, anyone below 50 who doesn't have at least a million in their retirement savings already (and still growing it) is in for a world of hurt with the way Social Security is going.  It isn't that much money these days, especially when you are talking net worth.

Add to that (and the article points this out) the government still treats this like excessively wealthy and you have tax penalties out the wahoo.  There are several 'magic' areas (I call them) in the tax code where you can make less but take home more.

[Restored]

True but many people are working after 65. I plan to follow my father's lead and work until I die. I have no interest in puttering around the house all day while some fool is willing to pay me $50+ an hour to work. However, if someone is willing to pay me half of that but work remotely, I can punch code from a bar anywhere in the country. 

[ABX]

True but many people are working after 65. I plan to follow my father's lead and work until I die. I have no interest in puttering around the house all day while some fool is willing to pay me $50+ an hour to work. However, if someone is willing to pay me half of that but work remotely, I can punch code from a bar anywhere in the country.

I agree. The thought of a traditional retirement in some community in Florida or all the stereotypical stuff bores the hell out of me. I am still many decades off but right now, I would much rather have a productive retirement than a leisure retirement.

[Night Hides Not]

I agree. The thought of a traditional retirement in some community in Florida or all the stereotypical stuff bores the hell out of me. I am still many decades off but right now, I would much rather have a productive retirement than a leisure retirement.

Thoughts from the many great comments: first, I noticed how one path to wealth is to not have any children. I failed in that regard, siring three children, the last was born a few months before my 48th birthday.  BIG mistake!!! I wrote two checks last night to our Boy Scout troop totaling over $500, mainly for summer camp. I could have plowed that money into my investment account...if I had one.

I'm also cringing from the hundreds of thousands of dollars in child care, tuition, dance lessons, car payments (plus insurance... ), a bigger house (actually that's turned out very well, so long as I can get a multi-generational Indian family to buy it in a few years).

No "retirement" for me. My wife and I don't mesh very well when we're together 24/7. The closest we've ever come to getting divorced is when we spend vacations together. I love my in-laws, they're great, but you can't win when you're dealing with your wife and her SIX sisters, all vying to assume the mantle of matriarch of the family. My dear, departed MIL was wonderful, but she ruled the family with an iron fist, and those apples didn't fall far from the tree. Good thing half of them still live in El Paso, where my better half will be spending a few months of the year when she retires soon.

I'll have plenty on my plate to keep busy, though it won't contribute much to wealth building.

I guess the moral of the story is the surest path to wealth is don't have kids and use the spare cash to invest in real estate.  If you dare, and have the morals of a gutter rat, you can make millions by entering "public service" as a politician.

[Hondo69]

I'm also cringing from the hundreds of thousands of dollars in child care, tuition, dance lessons, car payments . . .

I got a good chuckle out of your entire story, just quoted a portion to save space.

Lot's of truisms in there and I guess that's why I found them funny.  We laugh at true life situations because they strike so close to home.

[Night Hides Not]

I got a good chuckle out of your entire story, just quoted a portion to save space.

Lot's of truisms in there and I guess that's why I found them funny.  We laugh at true life situations because they strike so close to home.

Thanks Hondo! I just realized I forgot to add a /sarcasm tag.   

[ABX]

I guess the moral of the story is the surest path to wealth is don't have kids and use the spare cash to invest in real estate.  If you dare, and have the morals of a gutter rat, you can make millions by entering "public service" as a politician.

Wife and I don't have kids (although we have considered adopting). That seems to be more common among Gen X.

[thackney]

Thanks Hondo! I just realized I forgot to add a /sarcasm tag.   

Far too much truth in there for sarcasm...

[Night Hides Not]

Wife and I don't have kids (although we have considered adopting). That seems to be more common among Gen X.

For the record, I love my family: wife, 3 "kids" (30, 28, 15) and grandson. Whenever I get depressed or PO'ed about life, I turn the focus back to them, how much they've made my life such an adventure. It's been different...married into a large family: wife has 6 sisters, 3 brothers, and I have nearly two dozen nieces and nephews on her side of the family. My side of the family never understood it, you just have to live it, I guess.

As to my earlier comments about becoming a parent again in your (late) 40s...it's been worth it. Four years ago, my then 11 YO son and I did a road trip, just the two of us. Our travels took us to Tucumcari NM, Four Corners NM, Monument Valley, Kanab UT (Parry Lodge), Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, and nearly making it to the back gate of Area 51 (we made it the following year). That included a day of canyoneering in Water Canyon (near the polygamist community of Hildale), and horseback riding at Monument Valley and Bryce Canyon. We also made it a point to stop and take pictures at the very spot that Forrest Gump stopped running (north of Monument Valley).









Last December was another memorable trip, with my 3 boys (2 sons and 6 YO grandson) trekking to Nashville to see Gonzaga take on Tennessee. My grandson was selected to participate in the halftime entertainment, a "slam dunk" contest with two other boys. We spent 3 days in Nashville, and stopped at Sun Studio in Memphis on the drive home.

All in all, these moments would not have been possible without the blessings bestowed on me.

These memories are far more valuable to me than a few more bucks in the checking account.