How much $ is being rich

Think RIch

 How Much Money is Rich

Most people when asked, who are the rich, will say people with money. If you ask how much money is a lot of money?, the answer is all over the place. Most rich people do not think of themselves as being rich and some folks who are rich don't know it. I know people that if you add up all their assets you get a total well over a million dollars. These people have enough monthly cash flow for a comfortable retirement.

Money is relative, by that I mean that if you have a million dollars it does not seem like a lot and if you are broke, a thousand dollars seems like a lot, so let us define rich.

Rich: Rich is having enough money to do what you and yours really want to do, when you want to do it.

For some people having a million dollars is being rich. I can personally attest that for most people who have a million dollars they do not think of that as being rich. They probably started out thinking a million dollars was rich, but that is not what they ended up concluding. I doubt you will think a million dollars makes you rich when you make it to a million dollars of net worth either. You can make it by the way if you really want to, being rich that is, or accumulating a net worth of a million dollars.

For me being rich is never being broke, it's having enough monthly income to be able to control how I spend my time, to be able to provide a good living for my family and to be able to afford a few investments to occupy my mind. For Bill Gates I think it is safe to assume, being rich means similar things that I have listed for myself, plus being able to make a difference in the world through his philanthropy.

Who are the rich people? They are the top 5% of the population and maybe another 10% or 15% who make up the semi-rich. They are the movers and shakers of the world. They make investments, create jobs, start businesses, create things, they are out inventing, developing, discovering, giving, lending, and they make things happen. Cumulatively they are out there directly or indirectly, in countless little ways, changing the reality of tomorrow for all of us.

They can't help but change the wrold, in the process of making money you will make things happen and the more money you make, the more things move forward as that money is put to work by you, or whom ever you entrust your investments to. You, or your agents are putting that money to work with the intentions of it growing. This happens because it is in everyones best interest for it to happen. Therefore, as through out all of recorded history we have evidence of mans' advancement and in that process you have people getting rich. It might as well be you.

Getting rich is a process. First you have to want it, so that you put the effort into making “Thinking Rich” a habit. Then you have to find what motivates you, for it is your personal motivation that will get you to put your plan into action rather then just thinking and talking about making money. Followed by a determination, because determination is what keeps you going when the naysayers and personal fears start to set in.

Some 50% to 60% of the people will reach retirement age with a comfortable retirement income. This happens because of automatic investment plans such as Social Security, 401Ks, IRAs, and various retirement plans. The money is taken away and invested for most people before they get their hands on it and thus the time value of long term investing gets them to a comfortable retirement in spite of themselves. Rick people do these things also, then they add the other income from various investments that takes them to the next level. That is where you want to be, at a level beyond comfortable.

11-12-09