What does that 'millionaire moment' feel like?

[FIREseeker]

What does it feel like to be a millionaire. To me, that would be one of the best feelings in the world. Yet whenever I ask rich people how it feels to basically be successful, they all just take it in stride.

Are you a millionaire? How did that moment feel when you realized you had become one? How old were you? I suppose the younger you are, the more elated you'd be.

I can't wait for the day I become a millionaire. It will happen.

Millionaire moment... TM lol.

[rennigade]

Anyone that owns a home outright in a HCOL area probably has 1 million in net worth. To me having most of your money in a house isnt the same as having 1 million in liquid funds.

Either way I cant imagine its that big of deal. Your life isnt going to change drastically from $750k vs $1mil. Its certainly a milestone though.


From other threads/forums I have read...reaching the first $100k is a bigger deal than $1mil. It usually takes longer to get from 0 to 100k than from 100k to 1mil.

[Drake3287]

Although I guess I'm technically a millionaire, it's not what you would think it's like. I don't live much differently now then when I was working. I've always been a saver and never really wasted money although I'll always had a comfortable life style without it being over the top. Pretty much typical middle income.

Almost none of my family or friends know how much I have or don't have. To be honest, it can be difficult having money to buy nice things and travel while at the same time everyone you know is just getting by from paycheck to paycheck. I have one friend who's in the same position as myself and we talk about it often.

To answer your basic question, it's nice to know I'm financially independent and will never have to worry about money but at the same time I don't feel any different. Just more of a secure feeling.

[DecisiveParadox]

Not yet

I think its important to point out that both the Government and Banks don't consider you a millionaire if your Net worth is tied up in your primary residence.
To get into the private banking and federal preferred customers at most banks you need a minimum of $250k - $1 million of investable assets outside your primary residence.

For the 1 million Level I'm not there yet. In the next 12 - 24 months yes.
But I can tell you getting to the 100K point was hard and felt like a real achievement.
Everywhere I went, I walked with swagger. True story.
Reaching Quarter of a million in cash was truly amazing.
But anyone who thinks going from a hundred to a million is easier is a fool or hasn't done it themselves.
It just as hard. in fact it 9x harder.
The only difference is you have done it once before. like the first time you tile a bathroom or bake a cake.
the second time is not easier, there is no less steps, no less ingredients. its just simply you are armed with prior knowledge from doing it.

[azinkaanderson]

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[rennigade]

But anyone who thinks going from a hundred to a million is easier is a fool or hasn't done it themselves.
It just as hard. in fact it 9x harder.

How could it be 9x harder? The more money you have the more your money can grow...or shrink depending on market. Not to mention most people earn more as they get older. You have more money coming in.

When I first started working till the time I reached $100k took around 10 years I would say. The next $100k after that came in around 3 years. Next $100k took around 2 years, etc etc. I dont even make that much and I can already see the snowball effect taking place. I havent done anything different in what I invest in. I just have more money to invest.

[Fishindude77]

To maintain a business banking relationship, I've had to do a personal financial statement for many years. Many people don't know how to do one, and really have no idea what their net worth is. I would encourage everyone to maintain a personal financial statement. It's kind of a "life scoreboard" to watch how you are doing financially.

Getting to $1 mil is a neat milestone, but if the majority of that net worth is tied up in real estate or something like a 401K that you can't access for years, you may still not have much liquid cash to play around with, invest, etc.

[bjl584]

What does it feel like to be a millionaire. To me, that would be one of the best feelings in the world. Yet whenever I ask rich people how it feels to basically be successful, they all just take it in stride.

Are you a millionaire? How did that moment feel when you realized you had become one? How old were you? I suppose the younger you are, the more elated you'd be.

I can't wait for the day I become a millionaire. It will happen.

Millionaire moment... TM lol.

It's just a number. A nice milestone indeed, but not enough to retire on.

There were no popping of champagne corks when I became a quarter of a millionaire or a third of a millionaire. I figure when I hit the one million mark it will be just another day.

[feh]

I mentioned the event to my wife, but it really wasn't a big deal. We experienced it twice - 2008/2009 knocked us back below for a while.

It's just a number. No different from $900K or $1.1M. Reaching the number that I felt was necessary to call ourselves financially independent was much more notable.

[FIREseeker]

It's just a number. A nice milestone indeed, but not enough to retire on.

There were no popping of champagne corks when I became a quarter of a millionaire or a third of a millionaire. I figure when I hit the one million mark it will be just another day.

I've always thought about how I will celebrate when I become a millionaire. But then I thought, "It can't be too expensive of a celebrate or else I won't be a millionaire anymore."

Ha.

And I've made it to the $100k mark. Definitely exciting and it definitely did take a long time. However - it is getting easier. Gotta love compound interest + the older I get, the more my skills are worth.

[disneysteve]

But anyone who thinks going from a hundred to a million is easier is a fool or hasn't done it themselves.
It just as hard. in fact it 9x harder.

This isn't true at all thanks to the miracle of compounding. Your money grows faster the more of it you have.

ETA: Early on, growth of your balance is almost entirely from new contributions. Later on, growth shifts and comes mainly from investment returns. We are at the stage where the bulk of our annual portfolio growth comes from earnings, not new money going in.

So in year one, if we put in $5,000, our balance might have grown by $5,200. Today if we put in $5,000, our balance might grow by $40,000.

[FIREseeker]

This isn't true at all thanks to the miracle of compounding. Your money grows faster the more of it you have.

ETA: Early on, growth of your balance is almost entirely from new contributions. Later on, growth shifts and comes mainly from investment returns. We are at the stage where the bulk of our annual portfolio growth comes from earnings, not new money going in.

So in year one, if we put in $5,000, our balance might have grown by $5,200. Today if we put in $5,000, our balance might grow by $40,000.

Your post took the air out of my chest. I need less than $20,000 per year to live (no mortgage and few wants) so at your worth, I could easily live off passive income. I want to be you!!! To be financially set... I will get there. I am working hard for it. It's just so cool to take a moment to think about what it'll be like to get there.

[disneysteve]

Your post took the air out of my chest. I need less than $20,000 per year to live (no mortgage and few wants) so at your worth, I could easily live off passive income. I want to be you!!! To be financially set... I will get there. I am working hard for it. It's just so cool to take a moment to think about what it'll be like to get there.

When your needs are few, it's much easier to reach financial independence since you don't need nearly as large a nest egg from which to draw. In our case, 20K wouldn't come close to covering things so it's all relative. Mortgage, health insurance, auto insurance, property taxes, utilities, car expenses, food, gas, college costs, etc. all add up to way more than 20K. That's before we even get into things like clothing, dining out, travel, or other wants.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

feels like no difference. couldn't tell you when it happened.

[disneysteve]

couldn't tell you when it happened.

I'm sure I'll be able to tell you an approximate time but since I only update my portfolio spreadsheet periodically, I won't know the actual day. I'll just know that it happened sometime between the last update and the update where the balance tops one million.