What do you consider life changing money

Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
I am amazed at how many people who posted are happy.
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Why? We’re happy because of the choices we’ve made to limit stress in our lives and to be involved with things that are rewarding.

I enjoyed my first career (military) and my follow on career (HR consultant). I work for employers that treat me well, provide good benefits, and rewards me for the work i do. My wife is the same way.

We have a strong social circle, give back time, talent, and treasure to things that are important to us. We live beneath our means, maintain six months of income in our savings, and have invested 15% of gross income from day 1. The only debt we carry is our mortgage. If either of us was unemployed tomorrow, we would not lose a house or transportation, although eating out and nice, week-long vacations, weekend trips, and $100 hamburgers would pause. Both our kids are independent adults with careers and spouses of their own. This could go on indefinitely without having to touch our emergency fund.

If we both lost our jobs tomorrow, it would take about a year before things started to get sporty at the bottom of Maslow’s heirarchy unless we started selling off toys and cars. That could buy us another year or so. I turn 50 next month; I have a lifetime’s worth of valuable skills and experience that employers want.

Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
…only wealthy people fly.
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Depends how you define wealthy. We’re not 7-figure net worth people. There was a couple decade gap for me in GA and it’s only been in the last four or so years I got active again. We’re partners in a well-equipped and well capitalized 172. The partnership has enough reserves to swap out our motor at TBO, refresh the necessary FWF stuff, and pay our fixed expenses for the next two years.
 
Probably in the few-million-dollar range. Whatever would allow the wife and I to stop working our daily job in order to pursue more travel and philanthropic desires. Even the ability to do a lot of Angel Flights/Young Eagles events would have a life-changing impact. Always short on time and money, but having a few million after taxes means that we no longer have to trade time for money. That's pretty life-changing for me.
 
C81 is for sale for $8.1M… so that and a plane would be fine.

But like others, I work to live.. I don't live to work. I'm in my job for the money and what the money affords. I like the work, but could do without the job. I think the closest to my "Live to work" job would probably be a pilot (which I'm in the process of exploring).
 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
I am amazed at how many people who posted are happy.

To the point I find it unbelievable.

Or it reinforces only wealthy people fly.
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I’ll take the flip side: living in a country like this with the options we have and seeing where we are vs. where we’ve been, I’m amazed at how many UNhappy people there are who seem to have pretty good lives. Seems to me there are some (many?) people who aren’t happy unless they’re unhappy. This is a general observation - I’m not meaning to aim it at you or anyone else in particular.

My life is by no means perfect and I have as many fears and regrets as the next person (probably more) but I just choose not to take anything given - especially “just” being alive - for granted.

It’s all a matter of perspective, I think.
 
Grum.Man said:
I mean 20k would certainly change my life for the better,....
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Then why not raise 20k? Are you already working two jobs? Putting in 80 hours/week? If not, getting a part-time gig or doing a little OT could net you 20k in a year or so easily.
 
Llewtrah381 said:
This is a trick question. I’m having a hard time coming up with a figure which would ever make me think snacks at a movie are not too expensive for me to want them.
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My observation is that there are two kinds of wealthy people. Those who buy $25,000 watches as impulse purchases and those who sneak their own snacks into movies because the prices at the theaters are too high!

Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
I am amazed at how many people who posted are happy.

To the point I find it unbelievable.

Or it reinforces only wealthy people fly.
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Depends how you define wealthy.

Lately some people have been writing about how $100,000 a year shouldn't be considered middle class because they are in the upper third of the wealth distribution curve.

That's certainly a valid point.

The other common way of looking at middle class is to divide people into buckets as:

Poor people: Those who don't have enough to survive. Who are constantly struggling. Who can't make ends meet, much less work less, go to school or save money to retire someday.

Middle class: Those who can pay their bills, but still have to have jobs to make ends meet.

Wealthy: Those who have the option to work or not as they desire.

I think the second way is much more useful because it focuses more on quality of life issues than a particular number. And, by that definition, only a couple of the people who responded are wealthy and working because they want to. Everyone else is middle class and working for a living. Even if they are objectively better off financially than poor people, they still sacrifice thousands of hours a year to the pursuit of money in order to survive.
 
Llewtrah381 said:
I’ll take the flip side: living in a country like this with the options we have and seeing where we are vs. where we’ve been, I’m amazed at how many UNhappy people there are who seem to have pretty good lives. Seems to me there are some (many?) people who aren’t happy unless they’re unhappy. This is a general observation - I’m not meaning to aim it at you or anyone else in particular.

My life is by no means perfect and I have as many fears and regrets as the next person (probably more) but I just choose not to take anything given - especially “just” being alive - for granted.

It’s all a matter of perspective, I think.
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Yes indeed....happiness is an inside job.
 
rwellner98 said:
The other common way of looking at middle class is to divide people into thirds as:

Poor people: Those who don't have enough to survive. Who are constantly struggling. Who can't make ends meet, much less work less, go to school or save money to retire someday.

Middle class: Those who can pay their bills, but still have to have jobs to make ends meet.

Wealthy: Those who have the option to work or not as they desire.
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That's three groups, but I don't think it's necessarily thirds.

Many, many people who are struggling to make ends meet are doing so because they've defined the "ends" unwisely and they keep moving them. It's possible in the middle class to live well within one's means and to enjoy life. But so many people always have to have the latest iToy, drive an expensive car, take on debt to their eyeballs to have a big house, etc. Whatever slight happiness these things bring is fleeting, but the financial stress these folks create for themselves is lasting.

 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
I am amazed at how many people who posted are happy.

To the point I find it unbelievable.

Or it reinforces only wealthy people fly.
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In meeting pilots one thing I've discovered is that there's a ton of people in this hobby who value experiences more than things.
The threshold for being financially content will be a lot lower for those people. I wouldn't be surprised if some of that bias was evident on this board, too. Just speculation based on my own experiences.
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
In meeting pilots one thing I've discovered is that there's a ton of people in this hobby who value experiences more than things.
The threshold for being financially content will be a lot lower for those people. I wouldn't be surprised if some of that bias was evident on this board, too. Just speculation based on my own experiences.
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Amen and amen. Yea, verily, I say AMEN.
 
Llewtrah381 said:
This is a trick question. I’m having a hard time coming up with a figure which would ever make me think snacks at a movie are not too expensive for me to want them.
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:yeahthat:

A few weeks ago, SWMBO and I were at dinner with another couple. Like us, they're comfortably retired. Not rolling in wealth, but comfortable. But we started talking about how we still had the same habits as when we were younger and forced to be frugal. Like dinner that evening - we had clipped BOGO coupons out of the local shopper to buy our dinners. We still shop sales, use grocery coupons, don't buy expensive clothing, etc. The habits that put some money in the bank through the years are now permanent.
 
Here I’ll put a number in. I’ll say 10x your currently annual income for most people.

For me it would be enough to buy vacation homes in a few places and leave a car for my use when there. Then upgrade to a twin with FIKI capability… my go to is a DA-62. Then in general just start hiring people to do labor I currently do myself around home like mowing, trying to control the brush, general home and auto repairs, etc.
 
Half Fast said:
:yeahthat:

A few weeks ago, SWMBO and I were at dinner with another couple. Like us, they're comfortably retired. Not rolling in wealth, but comfortable. But we started talking about how we still had the same habits as when we were younger and forced to be frugal. Like dinner that evening - we had clipped BOGO coupons out of the local shopper to buy our dinners. We still shop sales, use grocery coupons, don't buy expensive clothing, etc. The habits that put some money in the bank through the years are now permanent.
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Yup. Ask Warren Buffet!
 
Put your current numbers in here. You'll be humbled (or you should be) ...

howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org

How Rich Am I?

Calculate how rich you are compared to the rest of the world. Are you in the top global income percentile? Does your household income make you wealthy?
howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
 
Daleandee said:
Put your current numbers in here. You'll be humbled (or you should be) ...

howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org

How Rich Am I?

Calculate how rich you are compared to the rest of the world. Are you in the top global income percentile? Does your household income make you wealthy?
howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
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interesting to put actual numbers to it - but I already knew (qualitatively) that in the US, even the bottom of the middle class would be wealthier than most of the rest of the world.
 
I have always thought the difference between not rich and rich folks were that not rich folks worked for their money, and rich folks had money work for them.

Even though I work for money I consider my self rich. I never go hungry, always enough food to eat 3 meals a day and have snacks. I own 2 homes and both have comfortable beds. In both houses I can regulate the inside temperature to stay comfortable no matter what the temp outside is and I feel safe in both homes.
 
Half Fast said:
Then why not raise 20k? Are you already working two jobs? Putting in 80 hours/week? If not, getting a part-time gig or doing a little OT could net you 20k in a year or so easily.
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I took the question as if someone or somehow you were given/awarded money tomorrow. Of course I could earn 20k but the question wasn't how much would you have to earn to change your life.... For me 20k would pay off my car without dipping into my airplane savings so if I came across 20k tomorrow it would change my life.
 
rwellner98 said:
My observation is that there are two kinds of wealthy people. Those who buy $25,000 watches as impulse purchases and those who sneak their own snacks into movies because the prices at the theaters are too high!
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Those behaviors are not mutually exclusive.
 
Grum.Man said:
I took the question as if someone or somehow you were given/awarded money tomorrow. Of course I could earn 20k but the question wasn't how much would you have to earn to change your life.... For me 20k would pay off my car without dipping into my airplane savings so if I came across 20k tomorrow it would change my life.
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Yes, that was the intent of the question. The point I was trying to make was that you don't have to wait for some fairy godmother to bestow 20k on you. You can change your own life if that's all it will take.
 
Half Fast said:
Yes, that was the intent of the question. The point I was trying to make was that you don't have to wait for some fairy godmother to bestow 20k on you. You can change your own life if that's all it will take.
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Well I could save a million dollars by retirement but that wasn’t really the point.
 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
I am amazed at how many people who posted are happy.

To the point I find it unbelievable.

Or it reinforces only wealthy people fly.
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I don't think that's it at all. Not positive, but pretty sure that there's not a great correlation between being wealthy and being happy.

But what we might have is a correlation between flying and being happy. Well, that makes sense to me for two reasons, one is that flying is a lot of fun. But the second is that for anyone choosing to fly, they've decided to do something that usually doesn't make sense financially (flying) for the sake of the experience.

I've met a lot of people who have plans to do something when they retire, or when they get around to it, but they never do it. Hell, I have things I want to eventually that I've never done. But one I did, and I love it, and it was a bit of work.

So if there's a common thing with pilots, besides maybe having questionable social skills (raises hand high), we have an ability to put ourselves to a task that isn't all that easy, and get it done, either for a career or for pleasure. That sense of accomplishment and I'll even say freedom, is pretty cool.
 
Now that I have paid off my mortgage (Yay!) and only have $4,000 in auto loan and all the usual insurance and living expenses, I am wondering if I will live long enough to enjoy retirement.

I have not saved the required Million Dollars everyone tells me I need to retire and I am wondering if I should just finance a nice aircraft and have a good time with the time I have left? My life insurance will cover a goodly amount of my expenditures if I bite it before turning 70 years old...
 
BTW: watching the story of Michael Oher of the “Blindside” story play out, and observing that (I think) his story is probably a lot like many others who came into a lot of money very quickly, I’m pretty convinced the issue is an attitude more than a number. People who get a lot of money quickly seem to change their lifestyles dramatically in a good number of cases and eventually run out of money even at that level - or, seemingly, any level. I know that’s a generalization but I think it’s fairly common. I wonder how many “newly successful” pro athletes, movie stars, rock stars, hedge funders, or whatever get way ahead of their skis in pretty short order.

So, whereas I occasionally wish “I had what they have”, I’ve come to realize I really don’t, by and large; I’m pretty happy with what I have and wouldn’t actually be happier in a bigger house or even a faster plane. And, frankly, I’m glad I can be happy with that approach.

But to be completely honest, a big part of being able to have that attitude is the fact that having retired from the military has let me not worry about healthcare and have a pretty generous “safety net” retirement income. But that was planned and came at the cost of not going after higher-paying careers early on, in the interest of the security I now have. Again, attitude vs. number.
 
I guess I'm an accountant for a reason. You guys put a lot of emotional thought to this question. I'm practical to a fault. I picked a number where I could use a good amount of it for capex spending (turboprop) and the rest I could turn into my own annuity through investments that would fund the opex and not needing to work. I could the spend my days flying my turboprop around either doing LifeLine Pilots, Pilots N Paws or traveling with the fam. I don't need a different house or fancy cars. Just need the capital to make the job go away and do what I want....in faster style.
 
eman1200 said:
well, besides buying a different plane for every day of the week, but other than that, not a whole lot will change for me.
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That right there would be pretty life-changing.

I'm going to say $10M. I'd buy a new RV, and probably buy or build a new house (might just tear down the one I'm in and rebuild it, as I like where I live). As for a new airplane, I don't think so. Might hire a corporate jet once in awhile, but I love my airplane and am getting too old to learn to fly anything fancier. Hire an arborist to seriously look at all our big ponderosas and figure out what has to go. That would take serious money. We had one of our 100' ponderosa die on us. It was in a really awkward place, and it cost us $8300 to get it taken down.

But all in all, not much would change.
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
I guess I'm an accountant for a reason. You guys put a lot of emotional thought to this question. I'm practical to a fault. I picked a number where I could use a good amount of it for capex spending (turboprop) and the rest I could turn into my own annuity through investments that would fund the opex and not needing to work. I could the spend my days flying my turboprop around either doing LifeLine Pilots, Pilots N Paws or traveling with the fam. I don't need a different house or fancy cars. Just need the capital to make the job go away and do what I want....in faster style.
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Exactly the point I was trying to make. The money that would be life-changing is whatever would allow the wife and I to not have to work and continue living our lives, but with funds for increased travel. Having more "stuff" isn't necessarily life-changing to me, as we already have more than what we need. Adding a vacation home or a Ferrari isn't going to change that. The question was what amount would be "life-changing", not "what all would you buy if you won 100 million".
 
Bob Noel said:
interesting to put actual numbers to it - but I already knew (qualitatively) that in the US, even the bottom of the middle class would be wealthier than most of the rest of the world.
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Remember that costs are higher in the US also. We (mostly) live in Mexico and it's a hell of a lot easier to live on $15k a year there than $15k a year in the US. As an example, we've been there for about 12 years and in all that time have never once lived a house with HVAC (and the bills associated with purchase, installation, maintenance and *energy costs* of having HVAC). Try doing that in Minnesota or Dallas.

As someone mentioned earlier, it would be interesting to see something more like a quality of life or affordability chart showing which countries do the best in terms of the relationship between cost of living and median salary, or cost of living and 10th percentile salary. After all, it doesn't matter if you make $50K a year, making you rich by global standards, but that job has you living in a city where you need $55k a year to keep your head above water. You're still just as poor as the person making $7K a year in a city that costs $8K a year to get by and you're actually worse off than the person making $10k a year in a city that is affordable at $8K.
 
rwellner98 said:
Remember that costs are higher in the US also. We (mostly) live in Mexico and it's a hell of a lot easier to live on $15k a year there than $15k a year in the US. As an example, we've been there for about 12 years and in all that time have never once lived a house with HVAC (and the bills associated with purchase, installation, maintenance and *energy costs* of having HVAC). Try doing that in Minnesota or Dallas.

As someone mentioned earlier, it would be interesting to see something more like a quality of life or affordability chart showing which countries do the best in terms of the relationship between cost of living and median salary, or cost of living and 10th percentile salary. After all, it doesn't matter if you make $50K a year, making you rich by global standards, but that job has you living in a city where you need $55k a year to keep your head above water. You're still just as poor as the person making $7K a year in a city that costs $8K a year to get by and you're actually worse off than the person making $10k a year in a city that is affordable at $8K.
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Genuinely curious whereabouts in Mexico one feels safe to live these days? Especially if there are safe areas where a modest amount goes a long way.
I wouldn't mind having a place there (and enjoy the lower COLA) one day if I could get comfortable with the area not being saturated with violent crime.
 
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