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On this week’s newsletter:

• Rich is the new Poor

• Mindset, Mindset, Mindset

• Life is Expensive.

• A peek into America’s “regular rich” class

I know, I know. Where has my impeccable insight and analysis been the past two weeks? I apologize - I’ve taken a brief hiatus as I’ve had somewhat of a writer’s block - but let’s get back into it, shall we?

If you don’t want to read through today’s post, it could be summed up in the following way:

• Have a budget.

• Be prepared for volatility.

• LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS!

• Increasing paycheck? Chill with the expenses.

• Nuclear Family life is freaking expensive.

Alright. You know where this is going. And this isn’t anything I’ve already talked about before. But there’s something intriguing here. And that something is “rich” Americans. Americans who are financially in the top 20% according to the Census Bureau. Think these people are well off? Statistically, they are objectively are. But they don’t feel that way.

A new Bloomberg conducted survey shows a large percentage of wealthy Americans are fiscally worried about their personal financial situations. Turns out worrying about money knows no social class bounds. I wonder if they’re still eating struggle dogs too? Maybe.

We’re Rich? Nah. We’re struggling.

I love me some charts. Kinda hard to decipher the below chart, but the color code identifies how each respondent in each net worth category feels about their personal financial situation. Who knew you could feel very poor with $5 million or very rich with under $500k?

Hmm… if you clicked on the article link, you would see that a large focus of the article is areas with high/low cost of living. But I believe that’s beside the point. I don’t think it really matters all that much - to a certain extent anyway. A common theme it seems for this article is high income folks with high expenses. I see how being under $500k can be rich now. Take a look at this excerpt from the story:

Oh my. 3 Car payments? Hawaii Condo? Dude’s household pulls in $450k but he’s feeling like the average American trying to make it work. I don’t really know what else to say besides wow.

It’s not so different, is it?

Let’s face it, America is relatively class-separated society. You don’t see tenements next to gated neighborhoods, now do we? But it seems no matter who you are in this country, you may consider money a luxury whether you can’t afford avocados or a vacation home.

“Rich” or “Poor”, figuratively or literally, the typical American doesn’t likely understand the factors I mentioned right at the beginning. Peace of mind is priceless, and it can be achieved whether you’re in the top 20% or bottom 20%. Just have a plan and live within your means. Easier said than done, but I truly believe it’s that simple.

I thought this survey/story/people case studies were a insightful peek into the American life: bound by spending more the more you earn, greed for whatever it may be, and trying to get more stuff. Must be a part of our culture or the human condition — you decide. Use these stats and stories to build your peace of mind, not your anxiety.

Til next time,

Andrew

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