Latest news with #financial comfort
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Do you need $1 million to be financially 'comfortable'? Answers here.
You don't need a million dollars to be financially comfortable. A little over $800,000 will do. That's the takeaway from the new Modern Wealth Survey by Charles Schwab. It may be mostly a matter of semantics, but American consumers see a big difference between the financial goals of comfort and wealth: A nearly $1.5 million difference, to be exact. Whatever else 'wealthy' might mean in 2025, numerous surveys attest, it definitely means having a net worth over $1 million. In the latest annual Schwab survey, released in July, consumers set the wealth bar at $2.3 million. But how much money does it take to be merely 'comfortable'? In four past surveys, consumers equated financial comfort to a net worth between $624,000 and $1 million. (The $1 million figure came in 2023, a year of rampant inflation.) This year's number: $839,000. What's the difference between 'comfort' and 'wealth'? What, then, is the difference between comfort and wealth? The Schwab survey didn't define the terms. Respondents were left to decide on their own. To Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning at Schwab, the distinction boils down to needs, wants and wishes. To many American consumers, Williams said, financial comfort means having enough net worth to meet their needs and wants. 'I can pay my mortgage. I have a home. I can pay my medical bills. I don't have to go paycheck to paycheck. I have enough to retire,' Williams said. 'That's what financial comfort means to me.' To be wealthy, he said, means you have enough money to satisfy your needs and wants, and also your wishes. 'Wishes are those things that are aspirational,' he said: Having enough money to retire when you want, or to vacation where and when you please. 'I think of wealth as, 'I have a lot more choices in how I use my time,'' Williams said. Here's how Americans define 'wealthy' Schwab asked survey respondents to define what wealthy means to them. Here, in descending order, are the most-cited factors: Happiness (45% cited it) 'Amount of money I have' (44%) Physical health (37%) Mental health (32%) 'Quality of my relationships' (24%) Life experiences (24%) Accomplishments (20%) Amount of free time (18%) Material possessions (17%) Is financial 'comfort' more dream than reality? Only 11% of consumers said they believe they are wealthy now: evidence, perhaps, that wealth is largely aspirational. Another 24% said they think they are on track to be wealthy. Gen Z and millennials were especially optimistic about wealth. More than two-fifths of both groups reported being either wealthy or on track to become so. Financial comfort, too, seems to be more of a dream than a reality. In the Schwab survey, only 20% of respondents reported feeling comfortable now. Another 28% said they're on track to achieve that status. Here, again, Gen Z and millennial Americans voiced more optimism, with more than half of each group saying they are financially comfortable, or getting there. The Schwab survey, conducted in April and May, reached a representative sample of 2,200 adults. Most American households are not particularly wealthy A net worth of $839,000, the cutoff for financial comfort in the Schwab survey, actually falls below the average net worth for American families in 2022, which was roughly $1.1 million, according to the federal Survey of Consumer Finances. But the super-wealthy skew that average. The median household net worth – think of it as the middle figure in a long list of numbers – is only $192,700. Lili Vasileff, a certified financial planner in Greenwich, Connecticut, defines financial comfort as essentially never having to worry about money. 'Comfortable, to me, means that I can meet my bills every day of the week, that I don't live paycheck to paycheck, that I have savings set aside as an emergency fund, and that I have made good progress toward achieving my financial goals,' she said. Being wealthy, she said, is about financial freedom and loftier goals. 'Wealthy, to me, means that I have savings that I don't need to dip into, and I can create a legacy for my children, that I have the ability to have a little more ego in terms of the quality of things that I want,' she said. 'You may feel like you're really comfortable at $800,000,' Vasileff said. But a lot depends on how much of the money is liquid, how much is investable, and how much is earmarked for spending, among other factors. The role of financial wellness Robert Brokamp, a senior adviser at The Motley Fool, defines financial comfort in much the same way the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defines financial well-being. It's a four-part definition: Having control over day-to-day, month-to-month finances; Having the capacity to absorb a financial shock; Being on track to meet your financial goals; Having the financial freedom to make the choices that allow you to enjoy life. 'I think anyone who meets those criteria, they're comfortable,' Brokamp said. Brokamp also has a theory to explain the $2.3 million figure that Schwab survey-takers defined as 'wealthy' in 2025. It has to do with the faded luster of the American millionaire. 'If you're a millionaire, you're more than comfortable,' Brokamp said. 'But there's still this idea that being a millionaire ain't what it used to be.' Brokamp thinks that impulse may explain why the annual Schwab surveys consistently define 'wealthy' as a figure closer to $2 million: $2.2 million in 2022 and 2023, and $2.5 million in 2024. 'If you've got $2 million, you're a multimillionaire,' he said. 'And if you're a multimillionaire, you've got to be wealthy.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How much money do you need to be financially 'comfortable'? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Independent Singapore
11-07-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Can the average Singaporean actually afford to stop working?
SINGAPORE: A mind-bending question recently surfaced on Reddit: Is the average Singaporean doing well financially? And more importantly, can we retire comfortably? It's an apt apprehension that resonates deeply, especially at a time of escalating costs, stagnant earnings, and aggressive job competition. This question triggered a flurry of truthful and earnest responses that exposed the diverse financial realities most Singaporeans face today. From understated confidence to silent fear, the Reddit thread revealed how the words 'financial comfort' evoked different emotions among working people in one of the world's most affluent nations. A netizen shared a powerful insight — financial comfort isn't just about net worth, it's all about contentment. 'If I don't have many wants and am content to lead a simple retirement, I think I'll have enough and will be very happy already.' For this user, the concept of retirement doesn't mean jet-setting, country-hopping, or owning luxury cars. Rather, it's embedded in simple needs that include a fully paid home, frequent but manageable expenses, and good health. What the user was saying is that happiness cannot be found in material accumulation but in financial sufficiency with peace of mind. Life is harder for some. One commenter said: 'Juggling two jobs to keep me and my wife afloat. Surviving… but it's the 'I hate my life' kind of surviving.' Working freelance and delivering food isn't a 'passion project,' it's a lifeline. It's in sharp contrast to the customary image of financial independence and says a lot about the strains that lower-income families undergo. Another netizen brought up a different contemporary predicament — lifestyle creep. The move from low-priced coffee and hawker centre food to artisanal lattes and more expensive lunches may appear inconsequential, but it can quickly build up. 'All these few dollars more actually add up to S$400 to S$500 a month… Unfortunately, I can't give up.' It's not just about tiny 'guilt pleasures' but about how trivial behaviours can reshape one's financial setup. Once the standard of living has been upgraded, the capacity to downsize becomes psychologically and emotionally strenuous. Remarkably, even those who are doing 'better than most' voiced out their apprehensions. 'Still quite comfortable… but still grappling with lifestyle creep… and feeling like I'm not saving or investing enough…' See also Why looking 'poor' might be the 'richest move' of 2025 Finally, responses shared by many users showed that 'retirement comfort' is intensely personal and vastly subjective. For some, it's about freedom from money-related stress. For others, it's about keeping a lifestyle they've been used to. However, for most, it's a dream that's gradually dissolving into the void. What the post made clear is this: Financial comfort in Singapore is not an immovable destination. It's a 'roaming bull's eye' impacted by lifestyle, values, and personal circumstances. Whether it's through simplicity, non-traditional sources of income, or a skyrocketing salary, each carves his or her path, and for many, that path is anything but uncomplicated. The real question now isn't if one 'can retire comfortably,' but what the word 'comfortable' really means.
