Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy

Whether we mean to or not, we are constantly comparing ourselves to others. We see our neighbors with the nicer car, influencers in our social media feed talking about their latest international travel, or maybe a coworker has a bigger house.

It can be easy to feel behind, but have you actually looked at your own numbers to understand where your wealth stands?

Here's the stat that may surprises you: the average 45-54 year old household has a net worth of $975,800, according to the Federal Reserve. The median for that same age group is just $247,200.

If you have questions about understanding your own wealth and how you can design the life you want, you can book a free intro call here to discuss your specific situation.

So why the large gap? A small number of very high-net-worth families pull the "average" way up. The median is the number that is smack dab in the middle. So if you're between 45-54 yrs old and have a higher net worth than $250,000, you may be doing better than 50% of your peers.

What does this mean for you and your portfolio and how you compare to the neighbor? You don't need to be in the top 1% (around $11.6M) to be genuinely, functionally wealthy. Top 10-15% for your age already puts you in rare company, often in the $2-5M range depending on age.

Even more important than the number itself is what it can produce. A $1.5-2M portfolio can typically generate $60,000-$120,000 a year in sustainable income on top of Social Security. That's real money, and if it funds the life you actually want to live, you've already won the game.

You also don't understand how much your neighbor, co-worker, or someone else is actually saving for retirement. That bigger car payment, mortgage, or extra trip may be setting them further behind in retirement than you. That's why you should be focusing on yourself and what you can be doing to set yourself up for success.

Functionally wealthy isn't about a bigger number. It's knowing your percentile, knowing your number, and shifting from a scarcity mindset to actually putting your money to work for the life you want.

If you want to have a conversation about where you stand, how you can put your real wealth to work, reach out today and let's discuss your options!