Being a millionaire is nice. Yet, there are some downsides of being a millionaire as well. I reached millionaire status when I was 28 and didn't even know it. All I was busy doing was working 70+ hours a week and saving and investing 70%+ of my paycheck every two weeks.
In 2020, there are over 11 million, millionaire households in America alone. The greatest thing about having money is that you stop worrying as much about money. You don't have to ration your food, wonder how you're going to afford your child's college tuition, or keep your house freezing at night to save on utilities.
Money is a never ending desire until you make that desire stop. The problem with many millionaires is that once they've tasted lots of money, they have have an unhealthy desire for more, more more.
Since millionaires usually hang out with other millionaires, they are always keeping score with how their other millionaire friends are making or doing. There are negatives of being wealthy and everybody knowing.
My friend who is worth hundreds of millions isn’t satisfied because he’s not worth billions like some of his friends. Meanwhile, he has thousands of employees to manage, and a board to report to.
He can never play tennis with me at 10am because he has to go to work! Is he really that much better off than someone with much less who has all the freedom in the world?
The more money you have, the more money you want. It’s the most curious thing.
All The Downsides Of Being A Millionaire
Besides never being satisfied with having more money than the vast majority of the population, here are some other downsides:
- Expectations you should always be pick up the tab
- Expectations you should always give to whatever cause
- Expectations you should always help out a family member, whether they deserve it or not
- Getting charged more just because the contractor knows you are rich
- Non stop butt kissing from sycophants who want something from you
- Never knowing for sure who your true friends are
- A lot of fake politeness as you hang out with other rich people
- Not being able to freely say or do what you want because you are being more closely watched
- You will have sacrificed a lot of your time
- You could be perceived by others as greedy and selfish
- Friends and family may envy you
- You become a target for robbers
- You might lose touch with reality
- You might end up raising spoiled children who don't appreciate hard work
- You may become less motivated to work and contribute to society
If you are a millionaire or much wealthier than your peers, I suggest you practice Stealth Wealth. Blend in with everybody so you can lead a normal life and be around people you know like you for who you are.
Finally, surprise! You have the same problems as everybody else does in the world, despite being a millionaire. You wonder why you aren’t always happy. You worry about your aging parents and your kids’ future in this increasingly competitive world. You worry about being accepted for who you are. Nothing really changes in your life except that you have more financial security.
Recommendation To Get To Millionaire Status
Manage Your Money In One Place: Millionaires are on top of their money. They know how their net worth is allocated and they know their cash flow like the back of their hand. I recommend signing up for Personal Capital, the web’s #1 free wealth management tool to get a better handle on your finances.
You can use Personal Capital to help monitor illegal use of your credit cards and other accounts with their tracking software. In addition to better money oversight, run your investments through their award-winning Investment Checkup tool to see exactly how much you are paying in fees. I was paying $1,700 a year in fees I had no idea I was paying.
After you link all your accounts, use their Retirement Planning calculator that pulls your real data to give you as pure an estimation of your financial future as possible using Monte Carlo simulation algorithms. Definitely run your numbers to see how you’re doing. I’ve been using Personal Capital since 2012 and have seen my net worth skyrocket during this time thanks to better money management.
About the Author: Sam worked in finance for 13 years. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from The College of William & Mary and got his MBA from UC Berkeley. In 2012, Sam was able to retire at the age of 34 largely due to his investments that now generate roughly $250,000 a year in passive income. He spends time playing tennis, taking care of his family, and writing online to help others achieve financial freedom too.
Sam started Financial Samurai in 2009 and has grown it to be one of the largest independently owned personal finance sites in the world. Financial Samurai has been featured in top publications such as the LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.