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Americans are spending more time thinking about money than ever<\/p>\n
Financial stress is rising. Here\u2019s how different generations are coping<\/p>\n
A million dollars is\u00a0not what it used to be<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Only 36% of American millionaires consider themselves wealthy in 2025, according to\u00a0new research<\/a>\u00a0from Northwestern Mutual.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The finding\u00a0comes from\u00a0the\u00a02025 Planning & Progress Study, updated in early November. It draws on\u00a0a\u00a0Harris Poll survey of 4,626 Americans, including 969 people with\u00a0household\u00a0investable assets greater than $1 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even the wealthiest Americans worry about money<\/a>, the study found. They fret about having enough of it,\u00a0deciding how to spend it\u00a0and whether\u00a0to pass\u00a0it on to heirs.\u00a0<\/p>\n If $1 million\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0enough, then how much money does it take<\/a> to feel wealthy?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no definitive number,\u201d\u00a0said Mark Mascarenhas, a private wealth adviser with Northwestern Mutual\u2019s\u00a0Haven Wealth Advisors<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many millionaires don’t consider themselves wealthy<\/p>\n Feeling wealthy has a lot to do with context and perspective,\u00a0he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A million dollars might go a long way\u00a0in West Virginia or rural Kansas<\/a>. In New York or Los Angeles, it might not\u00a0feel like\u00a0nearly\u00a0enough.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A millionaire who hangs out with other millionaires is bound to make unflattering comparisons to\u00a0wealthier friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAll of my clients who are millionaires do not consider themselves wealthy, not by a long shot,\u201d\u00a0Liz\u00a0Windisch<\/a>, a certified financial planner in Denver.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople with that much money inevitably spend time with other people who are millionaires, and who have even more money than they do and\u00a0\u2013\u00a0just like the rest of us\u00a0\u2013\u00a0compare themselves to others who have more,\u201d\u00a0she said.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Nearly half\u00a0of\u00a0U.S.\u00a0millionaires say their financial planning \u201cneeds improvement,\u201d\u00a0Northwestern Mutual\u00a0found. Only 53%\u00a0said they\u00a0expect to leave an inheritance\u00a0or charitable gift.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0not that they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want to leave an inheritance.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0just that\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0worried about funding their own retirement,\u201d\u00a0Mascarenhas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The top retirement concern for millionaires, the study found, is the prospect of outliving their savings.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rise of everyday millionaires\u00a0<\/p>\n The United States\u00a0is home to\u00a0nearly 24\u00a0million millionaires, the largest number of any nation\u00a0in U.S. dollar terms, according to the UBS\u00a0Global\u00a0Wealth Report<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The number of American millionaires grew by more than 1,000 a day in 2024, UBS reports. Millionaires have become so common, in fact,\u00a0that the report terms them \u201ceveryday millionaires\u201d if they have assets of $5 million or less.\u00a0<\/p>\n The average 50-something is\u00a0now\u00a0a millionaire\u00a0<\/p>\n The average 50-something American now has a\u00a0household\u00a0net worth over $1 million<\/a>, according to the\u00a02022\u00a0federal Survey of Consumer Finances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Household wealth swelled at a record pace<\/a>\u202fduring the pandemic. Surging\u00a0home values\u202fand rising stock ownership fed the surge.\u00a0<\/p>\n Average household net worth now tops $500,000 for Americans in their late 30s. For late-40-somethings, it exceeds $750,000. For 50-somethings, it reaches seven figures.\u00a0<\/p>\n But if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0a 50-something and\u00a0not a millionaire,\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0despair. Those numbers are\u00a0averages,\u00a0inflated by the super-rich.\u00a0<\/p>\n Do you need $1 million to be financially ‘comfortable’?\u00a0<\/p>\n Whatever else \u201cwealthy\u201d might mean in\u00a0late\u00a02025, surveys attest, it\u00a0means having a net worth over $1 million. In the latest\u202fCharles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey<\/a>,\u00a0released\u00a0in July, consumers set the wealth bar at $2.3 million.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n But\u00a0if your goal is\u00a0to be merely \u201ccomfortable,\u201d\u00a0Schwab found, then\u00a0a little over $800,000 will suffice<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n It may be mostly semantics, but American consumers see\u00a0a big difference\u00a0between the financial goals of comfort and wealth.\u00a0<\/p>\n To\u202fRob Williams<\/a>,\u00a0managing\u00a0director of financial planning at Schwab, the distinction boils down to needs,\u00a0wants\u00a0and wishes.\u202f To many Americans, Williams said, financial comfort means having enough\u00a0money\u00a0to meet\u00a0your\u00a0needs and wants.\u202fTo be wealthy means you have enough to satisfy needs and\u00a0wants, and\u00a0also wishes.\u202f<\/p>\n To other financial experts, “wealth” simply means freedom.<\/p>\n “I believe that the ultimate measure of success is if you control how you spend your time,” said Michelle Crumm<\/a>, a certified financial planner in Ann Arbor, Michigan.\u202f<\/p>\n How much does the American dream cost?\u00a0<\/p>\n Inflation has diminished the currency of the American millionaire. It has also raised the cost of\u00a0achieving\u00a0the American dream<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It now costs $5 million over a lifetime to fund eight components of the American dream, including homeownership and\u00a0parenting, according to a\u202fSeptember report<\/a>\u202ffrom Investopedia.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the lifetime costs:\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Retirement: $1.6 million\u202f\u00a0Owning a home: $957,594\u202f\u00a0Owning new cars: $900,346\u202f\u00a0Raising two children and paying for college: $876,092\u202f\u00a0Health care: $414,208\u202f\u00a0Annual vacations: $180,621\u202f\u00a0Pets: $39,381\u202f\u00a0Wedding: $38,200\u202f\u00a0Americans with six-figure incomes are in survival mode\u00a0<\/p>\n Just as many millionaires\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0feel wealthy, quite a few high-income Americans\u00a0are\u00a0struggling from one paycheck to the next<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n