calculated what it would cost to achieve<\/a> the \u201ceight pillars of classic American middle class aspiration\u201d and came up with $5 million over a lifetime.<\/p>\nBut University of Maryland finance professor David Kass said the actual numbers are much more subtle, but he said that it is obtainable.<\/p>\n
Kass said there are many variables to reaching the American dream, which Investopedia defines from James Truslow Adam\u2019s \u201cEpic of America\u201d \u2014 \u201cthat dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because each person\u2019s goals are uniquely different, Kass said. But there is one universal truth he believes is essential to living a comfortable life \u2014 start saving early and never stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne needs to be able to be well disciplined throughout life, in terms of being able to save,\u201d Kass said. \u201cEach family has their own financial goals that could differ quite a bit among families or individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kass added that even if you\u2019re getting a late start when it comes to savings, he advises starting immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the savings and growth of savings, over time, which compounds, that I think will permit families or individuals to achieve what could be very lofty financial goals,\u201d Kass said.<\/p>\n
The Investopedia report acknowledged that because of inflation, it\u2019s becoming more difficult to reach many of the financial goals outlined.<\/p>\n
\u201cPutting aside a certain amount of your income, regardless of the size of your income, and then investing it wisely and having it grow, hopefully at a rate exceeding the rate of inflation,\u201d Kass said.<\/p>\n
Here is Investopedia\u2019s breakdown of what the $5 million American dream consists of in 2025:<\/p>\n
Retirement \u2014 $1,636,881 million
\nHealth care \u2014 $414,208 (Investopedia says that\u2019s what is needed for access to quality health care for a person\u2019s entire adult life from 22 to 85)
\nHomeownership \u2014 $957,594 (Home with a median price of $415,000 with 20% down and a 30-year fixed mortgage of 6.69% and it does not include HOA or maintenance fees)
\nRaising two children and paying for college is $876,092.
\nNew car \u2014 $900,346\u00a0(Two cars a year every 10 years, including financing, insurance, maintenance)
\nAnnual vacation \u2014 $180,621
\nPets \u2014 $39,381
\nWeddings \u2014 $38,200<\/p>\n
Kass said developing a long-term strategy with a balanced portfolio of cash, investments, securities and real estate will make all the difference.<\/p>\n
WTOP\u2019s Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u00a9 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Maryland finance professor breaks down the nuance behind what it costs to live the so-called “American dream.”…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[81130,28,89026,101,40583,2994,108444,3415,108445],"class_list":{"0":"post-184126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-american-dream","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-dan-ronan","11":"tag-economy","12":"tag-financial-advice","13":"tag-investing","14":"tag-investopedia","15":"tag-savings","16":"tag-umd"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}