wait- according to the Pew report, I'm a rich lady
I had never really thought about the Pew report until I saw a link to this (by way of Eschaton) . I had never thoguht about "net worth" either. But really, if you think about it, I have a pretty big net worth, if you blinker yourself and just look at the assessed value of my house and how much I owe on it. I live in an area with incredibly inflated housing prices, so my little old house is assessed at six hundred thousand dollars. (I might actually be able to get more than five-fifty for it if I sold it). I owe less than ninety thousand on it.
So my net worth is like five hundred thousand dollars, right? I'm a rich lady. If I sold the house, I'd still have to live in a place with an inflated housing market. But I could actually pay rent on a room in a house for the rest of my life on that money, if I could find one I could move the dog to. I might even be able to afford the rent on an actual house, now that I look at it, at least if I live thirteen years or less.
That wouldn't pay the rest of my expenses, of course, but that's another problem.
So my net worth is like five hundred thousand dollars, right? I'm a rich lady. If I sold the house, I'd still have to live in a place with an inflated housing market. But I could actually pay rent on a room in a house for the rest of my life on that money, if I could find one I could move the dog to. I might even be able to afford the rent on an actual house, now that I look at it, at least if I live thirteen years or less.
That wouldn't pay the rest of my expenses, of course, but that's another problem.