On a recent trip to the library, I noticed a book called “How to Get Rich: One of the World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets” by Felix Dennis and on a whim, I decided to borrow it (in the true sense) from the library.

It’s an interesting book because the author isn’t writing the book to become rich by writing a book, so in my opinion that gives him instant credibility.  The book has been a good read so far, but what really fascinated me and what I’m going to focus on was his table that reflects his interpretation of the Net Worth Wealth Scale.

Wealth Scale (measured by Total Assets):

Millions of Dollars	Category
2 – 4	The comfortably poor
4 – 10	The comfortably off
10 – 30	The comfortably wealthy
30 – 80	The lesser rich
80 – 150	The comfortably rich
150 – 200	The rich
200 – 400	The seriously rich
400 – 800	The truly rich
800 – 1,998	The filthy rich
Over 1,998	The super-rich

So based on his wealth scale I’m not even at the level of “The Comfortably Poor“, so obviously if I’m not “Comfortably Poor“, then I must be “Uncomfortably Poor“.  Now granted Felix Dennis (the publisher of Maxim Magazine and other mags) is a billionaire, so in comparison to his level of wealth, I definitely could be considered “Uncomfortably Poor”…  Still, this has me thinking about my current financial state and if I am truly, “Uncomfortably Poor”?

Being Uncomfortably Poor!

If I were to lose my job right here and now, I would be uncomfortable, that’s a given… and here’s why.  I have a family of four to support, but without my current job, I really don’t make enough in dividends and side income to feed and clothe my family, let alone pay taxes.  This means that I would have to liquidate my investment assets and starting the downward spiral by decreasing the value of my net worth.  I would guess that after ten years of no salary, I would be penniless and extremely uncomfortable!

That said, I don’t think I would need a minimum of 2 million to be comfortably poor.  I think I could probably get by with 1.2 million, especially considering how frugal I would try to be.  Healthcare would be my main worry…

So while I don’t live paycheck to paycheck, I still have a large dependency on the paychecks provided by my employer.  Eventually, I would be uncomfortable without the income stream provided by my place of employment, but not immediately…

The pyramid below is my own wealth grading scale, I’m still in the trenches though, so my vision at the top is limited. Felix is starting from the “Rich” level in my pyramid and going up.

So what do you think of the Wealth Scale provided by Felix Dennis?  Are you (like most of us) uncomfortably poor?

 

Bests,

Don