Many of us have expectations and/or misconceptions based on "common knowledge" or a limited view of the world around us. Strategies beneficial for average wage earners may not be advantageous for uncommon income earners. |
Mr. & Mrs. Prospect, how much income do you think it takes to put a combined income earning household into the top 25% of all income earners in the US today? (enter their answer) How much do you think it would take to put somebody in the top 10 percent? (enter their answer) What about the top 5%, the top 1%(enter their answers). You see, to be in the top 25% is really only takes 78 thousand. The top 10% is 134 thousand, the top 5% is 189 thousand and the top 1% is really only 466 thousand. Mr. & Mrs. Prospect, where are you on this scale? (assuming the prospect is top 10% or better) So, does that mean your income is relatively common or uncommon? (most will say uncommon) That's right. Now before I showed you these numbers, would you have said your income was common or uncommon? (most will say common) That's right, because everybody you know makes the same kind of money you make. But in reality, the income you make is relatively uncommon because somewhere between 90 and 95% of the population makes less income than you. Consider this as well, the top 1% of income earners pay 39.5% of all taxes in this country. The top 5% pay 60%, the top 10% pay 71% and the top 25% pay over 86% of the nations tax burden. (FYI: each income group includes the prior group, i.e. the top 5% includes those in the top 1%) Do you think that advice for common income earners focuses on wealth transfers due to taxation? No, probably not. So what kind of financial strategies should you be using in your financial world? Should you be doing the same common things that everyone else is doing? Or should you maybe be doing some things uncommonly? That's right... |
No math presented on this screen. |