How much is one million dollars worth nowadays?

September 26th, 2009 Posted in Retirement

Actually how much is one million dollars worth nowadays? And with that, I mean how much is one million Benjamins or US dollars worth anyway? With prices of goods, services, properties and even basic amenities rising faster than our wages, that one million dollars that we so desire may not be worth as much as during our grandfathers’ time, when having a million dollars meant that you are not only set for life, you have basically laid the foundation for the next three generations.

I am not saying that one million dollars is worthless, far from it, many Americans still do not have their first million, and may not see it in their life time. However the amount of goods or security that one million dollars can buy has definitely and visibly dwindled. Take for example, the price of our homes. Home prices have risen about 300% over the last 20 years. That would mean that a million dollars used to be able to buy a home three times as big 20 years ago versus today. Taking that as a prime example would mean that one million dollars today is only worth three hundred thousand 20 years ago.

But the more important question that we should ask, when we ponder the worth of our money is whether we are able to grow our money as fast as the annual inflation so as to maintain the value of our cash. If you do not grow your value by the amount of inflation, you are effectively losing the value of your wealth. And in twenty years, the one million dollars underneath your bed would only be worth one third as much. So dun leave your money to fend for itself, it cannot do so within the confines of your cookie jar or even that of your saving accounts.

Invest your money into the stock market would help you grow your money fast but this also comes with lots of risk. The safer bet in the stock market would be to buy the index or others would call indexing. That would mean that you would need to buy into the stock market index. This would be relatively “safe” as the stock market tend to perform well over the long term.

To hedge against inflation, you could also procure real estate. As mentioned above, property prices had risen over 300% over the last 20 years. Buying a good piece real estate can mean staying in line with price increases and maintaining the value of your wealth. Do not let your cash sit idling; make sure your cash is working just as hard as you.

At the end of the day, many people will be asking whether they can retire with just 1 million dollars. It is definitely possible but the standards of living that one million dollars can buy will fall with each passing year. I would bet that one million dollars would not be sufficient in another 10 years time. So be prepared and do your sums right.

20 Responses to “How much is one million dollars worth nowadays?”

  1. Susan Kishner Says:

    Nice writing style. I look forward to reading more in the future.



  2. Tom Humes Says:

    Nice Site layout for your blog. I am looking forward to reading more from you.

    Tom Humes



  3. Susan Kishner Says:

    I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.



  4. ourbig.ru Says:

    How much money could i make with adsense ?



  5. One Million Dollars Says:

    Adsense can make you a millionaire but it will take a lot of investment of time and effort…



  6. One Million Dollars Says:

    thanks Susan!



  7. yourbig.ru Says:

    Thank you very much for that dazzling article



  8. Mackeran Says:

    I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.



  9. Lidia Routledge Says:

    This is an exceptional. Loving it dude!



  10. free rpg site Says:

    A few articles are extremely dry as well as tough to study, your own continues to be very well created as well as informational! Thanks!



  11. Play Lottery Online Says:

    Great publish! I’ve been wondering for a while exactly how you might go about improving their own The company rank and today i know. However, i’d prefer to spend my time upon much more productive duties.



  12. Louann Reisdorf Says:

    I am very thankful to this topic because it really gives great information `,.



  13. Association Management Florida Says:

    Generally I really do not post on weblogs, however , I’d like to express that this post actually compelled me to take some action! really nice post.



  14. Maxwell Fangmann Says:

    Your suggestions are find on…I think the thought of persistence is particularly vital…it’s which you do over time which matters…providing consistent high quality.



  15. Clay Geske Says:

    Yahoo’s Webmaster Suggestions states to dwell away from SEOs that wish you to hyperlink your site to theirs. I presume which is due to the fact if an SEO functions on a variety of these sites and they hyperlink back again to the SEO, afterwards the SEO’s web page could benefit. They say not to allow your SEO to website link to you from their own directory or research engine, but have you previously seen a webdesigner or SEO producer without having a portfolio which links to their customers?



  16. mattressbed Says:

    Amazing blog#!! I think your site very interest. I will bookmark it and send my friends.



  17. wholesale kobe shoes Says:

    I added it to favorites and i’ll be your constant reader.



  18. Djasyisu Says:

    chinese plum trees,



  19. Eloy Bendall Says:

    The very crux of your writing whilst sounding agreeable originally, did not really sit properly with me personally after some time. Somewhere throughout the paragraphs you were able to make me a believer but just for a very short while. I however have got a problem with your leaps in assumptions and one would do nicely to fill in those breaks. In the event that you actually can accomplish that, I will definitely be amazed.



  20. domy pasywne Says:

    domy pasywne…

    [...]How much is one million dollars worth nowadays? | One Million Dollars Only[...]…



Leave a Reply