What makes you rich? New survey finds owning a home is one indicator

Almost 50 percent of those surveyed said owning your own place qualified as "rich"

(Credit: Public Domain Pictures, overlay by Nick Youngson)
(Credit: Public Domain Pictures, overlay by Nick Youngson)

Your home says a lot about you.

According to Charles Schwab’s most recent Modern Wealth Index, owning your own home qualifies as an expense that makes “a rich daily life” in the minds of nearly 50 percent of those surveyed; it was the highest-scoring expenditure following “spending time with my family” and “taking time for myself,” as cited by Bloomberg.

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Other key takeaways about how Americans define wealth: respondents concluded that the average amount needed to be financially comfortable in America is $1.4 million, while being rich was defined by anyone who’d amassed a net worth of about $2.4 million.

In general, most Americans defined wealth as the idea of living a stress-free life. Considering 60 percent of those surveyed said they lived paycheck to paycheck, there seems to be a direct link between the peace of mind respondents prize and growing their bank account balances. [Bloomberg]Erin Hudson