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Gabriel Ramos
English Composition
Dr. Aimee Krall-Lanoue
13 November 2014
Living the Good life in the Future
Living the good life in the present may come to a struggle when everything a person does
now, helps define how well they live their life. When someone is asked to decide what they want
to be in future do they take into account if they still will be living the good life? Based on three
peoples answer to the question asking, how do they see themselves living the good life in ten
years the top three answers were being rich, having a family and living on their own.
The top answer was being rich or in other words not living in the middle class as stated
by one of the interviewees. To do this they would have to surpass their net worth of $98,286
which was the annual net worth of the middle class according the Pew Research Center
tabulations Survey of Consumer Finances data.(PEW) The median net worth of the upper class
according to PEW was $439,390. In order for this person to live the good life they imagine for
themselves in ten years they would have to be making around that amount of money to be
considered not in the middle class. Realistically the average net worth for a 25 year old is
$79,000 and the average net worth for a 30 year old is $250,000 according to
Financialsamurai.com who did a study on young wealthy people. These numbers however are
based on people who grew up in the high class already. People who grow up in a high class are
already privileged with having a lot of money or parent to support them with their wealth.

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The next person that was interviewed defined being rich as being a millionaire at the age
of 28. According to The Fiscal Times there are only 16.6 million people under the age of 35
making $100,000 per year. 16.6 million people isnt a very large percentage of the population
making $100,000 a year. It also states that Nearly half chalk up a significant part of their wealth
to inheritance, while 35% stated that "family connections" made a substantial contribution,
(Fiscal Times). This person does not know anyone in their family that is a millionaire so the
possibility of inheriting a million dollars is very unlikely for that person. A high percentage of
these people are Self- Made Millionaires, investing or creating their own job that leads the
high success. Bob Oros, executive vice president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services states
"Nearly all young millionaires are actively employed, making a significant annual income," he
says, citing research from Fidelity. "Inheritance may be getting them started, but they're
accumulating significant amounts of wealth on their own." They are accumulating the money
they have received from inheritance and then investing it to make more money, to greater their
wealth. To do this, this person may have a job in mind to help them reach to be a millionaire,
when asked they stated that they wanted to be a physical therapist. According to the U.S News &
World report With an average salary of $81,110 in 2012, physical therapists are well paid for
their work. Physical therapists generally earn more than workers in many other health care jobs,
including physical therapist assistants ($52,320), occupational therapists ($76,400) and speech
language pathologists ($72,730), Although this puts them near middle class rankings it still does
not get them to the good life in which they want to be living.
The next top answer was in ten years they would like to have a family. One person that
was interviewed defined having a family as in being married and having three kids by the age of
28. According to census.gov there are only 7,547,784 married couples 25-34 years old, out of all

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55,519,638 married couples in the US. That is a small percentage that this person would like to
be categorized in order to live their good life, thats only 13%. According to census.gov in 2012
out of all households only 9.6% had 5 people or more in it. The chances of this person having 3
kids by the age of 28 would be smaller than that.
Another person defined their good life as being married and having at least one child by
the age of 28. The chances of this happening are much greater than the person wishing to have 3
children by the age of 28. There are about 16,000,000 households with one child in the US
according to census.gov. That is a high number of people in the US with one child and the
number of married couples with one child is 9,925,508 according to the 2012 census. Although
that is high percent out of all households with one child this does not include age. This could
mean that the percentage of married couples with one child by the age of 28 could be very low.
The third most popular answer was living on their own by the age of 28. One person
answered this as living out of their parents house and into an apartment with maybe a
roommate. According to nmhc.org 30% of people under thirty live in an apartment and 32% of
those people live in an apartment built in 1990- 2011. For this person to be able to live on their
own they would need to have a job and be able to pay rent, nmhc.org also states that of the all
people living in an apartment 27% have at least one roommate. With the help of a roommate this
person would like to make paying for an apartment easier. According to nmhc.org 41% of people
living in apartment have an income of less than $20,000. For this person to live the good life they
want to live they will need to be financially stable to move out of their parents house.
The next person defined living on their own as being a homeowner with their family. In
the US only 12% of people under 30 are homeowners. This is showing that it is very unlikely

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for this person to fulfill their good life by being a homeowner. Although out of all homeowners
24% are married with children. (NMHC) For this person to live the good life they want to
achieve they will need to find a way to beat the odds and become a homeowner at the age of 28.
To do this they will need to achieve many other goals in order to become a homeowner, the
mean income for a home owner is $64,728 and only 22% make under $20,000. (NMHC) This
person will have to fall under those statistics in order to live the good life they desire.
When these 3 individuals were asked the question, how do they see themselves living the
good life in 10 years they didnt know the likely hood of them achieving their goal. These people
didnt think about all the small things they had to do in order to live the good life they want. If I
another three people Im sure I will get the same results, be rich, have a family and live on their
own.

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Works Cited
"The Average Net Worth For The Above Average Person." Financial Samurai. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Nov. 2014.
"How Young Millionaires Are Different Than Their Parents." The Fiscal Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Nov. 2014.
Kreider, Rose M. America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2012. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web.
"National Multifamily Housing Council." National Multifamily Housing Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 16
Nov. 2014.
Osborne, Hilary. "Record Levels of Young Adults Living at Home, Says ONS." The Guardian. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.
"Physical Therapist: Salary." Physical Therapist Salary Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.
"Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power." Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.