Wealth Quiz

How rich is your wealth wisdom? Take a moment to take Gg’s Wealth Quiz!

True or False

1. Six in 10 of the affluent surveyed say they plan their purchases rather than buy impulsively.
(Answer: False: 8 in 10)

2. Ninety-two percent of the affluent survey state that they get more pleasure out of a luxury purchase when they feel as if they got a deal. (True)

3. More than two-thirds of women chief executives of women-led firms are married, or partnered and have children (True).

Multiple Choice:

1. What percent of the affluent express a willingness to wait for a high-end product to go on sale before purchasing it?

a.	28%		b.	64%
c.	36%		d.	82%

2. In addition to financials, good health and close family, what is the other factor that the affluent note as important to the "good life":

a.	recreation		b.	time alone
c.	active social life		d.	education

3. Women have higher incomes than men in X% of America’s dual income households?

a.	20%		b.	31%
c.	24%		d.	36%

Answers: 1. d; 2. b; 3. c

Sources: Money Magazine/RoperASW Study, June-July, 2003 and The Top Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts Research Study, November, 2003.

Other Interesting Wealth Facts

• In the United States, the "decamillionaire" segment has grown at a healthy annual rate of 13% since 1995.

• There average annual household income for America’s five million millionaires is $247,000 and their average net worth is $3.7 million.

• The number of Canadian millionaires more than doubled between 1993 and 1999.

• Semi-affluent households control between $6T and $8T in assets that are capable of generating $50 billion annually in recurring advisory fees.

Can happiness be measured??

Economic Professor Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick, England, studies "happiness economics." He has conducted research that applies units of wealth to units of happiness. For example, when a person loses their job, it costs $60,000 "happiness units." Being happily married can be worth $100,000 of "happiness units" according to Oswald’s research. For more read How to Lead a Rich Life, by Polly LaBarre @ www.fastcompany.com/online/68/richlife.html.

In the last analysis, most wealth and happiness studies suggest that wealth will often find you, if you are doing what you love to do, and investing in enriching relationships.

Luxury purchases up for holiday season

Consumers of luxury goods spent 46% more this holiday season on jewelry purchases as compared with the same season in 2002. These findings derive from a recent survey by Unity Marketing where consumers with incomes of $100,000 and more, along with a comparative sample of upper middle-income consumers, was studied. The survey found that top spending areas included electronics, spas and health resorts, followed by jewelry, which notes consumers penchant for the luxury experience over "rampant materialism" according to the survey.

Sources:

The V.I.P. Forum , Eyes on the Prize: The Challenge of Serving the "Decamillionaire," © 2000 Corporate Executive Board.

Marketing to the Affluent, Dr. Thomas J. Stanley, Business One Irwin, Homewood, IL, 1988.

EVEolution: The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women, Faith Popcorn and Lys Marigold, Hyperion, New York, NY, 2000.

Fast Company: How to Lead A Rich Life, LaBarre, March, 2003, p. 72

The Future of the Financial Advisory Business and the Delivery of Advice to the Semi-Affluent Investor, Research Report, September, 1999.

Professional Jeweler, January 20, 2004