Is £2 million pounds a lot of money?

TheProdigalSon

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

I've been asking myself this question for a little while now, is £2 million pounds a lot of money? One of my uncles who's always been a single man and lived well below his means has confided in me that this is how much he has total. I'm not sure if to believe him because he's very ill and my family and I take turns in looking after him. The reason I'm not sure if to believe him is because he lives very modestly and has no outwards shows of wealth, he confides in me so I gave him my word that I won't share anything he tells me with my family or friends, guess I'm not breaking my trust by asking this question as none of you really know me

So what do you think? if a man has worked all his live and has that amount of money has he done well for himself? my uncle has had a very good life and it's just unfortunate that he finds himself as ill as he is now. I remember when he was fitter he was always travelling and helping others, seemed to be very comfortable but never was one to show off so to speak. Do you think it's possible for the average man on the average wage to have saved that amount of money?

Thank you.

paulw98

If he has worked all his life in a fairly well paid job, maybe inherited a bit then it seems entirely probable. May as well have some fun with it though...

cheerfulcat

It depends, doesn't it? Compared to the Sunday Times Rich List, it's peanuts, but to most ordinary people it's a lot of money.

As to whether it's possible to save that amount on an average wage, I wouldn't have thought so.

It could well have been possible over a lifetime of investing to amass £2 million, especially if he is including the value of any property he owns.

Arthurian

His house could be worth half a million (or much more, depending on location), and maybe he includes his pension pot which could be half a million. Then if he invested well over the years instead of spending his money on a wife and children, perhaps another half a million or more. Maybe his car is worth quite a bit, and he might have some antiques...


Oh hang on, he hasn't been watching 'Antiques Roadshow' and thinks he has a valuable artefact which he picked up at a car boot sale?

C_Mababejive

It seems unlikely that he would have £2m in cash though he could well have it in assets eg cash/shares/house/pension funds etc.

I expect there are a lot of single men who are similar.

With all due resepct to your Uncle, it seems like a personality defect/mental aberration. Why hoard loads of cash? Its a sign of insecurity and the cash is worthless in itself as it is simply pictures of the queen. If he does have lots of assets and is terminally ill or otherwise,he seriously needs to think about a will and tax planning otherwise he will have scrimped and denied himself all his life simply for it to be snaffled by HMRC.

BritRael

C_Mababejive wrote: »

...With all due resepct to your Uncle, it seems like a personality defect/mental aberration. Why hoard loads of cash? Its a sign of insecurity ...

lol - what an unbelievable viewpoint my friend. Saving is a 'personality defect'?? 'a sign of insecurity'??:rotfl:

For me, if anybody has a personality defect it is the people who spend beyond their means and put themselves in massive debt because they want to be surrounded by 'must-have' things or to keep up with the Jones'. These people will never 'hoard loads of cash' (even though I'm sure that they would like to have loads of cash) because they do not save. They simply spend. It's 'mental'.

jamesd

A couple of million Pounds invested for income could produce about £120,000 a year in income. That's a fair bit of money. Not rich in income terms but quite respectable. Nice security for him.

Investing a thousand a month for 49 years and getting the average 12% after inflation return of the UK stock market over the period would do it. Or 42 years at £2,000 a month. If he did better than the market average he could easily have made it much more quickly than that. All it takes is a 15% average for £2,000 a month to make it in 36 years.

Seems credible enough given the well below his means description and a good income. Consider Warren Buffett who lives quite a modest lifestyle in spite of his wealth. It's what he's comfortable with and enjoys.

Regardless of the situation, just go on treating him as you always have done. Except perhaps to encourage him to ask whether there are any treatments for what ails him that aren't available on the NHS but could be available privately. Since he has the money and the need it's good to treat it as a tool to improve his situation.

Old_Slaphead

TheProdigalSon wrote: »

. Do you think it's possible for the average man on the average wage to have saved that amount of money?

I think it's feasible for a single person on an average income to save (including compounded interest) around £750,000 over a 45 year working life. It's also possible, given the right timing and location, to possess property worth around £500,000 for relatively modest outlay (again over 40-50 years).

Given the addition of an inheritance/windfall and a bit of judicious investing I think £2million is just about achievable - the givaway being that he knows the value of everything and continually seeks, albeit surrepticiously, to ensure that his money/assets are earning their keep.

shaven-monkey

TheProdigalSon wrote: »

So what do you think? if a man has worked all his live and has that amount of money has he done well for himself? my uncle has had a very good life and it's just unfortunate that he finds himself as ill as he is now. I remember when he was fitter he was always travelling and helping others, seemed to be very comfortable but never was one to show off so to speak. Do you think it's possible for the average man on the average wage to have saved that amount of money?
Thank you.

It is possible.
I wonder why he chose to tell you this. If he has a will then the information would be made available to all the beneficiaries should he pass away.
Is he asking for some sort of favor?

Loopgames

My father in law was a bit of a miser. He worked on average salary. Didn't spend any of his money on anything not even his children. Put it away in private pensions and mortgage. Debt free, cycles everywhere.

He has a £250k house, £150k cash in the bank £2k pension income per month and a massive number collectorable trains, rails, with all the works worth tens of thousands - that is the one thing he purchases most.

Since he retired he bought a car, new kitchen, new teeth, new suit and still not spending on his children..drat!!;)

C_Mababejive

BritRael wrote: »

lol - what an unbelievable viewpoint my friend. Saving is a 'personality defect'?? 'a sign of insecurity'??:rotfl:

For me, if anybody has a personality defect it is the people who spend beyond their means and put themselves in massive debt because they want to be surrounded by 'must-have' things or to keep up with the Jones'. These people will never 'hoard loads of cash' (even though I'm sure that they would like to have loads of cash) because they do not save. They simply spend. It's 'mental'.

No no..you misunderstand me i think. I am in total agreement with you.

What i am suggesting is that someone who saves such a vast proportion of their income through their working life,may well have issues . After all,what good is it saved? OK so normal sensible people such as you or I save a fair proportion for emergencies/contingencies and stuff but we also recognise that life is for living and we are not afraid to enjoy it.