How much will cost to live the American dream, according to a new analysis
An Investopedia analysis indicates that achieving the American dream will cost five million dollars throughout a lifetime
Although for each American the long-awaited "American dream" is different, there are universal desires or conditions that shape its concept, such as achieving success or financial stability; However, high inflation and the rising cost of living have made achieving it more difficult in recent years.
According to a recently published analysis by Investopedia, it currently costs $5 million over a lifetime to finance the eight key components that form the foundation of the American Dream.
The report was compiled from a survey of approximately 1,263 adults who identified the goals they associate with the American Dream, including owning a home (85%), raising a family (78%), having quality healthcare (86%), taking an annual vacation (71%), having a wedding (55%), owning a new car (72%), taking care of pets (66%), and retiring comfortably (86%).
Caleb Silver, business editor-in-chief of People Inc. and editor-in-chief of Investopedia, commented, “We’re definitely seeing rising prices across the board, especially things like homeownership and raising kids and sending them to college,” he said.
The Eight Goals of the American Dream
The analysis details what the cost of living is for each of the goals on a scale from highest to lowest cost:
The figures to arrive at these numbers according to Investopedia analysts were taken from data from federal agencies, industrial sectors, among others, and the total of each one adds up to $5,043,323 dollars, which is what it costs to achieve the American Dream.
For his part, Michael Strain, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of a 2020 book on the American Dream indicated: “I’m not sure that we should equate the American Dream with the lifestyle enjoyed by the top 10% of income earners,” he said, mentioning that Investopedia’s data could be setting too high a standard.
However, Silver adds that “we hope people read this and think about what their dream really is, so they can put a price tag on it and then come up with real strategies to be able to make enough money to achieve it,” he said.