In times of financial distress like these, sometimes we need some perspective to help us regain our positive outlook. Try this: The Global Rich List. Put in your annual income, select your currency, and see how you stack up against everyone else in the world. Let's try a few sample incomes, shall we?
- $25,000 per year means that you are in the top 10.8% richest people in the world.
- $50,000 per year means that you are in the top 0.98%.
- $75,000 per year puts you in the top 0.82%.
NOW how do you feel? :) Those numbers are from the World Bank Development Research Group.
I have been helping people get organized professionally for 9 years, and through it all I have tried to keep perspective that we are LUCKY that we have the "problem" of too much stuff. We are so wealthy that we need advice on how to manage our abundant possessions. Next time you're facing a pile of stuff or even a pile of bills, you can use this perspective to help you appreciate how you got there. (See also previous post-- Material World: What is Your Most Valued Possession?)
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Wow, those were interesting statistics, I had no idea. I knew too much stuff meant we had a abundance but I didn't realize how I stack up against "the rest of the world".
Posted by: Marilyn Bohn | March 11, 2009 at 07:27 PM
Indeed, the numbers are interesting, but the comparison is pretty much useless. Of course, living in the economically developed countries people are much better off, compared to many developing economies. But at the same time the purchasing power of 1 dollar in North America or in Western Europe is very different from the purchasing power of 1 dollar in Africa or in South America for example. So, to say that an annual income of US $25K in the US makes somebody super-rich by global standards would be incorrect.
Having said that, i think it is a rather smart marketing strategy on behalf of the organization who came up with this comparison calculator :)
Posted by: Dima | March 16, 2009 at 01:07 PM
I am a believer that we either live life with an abundance mentality or a scarcity mentality. This post allowed me to realize that I have been given much and need to now give more of myself.
Posted by: Vicki Winterton | March 19, 2009 at 09:31 AM
Nice news to hear during the global economic problems.
Posted by: Heather | March 19, 2009 at 02:27 PM
I'm going to agree with Dima above, that this is simply the result of a more disturbing underlying event.
Contrast this statistic with the fact that more than 50% of deaths in the world are due to HUNGER.
Yeah, if you can afford to buy fast food, count yourself in the lucky half of the world.
Posted by: Ben | November 30, 2009 at 05:11 PM