The Cost of the "American Dream"

American Flags hang from the front porch of a row of upscale Victorian-style homes in celebration of the upcoming holiday. Taken in the Summer in North Carolina, with beautiful morning sunlight to celebrate, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day. Perfect image for any Summer project.

Maybe Green Day is right with their new song, “The American Dream Is Killing Me”…

According to new research, most people in the U.S. will never earn enough to live what is considered the “American Dream.”

According to Investopedia, the milestones part of that dream include hospital births, wedding and engagement rings, raising children until they are legal adults, car purchases, college tuition, mortgages and house payments, pets, health insurance, and funerals.

The average cost? Investopedia says around $3.4 million.

Earlier this year, research from Georgetown University estimated that U.S. workers will make an average of $1.7 million in a lifetime.

What do you consider to be a part of the “American Dream?” How much do you think you have spent on these so-called milestones?