On paper I make around 70k, but with overtime and bonuses and field work it’s more like 85k. This is the most I’ve ever made in my life.
I split my bills three ways with my fiance and a roommate. We live in a LCOL city and I bought a big old 1800 sq ft home during covid. Our mortgage is $860, so with utilities each of our expenses out the door is like ~400 per person. I have no debt other than the mortgage.
I’ve been banking cash to slowly renovate the house myself. Life is good.
Around $60k and I live in a very expensive city. I live paycheck-to-paycheck, but I’m also a trust funder, so I chose this career knowing I didn’t have to worry about retirement. Very different situation from most. I don’t feel rich, but I certainly don’t feel poor. I feel comfortable knowing I can afford whatever I need and I don’t want much more than that. I have to mind my spending a little bit but if I ever want to splurge, I can.
I have no idea, but I’m better off that a lot of Americans. That knowledge makes me very sad— i don’t even make that much.
I can afford a one bedroom studio apartment on my own AND afford groceries. That is where I am at. That is better than most.
Fuuuuck…
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Exact number is between 3100-3200 EUR/mo after tax. My current salary is fixed by the government and is under a preferential tax treatment (no income tax first 3 years, only social security)
Number might seem low… but in comparison, the country’s median salary is like 2500-2600/mo, 2800+/mo where I live. I also don’t spend a lot (I literally don’t know how to spend more than half of my monthly salary at the moment) so I feel like a king here lmao
The literal same job title I had in Chicago was $61,008/yr exact before tax in Chicago and I definitely felt poor. Enough to survive, but poor
I started my career as making 12.50 an hour and felt poor. Now I run a 1 person business and my income fluctuate from 170k to 550k and I don’t feel rich. Actually, sometimes I feel as poor as I did at 12.50.
Once you start making money, you end up spending more money.
I make about 135K but I’m 40. I feel wealthy. But my family/friends/girlfriends all think I’m living barely above poverty level and tell me that I am a ‘not doing well at life’ or claim ‘you lack any drive for success at life.’
It’s weird af.
I would feel extremely wealthy with 135k. That’s 250% of my salary, and I already feel like I’m able to save a bunch each month. You must live in a big city to make that much, if you’re just an employee.
where i live people think anything less than 500k/yr is not doing well.
My husband and I are raising a kid off $60k/yr.
His father helps with emergencies, for example the washing machine broke recently, so his grandmother actually bought it, as an early Christmas gift.
We’d be wrecked if we didn’t have at little help here and there.
The most I’ve ever made on my own was $42K for the year… These high salaries folks talk about blow my mind.
That’s absolutely insane. That’s almost my yearly income every month. Disgusting amounts of money lol.
But that kind of cash is surely not expected of an employee, right? That’s CEO of a small to medium sized company kinds of cash.
nah most people in my city think making 250K a year is ‘barely getting by’ like that other poster. our local subreddit would have posts claiming that a single person needed a minimum of 200K+ to be ‘comfortable’. I was ‘comfortable’ living here on 50K (savings, retirement, healthcare, going out regularly, etc)… and that was only 6 years ago. and tons of people who were making 500K a year screaming how unfair and impoverished they were because they couldn’t afford 40ft boats or seven figure homes on the water. and getting heavily upvoted.
by buy ‘barely getting by’ they usually mean a giant suburban house, two luxury cars, expensive vacations, and a second home. people seem to think anyone who isn’t a millionaire by 35 is a failure at life. a lot of the people I meet often make same/less than me buy spend WAY more than I do. Like 15K on traveling per year easily.
I grew up poor though. I didn’t grow up in a big rich suburban house w/ a vacation home… like many people who live here and feel poor.
Sounds like an absolutely insufferable place to live. WTF lol
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Must be a very high cost of living area. I make less and am definitely comfortable.
I don’t think you would feel wealthy at that level. You would quickly find many things to spend the extra money on and so you would still be just as short at the end of the month. You wouldn’t notice a bigger house, nicer car (the most likely things to spend the money on), or whatever else you buy. You might save a little more, but you would find plenty to spending money on - just like everyone else.
The worse case would be if you income suddenly jumps that much - the vast majority who that happens to spend more than the change thinking they don’t have to worry.
At some point everyone does hit a limit where they no longer can think of anything more to spend money on. That point is different for everyone, but I suggest it is probably more than 10 million/year. (even your big name CEOs mostly don’t make that much!)
Maybe the average person. I am extremely good at saving money and have several programmed spreadsheets dedicated to my family’s budget, even after my salary jumped significantly.
I practically doubled my life savings this week after inheriting some of my grandmother’s money. Straight to savings! ☝️🏦
But yeah, I can see it happening to the average person.
Good for you. Just don’t forget that money saved when you die was wasted time at work when you could have retired early. Of course you don’t know how long you will live so some leftover is guarenteed - but don’t overdo it (unless work is you life I guess)
Sure. But I also have kids, so any money I save also goes to them upon my death, and/or my grandkids if I will have any. But thanks for the tip.
If I was making that I would be going to Hawaii at least every couple of years.
By the statistics, I’m pretty sure that puts you in the top 10%, at least. Edit: Nah, just top 20%, at least as a household.
The thing is that until they literally own a private jet most people will assume they’re average or middle class (even in this thread). It’s like a psychological defense. You’re probably getting information out of a bubble.
By the statistics, I’m pretty sure that puts you in the top 10%, at least. Edit: Nah, just top 20%. My bad.
If you want to control for age, $135K/year at 40 is the 83rd percentile for individual income in the US.
Nice! Actually, I wonder if my source was using post-tax income, as well. Although OP didn’t specify.
I feel like income needs to be divorced from spending and wealth. If you’re not in want and can save with your salary, you’re wealthier than someone with four times your income and yet is still drowning in debt.
You might just have “the wrong friends”. Not really wrong, but theres a certain kind of personality where theres no such thing as enough.
You have to be gunning for the next promotion. You have to be monitoring your index funds. You have to be considering switching financial advisors. You have to be finding a way to monetise your hobby. You have to follow the trends to make sure you have the car that says you’re the man for the job. You cant just buy one house to live in, you have to start a portfolio of properties.
It sounds properly exhausting.
Seems wealthy to me, but I guess it all depends on circumstances. Probably wouldn’t be wealthy if you have to support a large family and live in Silicon Valley.
America? What city do you live in, that’s a great salary.
Just ignore them and enjoy life
So just never socialize with anyone?
That’s not what I said
Right where they want me. Treading water at way less than I’m worth.
My wife and I combined will make about $220k USD this year. We will spend about $120k and save about $80k and pay about $20k in taxes. We have 2 kids in elementary school.
We don’t have to worry about money, and that does make me feel wealthy. I am self employed and I work about 25 hours a week, and that makes for a pretty chill life.
That said, no I’m not wealthy by any standard aside from quality-of-life. We have two cars but they are 10 and 13 years old. We have a nice house in a nice area and we are lucky for that, but it is 60 years old, has a fuse box instead of circuit breakers, and is deteriorating faster than I can motivate myself to fix it.
Piece work. Typically make $130k. Hcol (literally anywhere in Canada now) and I am poor. I have my own house, can’t really afford to fix it and it needs work. It’s small and the taxes are $6k/yr. I have all my bills paid, money set aside for school and retirement, not enough for either thing by the time they will be needed. I haven’t bought clothing for myself in 10 years. It’s what I ask for when getting gifts. Everyday the same worries, the same stresses and nothing seems to get better. Just letting the timer run out at this point. Not going to date again most likely so I’ll remain alone until my body breaks down from being an ast, then probably die from the all the unknown cancer ravaging my body because I can’t get medical care. At least I should be done before climate change gets really bad. Might live to see the water wars though.
zero and poor. I have made six figures before and still felt poor but im single income and my wife has expensive medical issues (and I live in the us) so its like two people making 50 or one makeing 60 and another 40. I also have a bs with a dual major, a masters of education, and a laundry list of technical certification.
Economic wealth is when your money works for you. If you have to work for your money, you’re not wealthy.
This is what I tell my wife when she calls us “wealthy”. We make great money, but we still need to work. I’m not complaining, I have a great situation. “Wealth” implies generational wealth. “Rich”? Maybe, since we can afford things. No second house, a nice trip or two a year. I have some money working for me but not enough to live off it exclusively. That’s the goal though.
Is this an actual definition or yours? What’s the difference between wealthy and rich?
That’s the difference as I’ve seen it for a few decades. I was 25 or so and my 40-yo roommate set me straight when I called some rich people “wealthy”.
There’s no hard line, no actual number, but I’ve gone with what OP stated.
Maybe another way of looking at it. “Wealthy” means you can’t lose it except in case of colossal, and continuing, fuck ups. And past a certain point, apparently losing isn’t even possible. (Looking at you Elon.)
“Rich” means you don’t have to worry about money, not a tiny bit, but you have to be wise enough to hang onto it. At that stage, it’s not a matter of spending, it’s a matter of warding off the thieves and scammers after your bank 💵.
Worked for a rich family. They weren’t cheap in running the business, not holding themselves back kinda cheap, but they were extremely cautious. Anyway, the kids will be the third gen and they always blow it. :)
This is my extrapolation of economic realities.
I am not an economist however.
Nice try digital profiling company.
“Wealth” isn’t a matter of earned income. You can get “rich” off working, if you’re smart and frugal, but true wealth takes at least one generation. Hell, even Bill Gates started merely “rich”.
Anyway, my top pay was $82K American. Even after $1,400/mo. child support, I could basically do whatever I wanted, good enough, live a simple life. I should add, I have a Habitat for Humanity mortgage, small house, big yard, no interest or taxes, $575/mo. My truck was paid in cash, 2004 F150, beat to hell, runs great, Millennium Falcon of trucks.
Unemployed now, but working Lowe’s got me <$30K. After child support took half, and my body was breaking into pieces with no insurance, had to quit. (They call Outside Lawn and Garden in the spring “100 days of hell”.) I was bringing home ~$500 bi-weekly. I can pick free crap off the road and sell if for more than that.
Poor. And knowing wealth charts, I’ll feel poor until I can have a helipad on my boat instead of having an icky support yacht following behind the main one.
if I was rich I would just parajump onto my yachts dressed like captain America or some shit. Live for the moment, fuck pussy helicopter landing pads.
