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150K is rich, whether you want to admit it or not.
And anyone who can't make it with that kind of money CHOSE to live the wrong lifestyle.
I disagree. $150k is definitely a high earner, but certainly not rich if that is sole source of income. If they lose that income they are in trouble.
A rich person is somebody who doesn't have to worry about the source of their money, and can live a nice lifestyle on the capital gains, without worrying much about stock market or real estate setbacks. By this criteria the lower end of rich is probably $2.5 million in assets.
As for the $150k being sufficient at all times, not necessarily. Student loans for doctors is a great example. The physician may earn $150k or more, but that earning power almost always requires heavy debt.
Last edited by fishbrains; 03-13-2017 at 08:29 AM..
$17 as a single income in those cities would be treading living paycheck to paycheck if you have typical expenses. I live in southern city with a lower cost of living than both of those and at that wage you may clear $200-$300 after expenses. New tires or a car repair can wipe out a month or few months of savings.your back at have no safety net.
You do get a better apartments even when adjusting for cost of living in the south
I do think that many people who live in high cost area underestimate how much it cost to live in the south.
I was referring to $34 an hour! As the OP said people were discouraging a move without making 2x her current wage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tassity22 Thank you. I have noticed this for a very long time. Many people here do seem to 1) lie about what they earn and 2) criticize or make snark comments towards people who earn lower salaries. But notice, if you ask those same posters what they do for a living, they won't exactly tell you. That's because they don't want you to know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eastcoastguyz
I don't know where you are getting your numbers, but here are facts:
[Statistically, only about 5% of Americans earn 100K a year or more. That means about 95% earn less. It couldn't be possible that everyone here is making a lot of money, as they claim they are.
I don't know where you are getting your numbers, but here are facts:
Quote:
One half, 49.98%, of all income in the US was earned by households with an income over $100,000, the top twenty percent. Over one quarter, 28.5%, of all income was earned by the top 8%, those households earning more than $150,000 a year. The top 3.65%, with incomes over $200,000, earned 17.5%. ]
Look up the definition of "household" in the dictionary. This usually refers to combined incomes. I was talking about individual salaries.
It is appalling that you cannot recognize the difference.
I disagree. $150k is definitely a high earner, but certainly not rich if that is sole source of income. If they lose that in one they are in trouble.
A rich person is somebody who doesn't have to worry about the source of their money, and can live a nice lifestyle on the capital gains, without worrying much about stock market or real estate setbacks. By this criteria the lower end of rich is probably $2.5 million in assets.
As for the $150k being sufficient at all times, not necessarily. Student loans for doctors is a great example. The physician may earn $150k or more, but that earning power almost always requires heavy debt.
My friend went to veterinary school. He told me he pays about $1500/month in just student loans. Many veterinarians do not make a ton of money either. I was talking about transferring money from a retirement account from the system we both used to work in and he told me he wanted to try to use it as a d/p on a house because he doesn't really have any money saved. I laughed and told him we only have around 6K in there so it won't do much.
If you're not an extroverted C-level executive at the top of his/her field with a powerful professional network, a penchant for firing people "on the spot" for even the slightest transgression and a salary that will allow you to retire in comfort before you are fifty, why even bother with life? Not that I can tell the difference anyway. I'm posting from my space yacht, and from up here all of you just look like so many ants.
I'm a union electrician in a right to work state making $28.10 and will be guaranteed a $30 minimum wage in 2 years. Most of the time I work 40 hours, 7am-3:30pm. Other times I'm working 50-60 hours. I'm employed year round. I have privilege of working under a good contract that pays decent wages and ensures good work stability and security. I don't have to work multiple low paying jobs, I just have to work at being good at one skilled job. This means I have more free time in the evenings and weekends than those working long/odd shift factory jobs, or retail jobs with crappy sporadic schedules.
I'd say our household is a working/lower middle class. That being said, I usually chill out browsing forums, or playing a videogame when I find time in the evenings. They're much easier on the wallet than some of my other hobbies which include cars and guns.
We do have a double income but my husband's is a lot less than mine and we have a child.
I do have friends in Gatlinburg TN that make less than we do and they do ok and own a small house.
We also have family in NC making similar money and they also own a house on the outskirts of Greensboro and seem to have the time and cash to take annual vacations.
We are not looking to have a greatly better life on what we make but more like slightly better in a warmer place.
I can see my husband not being able to work in the foreseeable future if we stay where it is so cold for so long every year.
I find it hard to believe that folks living 30 miles or so from some cities in the south can't make it on what we make. When we lived in TN 6 years ago we made half what we do now but did not have a child and it was very tight but we did it for 8 months. Just seems impossible sometimes.
I agree with you. My post wasn't really directed toward you but more to jade's comment. I just made that comment to balance out the perception that $17 is good wage in a major city in the south. It's livable and nothing to look down on but you'll still get anxiety with finances at that wage level on a single income. You will have to live simple for the most part. If two people make that income in the same household you'll be just fine for the most part. Housing and taxes are the big variable across the country and housing in the south is cheap compared to a lot of the country. Food prices don't vary that much. The $25k car in California doesn't suddenly drop to $15k in Tennessee just because the overall cost of living is lower.
With that said, I still think $20hr is a good wage in plenty of places that don't have a HCOL if your debt load is low. I think once you hit $25hr-$30hr in a low/average COL area, your doing well as long as you manage your money properly.
Let's put it this way.... There are approximately 200 million Americans of working age. A C-D post like this gets around 50-60 different people to respond. Maybe 100 or so for a very popular post.
With that kind of conflation it's not likely C-D gets anything close to a representative sample.
So yes, take what you read here with a considerable grain of salt.
I consider myself rich.....I have a job I love (not big $$, but pays the bills), and Wife for 36 years I love as if we just started dating....Health is an starting to be an issue, but I am vertical every day, and an attitude that allows me to let things slide off my back....yes, I'm rich
I was referring to $34 an hour! As the OP said people were discouraging a move without making 2x her current wage.
My bad jade.... I assumed you were referring to $17hr as a good wage not $34hr. You are correct $34 and hour would be a great wage in the majority of the south if that's what your implying.
Forgive me.
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