Is $200k salary the new $100k? (2013, calculate, $50k, paying)
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I do the job of 2-3 people and have little spare time yet only earn $45k...how about that.
That's a fairly common scenario. Well, maybe not literally 2-3 people, but 50 hour weeks. Or at least a TRUE 40 hours of busting tail, which is too much for the average person.
There are definitely some jobs at that price point where the jobs are not all that difficult.
But can any one individual get that job? Not too easily. Depends who you are. Age, etc.
But a common scenario would be working at Progressive or Geico as an agent. Pay is like 45-65K, but a lot of hours, and fair amount of stress.
Yes I have kids. I agree you can easily support yourself on $100k about anywhere. Throw in 3 dependents and let me know.
Most of my friends and family have children, since I'm in my forties. Many of them raised their children on way less than you think is necessary... I mean, just look at the statistics. Is the MEDIAN salary for a household $400K in the Bay Area? Ummmm, no. Outside of maybe a few specific towns, like Atherton and Los Altos Hills, no it's not.
My sister has two teenagers, and has raised them in a fairly luxurious lifestyle on probably $400K combined (she earns the lion's share of that). They had an Eichler home in Sunnyvale, then later a gorgeous ~3500sf Victorian in San Jose. Both kids have always attended private schools, and do all sorts of sports and activities. My niece is a nationally-ranked equestrian and pentathlete, getting ready to buy her own HORSE. They just moved back to the east coast, where we're originally from, but had been in the Bay Area since before the kids were born. So yeah, you don't NEED that much money to live comfortably. They lived well above "comfortably" on just barely that.
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The Jeep was an example of how $$$ vehicles are now. A crosstrek won't fit a family or out needs. Single person in their 40's again no problem.
It was an example; there are plenty of family-sized vehicles that don't cost $80K. And for the record, you could easily fit a family + their stuff in a Crosstrek. Funny how it's only within the last 20 or so years that parents think you need a freaking land yacht for your kids and their soccer balls. My family had 3 children, and we didn't need anything major. lol
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If both parents work throw in day care/child care and your $$$ goes away really fast. Want a good education for them? Public schools are terrible in a lot of places. Save for college? Factor in all these costs to raise a family and $200k vanishes pretty fast. But hey live a bohemian subaru lifestyle in the Bay and have fun!
Bohemian lifestyle? How did you come to that conclusion? My car is a year-old SUV-type vehicle, and I live in a beautiful house only 30min from Saratoga/Cupertino/etc. I work full-time in the valley, eat out regularly, and do most of what any normal person here does. The only thing I don't have is children. What about my lifestyle screams "bohemian" to you?
I’m going to guess you parents also paid for your apartment because rent alone would have eaten the entire $100K paycheck and asked for more. Or at the very least you’ve been spending every last penny of your earnings without worrying about saving for retirement because you knew you had millions coming once pops keels over.
And you'd guess wrong. My mother has no spare money, and my father hadn't supported me in many years (never fully as an adult). They'd been divorced since I was in college, fyi. And I'm a government employee with a vested pension, so my retirement was already secured before "pop keeled over." But I had/have savings too. My rent was at the MOST $2300/mo up until I bought my house last year; so how do you figure that eats up $100K annually, even after taxes? I'd like to see your math.
That was pretty insensitive, btw, considering he just died last year. And I didn't inherit millions, for the record.
This thread is whacked. Are ppl embellishing their actual salaries or living a celebrity lifestyle that making $200K is still not good enough?
How are ppl making not even close to making $100k surviving.
$200k is big number, probably a job position requiring immense responsibilities and time. How anyone with that salary have time to post on here is amazing.
I work with a few people in leadership making $200k salaries that have plenty of time to send you Youtube video clips, chat on Teams about vacations, etc. etc. A higher salary does not 'necessarily' equate to a higher time commitment to work.
And you'd guess wrong. My mother has no spare money, and my father hadn't supported me in many years (never fully as an adult). They'd been divorced since I was in college, fyi. And I'm a government employee with a vested pension, so my retirement was already secured before "pop keeled over." But I had/have savings too. My rent was at the MOST $2300/mo up until I bought my house last year; so how do you figure that eats up $100K annually, even after taxes? I'd like to see your math.
That was pretty insensitive, btw, considering he just died last year. And I didn't inherit millions, for the record.
A “beautiful house” half hour away from Cupertino would be in the seven figures meaning housing costs alone would eat up the entire take-home paycheck assuming $100K mean $100K and not $199K. Also $2,300 rent would get you a basement studio assuming you’re paying market rate so once again, numbers just don’t add up.
Same goes for your sister - I assume they bought that house ages ago because 3,500sqft Victorian in Sunnyvale would cost you around $25,000/month at current prices/rates.
A “beautiful house” half hour away from Cupertino would be in the seven figures meaning housing costs alone would eat up the entire take-home paycheck assuming $100K mean $100K and not $199K.
Try again. I paid $640K for my house, since it's up in the mountains... and I know for sure how long it takes to get to Cupertino (actually more like 20min to the city/county line), since I drive through it 5x/week for work.
And I didn't buy the house until after receiving my inheritance, so that wasn't the math I was asking you to do. I was only referring to my rentals, since you assumed my parents paid that and/or I couldn't afford them on $100K.
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Also $2,300 rent would get you a basement studio assuming you’re paying market rate so once again, numbers just don’t add up.
First of all, I didn't mention anything about size - I merely said that the most I ever paid FOR RENT was $2300/mo. So whether it was a basement studio or a large SFH home is irrelevant, and nothing I said proves the "numbers don't add up." But my last rental was actually a lovely 2-bedroom apartment off hwy17 (near the Summit), around 900sf and access to 3 acres of property. It rented for $2300/mo. And my last place in the valley was a duplex in Sunnyvale for $2000/mo, where I lived from 2016-2018. Are you even from here? Because you don't seem to know much about the area, especially outside of Silicon Valley itself.
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Same goes for your sister - I assume they bought that house ages ago because 3,500sqft Victorian in Sunnyvale would cost you around $25,000/month at current prices/rates.
I never said how much she paid, did I? The house in Sunnyvale was the Eichler, which was only around 1400sf; they bought it for just over $1M in 2007, and sold it for $2.7M in 2021. In 2018 (they kept the old house as a rental for 3 years), she and her husband bought the ~3000sf Victorian in San Jose for $1.8M. She's the one I said is rich, so I'm not even sure why you're bringing her into this part of the discussion. Maybe you should read my posts again, this time more carefully?
Now that you have every financial detail for me and my sister, let's revisit your original comment to me...
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Originally Posted by WestieWhitie
I’m going to guess you parents also paid for your apartment because rent alone would have eaten the entire $100K paycheck and asked for more. Or at the very least you’ve been spending every last penny of your earnings without worrying about saving for retirement because you knew you had millions coming once pops keels over.
I've established that while I was still a renter, I was earning $100K and paying $2300/mo on rent. How does that math add up to spending all your money on rent? I'm still waiting for your explanation on that!
And another FYI: I didn't know I was inheriting anything, since my father remarried and his wife transferred almost everything to herself while he declined from Alzheimer's. I was surprised by what I received, which was a trust fund + insurance policy he wrote before his illness. So no, I wasn't waiting for him to "keel over."
I hit $100k in my early 30's about 8 years ago. It felt great but quickly i realized it wasn't enough.
You'll never make enough W2 money from an employer. There will always be a ceiling. Wages will never keep up with inflation.
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Originally Posted by sammy87
I know I wouldn't live on the west coast from San Diego to Seattle without $350k.
Then you better start your own business. Unless you're an executive, no employer is going to pay you $350K in this job market.
Employers are not obligated to just hand over money as if it grows on trees. Supply and demand. They want to hire the cheapest worker, and if the location is in high demand (west coast, east coast, hawaii, etc.) someone will gladly sacrifice pay to work there.
Then you better start your own business. Unless you're an executive, no employer is going to pay you $350K in this job market.
No one starts off making that with their own business,or is even guaranteed that.
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