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Our household income is around 100K before taxes (actually this year looks to be arount 90K) and we are just getting by. No money left for savings/retirement.
Its just the 2 of us, we live a modest lifestyle
rent a house
1 car
cook most our meals etc.
just the basic cost of living expenses
wanted to get some opinions,
we make 2x the national average and still cant survive here in NJ!
Except for those frequent weekend trips to Montreal.
i believe the average household income in nj is arond 60k, its amazing people arent dropping dead in the streets!
Do you mean the median? Because census doesn't produce average number, they use median.
The median for state of NJ's household income is 68,444k to be exact per census but that's only the middle point which means half of state lives under that while other half lives off more.
But when you take into account of places like Camden and Newark that screw up the curve severely, it's clear that NJ is expensive place to live. Beside...who wants to live on those places? Most people don't and most people also have aspirations to live in better towns...
So when you compare NJ state's median household income of 68,444k vs. say Hoboken of around 100k...it's already very clear on how big of gap there is on state when you go town by town.
School loans? My husband and I are in our late 20's and make slightly over $100k/yr, however, we pay $800/month on students loans between the 2 of us.
We live in south Jersey though (not south south Jersey, closer to Philly area), so we're able to have a newish house with a huge yard and still be able to save every month.
Our household income is around 100K before taxes (actually this year looks to be arount 90K) and we are just getting by. No money left for savings/retirement.
Its just the 2 of us, we live a modest lifestyle
rent a house
1 car
cook most our meals etc.
just the basic cost of living expenses
wanted to get some opinions,
we make 2x the national average and still cant survive here in NJ!
That is ridiculous. You have more than enough to make it in NJ.
You must be blowing your money on unneccessary expenses.
Sounds like you spend too much in a sector you are not mentioning, OP. The last couple of years business has been really bad and we are living on a good bit less than half of that and still saving a few dollars. Granted, Jersey sucks like a Hoover in most respects, but 100K shouldn't be hard to live on.
I think a lot of people feel they are entitled to many things they deem necessary, but are really luxuries. What kind of cable package do you have? Are you spending $200 on a Cable Internet Phone? I bet you and your spouse have smartphones with data and messaging plans (another $140-$174). What kind of car are you driving? How much is insurance?
Guys from India come over here earning $45K and in 2yrs are buying McMansions in Princeton and driving Mercs.
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