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in the 90s it was a dream to make 100k. nowadays with costs of goods and services going up due to inflation, does 100k/year sound as enticing as it did back then? personally i would guess that 150k/year is the new 100k. thoughts?
It totally depends on where you live. My husband and I both work full time, in office type jobs (ie not minimum wage) and COMBINED, we make (gross) under $70k. But cost of living is very low here, too, and we only spend less than $25k per year total. So for our area, $50k for one person is an very good wage that few people make. On $50k gross, you could support a family of 3 or 4 on one income (although you wouldn't be able to save much, if anything).
For big cities, though, where the cost of living is much higher, $100k doesn't buy all that much. The $25k total I spend in a year, some people pay on just rent, for a place smaller than mine.
While 100K is a great round number. Too many people chase dollars and not lifestyle. I am guilty of that myself. I moved from California to Boston and while I made a great income, I was not happy at all.
US Census reports that about 6% of individuals make $100k or more per year. The percentage is obviously higher if you factor household income. Given that the median income of the US worker is less than $28k, I think you're doing pretty good if you're making this kind of salary.
in the 90s it was a dream to make 100k. nowadays with costs of goods and services going up due to inflation, does 100k/year sound as enticing as it did back then? personally i would guess that 150k/year is the new 100k. thoughts?
The 90th percentile for a household is around $115,000. If you're making $100,000 you're doing better than about 300,000,000 Americans ever will and, really, if you're struggling then you're doing something wrong.
I agree. For a family, with children, it's not very much. At least, not in NJ. Not to say it's bad, but if some young guy/girl was making 100K and living in an apartment I would think "That's a lot". If someone was making it, paying a mortgage, and had two (or more kids) I would think they're doing "ok".
I agree. For a family, with children, it's not very much. At least, not in NJ. Not to say it's bad, but if some young guy/girl was making 100K and living in an apartment I would think "That's a lot". If someone was making it, paying a mortgage, and had two (or more kids) I would think they're doing "ok".
Exactly. When you're a young graduate making $40K, $100K sounds like a lot. When you're a young DINK couple making $100K, $200K sounds like a lot. Once you have little kids, $1 MM sounds like a lot.
The 90th percentile for a household is around $115,000. If you're making $100,000 you're doing better than about 300,000,000 Americans ever will and, really, if you're struggling then you're doing something wrong.
100K isn't a lot of money in 2014. In many places, you can't even buy a former crack house for 100K. 100K goes fast if you want a house you don't have to put tens of thousands of dollars of repair work into in a somewhat decent area, a decent car (I don't want my car breaking down with my children in it), and if you have any child care costs (daycare/private school if you're not happy with your school system).
100K goes very far if you want to live in a little slum apartment (good luck not getting robbed or assaulted on your way there/out of it) and ride a hoopdee (that can break down at any time). Then, you'll have lots of disposable income. What's the point of having say a 500 dollar phone if you know someone can easily break into your apartment and steal it at any time?
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