Why A $100,000 Salary Can’t Buy The American Dream 

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I'm 37 and have been working all my life to get to 100k per year. And now that it's on my doorstep, it's not enough. Absolutely ridiculous.

100k is the new 60k

Now imagine those of us living on less/way less. It's exhausting

I make $102k, it’s $64k after taxes and insurance. Yet all govt programs use your gross income for everything even though they know that isn’t what you make. It’s insane.

Put it this way, back in 2005, 48k was worth what 75k is today 😭😭😭

CEO wages have definetly kept up with the cost of living.

The average person has never been so poor. Millions of families are struggling financially as living expenses hit the highest levels in more than four decades. Over 60% of our country lives paycheck to paycheck and about 40% earns poverty wages. Even after working all their lives, more than a quarter of older people have no savings and many believe they will never be able to retire in dignity, while around 55% of elderly people try to survive on an income of less than 25,000 a year.

I make 16.50 an hour at a factory. I rent a small trailer to rent in a safe neighborhood for 750. I can afford groceries every week and have nice thrift stores nearby. I have an old Honda CRV with high miles but reliable and a river nearby to swim. And the library is close by. Life is simple. I am not expecting to buy a house, but maybe with a group of people I can. Im educated and want to create some kind of thing but going much slower and learning to be content with much less. Once you die to the American Dream and realize its just not going to happen it's not so bad. New goal is trying hard to not spend money and be pressured by consumerism. Still difficult not to do splurge. A fight against our materialistic culture.

Leaving America is the new American dream. People are desperate.

I purchased my home in Woodstock GA for 92k in 2015 for a 2bed 2bath. I pay $565 for my mortgage. I realize how blessed I am to have it in today’s economy.

If my wife and i never invest another dollar, we will have 1.9 million at retirement. This is why people say to do everything in your power (Legally and morally) to get $100k+ invested in your 20s.

You work for 40yrs to have $1m in your retirement, Meanwhile some people are putting just $10k in a meme coin for just few months and now they are multi millionaires. I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life

I'm 50, and could retire now and live comfortably for the rest of my life; if I die next Tuesday.

In 2007, it cost $680 to rent a 1 bedroom. Now it's $2300/month!

Before 1982, companies were not allowed to buy their stock back. The law was changed and CEO compensation shot through the roof. In the 1960's, businesses would not lay-off workers unless the company was bleeding lots of red-ink. Now, companies lay-off when they have record profits. The minimum wage use to be indexed to inflation, now it is not. In 1968 when minimum wage was at its greatest purchasing power, CEO's made about 40 times a minimum wage worker, today, it is around 600 times a minimum wage worker.

There is no American dream anymore. I hear young people saying, there's no point in wanting a house or anything anymore. So sad. Many people don't even make 50k a year. If we all stood up and demanded what we need, instead of fighting for ridiculous causes maybe we could make a difference.

Ordinary Americans are suffering but mega corporations appear to be profiting more than ever. Something isn't right here....

I made 80k before covid. Had about 1700 left over each month. Today I make 110k. I have about 600$ left each month while living a less luxurious lifestyle

Engineer here, just made it to the $100k/yr club a year and a half ago…. Wife, four kids, and paycheck to paycheck… Glad I made the move to make more money. But it feels like chasing the wind. I’m barely settled into this job and I’m already looking forward to where I can move up next to make more so we can at least stay with the curve. Wife is a stay-at-home mom and every job she’s qualified for would require me making schedule sacrifices at my job that would affect my value and our availability and relationship to our kids. Feels abysmal. And I feel for our floor level plant workers who must be under even more stress.

New hires start at $80k at my job. It was $32k when I started. Just shows how much the dollar has depreciated.

I need to get out this rat race. Money is great, but I can't keep chasing it all my life. I'm just gonna forget the "American Dream" and focus on my dream. I don't need much nor am I asking for a lot. I gotta figure out how to do more with less

Based in California, I make $100k, but it's not really $100k. After state, federal, health insurance, plus other mandatory taxes, you're looking at about $65k - 70k take home. Now, every product you buy, there is sale tax, which is about 10% in my area, which further brings down your buying power to $58.5k - 63k. You got rent, which the average rent is $2,340. Now you're down to $30k - 35k. And now you have to factor in the higher cost of living such as food, car payment, utility, etc.

In 1976 my parents bought a house for $36,000 the monthly mortgage payment was $ 310 dollars a month quarter acre lot, 3 br 1 1/2 ba living room, dining room backyard and 2 car garage. Me my brother and sister attended private schools and my mother was a stay at home mom. My mother would eventually get a part time job when we all started High School. Life was great!

My spouse and I are adding a variety of stocks/ETF to my present holdings for the long term, We've set aside $250k to start following inflation-indexed bonds and stocks of companies with solid cash flows, I believe it is a good time to capitalize on the market for long-term gains, but it wouldn't hurt to know means of actualizing short term profit.

Keep the car longer, keep the phone longer. Being in a mutually supporting relationship also helps. "Strong and independent" is expensive.

I can't believe I'm only 21 years old and can already tell "inflation stories." Like how your grandpa would say "When I was your age, a coke and a cheeseburger at McDonald's was 15 cents." I can say that just looking back to prices in high school. Got my first car and I'd go to Bojangles after football practice some days, and got the same thing every day: 4-piece supremes dinner. It was always $6.50 flat. Now, its over $11. I just don't understand :(

I make $55 a year, I recently got a promotion, it was forced on me and it’s what’s called a dry promotion in other words more responsibilities with the same pay, so no raise. My rent has gone up $400 a month in 3 years, my car insurance went up $40 a month, my cellphone bill went $40 a month, I still have student loans, I just paid $80 for an oil change, a fixer upper in my area is between $200-250k, I drive DoorDash, Uber Eats and Instacart just to cover bills, saving $100 a month is a huge achievement. I’m working most of my life away just to tread water. America is a first world third country. We don’t even have basic healthcare. Oh I have healthcare, but I don’t go to the doctors because of the high deductible of my health insurance, so I pay for health insurance I’m too broke to use.

The government has completely screwed us. And we just sit by and let it happen, shameful.

I live in São Paulo, Brazil and it's impressive how this report seems to be completely talking about our reality here. São Paulo is a great city to live, but the perspectives are identical, it seems that the USA is becoming underdeveloped too.

I’m tired of working all the time😢 it’s not worth it when your scared to spend your own money 🙄😤

I’m a truck driver and my wife is an LPN in Kentucky. She’s in school for her RN, and even when she gets that, affording a cookie cutter home here (3B/2B) , even in the sticks is next to impossible without help from our parents. Even with 20% down the 7-10% interest rate really eats up the rest of the monthly budget.

Too many people, too little construction, too few nice neighborhoods with good schools, too many airbnbs & corporate land holding LLC, etc. Our parents and grandparents didn’t have to face this much market pressure on both the supply and demand of the housing market.

To all the young folks: keep your debt level low.

They really can’t get away from “omg Millenials are just wasting their money” can they. I spend about 50 dollars a month on subscription services, home cook every meal, we don’t vacation, we don’t go to movies, we don’t do anything. Yet it’s the miscellaneous bills that drown us. We were about to finish paying off a furnace repair bill next month and the. Got hit with a 1700 dollar auto repair bill. If nothing else happens we can pay that off in 3-4 months. That’s how tight things are. But typical boomer reporting can’t own that and has to make us look bad.

Tupac said it best: "They got money for wars but can't feed the poor."

My generation might not be able to afford a house, might not have social security by the time we retired, might not have children because they are too darn expensive, might still be drown in debts, might not have enough to feel happy about. So no question, we just going to YOLOing the whole way through.

Visiting a third world country makes you realize that in the U.S we have a materialism epidemic.

I really feel insecure about the world we live in right now, It's really sad how the American dream has become so unattainable for many. Even with a good income, people are struggling to make ends meet

My wife and I bought our first home in December. Unfortunately its a freaking townhome with no front or back yard. We paid $360k because single family homes were to far out of our reach. Houses in our area START at $400k. Meaning youre paying $400k for a complete dump!! So we had no choice but to buy a townhome. And our monthly mortgage is $2300....absolutely ridiculous!!....FJB

Your videos were great!! I'm one of your viewers and have been watching your videos lately. I would like to invest, but I still can't find the right investment to commit to. I will appreciate any help here.

In NYC, comfortable is literally around $300k now. Not only is it a moving target, it's moving so fast even the upper middle class can't keep up anymore. It's only rich or poor, nothing in between.

as somebody who's living off of 40k (dual income household :D) i don't understand how you couldn't survive off of 100k.....that kind of money would change my life around and set me up for life

My parents swallowed the “American dream” hook, line, and sinker. We lived like we were in poverty even though we were upper-middle class, aside from crazy “vacations” set up 100% by our father and the fact that basic needs were always met. They were unable to relax, enjoy themselves, have fun. Their marriage drifted apart; their kids completed bachelor’s degrees were didn’t want to, master’s degrees were did want to, then got jobs totally unrelated to either. I, at least, learned that saving for the future with no care for the present is just as destructive as blowing everything now and giving no care to the future. You might get to retirement age with a pile of money, if your health and marriage and spouse’s health and kids’ health and so on hold, but even if you do make it to that point, you’ll have lost the ability to enjoy spending money on ANYTHING. 😕

I’m making it on $75,000/year with a family of 4 with two disabled children. Wife is unable to work because of the children not being able to go to a normal daycare. We aren’t able to afford anything other than the bare essentials. They only way were able to stay afloat is buying my house when I was younger. I can’t rent a one bedroom apartment for what I pay for a mortgage payment. Same house I paid $75,000 for is now valued at $160,000. Can’t imagine people trying to make it with buying a house at today’s market price.

Now 200k is the new 100k.

Good thing about the internet there is always an anonymous random person who will tell you they make 8 dollars an hour and have 2 houses and 1 million in the bank and all they did was work hard and didnt spend money. Gotta love the internet.

Bought my house before it skyrocketed Bought my cars before values skyrocketed Now to learn carpentry and auto mechanic to keep both running and healthy

The cost of living across the country have played a big part in the decision for my wife and I to not have children. Paying off student loans, saving money for retirement and buying a house are more important.

Spent 11 years to make it to $137k and now this inflation. It felt like $50k.

Completely agree. The current state of the economy is unduly difficult for most people. 200k has become the new 100k. My biggest concern is life after retirement. Suddenly, I dont feel rich anymore with a $820k portfollo at 46. Its pathetic.

The cost of a college education is redicuous, it's a complete racket and unfair to people trying to do the right thing. The system is completely broken.

100k is more than enough for most of us. People are making poor spending habits and are too electrically and mechanically inept to resolve the majority of home and vehicle problems on their own without paying a premium. Buying brand new cars, or close to it, is a symptom of mechanical ineptitude. Renting is a symptom of mechanical, electrical and manual labor ineptitude. Everyone wants to be the guy behind the desk and are never learning how to be the guy with boots on the ground. We are spending so much on student loans to compete in job markets that don't need you while the trades are dwindling, which raises the cost for trade services and lowers the income of people in fields like teaching and administration. We only need so many teachers and we already have too many which is part of the reason why you have to take largely arbitrary general education courses.

Weird how these news companies never mention the real reason for the higher cost of living. Why is it our dollars are worth less and less each year?

It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.

Absolutely I’m a city bus operator making $80,000 per year and I have raises already in place for the next 4 years. In 2 more years I will be at $100,000 a year. I’m a single mom with a teenager car Paid off no credit debt and I have some savings. The fact that I don’t even feel comfortable trying to buy a house is ridiculous. What is our government doing trying to do to us. The math ain’t mathing!

I'm from Asian Country, when I was a kid, my favorite dream is American lived by American Dream, and right now, I feel frightened and shocked when I heard and saw this news is extremely highest cost of living, If you mind me asking for this, I would to live my origin country and lived comfortable until retire. I feel dying for this

feeling very broke and depressed right now.

The fact that vanlife is a trend amongst millennials and gen z shows a lot of us gave up on the home and would rather travel and live out of a car.

Americans are also moving in mass from places with affordable and abundant housing to places with unaffordable and scarce housing. Colorado’s house prices have tripled in ten years, meanwhile you can buy a nice house on a half acre in Iowa for under $150k … the crisis is an identity crisis. Exploding populations in previously undeveloped spaces is driving the perception of a scaled affordability crisis.

Meanwhile skilled tradesmen making just over that medicaid cutoff and we wonder why planes are dropping out of the sky... when an experienced aerospace tig welder making jet engine components lives the same lifestyle as a McDonald's employee... our plant manager at GE aerospace said after bragging about vacation homes and going to the super bowl every year was asked if there was going to be a cost of living increase he said "to be honest I think your job is really easy and your team is well compensated" I asked him "when your favorite quarterback makes that touchdown pass on game night does that look easy? Maybe it looks easy because you have a really good team" am I a Dr. ? No, but I guarantee you I spent the same amount of time developing my skill sets to be capable of passing these entry weld tests, and our compensation should reflect that... I don't care where or what a skilled tradesmen is doing... none of us should be making less than $45 - $60/hr

The worst part is finally reaching that $100k “milestone” then looking at your paychecks like “wait I thought they would be a lot bigger” (as someone with student loan payments and rent)

What sucks is that only 17% of people make over $100k

So thankful husband and I bought our tiny little house in our mid late 20's it wasn't in the best neighborhood but it wasn't much more to pay a mortgage versus renting at the time. We lived frugally and I still do now not by choice but because of the economy and I surround myself with others who are also like minded in frugality. It has meant sacrifices over the years no vacations, no going out to restaurants very often, our place of contentment was sitting on our front porch with our friends and neighbors. All I can advise to the younger generation is SAVE wherever you can. Even I think of some purchases I made over the years that were not wise choices like shopping at the Malls when I was younger. Best Wishes it's a tough rode for our younger generation. My home is paid for, my car is paid for and I have no debt and my house will be passed on to the younger generation Free. Anna In Ohio

Last year, I was working full time, budgeting groceries, unable to afford date nights, and missing time with my kids. Now I learned how to make money online. Now am a SAHM, homeschooling, and making profits every week.

I'm sitting here debt-free at 44 and count my blessings daily.

If you’re over 35 and you didn’t purchase a home back during 2000-2018 , you are living paycheck to paycheck. You can’t even buy a manufactured home these days.

Like how they say 100k doesn’t buy crap, when many Americans are no where near that.

Incorrect that now just a high school degree is not enough. I’m a general contractor and I can tell you that if a person graduates and spends 4 years in a trade they will be so much further ahead on average than their counterparts that went to college. They will leave college with $60-$80k in debt making $50-$70k a year where the ones that skipped college have no debt and are trained and making $100k 4 years in. There is so many field in trades that can be done for little to no school and pay well. I never went to college and I’m making $250-$300k a year and have a net worth over a mil. It’s about working hard and making good decisions, including living within your means.

And it's just getting worse everywhere.

"They call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it." - George Carlin

My wife and I are in our mid-30s and make around $170k combined with no kids living in a small 2-bed/1-bath place in the Baltimore-DMV area. We’ll probably never own a home or a non-used car, couldn’t afford kids if we wanted em, can’t really go on vacation or buy nice things, and are saving very little for the future. Combination of absurd cost of living, frequent car- and cat-related costs, and paying off student loans we had to take out for many years both while getting our undergrad degrees and while living in Atlanta making a take-home of like $1.5k when getting our Ph.D.s.

Become a police officer in California. Many are making well over $300k a year. Firefighters are right in there too. On top of that you get to retire early in most instances. I turned down many law enforcement job offers when I left the Marine Corps to finish college. I became an engineer. Now retired I sometimes rewimd the clock and think what I might have done differently watching fellow Marines retire years earlier from firefighting and law enforcement. College is a total waste of time if your objective is making money.

The writing was on the wall once I began dipping into my savings. I am now achieving the American Dream in another country. What a crazy timeline that we're living in.

I grew up in Los Angeles, and there was no way in hell I would be able to afford a house with a minimum wage salary. When I turned 18, I used to load boxes onto trucks for $3.35 an hour. I did that for 8 hours. After taxes, I was making about $20 a day. $20 x 5 days = $100 a week. $100 x 52 weeks = $5200. That was my NET salary (after federal, state, payroll taxes) in California during the 1980s. There was no way I could finance a house in a nice neighborhood (like Pasadena) or even a ghetto ass neighborhood. I would need about $24,000 to make a down payment on a $200,000 house in those days. Even if I lived with my parents and never spend a dime of my net income, it would take me about 4.5 years to get that down payment. But, alas, that $200,000 house that I wanted to finance turned into a $300,000 house in 1991! I would have to make about $30,000 a year, live in a cheap apartment, and be frugal as hell to save up for a down payment for a 2 bedroom "starter home" in a nice neighborhood in Los Angeles County during the 1990s. I've had various jobs since those days, and I never made enough money to save up for a house. Now it's 2024 and the dream of owning a nice house is just a nightmare to think about. My childhood home in Los Angeles is worth about $800,000 today. My parents bought it for about $18,000. I can't have the American dream and live a middle class lifestyle---like my parents did----with my modest annual salary ($38,000). I feel pathetic every day, and I wish I would've invested my money more in the past. I am doing that now with my small investment account. I also have a pension that I contributed to. Maybe Americans would have more money for housing if federal/state governments wouldn't TAX them so much!!! A single man or woman (no dependents) living in Los Angeles, California and making $100,000 a year will be taxed $28,022!

Sounds like everyone could take a lesson in budgeting, you don't "need the three row brand new SUV for 80k, you need a 5 year old Camry for$18k unless you need more seating then get the 10 year old minivan for $15. In the same way buy only what you absolutely need for everything else, then set your budget for wants and stick to it. Build your credit. Minimize extra extra expenses.

When I experienced how bad the economy was in 2008, I said then that being a millionaire was the new middle class. So, anything under that was just trying to make it financially. That six figure income has been a joke for many families for years now. Even single people with no children earning $100,000 isn't enough to live comfortably with the rate of inflation or during a recession. 😢

the house across from mine just sold for $1.53mil, the owner bought it in 1994 for $80K, yeah, good luck keeping up with that

Property values and monthly costs have skyrocketed. They need to stop letting big companies buy up houses to rent them out later and also lower property taxes, until then I’m not buying a house.

There's basically the people that owned before 2020 / QE5 and those that didn't. If someone had a $200k home they got in 2018, they'd be paying less than rent for a 1 bedroom now in my area and if someone wanted to buy the house they'd be looking at not only 4%+, but double the price tag, so their monthly mortgage payment would be more than double that of the 2018 buyer or even an early 2020 buyer.

I'm stuck in a relationship I'm miserable in but I can't afford to leave. Every morning I cry, every evening I dread going home, I do my best to keep myself busy by spending time with family and friends but that gets exhausting. I'm seeing people with less experience getting promoted left and right because they're buddies with the managers. Despite my. 13 years of experience I can't break past entry level.

I make six figures, but between the mortgage, car payments, student loan payments, HOA fees (that just skyrocketed because of insurance and massive repairs needed to the parking garage), my internet and utility bills, gas and groceries, car and home insurance, I'm left with just a couple hundred dollars after taxes, HSA, and retirement contributions. My wife was just diagnosed with cancer and can't work, so it feels like we're treading water despite my seemingly high income. We want to have kids (we're in our 30's) but feel like we need to wait until we have more savings and our car and student loan debts are gone, and of course, we have more clarity on my wife's health situation.

You know it’s hit rock bottom when even the news starts covering how unjust the system is

I made $104,000 last year ,taxes, more toys, trips.. No difference,70 hour weeks! Living in Western NC USA

This is my fifth year after retirement. I’e been following the 4% rule thing I saw on a youTube channel, but this isn’t really how hard I expected things to be. After I cashed out a lump sum, I still have about $760k left, but at this rate, and with how the market is (we were putting money away in an index fund), I’m starting to get really worried.

It’s a bizarre turn of events. I moved to Japan in ‘95 to enjoy a year or two abroad and make a little coin. LITTLE being the key word. Salaries here are low but single life for a young man is fun. 28 years later wow have the tables turned. My salary is still about $100k but cost of living is so much lower here in Japan, especially housing! My $300k house is small and has no yard but was very high quality and interest was .9%. I’m still middle class here in japan or even upper middle. I don’t know how a family can do it back home without double my salary.

The cruelest part of the college problem is that even in the case that someone does graduate college, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about a study that found over half of college grads aren't using their degree for their jobs. You have to really be careful about getting the right major, and doing the right internship, which for many people is cost-prohibitive as they can't afford to work in many cases for free, and you have to find that right first job out of college which is hard to do when all the entry-level jobs require 1-2 years of experience The worst thing is that you end up spending four years of your life studying, taking on a mountain of debt, and your lifestyle, salary, or career path has not developed in the slightest

In 1978 my divorce mother of 3 bought a 3 bedroom house with a rental basement apartment in Brooklyn, NY for $35,000. That same house is now worth $710,000.

The new American dream is saving enough to move abroad to a country with more true freedom. Higher or same incomes with lower required expenses for basic human life like housing, healthcare, education and transportation to a job.

The American dream would be reality if once the house is paid for, we stop paying property taxes, but we don't. Many people that have lived in their houses for many decades, are facing eviction for back property taxes. At least if things are tight, we could look forward to 20 or 30 years where we would get a break, and have the house be 100% OURS, but that break never comes.

100k is litterally 60k after taxes. 60k used to be the standard back then now its 100k. Cause the cost of living, high cost areas, and just raising kids.

Well it's hard to save when RENT takes everything. back in 07 a two-bedroom was $800-$1000, now a two-bedroom is close to $2000, one might say the increase is not that bad, but Wages DID NOT increase alongside rent

I think blaming everything on inflation is wrong. Yes inflation contributes , but the other issue is corporations controlling necessities by consolidating power to do so with the only emphasis on profits for shareholders & idiotic bonuses for screwing the working class.

This entire video discussed everything we already know. We need solutions

how did this go from the american dream being unatainable for most to "gen Z spending too much cuz they want to live in the moment" with a subtext of "it's their fault"? WTF

Egging fear mongers. They won’t lay out all the facts. People living beyond their means will always struggle despite their income. For starters get a damn Honda civic that’s about 3 years old vs that 50k vehicle. Stop ordering DoorDash and cook your damn meals. Pay off your credit card debts. Stop going out every weekend. Stop buying the newest gadgets or biggest TV.

$109K in Mississippi? That's inflated by a LOT. That is WAY above middle class. I don't know where they get these numbers.

Born in 1960 my father worked a regular laborer job, my mother was a homemaker and they bought a brand new house in 1965 for $ 13,000, sold it in 1975 for 45,000, my mother was very wise with the money.

Currently, after working in the same career for 35 years, l’m gross $115,00 and that’s with my side hustle of tutoring. I’m afraid to retire, but I’m physically and mentally exhausted !

I make 87k before taxes. My wife’s a stay at home mom. We have 2 cars and one truck. The truck and one car are paid off we just bought a 200k home with 40% down. Got a camper a boat both paid for. You don’t need 100k you need you get your money right and stop spending it stupidly!