If only I could keep any money in an account to get any returns on... 😭You explained how every category of major expenses has significantly outpaced both wages and CPI, yet still people here are basically telling me to stop buying lattes every day. Lattes aren't expensive, but living is. And living paycheck to paycheck makes it nearly impossible to crawl out of the hole. Every windfall I get goes straight to paying off debt I had to take for one reason or another.
On cars being wealth killers, there is a antique and classic market that would disagree with you. Yeah they depreciate like a newly built house does. But they tend to bounce back. We can see this cycle with boomer muscle cars from the 60’s. Millennials and supras that trade hands for 200-250k. Problem is most people don’t hold onto a car for 25 or more years. What is more common is people buying 10-15 year old cars and seeing appreciation.
Managing money is different from accumulating wealth, and the lack of investment education in schools may explain why people struggle to maintain their financial gains. The examples you provided are relevant, and I personally benefited from the market crisis, as I embrace challenging times while others tend to avoid them. Well, at least my advisor does too, jokingly.
Stop blaming schools! We are told what to teach by the State and we are highly criticized by everyone else! We DO teach economics, but if parents don’t want their kids to follow the lessons, there’s nothing we can do. Stop blaming us!
I remember being stoked when I got my first salary bump to $100k, and then got really bummed when I realized it really wasn’t that much in the Bay Area 😂.
As a household that just recently crossed the $100k a year in income, it honestly just feels like the starting line. Now we're finally able to afford a home and having a kid but I definitely don't feel rich at all. I remember when I was in college I thought $100k a year was the dream, now its more like double that to feel comfortable.
Same man. I make 120k per year and with the cost of running my own business (curse you taxes!), home costs, and having two kids… we really don’t have that much extra to go around. Sure we don’t live super frugal, but we don’t live lavishly either. I’m totally not complaining either, as I know others do much more with less than me.
Very true i am making 200K before bonuses every year (I live on my own) and finally feel like I’m getting wealthy. I live in Florida, bought a new single family house with 50% down and investing the rest. Just this year I feel wealthy finally
I made around $45k from 2017-2021. Didn’t live paycheck to paycheck, but I also couldn’t afford to make any mistakes with my money. Started making $100k+ after 2021. Felt great at first since I could afford anything I wanted , but I I decided to keep the same house , Car and lifestyle (eating healthier now). Forward to 2023 , I feel like I’m earning $45k or less with how expensive everything is.
Same... starting work at a low wage then getting to making up to 100k... now I also feel barely getting by. At the same time I make myself broke by putting money into as much ROTH,markets etc I can... of course not a lot actually ends up there that's only the extra, which is constantly getting smaller. Just thinking of the "real inflation" that's like I lost 5+ years of wage growth.
Graduated college in 2020, became a Software Engineer. $130k salary, and I still live with my parents. I’m sorry,‘I’m not spending $300k on a 1960 ranch house. Living cost is now $100k for “comfortable”.
@@nikitaw1982unbridled capitalism and a reluctance to build a ton more affordable/public housing. It's so crazy to see how many men go to work and still homeless/shelter in nyc 10s of thousands. While nyc is sitting on 100,000 empty apartments.
I agree I was making about $60K before COVID now I’m making over $100K and I feel like I’m earning less is sad because I worked really hard to get here and now it feels the same
I’m a teacher from Minnesota that makes $103,000/ year after 10+ years of teaching. I’m living comfortably as MN is one of the most affordable state in the country and I get paid for 9 months of work.
Holy crap! I am moving to Minnesota. I am a teacher with 15 years of experience and a masters and just reached over $40k for the first time last year because of pay freezes at the start of my career. Minnesota is not too far from Michigan; I may be able to convince my husband.
I make $155K a year, but I do have 3 kids, my wife, and my 2 parents living with me. While not paycheck to paycheck, we still have way more expenses than we want and working on paying off car debt. Honestly car debt is what holds people back the most and you should only buy a new one if you absoutely need it. Life is a constant learning lesson, often times the hard way.
@@pepperspice3291young man, you will be surprised to know that regardless of your degreee/title/experience, there IS a chance you could be employed in an area you know nothing about, paid extremely well, and do the least amount of work when compared to most jobs that pay similarly. I bring it just over $100k working a decent amount of overtime at a production plant. No special degree req’d, no prev related experience even, and they took me in through recommendation. Keep your mind open to the possibilities, and if you enjoy the work, the money will come effortlessly
@@pepperspice3291not op but I’m a mechanical/ piping designer with no degree just a plumbing license and 10 years industry experience. Construction design work pays great and is in demand, I make over 110k at 28 and most of my coworkers with your degree make well over 130k. Don’t be afraid to Mike every few years to raise your ceiling
If my mortgage wasn't $950 a month I would probably be living paycheck to paycheck as well. What kills me is I'm making the same amount of money as I was 3 years ago but groceries and eating out costs 2 to 3 times more.
Youngsters starting in investing need to learn the ropes, know how much risk they can handle and spread their investments around. Some folks get help from money experts or do their homework before making investment moves. It's all about being smart with your money.
It’s pretty insane when you think about it. My gf and I together bring in ~$175k yr plus bonuses and yet we’re still buying store brand food, walking instead of ubering, biking to work. We don’t even live in ny or cali. How are these people out there just randomly blowing $300 on dinners weekly and being ok with it?!
My uncle told me this a long time ago. When you aren’t use to making so much money you continue to have a poor persons mindset and bad decisions on money
It's hard for people to actually understand the difference between living "so that you may be rich" instead of living like we are rich (while we still have 'rich paying' job).
It makes me sick how expensive stuff has gotten. House hold income is right around 110-120k a year, I bought my house CHEAP back in 2010 right before I turned 20. I am doing alright because of when I bought my house, if I had to start over right now where I live (central Iowa) I don’t know how I’d do it, I honestly feel bad for the people going out into the world now and wondering how are they supposed to make it?!?
I'm 20 and working in interning at a tech company and hope to return fulltime next year, but for those not working in tech or top jobs in other fields I don't know how anybody is going to afford a house without daddy's money. Especially those with bad spending habits making 50k a year good luck.
our household makes about 150k, we have 0 student loans and no car payments, only spend a few hundred a month on hobbies IF that. our monthly CC spending (hobbies, food, groceries) is about 1200$. We basically cant afford anything else for the next decade or so if we want to own a house or condo in any decent area.
@@victorravn3075jeez. This helps put all my labor/OT/efforts in perspective. I must count my blessings with a single income of $100k and $23k worth of total debt while providing for 3 mouths.. You should see how much I stress about taking care of that debt vs stockpiling a $15k savings acct by Dec of this year 😅
@@Olafaloofian I get it completely. As Dave Ramsey would say, you need a bigger income shovel. That alone will fix 1/4 of your problems. And then the proper saving techniques will be another 1/3 at least
Yeah $100,000 a year sounds great until you deduct for taxes, and health savings, and health insurance, and retirement and realize you're really only walking out the door with $65,000 and then realizing you have half of that to support family with after you cover your recurring monthly expenses NOT including food, gas, clothes, etc
Yep, keep on working for the right to retire or leverage debt to get rich or potentially throw the taxpayers under the bus if you fail and declare bankruptcy.
And even worse if your self employed too. Why the US double taxes people who try to work for themselves doesn't make such sense to me and feels like a punishment. That extra 13% tax on top of the normal 22% - 25% is salt on an already very opened wound!
Why TF you want to go $150k into debt for a degree that doesn't have jobs ready for you when you can do blue collar skilled labor and they'll pay you for training and you make 6 figures after?
@@michaelsorensen7567 that’s not the issue right now. The issue is that the 1% and the top 10% (which are majority boomers) fucked up the economy for the rest of the generation. The 1% has almost 40% of the US wealth, and the top 8% has near 78%-80% of US wealth. *Theres no more money circulating in our economy, in just sitting in rich people investment portfolio* there’s no middle class to support the economy. No middle class means, bad economy in the future. The amount of money big corporations pay their workers compare to investors pay out is disgusting. Might as well call the bottom 50% of the US *“modern day slaves”*
@@KK-fw4zq you don't know what an investment portfolio is huh? Also, without rich people I don't have a job. Poor people don't drop $100k on kitchen cabinets. Don't get me wrong, there's still middle class people paying about $30k for all the cabinets in their house, but I'd much rather have the millionaires giving me over a week's worth of work than middle class starters only giving me a day. See, cause enough of those rich people buy expensive cabinets to go in their mansions, and I can buy a house too. I can even contribute to an investment portfolio. You know, getting money to growing companies so they can.... Circulate money through the economy.... Oh wait... Everything currently wrong with the economy is from government interference in it. Not "boomers".
The wages from 1980's to 2021 are so true for some jobs. My dad talked to all of his daughters about this and he remembers my job paid close to the 80's to what is paid now. From state to state, my job pays close in salary. Some jobs pay don't go up much for the last 30 years. It's kind of sad because housing cost has sky rocketed and no one can afford to buy. Great job and providing the data.
I explained this to my mother some years ago and she really didn't understand. My wife worked in lost prevention for a while for Macy's around 2018 and my mom worked for TJMaxx in the 80s/late 90s doing the same. The difference between what my mom and my wife made was only about $4. It's sad.
Exactly. The jobs that are not in high demand have stagnated. I made about $40K in 1995, and the same job is still paying $40K. Now, $40K minus taxes barely covers my cost to commute in a reliable vehicle and pay for a cheap lunch. One car repair or one service call on my rental properties (because I am at work) puts me in debt for the week.
@@Duke_of_Prunes I would say these day, really no jobs are "in demand". Unless you are high level IT or medical then I feel like everyone else is subject to leftovers.
Great video, I just passed the 100k mark this past year. I do feel rich, but that is because I had a sizable raise all at once from about 80k to 105k per year. I think it’s harder when you get slow raises over time, because if you get an extra couple hundred dollars per month it’s easy to have your budget creep up. I have not increased my standard of living with my raise. Same apartment, same car, etc. that means I have about an extra $2k per month that I am paying my future self:) currently I live on about 70% of after tax income, the other 30% I don’t see as my money, it’s even in separate bank accounts. I hope my investments do well, and I can exit the rat race long before I’m 50:)
I live in coastal South Carolina. My total income is above 200k annually. This video really sheds light on the reality of how thing’s really are. My wife and I sit and scratch our heads why we don’t “feel” rich. When you factor in education expenses, child raising expenses, TAXES!, and how expensive groceries are….. it really shows where all the money goes. I realize that we are in a good place compared to most, but we aren’t living as “high on the hog” as most people likely think.
Yea. I'm in a similar situation. I'm a DINK. We make over 200K a year. While I acknowledge that we are relatively wealthy. It doesn't *feel* like we are. I don't stress about money. I can have fun pretty much whenever I want to. However, that's pretty much it. I still worry about medical bankruptcy. I still worry about retirement. I know that it is a very privileged thing to be able to say this, but I'm a fucking DINK with more than 200K income a year. I *should* feel rich. Had my family grown up with that kind of money we would have felt rich. My expectations were set so that this would feel rich. The reality is that being rich today is more a sense of relief than a reward for doing the things that people said to do. I followed the plan people said would work. At the end of the rainbow, the pot of gold is looking around and thinking, "glad I'm not those people. Their lives suck." The definitions are changing.
@@oneleggeddog Sorry, but guess my age is showing when talking about this item. Now in my early 60's, I grew up thinking in terms of financially independent (not living "paycheck-to-paycheck"); them financially comfortable (still needed to work but, could take-off a year or two to explore other interest); financially able to retire (at my current standard of living); then wealthy ($2 million to $10 million in net worth) , and then rich (up to $100 million in net worth) and lastly ultra rich (from $500 million to 1 billion in net worth). Also, just for the record, I am in the "financially able to retire" category. (smile...smile)
Humphrey, I'm sorry but you are making a mistake with the wage growth point (0:46). If 1980 inflation adjusted median income was $75,672 that means the actual dollar amount was much lower ($21,020 according to the census bureau). So 100k in 1980 was around 5x the median income. Compared to the $70,784 today 100k is about 1.5x the median income. This means wage growth/inflation IS a major reason why 100k is not rich anymore.
That's not the question he's asking though. 100k objectively drops in value because of inflation, he doesn't need to make a video about that. He's asking if 100k is enough to be comfortable.
From a Memphian, the cost of living is really attractive. Memphis as a city is terrible. However, suburban areas like Germantown and Collierville are a amazing places to live and raise families. Around 500k homes (5 beds 3-4 baths)(it used to be 300k), 2.8 gas, no income tax, Germantown has one of the best public schools in the state, excellent food, extremely safe neighborhoods, high level of education, etc…summary: Memphis sucks, the surroundings are awesome.
Complete agree. I prefer the Mississippi side suburbs of Horn Lake, Olive Branch, et al. Germantown is nice but Cordova seems overtaken by the garbage in Raleigh/Bartlett. Even midtown is a joke now. We still visit Memphis occasionally since it's just an hour away but it's not a joy. Good Korean food though. ;)
I'm the dreaded Memphian who ran off to Boston. My paycheck may be net much smaller, but I am infinitely happier. My friends and I talked about how Memphis was pretty much a big black hole that sicks you in and makes it tough to leave, because while it's cheap to love there, the average wage keeps you to where it's almost impossible to leave.
A buddy of mine has 2 young children, he had to quit his job, bringing down his house hold income below 100k. He did this because the cost of child care would be almost as much as his monthly income. With rent rising, food rising etc I'm not sure if middle class is anything less than 150k a year household income. Plus if you look at inflation numbers 100k today was like 65k in 2005.
I know a few stay at home dads now. I never knew of anything like the just 5 years ago but in some markets that's become the winning move. Definitely not great for the GDP!
The main difference between me making 85k (close enough) and 45k just a few years ago, is now when things break I can fix them whereas before I'd have to save for months. My frivolous spending didn't increase and I didn't buy a nicer house or car.
Yeah, if the screen cracks on my phone, I’m not happy about it, but I can go get it fixed. Had to go to the emergency room for stitches and I wasn’t so concerned about the money while getting treated. It’s nice, but I’m not rich. I’m also single. I’m sure my money would be tighter if I had a family
Im the sole provider of my family of 6, i would feel rich making 60k$/y. I dont want to feel rich with money, I want to feel wealthy with finances. I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my house, a job, and a loving family. I am rich, just not wealthy.
I crossed the $100K line in 1999 while living in NYC and even then it was just a living wage. Twenty-four years later, I can probably still live on it if I completely stop saving/investing money.
This is so true, I’m making roughly 200,000 a year recently and that just started making me feel high upper class, although I’m making 5x the average household in Florida
I think the biggest factor is debt and next lifestyle creep. The problem for many including myself is you make more money, you have a tendency to increase spending and/or debt. Now that being said I noticed it and have a plan to reduce it. When I had less debt and expenses even though Im making less then I do now. I know I felt I had more disposable income.
I live in Seattle and in order to consider buying a house, I am planning on moving my parents, my now adult sons, and my brother into a 5 bedroom house just to be able to afford anything. Its literally the best financial sense to make sure all of us have a place to live. That's effing sad. And we havent even gotten approval on a mortgage yet. It could all fall apart when we get through feasibility.
@@jml9550 we just did the first time homebuyers class yesterday and getting every single person in my household to be on the same page is going to be a challenge. Although my eldest son told me that if anyone could do it, it would be me. 😅
@@GeekyBoutiqueyIt’s crazy but even spoiled Americans are starting to realize this new type of necessity. Would probably do something like that but not quite.
I remember when I first started driving in the late 2000s. The gas prices were consistently above $4.00 a gallon at the time. I've always held on to that price as the standard, so gas prices have never seemed high to me.
UT Austin - 1983: $4 an hour. I've still got an old fee bill showing a grand total of $317 for 17 hours of classes, a yearbook, and tickets to all home games.
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Same story here… played way to much WoW in college at FSU and ended up going to a community college years later. Everything worked out later but man did that set me back 😢
The median income for a single male in the U.S. is $37,000. Most Americans don't make anywhere close to $100K, however 76% of people who make $100K per year still live paycheck to paycheck. Americans are not taught financial literacy at all in public schools. Even if you have an MBA, you were never taught the basics of budgeting, reducing debt, and investing to build wealth.
well. it all just depends on location and its standard of living. $5000 per month rent in San Francisco is far different than a $1450 per month rent in Idaho for a comparable apartment.
German here. I live in one of the most expensive cities in Germany, make 55.000€/year and get ~65% of that after taxes, health insurance, pension plan, unemployment insurance and nursing care insurance. I pay roughly 1000€ for a nice but not fancy flat (admittedly quite cheap for this city). Fuel has definitely gotten more expensive recently (~1.8€/Liter now), but I don’t need a car and so I don’t really care. Each month, I can spend around 1.200€ on food, hobbies, clothing, etc. and pay off my student debt of around 20.000€. If I pay off some of those those in a large chunk, the state, who I own part of that money, will actually gift me this money. I can still save 100-200€ for later, even though I don’t necessarily need to, because my country’s social security net has my back in case I get sick or unable to work. I live a very comfortable life and do wish to earn more, of course, but I don’t need to. Reaching a 100.000€/year would mean a very, very comfortable life. Even though the cost of living has increased in the last years, the rise and the pressure on people is not even close to what has been happening in the US, and it is rough to see so many people struggle with what should be a liveable wage. I assume that it’s better here, partly because the unions are quite strong here and they will go to extreme measures to make sure their members are compensated fairly, or at least so that they can live off their job.
@@DanielFenandes Leftist moment, no country offers free education or free healthcare. Everyone pays for the service whether it's upfront or through taxation.
I live in San Francisco, and the cost of living out here is crazy! My studio is $3275/month alone, not including parking. I make about $120k year (pre-tax), and although I am able to put aside some money each month towards savings and my investments, I have multiple jobs / multiple streams of income and often work 6 - 7 days a week. If you aren't in tech (and I'm not), it's very normal out here for people to have side hustles and second jobs, live with roommates, etc. and it's super important to know how to budget and have good money management skills!
I moved to SoCal for my first $100K job. I'm comfortable financially but it doesn't feel like I'm "rich", and that's without kids or any debt. Plus home ownership is out of the question anytime soon unless I blow up my finances or settle for a run-down shack
As someone who lives in OKC and makes six figures I must say it’s the best place to move out of that top list. The food scene here is on the rise, an Oklahoma chef won a James Beard award for the first time. Housing is overall pretty affordable, gas is affordable and there’s a decent amount of things to do here. Oklahoma City also has the best weather coverage and warning systems in the country for tornadoes and severe weather, it’s safer here than any other state in Tornado alley. Only downside is the public education here, however the schools in the suburbs of Tulsa and OKC are a cut above the City and rural schools. If you want higher end retail etc then DFW is only a few hours away. Flying out of DFW is an option for international travel or shorter direct flights.
Dude thank you for breaking this down! I knew I wasn’t crazy, I’m exactly at that pay level and feel broke with family of 3 and only one car. I think that we are getting screwed as workers these days. Sad.
Not to brag, but my 15 year mortgage is $1,100 a month. Yes, that includes taxes and insurance. 😂 I also live in the most boring place, but $100k still goes far in the Midwest.
During the winter I keep my heat at 60 degrees all winter. I use a fan instead of A/C. A fan uses 1/100 of the electricity of A/C. I learned that from my friends in Cambodia, since they pay double price/unit for electricity.
back in high school a mcdouble was $1, now its $3.50. by the best inflation benchmark in existance, the McDouble index, it is now 350k is the benchmark.
We make over $300K in San Francisco and it is barely middle class. Fortunately we purchased our home a few years ago and it has appreciated over 1.4 million. We save for our children’s college and put away for retirement and have over seven figures in investments. After mortgage, 529, 401 K , insurance, utilities and food there is not much left. We feel as though we are living paycheck to paycheck. We live below our means and try to cook at home as much as possible. Most of our spending went to our kids. Daycare, private school, sports, martial arts, swimming, Kumon and gym. I am astonished at how many people out there drive expensive luxury cars. I usually drive around in my old 2001 Honda Accord. I get a lot of people in Challengers and Chargers roaring past me with their loud exhausts. It is not uncommon to see $60,000 plus vehicles on every block. I just assume that everybody out there is making a lot more than us and then spending their excess cash on cars. I am now able to work from home 100% of the time and switched to working 3 days a week and have 7 weeks of vacation per year plus holidays. I am now able to spend more time with my family with no change to our income level. I think that a good income for the Bay Area is $400,000 to $500,000 per year.
Similarly here, my wife and I (both 28) live in the Bay Area making about 250k combined. We rarely go out to eat, budget, etc. and saving enough money at a decent rate is still difficult.
They are all in debt, most of Americans are so don't worry about them. I can't wait for my kid to do all that stuff you listed soon. Swimming, basketball, martial arts, piano, etc... hope to do all that in NY in a few years when they are old enough and I retire.
Your middle class you just don't feel it, because you get used to whatever you have. Someone like myself is on $14,000 a year as a student. You being barely middle class doesn't make sense. Because you're no way near me.
@mocheen4837 Your username should be Yowcheen! lol. I'm in SF too..all those young guys you see here in SRT Chargers are paying 20% APR, living in Section 8 & is one payment away from getting it repo'd
Man, this video really opened my eyes to how lucky I got in life: * Got a full-tuition scholarship, so I only had student loan debt from the little I took out for room-and-board (~$2000) after getting my Masters * I bought my first house right as COVID-19 killed interest rates to keep that from eating up my salary * I bought a Telsa (to help the environment) right before the war in Ukraine drove the prices up on all EVs, so I never got hit by the gas inflation (plus my car payment is below $500 for a new car somehow) * I got lucky enough to get a $100k+ salary job with my computer science degree that let me work remotely during COVID and swap to it from a lower paying QA job I've just been missing these pitfalls other people have been dealing with for years, and 90% of that was on accident. I knew I wanted a tech job for better salaries, but I'm like the 4th or so person in my extended family to get a 4-year degree. I didn't know a lot about wealth strategies and such before entering the economy. I still don't feel "rich", but I'm nowhere near living paycheck-to-paycheck either.
@jakelux15 I don't get your point. I got rid of one of our gas cars for an electric one with 0 emissions. I also got solar panels to reduce power plant emissions related to my commute.
@Dmanbradley he is bringing up the argument that buying a new vehicle means using the resources and having the environmental impact associated with creation of that vehicle. Keeping a vehicle on the road and running CAN have a lower impact on the environment than buying a whole new vehicle. And then there is the argument that if we didn't drive cars at all we would have an ever greater impact. But then it's a slippery slope into we should just start culling populations to save the earth.
@@Dmanbradleyread up on the amount of gas you have to save in an electric car before you actually decrease your net carbon footprint. If you wanted to get a car for the environment, odds are for most people, buying a used car is a better net savings in green house emissions. Better yet, buy a used hybrid or EV. There is a massive amount of green house emissions produced to create a new car for sale. Far more than driving 100k miles in your Tesla will save, before you buy another new EV “for the environment”
It's kind of weird to ask the question of whether a $100,000 is a lot of money or not and then start off the conversation by comparing the median salary across decades when adjusted for inflation. If you're going to do something like that then you have to ask what is $100,000 today equivalent to in 1970?
14 months ago, I spent the night in Memphis as part of a cross country road trip. As a public safety worker in an extremely poor area, I thought that I had seen it all, but I’ve never seen a more post apocalyptic urban landscape in the real world, than Memphis, Tennessee. I expected to stumble across “Snake” Plissken any moment. I told my wife, as we were driving around, the only business that seems to be booming, is fencing and barbed wire.
@@x3dominator28True statement. 😂 I was an over the road trucker for 2 years. I drove through every state and most major cities. Every one had multiple slums. I'm a local driver now and don't miss it.
100k is the new 40k. It's "Just graduated with a bachelors degree and no experience" pay nowadays. It's moving-out-of-your-parent's-house (with roommates) pay.
yep, 100k a year in LA you're lower middle class, semi comfortable but it's tough, you got no extra at the end of the year and you'll be lucky if you can eat out once a month if that.
Which is why so many of those people who used to live there have spread to places like Arizona or Texas and other places in between. Which then caused a ripple effect in the housing market in the newly settled areas.
Living in a city (HCOL) and making 100k, I can’t even afford to rent alone, nor max out my 401k without being able to save for other things (like a mortgage). I’m grateful for being able to live comfortably but definitely did not feel rich.
It is gone, we lived through the zenith of our time. These bourgeoisie individuals in tandem with the corrupt govt. will take down this country like what happened to Rome. My condolences to anyone approaching retirement, you may have concerns over whether your pension pot will stretch to cover the rising cost of living, bad regulatory policies, bad energy policies and insane fiscal policies
I'm 54 and my hubby and I are VERY worried about our future, gas and food prices rising daily. We have had our savings dwindle with the cost of living into the stratosphere, we are finding it impossible to replace it. We can get by, but cant seem to get ahead. My condolences to anyone retiring in this crisis, 30years nonstop just for a crooked system to take all you worked for
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Not just the retirees. You might as well want to empathize with the younger generation. We still have the most part of our lives to life in this sh*thole
The thing is most 6 figure jobs are in major cities. All costs are higher, taxes included usually. Real estate is super costly and so are rents in places that aren’t cockroach infested.
European perspective here (more specifically Amsterdam): - 0 spent on cars / 1K per year on public transport and my bicycle. - 2K per year spent on healthcare. We have universal health care. - 2K per year spent on education (back when I was in university). Eating out and housing are pretty expensive here though.
Its such a big difference in Austria... Having a salary of 100000 you're definitely on the top 5%. Renting is definitely cheaper also here. Taxes and health insurance aree partly paid from employers aswell so thats also a big advantage.
Being Dutch, I find USA wage figures baffling. The average household income in The Netherlands is around $50k a year. In the UK, where I live, it is even lower, at around $40k a year. I am fortunate enough to have a salary of around $90k a year, which falls in the top 5th percentile in the UK.
@@zuzanazuscinova5209 you have obviously never been to the USA. The high standard of living is reserved for a select few, most Americans are a good deal worse off than people in the 'core' EU countries. This mostly comes down to a lack of a good social wellfare system and everything being capitalized to the max, something Obama tried to change, at least a little, but was torpedoed in. I've heard US citizens talking about how much they were paying for health insurance, for instance. The amounts mentioned would give the average European a heart attack. Agreed, Americans do tend to live larger outside of big cities, but that comes down to having a less dense population, so more land is available and generally houses are constructed using cheaper materials/methods in most US states (in some the climate/weather makes it harder to get away with).
@@michaeldendulk9225 I have lived here since 2016. Wouldn't trade living in NJ to living in so-called "core" European countries. The opportunities here are far greater.
Its because at $100k, you pay like 25-30% of taxes before you get your take home pay. Nice houses are at least $500k or more in a nice neighborhood. And then there is inflation and the higher cost of everything. $100k feels like the bare minimum to survive alone and have a decent life. New car payments are more expensive thanks to the increased interest rates. Its just expensive to live and have a life.
I make 100k and i am poor af 😂 on the east coast. We are not worse with our money. Wages are stagnant and cost is exponentially higher I don't go out, i try not to eat out, i have roomates, and go on vacation once a year. My car is used and i dont have really expensive hobbies either Thats saying a lot about how ridiculously expensive outside of just sitting at home is
You sound like me. Here I am packing pb&J's to lunch driving a 2015 Honda have roommates to split rent (pay about the same as you) wondering how I'm making 100k and can't afford to go on vacation
So you make 100k a year and pay only 1350 in rent and are struggling? You’re either investing intensely into your retirement or you’re overspending somewhere and not admitting it.
@@kayleethebabe definitely not overspending, before I made 100k, I was at maybe 68k living paycheck to paycheck. I spent it on misc items I didn't need. I'm nearing 30 now and I've switched priorities Between paying off loans, maxing investments, health insurance is expensive AF as well where I live. saving for a down payment in the next 5 years or so. essentially penny pinching and not spending $100 at the club every Friday night. The only thing I do spend a little more money on is probably organic foods which is pretty expensive in its own right. My last "expensive" purchase was probably a tennis racket a few months ago
I make 104k but I also live in the Chicago suburbs and pay like 12k in property tax on top of a overpriced house (not overpriced for here just compared to where I moved from) . If I had to compare it’s like making 45 or 50k in Alabama (where I originally came from). The middle class is for chumps we make enough to not receive any government benefits but not enough to actually feel like we have wealth lol. Sometimes I actually do miss being poor as dirt cause honestly I feel the same now just with a way more difficult job with little home time and tons of stress.
Gas prices here in the netherlands is 1,82 (euro) per liter. Meaning that would cost 6,89 (euro) per gallon. Converted that's 7.5 dollar as of writing.
I am so fortunate that I made productive decisions about my finances that changed my life forever. I am a single mum living in Melbourne Australia who bought my second home in January and is hoping to retire next year at 50 if things continue to go smoothly for me
I apologize for late reply sweetie, I used the FIRE movement to put my finances in order. Then Invested in stocks, crytocurenwcies and reel estate though the assistance of an Investment Pro who helped me make it this big😇
Oh MY! You’re really doing great for yourself. lnvesting in stocks and cryptocurrencies also contributed in changing my story. I wish you all the best and I’m glad you’re having a great journey so far. God bless you...
I recommend EVELYN GERALD, she has an astounding track record. I’ve worked with her for some time, and there are a lot of people investing with her, she's the best of the best. I hope she doesn't stop taking new comers any time soon because of the high number of applicants
Once retirement, emergency savings, and other important stuff like furnishing your apartment or groceries are handled, living on a 100k salary (if you are single) is very good. I can attest to that because it does allow you to partake in multiple activities. Once you have a wife and kids or buying a home though, this becomes a different story.
In Luxembourg, with 100k for a single person , you will pay 25k of taxes, and roughly 12k of insurance and pension. So you have around 62k in your pocket. Gasoline is around 1,5 euros per liter so 5,7 euros per gallon. I have no idea how the us tax system work so I cannot compare.
I crested the 6-figure mark about 4.5 years ago. I did this while relocating to a lower cost of living area in the Mid-West from the North-East. That said, in the last three years I've seen housing costs alone in my area increase over 30%. Now add in the general inflation we've seen across the board in everything else. I'm not living paycheck to paycheck. However, the difference in the Cost of Living from my move has been almost completely eliminated. In purchase power, it is like I'm in the same position I was 4.5 years ago before the raise when we didn't have this crazy inflation.
I live in NY and work in NJ making about 100k. After taxes, insurance, and retirement contribution im left with about 68k. Subtracting my discretionary and bills Im on target to save about 52k in a year. This is only possible because i live with my family, with no debts, 13yo car, and very little expenses. Despite this I feel poor. With interest rates i can only afford 130k loan to buy a home. I need to make up the difference if it costs more. Basically if the home is 200k i need a 70k down-payment to keep my monthly cost 1200-1500. I feel very fortunate to be in my position, but experiencing how hard it is for me to meet my financial goals even while living with my family doesn't give me much confidence in the future when I'm on my own. Im 29yo at about 230k net worth. Unless I keep working on my career and increasing my salary, I wont ever feel financially independent and free from the grind until well over 65.
Wow, at 26, with a gf and son, I must say $100k is getting us by, but not allowing for that nice chunk of savings. Definitely count your blessings. And check with other banks/mortgage companies because I was granted a $300k house loan 2years ago based on an $80k income at the time so you can likely do much better. I will say, even if you go off to live on your own. You will make it, esp with no one else depending on you. Keep your head up
We obviously don’t know your current family situation, but if they are happy to let you live there for an extended time you could have that downpayment saved up in about 1.5 years at your current savings rate. Really a little less but I’m trying to take in to consideration that things come up. That’s a pretty sweet deal you got going on. Also at that rate in about 2.5 years you could just buy a house outright so there is that benefit as well. It may not be the glamorous house of your dreams but it would be a good starter home with no mortgage. As a note this is using that 130k as the base number for a house not the over 200k. I think this should be obvious but I wanted to clarify it just in case.
@Js_Working ah yes I know I can get a larger loan, but I'm being conservative aiming for payments that are 20-30% of my after tax take home income and that works out to be about 130k the last time I inquired. I bought into the idea of retiring early and working towards that. So I try to plan based on just my income, and then hopefully, my partners income will all be extra for us.
@Dragonbleeds initially I was planning to buy a condo this year. Ran the numbers with current interest rates and it's definitely at least an option next year. By September I'll hit my initial goal of 50k cash down-payment. I'll keep saving into next year and see what my options are. My parents just retired and it's why I had a soft goal of September. They're not selling the house yet and I wanted to be ready for when the time was right for them. Overall very lucky and it's pleasant living with them. I just feel the need to grow up vs the financial advantage, it's the next stage for me.
Insert the "I'm in this image and I don't like it" meme. Because this definitely hit a little too close to home. Back in 2019, I moved up to the Bay area on a $70k salary for a contract (not quite Bay Area, but more inland, closer to Pleasanton). I somehow managed to find an apartment for just shy of $2100 a month. Then a year later, the company I was contracting for hired me full time, which got me to that "magical" $100k salary.... Only to find out that A) COVID hit and B) my rent was going up another $250-$300. Really made me realize that $100k really doesn't go far, at least in the Bay Area. Now I'm back in SD thanks to the work remote culture and making slightly more, but I still don't feel that "rich". Like you, I was wanting to get a new car.... but with the cost of cars and increasing interest rates, just not a good financial decision for me at the moment.
In Utah even modest starter homes are north of 400k. By the time you factor in mortgage, utilities, taxes, food, car and car insurance, etc you have to make north of 100k just to even skate by.
100k was always that aspirational number I wanted to hit. I am 34 making 150k in Portland OR and feel like I have extra money but definitely not rich. Some of my family feels that I am though.
My household income pre taxes is $130k a year. I live in Dallas and I still have a roommate. It’s me, my wife and my roommate and my two daughters and we still struggle. Child cost and having a chronic illness eat up $1300 dollars a month alone. Our main car payment at $372 dollars a month, and insurance is $246 a month for full coverage on both cars. My car is a $800 dollar 18 year old car I bought from a friend. Our food budget can really vary depending what we need but a low food budget each week is $250 and if I have my oldest kid it can easily go up to $400 a week. Gas for both cars is about $300-$400 a month. More if we travel. Phones for all 4 of us, plus my mother in law is $300. Some of this is offset by repayment from my MIL. Rent is $1,980. Electric can be $200-$500 a month depending on what time of the year. $500 is summer time prices. We have called and checked everywhere and you can’t find better prices because of how Texas does their power grid. Our roommate pays $1,100 a month, and that is all bills paid. Our animals take about $30 dollars a week. Healthcare for the kids is pretty cheap since both mine and my wife’s instances are good. But it’s usually about $100 a month. Miscellaneous expenses like subscriptions and stuff about $100 a month for everything. Since we stay at the house most of the time, we splurge here. And it just keeps adding up and up and up. We are definitely not living the dream life I thought we would whenever I think about what $100K used to mean. It’s definitely not mismanagement of our money. We budget, we go without and we only reward ourselves once in a while. We still struggle. It’s extremely expensive to be alive. And to run a household
Life gets very lonely as you get older (JBP). Think carefully before you make this decision. Friends won’t always be there, they move on or are busy with their own lives.
@@alfaalex101 what's really lonely is when you're in the nursing home and your kids never visit you and ignore you. I see this a lot as I work in nursing homes
When did this kid=poverty mindset become such a thing. I’m a single mom with 1 kid and do fine. It’s when you start having too many kids you get in trouble. Nothing wrong with not being a parent but everyone with a child or two isn’t broke and miserable so let’s not paint that stereotype either. I find the cheat code to be..not overspending and keeping your credit score high
Memphis only seems to have a "low cost" of living when the cost isn't paired with the low median income for people who actually live in that city. Living in Memphis and making 100k is highly unlikely.
Gas prize in the Netherlands: $ 8,30 per gallon; 17% is sales tax, 40% excise duty (so also tax). And keep in mind that we also need to pay road tax, based on the weight of the car and the CO2 emissions, Futhermore we also have a special tax based on the CO2 emssions when you buy a car new of the dealer; that's why a for example a BMW M5 new of the dealer costs way more than in Germany or Belgium. This is kinda the reason why you don't really see a lot of high performance cars here, and if you do most of the time they are on the balance sheet of a company..
100K is poor in some areas, but in some other areas it should be ok. My profession is sort of above this range (usually higher than 100K with some experiences), so lots of people I know make quite a bit more than 100K, but what I see is that they try to pursue better lifestyles that are just slightly outside of reach (like sending their kids to private schools, buying super big houses), because they are in that middle class where it feels like it's possible to get to the next class, but it stretches themselves thin...
We bought the big house and live in an expensive area. We sent our kids to private school and a lot of sports. My daughter received several basketball offers from colleges, but turned them all down. She took a STEM scholarship that covers four years of tuition and pays her $1,500 per month in stipends. They also offered to cover her PHD if she decides to go that route. She has straight A’s and is on track to graduate a year early. We lived way below our means and saved as much as possible prioritizing retirement and funding our children’s education. I used to work 65 hours per week trying to take as much overtime as I could. I did not sleep much and attended all the school events and field trips. I went to all of my kids sporting events and practices. It gets very expensive and it is hard not to feel as though you missed out on things when people on Facebook and tiktok post pictures of lavish lifestyles. I think social media is responsible for people feeling depressed and causes people to spend more on their lifestyles. Stay focused and live below your means.
@@OShackHennessywitch honestly nothing is wrong with that. We should be upset at inflation and our incompetent government. Nothing is wrong with these people after all generation before us enjoyed low prices and their money stretch very far
@@twintersify as someone with multiple graduate degrees yet has a career in the non-profit arena, I'd feel filthy rich with 100k a year! The investment opportunities for my future would be amazing.
I live in KCMO, in an apartment after selling my home during the pandemic. I chose to retire early at 48 in 2021. I'm living comfortably on under $30k in annual expenses. My car is paid off and in good shape, so I intend to hold onto it for quite a while. I'm still able to take vacations (went to LA and Vegas last year for two weeks) and make discretionary purchases (bought a nice gaming PC and an e-bike so far this year). Granted I'm single with no dependents, but my annual non-discretionary expenses (rent, utilities, food, fuel, etc...) are a hair under $20k, and this is *after* inflationary jumps in necessities like food (though I argue that this more due to industry price gouging than inflation). I even have a separate bankroll for playing poker (play responsibly, people).
@@lucaspm98 Where do you live? The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the US is only about $1300 a month or under $16k a year. A studio would be considerably less, unless by "studio" you mean a loft with over 1000 square feet of space. I live in a two-bedroom two-bath for under $12k a year, and my rent includes gas and water/sewer/trash.
UW is a fantastic deal if you get in state tuition. I graduated in 2019 and my tuition actually went down from my first year to 4th from 13k to 12k. GO DAWGS! This is why people should go to in state public schools more!
All depends on what career you have in mind + where you want to go after graduation. I went to a school in the east coast my first year because my mom really wanted to. After a while, I missed home and got depressed with personal issues. Not like I had any grand plan in the East coast anyway. Came back to my state and graduated there while living with my mom with paying about 8k to 10k a year as opposed to 30k a year. But I respect those who actually have a solid career goal in mind when they enter in the college and work in industries they want to work. Also, UW is among top state schools with higher standards and great academic program than mine, so you really are blessed to have been raised in Washington. All depends on everyone's goal I guess
After paying the mortgage and my property tax, $100k does not go as far as it once did. Especially since the Feds slapped the $10k cap on the SALT deduction, itemizing deductions is a waste of time and I pay even more tax.
How does that income from 1980 compare in today's high price environment? My parents managed to get a house for 80k. I'll be lucky to get half as much at 300k in a worse area.
It is crazy how different standards and costs of living are in different parts of the world. In my hometown for some folks 100k USD is an unbelievable amount of money, it is a sum of what a person that has a job with a low qualification labor can earn in 30 years, which is basically the whole life career
I dont believe most the Texas locations apply around the Houston of DFW area. Things they dont mention to you is the extremely high 3%+ property tax in many major Texas cities and the toll roads for larger cities that can easily run you up an additional couple thousand per year in most cases. Me and the wife recently sold our first home due to our property taxes being almost $9k and we recently checked and this year it exceeded $10k on a home we paid $285k. We're now back in Phoenix. Home prices are slightly higher overall but do have a lower starting point due to the variety and the taxes in may areas are under 1%. Its also beautiful not spending $10+ in tolls every time you go out.
@@economicdevelopmentplannin8715 ASAP in most cases is still 20+ years. When you do the math on the tax of 10k+/yr, even if we sold the house after 30 years it's not even a profit. You would just be getting back the home price plus some of the taxes lol
If you're making 100k a year, I make between 80 to 90k, and you're living paycheck to paycheck then you just don't know how to manage your money. I'm 48, my house is paid off, my car is paid off, I have zero debt and I have well over 100k in the bank and I live in New Jersey. The problem is that everyone has to buy the most expensive phone they can get and they buy a 60,000 dollar vehicle and then they're crying that they can't save money.
Really. 40k and still saving 30%+. People whine about "live within your means" thinking it's about living in poverty when in reality it's just about not going into crippling debt.
bullshit. you bought your house how long ago? have you SEEN real estate prices today? you can barely even get a plot of land for under 300k in most decent cities / suburbs.
@@Jarod3926 maybe check rent/real estate prices in places that arent in the south or bible belt and consider why people arent too happy with their salaries.
I agree. Most people just make more and spend more. I've consistently been saving 50-80% of my income from 90k-135k salary over the last 6 years. My portfolio has grown over 2x. I lived like I was broke for the first 2 years to get my initial nest egg rolling. But now I have a decent 300k home. Eat out when I want and drive a paid off Corvette. Even then, I still save 40-50% of my income. I feel very rich. But it's all perspective. My parents grew up in wood huts in a 3rd world country.
You're 48. You bought your paid off home back when it was affordable. You probably bought your car before those prices shot up, too. And your college education was far cheaper. Darn Gen Xer with your good fortune not doing the math of TODAY. The numbers don't work the same anymore. You got lucky. Be content with your good luck. No need to belittle the hardships of those dealing with the CURRENT prices of everything you already own that skyrocketed in price in the last few years.
100k is still an achievement, remember that things are more expensive *for everyone.* but as your environment gets more expensive you may feel pressure to earn more. I’m in that boat currently and using it as motivation to improve my skills and pursue a new job closer to that 130k mark. That being said, in my area 100k is still plenty. Lots of income per month to dump into savings after living expenses depending on your debts. If 100k isn’t cutting it in your area, use it as leverage to negotiate higher pay in a lower COL area. Just have the skills and experience to back it up. Not saying it’s easy but complacency is a growth-killer
I appreciate this channel being so data driven and descriptive. So many financial channels and content makers are "guru" style, which really turns me off.
Memphis native here (although I live in Eagle, CO now)! It very much depends on what you're looking for in a "city" (Memphis can feel like a small town at times). If you want low cost of living with great housing options, decent food, and nice people, then look no further. But if you're like me and need the outdoors in your life, then Memphis has little to offer. There is a lot Memphis has going for it, but as with anything, there are trade-offs and you have to decide whether those trade-offs fit your lifestyle/wants/needs. With $1600 for rent, you can find a very cool, nice place in Memphis.....BUT, you have to deal with the lawlessness that is Memphis, so there's that too.
OKC is great. I’m 30 years old and bought a house in Norman when I was 25, and I’d say out of everyone I know, people mainly spend about 10-20% of their income on rent, and property values are low enough that young people and working class people can buy a house.
I honestly wouldn't even know what to do with myself if I had a 100k income - it would feel so awkward, uncomfortable, and at odds with the reality I currently live in. My husband and I barely survive on $19k USD in a historically cheap city that has, over the past couple of years, become nearly as expensive as the major city with the highest cost-of-living in our area. And yet, I feel we fair better than many others living in poverty because we keep things very simple (obviously no mortgage or vehicles) and have no debt. (Sidenote: my husband and I are both mature adults with disabilities and have faced various barriers to employment/career building over the decades)
@@babydooll84 As mentioned, they don't have a mortgage, car, or debt. Some people really do make it off of the bare necessities alone. Which is ok, if whoever is doing that is ok with it. People that are paycheck to paycheck making $100k/year simply have higher standards or preferences of living.
Housing and health care are the two biggest changes since before the pandemic. These 2 things alone are responsible for the biggest increase in cost of living. I bought a house towards the end of the pandemic because I realized that market prices weren’t going to come back down (this is when everyone kept saying “just wait for the bubble to pop and buy then”) and interest rates were about to go back up. I make almost exactly $100k and my mortgage eats most of it at $2200 per month (including taxes, escrow etc.). My wife doesn’t work because we have a special needs child and we are rolling pennies for gas almost every month. We live in eastern PA and over 2 hours from Philly.
Im in the 10th cheapest city on that list and make over $100k. I also live 45 min outside of the city which is even cheaper. The Average US $400k new house is about $250k here. Even still with inflation on grocery’s, vehicles, insurance, taxes and healthcare I can easily spend my salary. My housing is only 15% of my income. But everything else is still so high like everywhere else. I think 100k is the new 50k.
Just wanna say that for me, as an individual who just completed some college and am in between careers at the moment, some months I am making only 1k-2k of take home pay which would amount to no more than 30k gross pay per year. It would be a shockingly large amount for me to tack on an extra 70k per year that I could utilize via enjoying life, rent, investments in stocks and businesses. I just see that lots of people are living above their means and what's "success" is defined differently to each person. 100k 100% means to me, that you have MADE it, won the game of life and have gained success.
I look at prices today and am VERY shocked my mom was able to raise 2 kids by herself with no papers for 22 years. It's actually insane now that I think about it because I most likely would have fucked up incredible hard financially at some point
One thing cost of living calculators don’t seem to take into account is the option to have roomates. I live in Boston and here it’s the default expectation that you will have multiple roomates if you don’t want to be broke. I live a 15 minute subway ride from downtown and my rent is only $750 before utilities.
Having roommates is pretty much a guaranteed downgrade. That's an adjustment someone almost always makes to reduce expenses by splitting costs. I don't know anyone who had great time having roommates. I know my colleagues with roommates are always either moving away or having their roommates leave them. I also had roommates before and I always got into conflicts. It's bad to have conflicts at work, but it's even worse to have conflicts after getting home after a day of putting up with the jerks in the office.
@@edthelazyboy yeah that’s a very valid point. I’ve been really fortunate with good roommates throughout my twenties so far. I definitely see the appeal of not having roommates but try to focus on the positive aspects of it. All of my roommates currently I found through Facebook and they’re all interesting people with diverse life experiences so I try to see it as opportunity to be exposed to new things/ideas. Granted this is easier to do in an area like Boston where there are lots of young/motivated/smart individuals who are easy to get along with, I acknowledge that’s not the case in many parts of the country unfortunately..
