Most money you've made in a year

$54.5k as a BioMedical Technician, $1200 as a DJ, $1800 as a guitarist and $5000 as a screenwriter in 2015. Of course I don't feel wealthy, I feel lower middle class.

5k selling underwear casually whilst at college.

Felt like a prince.

That guy.. wrote:

I just look at my stress level and think about what most people with far less must be going through.

I can imagine that financial difficulty is very stress inducing, but I am very financially secure and am nonetheless in a state of constant stress about work/markets/etc. My point is twofold: being financially secure doesn't necessarily make you less stressed (temperament is probably the biggest factor here), and the related, which is that I'm not actually any happier than when I had a normal job/income (I was an engineer before going back to grad school for business).

No Way wrote:

unclesams property wrote:

Wife and I combined for 150 with similar salaries.

We figured that between income, property, and sales taxes one of us works the entire year to pay taxes.

And they wonder why we are so discouraged.

You pay 75k a year in taxes? You know that you can deduct the property tax for your home, right?

Really! I grossed $151K and paid $24K in income - fed only, no state - so had $5K or whatever for state, that brings it to $29K, lets round to $30K. Property taxes are low here - $2K, but maybe this guy is at $10K, so now $40K total, and that's probably on the high side. No way he then paid $35K in sales tax.

bounced between 30-60k/yr most of my life, then went back to school two years ago and have been living on student loans & academic scholarships (which are amazing at my institution). My pops just took on a large project in my old hometown and needed shoulder surgery at the same time...so I managed to take my sr coursework (which is mostly distance ed) out of sequence and am his project manager. Being paid right around 70k/yr, for about a 8mo job, but he's paying me cash, so figure that one out...maybe $90K/yr if it was taxed? only for 2/3 of a year, but still good money for a student.

NYC residents have one of the highest tax burdens in the nation and one of you would only have to work 2/3rds of a year to make the 50Gs in taxes. Your Pay Check Results http://www.adp.com/tools-and-resources/calculators-and-tools/payroll-calculators/salary-paycheck-calculator.aspxAnnual Gross Pay $150,000.00 Federal Withholding $24,880.00 Social Security $7,347.00 Medicare $2,175.00 New York $9,417.67 NY SDI $31.20 City Tax $5,481.00 Net Pay $100,668.13 Calculation Based On Tax Year 2016 Gross Pay $150,000.00 Pay Frequency Annual Federal Filing Status Married # of Federal Exemptions 2 Additional Federal W/H $0.00 State New York Filing status Married Allowances 0 Additional State W/H $0.00 NY SDI Yes NYC Allowances 0 City Tax NYC Resident

unclesams property wrote:

Wife and I combined for 150 with similar salaries.

We figured that between income, property, and sales taxes one of us works the entire year to pay taxes.

And they wonder why we are so discouraged.

As an options trader, my best year was when I made $1.6 million, BUT in three of the past twelve years I have lost money. This is a high risk, high return job (at least the way I approach it) and in order to make $1.6 million in a year, you have to be able to live with the possibility of a negative paycheck. In 12 years of doing this I have never lost money in consecutive years, but if I did, I'm not sure the reward would be worth the risk.

$188,951 last year

Average probably around $150k the 4 years prior.

32 years old, Chicago, advertising sales.

$545k while working 80-90 hours per week as a 29 year old in banking.

Now make $300-315k working 30-40 hours as a 40 year old, also in banking.

Switched employers and took on a less demanding position.

Together with my wife made $590 last year.

And feel lucky but not wealthy. Will need to work another 15-20 years given college for kids and housing.

about ~$35,000 as a freelance writer, I don't worry about money. very minimalist lifestyle, no cable just internet, small apartment, single, 29, most my friends make a lot more money and seem miserable

wow I smell some serious bullshit in this thread. anyways...

I worked as a lawyer in big law for a couple of years and hated my life. I made $200k and most of that went to student loans. The hours were long and most people were absolute pricks.

I went back to engineering and make half that. I love it. I get to work on aircraft design everyday and my work actually helps protect the USA and its allies. my coworkers are humble and respectful. My hours are normal and I get to see my wife and kids every night. I feel extremely wealthy, and have more than I deserve.

I should mention that I also found out my friend has 2 years to live and is only 30. Puts things in perspective.

Dude, you are taking way too much risk. The whole idea behind options is "defined risk" trades. I think you need to redefine your risk and then if you can make less money consistently, but with considerably less risk, why not open up an options-oriented hedge fund?

I made $100,013 this year. Actual salary is a bit higher, but my raise didn't go into effect until April. Wife made about $85k, so our household is $185k and we live in central Ohio. We have nice enough things.

I'm a software developer. She is a specialized nurse.

about $15,000 just last year :)

My best year was last year at about $2M and before that I had a few $500k to 1m years. And yes I feel very well off in the grand scheme of things but not truly wealthy in the sense of being independent. Keep in mind I pay 50% to the tax man (it is generally untrue that hedge fund people don't pay very high taxes).

I'm 31 now and grew up in a normal middle class upbringing. I can relate to the feeling of not being happier than I was during my broke college days. There is a little bit more security and having more money in the bank helps buffer the emotional swings and stress (as does running) but wouldn't call it happiness.

rojo wrote:

I like this thread but wanted everyone to know I've edited the original post. Please add what your job was when you made the money.

I like the idea of not how much you made in a year, that really means nothing outside of conversation.We seem to have people talking wealth here.

The truth is how much do you have in the bank and investments. Pull out the home you live in as an asset.

28k last year (1/2 student 1/2 working). ~60 this year. At least 2 more years but likely 5 years in the 60-70 before the big jump to 300-500k. Works out to be 15-17 dollars per hour for now.

fortunate to not have loans, feel pretty secure at the moment with 10k in the bank after 8 months though certainly don't feel rich.