We make 250,000/year. I'm not a f***ing billionaire

I make over $200K a year. I live alone, have no kids and no car. I'm definitely not rich or wealthy. I don't have huge sums saved, I don't have a yacht, or a second home, or even a nice watch.

In saying that there has to be a cut off point and if someone wants define it at an arbitrary number I'm fine with it.

In saying that, I'm sick of my taxes going on excess military spending, subsidies to big ag and on pork schemes. I'd rather they go on something that benefits Americans, like public education or free health care.

this here wrote:

I agree with OP.

I agree with everyone else.

Randy Oldman wrote:

I make over $200K a year. I live alone, have no kids and no car. I'm definitely not rich or wealthy. I don't have huge sums saved, I don't have a yacht, or a second home, or even a nice watch.

In saying that there has to be a cut off point and if someone wants define it at an arbitrary number I'm fine with it.

In saying that, I'm sick of my taxes going on excess military spending, subsidies to big ag and on pork schemes. I'd rather they go on something that benefits Americans, like public education or free health care.

WTF? Is this a troll post? 200K a year is at LEAST 120K net a year.

If you are alone, have no dependents, and have no car, you can live very, very well. Are you NYC or something?

A "nice watch" is all in the eye of the beholder. For some people it could be a 50 dollar timex marathon watch. For others it is a Rolex. And for super rich people it might be a 30K diamond studded watch.

I spent a total of less than $20 on food in the past 15 months. Every day I go to Whole Paycheck and liberate $50 to $100 of grub. Likewise, my wardrobe is provided by a well known outdoors store in seattle. At any one time, I could be wearing $2000 shoes to hat. After I use something a few times, I wash it and put it on ebay. That pays for pretty much everything else. I don't have a tax burden, not even sales tax! So I have lots in common with billionaires and soccer moms: I spend most of the day shopping and working out, never work, dress in super nice crud, and eat $25 salads.

+1

I had a conversation recently with a guy who ate out every day and wore designer clothes yet complained about money problems. It made me think of this thread. Hilarious to read even a second time through.

i make about $15K a year. no dependents, no house payment, no car payment, no investments. i'm happy.

in a lot of ways i'm living a very different life than the OP, and i totally agree with what he was saying. most of my friends need to be bringing in at least $150K/househould or they are really struggling.

i make about 1/10 of that, but am single and my net worth is 0. most of them envy my life, but i wouldn't be surprised if that sentiment changes when we're older and my net worth is still 0 and they have a retirement fund.

anyway, yeah, $250K a year really isn't that much money.

i don't make much wrote:

i make about $15K a year. no dependents, no house payment, no car payment, no investments. i'm happy.

in a lot of ways i'm living a very different life than the OP, and i totally agree with what he was saying. most of my friends need to be bringing in at least $150K/househould or they are really struggling.

i make about 1/10 of that, but am single and my net worth is 0. most of them envy my life, but i wouldn't be surprised if that sentiment changes when we're older and my net worth is still 0 and they have a retirement fund.

anyway, yeah, $250K a year really isn't that much money.

Why do you have to say $250/yr really isn't much money?! Do you really have any idea what percentage of individuals in the US make that much? How many people do u personally know that make that much?

"I understand that something needs to be done to reduce the debt in the country, but taxing people like me is NOT the way to do it. Let's start by VASTLY reducing our defense spending and cutting entitlement programs. And taxing billionaires? ok. But I sure as hell am not a billionaire. F*** off Barack Obama."

______________________________________________

You are doing a great thing bringing up your kids as you explained. You guys seem like you might spend too much in general though. Dinner out for a Birthday may cost over $200.00 and new cars verses used has a big effect. How did you furnish the dorms? Did any kids get scholarships? Does your wife spend a bit too much? My X did. Does your wife work? Prom dresses.....$500.00 or $125.00? We had the exact same scenerio except my X and I got divorced when our kids were 5 and 6.5. Well, I ended up a million-aire and she ended up broke, yet we ended up making around the same amount and split the kid's major expenses,

30K High Schools, 55K colleges. I spent $5-600K to raise them.

___

Now, let me say this: Your post sounds like you are a paid political basher and that is a problem these boards do NOT need.

bump

Randy Oldman wrote:

I make over $200K a year. I live alone, have no kids and no car. I'm definitely not rich or wealthy. I don't have huge sums saved, I don't have a yacht, or a second home, or even a nice watch.

In saying that there has to be a cut off point and if someone wants define it at an arbitrary number I'm fine with it.

In saying that, I'm sick of my taxes going on excess military spending, subsidies to big ag and on pork schemes. I'd rather they go on something that benefits Americans, like public education or free health care.

Randy,

I am floored. What do you consider a "huge sum"? I am 44 and have $340,000 saved in 401k and Roth IRAs. I have $66,000 saved in cash right now, just because I don't know what to do with it (at this time).

I have two houses and on both of them I owe about $26,000 (one is a rental). These are not grand houses though they are both worth about $150,000. My car is paid off, but very old and I need a new one.

I feel poor all the time, because I don't make very much. I make $32,240 plus about $6000 in commission. It is not very much for someone my age, but I do feel that I have been able to save up a lot. I worked for 8 years for EDS, where I made slightly more, but started at $32k and ended up at $44k.

How is it that you have not saved up a lot? Are you under 30? Making over $200k should leave you with more than $160k NET and you should be able to sock away $40K a year ... easy?

The markets have been kind to us the last 15 years, not the entire time but if you have been working for 10 years you should be at least able to be around $300,000. And that is just in your retirement fund.

Do you really feel that you could not afford your tax rate raised by 1%? I feel your pain about what the money goes to, but we will never have control over that. Never.

Have you ever looked at something like this:

I don't know what is being (or was being, this thread is a year old) proposed, but if they raised the 33% bracket just 1% (which is your typical Millionaire's tax bracket), for you that would mean:

$336 MORE (1% more from $186,351 to $220,000) PER YEAR.

That is, if your AGI even reaches above $186,351. If you made $220,000 a year and contributed the MAX to your 401k it would be $202,500 GROSS, and your deductions could easily bring that down below $186K.

Would that really be that big a bite that it would change your life?

If they raised the 28% bracket RATE by 1% it would be only $970 a year for someone who makes over $200k. $81 a month.

I wish they would lower spending overall, but maybe you can try to help the GOP get their act together and win the next election?

But I don't really feel the well-off's pain when higher taxes are discussed. It just is not that much money.

I would be willing to pay $970 MORE a year at my puny little income, if I knew it would be going to something that is good for MOST OF US, even if it didn't benefit me. For example, I am like you and I don't have kids, so everything that benefits kids goes nowhere for me, but I pay $7000 in property taxes each year because I know it helps all of us indirectly.

Hmm. Odd post.

$250k a year is not rich. If you think $250k a year is rich you are a fool. $250k a year is living a little more comfortable than most but not rich. Only way you driving around in an expensive car is if you still live in the poor neighborhood. taxes suck for everyone. I only make $90k a year and pay in close to 30% a year state and fed taxes. (which I work on a 1099 so that is why my taxes are so high.) The out cry the lower class and middle class are crying about is the upper 1% not the 250k guys. People that make millions to billions a year and are allowed to follow every loophole and end up paying next to nothing in taxes. POTUS said on live TV that he hasn't paid federal incomes taxes hardly at all in years because he is smart and pays smart people a lot of money to keep his tax liability low every year. Every top company and the top 1% does this and this is the tax issue. I don't want taxes raised on anyone, just close the loopholes that allow billionaires and multi billionaire companies to pay a smaller % than people that make only $250k year. if you don't make 1 million + a year then 33% hurts too much, even at 1 mill 33% sucks donkey balls. But 33% doesn't hurt you at $250k has much has my 30% or so does me at $90k a year. I don't hate on you or want you to pay more, my life choices placed me where I am and yours placed you where you are. I am not jealous of your $250, $250k on a W2 would be nice but honestly I would probably live about the same just with a little bit newer car and a bigger house, I would still spend and save about the same % of my check that I do now. Sorry I don't dream of $250k. I mean if I am going to dream, I dream big. Give me a 5 year 120 million contract to do whatever I want all day( fishing, video games, and f*#*#*#). And all of you $250k folks know when you go by that guys house that makes close to 3 times what you make you think man it must be nice too so STFU with your we smarter and work harder BS. The smartest person I have ever met is poor and the hardest workers I have even seen are in shipyards and on oil platforms and some of them are very intelligent do the best they can with what they have got. Sure you got some folks out there that make $250k+ that came from poor families but I bet most make about what their pops made + cost of living. Sometimes it isn’t smarts, drive, or want, it is just that some don’t ever get the opportunities that others have gotten. And besides we can’t all make the same thing you got to have someone to bag your groceries, someones has to come fix your plumbing, etc…. Just imagine what publix, safeway, walmart would want for a T-Bone if the guy putting it on the self made $250k a year and if there was no one to do those jobs when are you going to find the time from you day of hard work to raise cattle and grow a garden yeah that’s right you need those people don’t you. But hey forget them why should we has a country ensure that all its citizens be cared for enough to eat, healthcare, better education. They should have studied harder and worked harder so I would have to kill/grow my own food and do all the other stuff that people do for me that make way less than I do. All of you people that look down on others and think bad of them because they are poor and don’t feel any want to help them in anyway you can, you people are bastards.If your thought process really goes I make X why should I have to pay anything to help others, you are a turd of a human being. I hope there is some after life and all the times you walked by someone in need it flashes before your eyes and you feel their pain before some supreme being pimp slaps you to hell. Tax me whatever it takes to ensure we all have shelter, food, health, education I will gladly pay not because i think my life will be better than what it is now or that i think the future could be better for my children, but just to know that every american living in this country is warm/cool comfortable going to sleep with a full belly and are being educated to the best of our ability to teach and their ability to learn and receiving the best medical care that can be giving to them.

You need to seriously watch your spending habits if you can't get by on 250K a year.