$100,000 is a lot of money, top 7% in USA

So live where other people make 100K instead of trying to live where people make 200K.

Further, why don't more people just run and bike to work? It would save so much money.

Average is $50,000. You should be able to get by just fine with that amount. If people are struggling with pay that is twice as much then they are living waaaay above their means and likely trying to live a luxury lifestyle to which they don't need.

crazyb wrote:

Hardloper wrote:

So 100k sounds like a lot compared to most of the USA but most of those jobs are in places where 100k gets you a small apartment and a bus commute.

LOL on the bus. I've never heard of any $100K workers riding the bus unless the bus was privately owned by their employer.

Where do you live? Lots of people in downtown Seattle take the bus since owning and parking a car is slow and prohibitively expensive.

Christopher Columbus wrote:

Luck is an element though. As a writer I'm trying to get a book published but that industry is all luck and connections.

So you are mostly right in some instances, but not all.

You are probably just a sh1tty writer. 80% of people have tried or plan to try to write a book.

Hardloper wrote:

crazyb wrote:

LOL on the bus. I've never heard of any $100K workers riding the bus unless the bus was privately owned by their employer.

Where do you live? Lots of people in downtown Seattle take the bus since owning and parking a car is slow and prohibitively expensive.

Boston. Everyone rides the T, but the bus is for people who urinate in their pants.

riccc wrote:

I know everyone here making $150,000 is somehow scraping by and thinks $100K is nothing but it's top 7% and unless you are a financial idiot you should have no problem getting by on that salary. $200K puts you in the top 2%.

Not sure this is accurate. In 2013 the top 10% was about $110k. So $100k putting you in the top 7% doesn't add up. Nethertheless, you are right. Anywhere you live $100k is more than enough. Even with a $2,500 rent payment you still more money than you know what to do with.

crazyb wrote:

Hardloper wrote:

Where do you live? Lots of people in downtown Seattle take the bus since owning and parking a car is slow and prohibitively expensive.

Boston. Everyone rides the T, but the bus is for people who urinate in their pants.

I meant public transportation in general which in some cities is only the bus.

sbeefyk2 wrote:

Not sure this is accurate. In 2013 the top 10% was about $110k. So $100k putting you in the top 7% doesn't add up. Nethertheless, you are right. Anywhere you live $100k is more than enough. Even with a $2,500 rent payment you still more money than you know what to do with.

I think you may have been looking at household income and not individual income. The WSJ puts 7% as $102K and the US office of Social Security lists $100K as 7.05%. So I think the OP was pretty accurate.

$100k/person/year is a ton of money. My wife and I combined make $130k and live just fine with two kids. Sure, things are tight with the two of them in daycare ($1500 for the both of them, which is actually a low price compared to many states). However, we are 100% comfortable with our lifestyle.

People typically marry someone who is at their level of financial worth. So if a person makes $100k/year, they are probably married to someone who is or can make $75k-$125k/year. Even if they marry someone who is a teacher, they're still pushing $150k/year on a combined income.

Median household income in the US is $56k/year.

TheNoBeardRunner wrote:

$100k/person/year is a ton of money. My wife and I combined make $130k and live just fine with two kids. Sure, things are tight with the two of them in daycare ($1500 for the both of them, which is actually a low price compared to many states). However, we are 100% comfortable with our lifestyle.

Things should not be tight unless you are dumb. Maybe you are dumb and live in an area where most people make a lot more than you. Maybe you are dumb because you bought too much house. Maybe your a dumb because you bought a new car. Maybe you are dumb because you went into too much dept for school. Bottom line, you are dumb.

mmoooo wrote:

Demographics wrote:

Make 100k in Mississippi and youre crazy rich....make that in a ski town in colorado or cali coast or nyc and you are poor

Then don't live in NYC, idiot.

Then your salary will be less...you dont understand you nothing

People that are "scraping by" on $100k assume a lot of luxuries are necessities. They usually list a bunch of optional expenses and say, "See, I can barely afford to eat." Yes, there are places where $100k doesn't go very far because housing is expensive. But if you move to the Bay Area or NYC for a job that only pays $100k, you're not making a good decision.

That being said, the middle class is getting screwed in this country. The recent tax cuts were highly weighted towards high-earners, not the middle class. If you're making $50k, saving any significant money for emergencies or retirement is very difficult to do.

crazyb wrote:

Boston. Everyone rides the T, but the bus is for people who urinate in their pants.

I once thought taking the bus in Cleveland, OH was a good idea.

A elderly intoxicated man pooped his pants on the bus. A lady became very upset and repeatedly started shouted "oh hell no you didn't shlt your pants." The situation became very bad very quickly before the bus driver realized what was happening. Poop ended up all over the bus.

I later found out the city gives out public transit passes to homeless as a way to offer them warmth in the winter and access ti AC in the summer. The homeless often cruise around the Cleveland all day and night on the trains and buses.

crazyb wrote:

Boston. Everyone rides the T, but the bus is for people who urinate in their pants.

I think this is true for all of the Northeast. You definitely will not see any $100Kers on the bus anywhere in New England.

$100k is just fine if you are single, even in expensive cities like Boston and Seattle. $100k is not that much if you have a house and a family. After taxes, health insurance, and 401k, you may have about $50-60k left over. It takes about $2k a month to pay a mortgage, ins. and taxes on a very middle class home in most cities. In more expensive cities, $2k a month won't get you anywhere within 30 miles of the city unless you want to live in cracktown. Then you've got about $500 a month for transportation, at least $500 for cell phones, internet, streaming services, phone, water, gas and electric. That leaves you with about $1000-$1500 for food, entertainment, clothes, pets, emergencies, etc. That is very tight.

purchase power wrote:

Average is $50,000. You should be able to get by just fine with that amount. If people are struggling with pay that is twice as much then they are living waaaay above their means and likely trying to live a luxury lifestyle to which they don't need.

Indeed. They are insecure posers

purchase power wrote:

Average is $50,000. You should be able to get by just fine with that amount. If people are struggling with pay that is twice as much then they are living waaaay above their means and likely trying to live a luxury lifestyle to which they don't need.

(Guy who lives in Moline, IL)

purchase power wrote:

Average is $50,000. You should be able to get by just fine with that amount. If people are struggling with pay that is twice as much then they are living waaaay above their means and likely trying to live a luxury lifestyle to which they don't need.

Median household income is $56,000.

Median personal income is only $31,000.

Alan

Runningart2004 wrote:

purchase power wrote:

Average is $50,000. You should be able to get by just fine with that amount. If people are struggling with pay that is twice as much then they are living waaaay above their means and likely trying to live a luxury lifestyle to which they don't need.

Median household income is $56,000.

Median personal income is only $31,000.

Alan

Median for full-time employees is about 50k.