100k salary elitist club.

[Ryland]

Senior Software Engineer
46
Bachelors in Computer Science
Yes it is very relevant

 

[Dulanic]

100K isn't that much today. It is livable, but nothing extravagant. Especially when you have student loans, day care etc... After all the taxes your lucky to get half of that.

EX: Let's say 100K...
Take away $11K in daycare = 89K
Take away property taxes, IL so very high 10K= 79K
Take away federal income tax. Let's go /w 15% after deductions 15K = 63K
Take away health insurance, 6K and that's /w employer coverage =57K
Take away State Income Tax - 5K = 52K
Then we'll add the 5% (It's actually higher) that goes to 401K now we're down to 47K
So thats BEFORE actual other expenses... Toss in a mortgage, food etc... and watch how quickly it goes away.

I feel 200-250K is the true well off category.

 

[rh71]

100K isn't that much today. It is livable, but nothing extravagant. Especially when you have student loans, day care etc... After all the taxes your lucky to get half of that.

EX: Let's say 100K...
Take away $11K in daycare = 89K
Take away property taxes, IL so very high 10K= 79K
Take away federal income tax. Let's go /w 15% after deductions 15K = 63K
Take away health insurance, 6K and that's /w employer coverage =57K
Take away State Income Tax - 5K = 52K
Then we'll add the 5% (It's actually higher) that goes to 401K now we're down to 47K
So thats BEFORE actual other expenses... Toss in a mortgage, food etc... and watch how quickly it goes away.

I feel 200-250K is the true well off category.

You have to consider that being "well-off" is only meaningful if you spend or need the money (nice cars every few years, 2 houses, boat, vacations, etc.). A household with $30k left over every single year (more for dual income) is still doing fine in the savings department and can also grow that money over time. Some are misers despite making a lot so being well-off means absolutely nothing if there is nothing in return. Even in retirement. They'll likely just pass on the money to their kids.

 

[purbeast0]

You have to consider that being "well-off" is only meaningful if you spend or need the money (nice cars every few years, 2 houses, boat, vacations, etc.). A household with $30k left over every single year (more for dual income) is still doing fine in the savings department and can also grow that money over time. Some are misers despite making a lot so being well-off means absolutely nothing if there is nothing in return. Even in retirement. They'll likely just pass on the money to their kids.

Yeah it just depends what kind of life style you want to live. Me wanting to do stuff and travel and buy toys when I want is why I push myself to make more money.

My brother and sister don't make nearly as much as my wife and I do (combined with our spouses) and there is an annual vacation with my aunts/uncles/cousins that everyone goes on. It's just driving 8 hours to a beach in NC and we all rent big houses to split. That is my brother and sister's only vacation each year. Last year we didn't go with them because we were in Europe for 2 weeks instead.

My wife and I on the other hand go on like 3-4 a year and we fly out of the country or across the country typically. My brother and sister simply don't have the ability to do so and sometimes it sucks that they can't and I feel bad. But hey different strokes. This upcoming year the annual trip isn't happening and I'm trying to get them go to on a 5 day vacation with us (and a group of others) for my birthday in November to Sandals in the Bahamas. I told them how "cheap" it is in the sense the cheapest rooms are $2k for the 5 days for 2 people, then flights are like $700 for 2. To my brother that is not cheap at all, but to my wife and I, that is super cheap for an all inclusive vacation. We typically spend more than that on just spending money when on a week long vacation, so for that to cover room, flight, drink, food, AND excursions for 5 days is a bargain.

 

[rh71]

^ depends if your brother/sister are single and only started working, or have kids too. "A lot of money" is relative but they have to consider their current savings and what needs to be spent on daily living too. To me, under $3k for 5 days all inclusive is a bit much to spend at once. That cost for an entire family of 4 and being able to share memories with their own offspring would lessen the blow though.

I looked up a Turks & Caicos vaca for this year and it was in the $6k range for us. Nope, can't do it even though we have it.

 

[purbeast0]

^ depends if your brother/sister are single and only started working, or have kids too. "A lot of money" is relative but they have to consider their current savings and what needs to be spent on daily living too. To me, under $3k for 5 days all inclusive is a bit much to spend at once. That cost for an entire family of 4 and being able to share memories with their own offspring would lessen the blow though.

I looked up a Turks & Caicos vaca for this year and it was in the $6k range for us. Nope, can't do it even though we have it.

They are married with kids, as are my wife and I. Some vacations we go on with our son some we don't. We're taking him to Aruba with us for a week in 10 days. But yes that is my point that they don't have a lot of extra disposable income after all bills and everyone just has different priorities. My brother and his wife probably make 1/2 of what my wife and I make and they bought a house a couple years ago that they probably shouldn't have, even though they had a lot of equity they put into it. Part of the reason I haven't moved to San Diego is because I don't want to go live somewhere and be house poor, I still want to be able to travel multiple times a year. I could easily find a job out there that would be livable but not in the way I want to be able to live.

I think we spent around $5k - $6k for a week in Turks and Caicos for just my wife and myself back in 2014. It was definitely worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat. $6k for going there with the family would be a complete no brainer for me. Memories are way more important than tangible items. I can't recall a time in my life I've talked to an older person and had them talk about all of the fancy gadgets they had when they were younger, but I remember them talking about all the family time they spent and places they went.

When I go to Sandals I plan to splurge and get a room that is ocean front and comes with a butler. I will gladly pay for location, and the butler is included whether I want it or not lol. I'm not big on all inclusives but this will only be my 2nd time doing it and I'm doing it there since I've heard Sandals is really good.

 

[Brainonska511]

20k/yr, I'm still a grad assistant living in the basement.



Mail-order brides bro.

That's a really crappy stipend. I hope you're in a really low COL area. When I was a PhD student, it worked out to be at least $30k/yr.

 

[rh71]

^ I think we can simplify people's mentality of what expensive is by how much they are willing to give away to some stranger in need. $1, $5, $10, $20 - I think there was a poll on this here at some point.

 

[Fritzo]

This whole thread is so rude Our household income is well over $100K, but why would you bring that up to anyone?

 

[brandonbull]

I'm in the Tampa FL area and I'm a little north of $100k for database/data architecture work. We have it pretty comfortable with dual incomes and a low COL. I couldn't imagine trying to live on the same $$ in Cali or NY.

 

[louis redfoot]

This whole thread is so rude Our household income is well over $100K, but why would you bring that up to anyone?

*jumpshot*

 

[Brainonska511]

I'm in the Tampa FL area and I'm a little north of $100k for database/data architecture work. We have it pretty comfortable with dual incomes and a low COL. I couldn't imagine trying to live on the same $$ in Cali or NY.

Plenty of people make do, considering the median household income in NYC is ~$50k/year. Housing costs more, but when you live in NYC, you don't need a car, so you lose that potentially large monthly expense. And as far as housing goes, there are plenty of neighborhoods that are still affordable and not too bad of a commute into the Manhattan. Property taxes in NYC are also much lower than the surrounding counties, so you gain a little break there as well if you buy.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I make an OK living, but it's far from lifestyles of rich and famous.
Mortgage, taxes, and maintenance on a small house as well as maintenance on a couple of cars, and then saving a bit for retirement, and there really isn't that much left over beyond day to day costs of living ...

 

[deadlyapp]

Yay I can post in this thread now! Just got a salary bump to $100,000.15 / year + bonus

28 years old
Work for equipment manufacturer - primarily oil & gas
Engineering degree
Won't post job title.

 

[Fritzo]

Yay I can post in this thread now! Just got a salary bump to $100,000.15 / year + bonus

28 years old
Work for equipment manufacturer - primarily oil & gas
Engineering degree
Won't post job title.

Ewwwwww.....*snort*.....new money....

 

[ultimatebob]

More wealth than you can imagine, lead software developer, Seattle area in WA.

Oh yeah... software developer for Microsoft or Amazon? That's mad bank. You're probably giving most of it to your landlord or mortgage broker, though.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

You people need to not be single when mentioning HCOL areas. A lot of people have the mentality that job A needs to pay at least $150k because that's how much you need there. Umm... dual income! Nobody is expected to live in a HCOL area by themselves so don't talk like it should be the case.

Some of us have a significant other that can't work, at least to a reasonable extent. I'm thankfully in a relatively lowCOL now and am being paid well (enough), but we're certainly not at $100k. Prior to taking this job, I was at $65k in the Savannah, GA area and most things were being paid with minimum payments. I turned down a *lot* of offers in the DC area at 80-90k because i'd lose money monthly. Worked it out to me needing I think $120k for the same standard of living, which wasn't very high to begin with.

 

[radhak]

I had my performance review last week where I got my bonus for last year and also did my taxes last night so I have latest numbers now. My gross is 147k (including bonus and company contribution to my 401k). Wife's gross is 88k. ( She's a software quality analyst while I'm a data scientist with system architecture background). Our taxable on the 1040 was a hair short of 200k. Our taxes for the year come to around $33,500, of which I'll have to pay $6500 by April.

Wife banks all of her take-home, because she gets jittery when spending her money, likes to see it fatten in her account while I don't care much about paying the bills. I have tried to persuade her to invest in stocks a bit more than her retirement savings, but she's paranoid about that (we lost a bundle in the market during the 2000-2001 time). She says she's saving for our retirement, but I don't see much hope there without some real investment.

We have two teenagers getting ready for college, but the older one has gotten herself a full ride for 4-year to state-univ, so that's some money saved. The younger one is the polar opposite and might barely make it to community college, which is a different sort of savings...

I've been trying to take as many vacations as a family as possible each year. Last year was Arizona, then the Caribbeans, then New Orleans. This year India, then probably Machu Pichu (Peru). Leaves me with no savings, but I plan to work till I die, so I don't worry. Live in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, so not too expensive.

 

[Ns1]

damn you dual income families, damn you to hell.

 

[purbeast0]

Machu Pichu is on my bucket list. I want to go there when my son, and when we have another child, is old enough to hike it with us. That place looks mesmerizing.

 

[ponyo]

damn you dual income families, damn you to hell.

I'm happy my wife doesn't work. I wouldn't stop her if she wants to work but I've never asked her to work.

 

[TwiceOver]

Totally dependent on area.

100K isn't that much today. It is livable, but nothing extravagant. Especially when you have student loans, day care etc... After all the taxes your lucky to get half of that.

EX: Let's say 100K...
Take away $11K in daycare = 89K
Take away property taxes, IL so very high 10K= 79K
Take away federal income tax. Let's go /w 15% after deductions 15K = 63K
Take away health insurance, 6K and that's /w employer coverage =57K
Take away State Income Tax - 5K = 52K
Then we'll add the 5% (It's actually higher) that goes to 401K now we're down to 47K
So thats BEFORE actual other expenses... Toss in a mortgage, food etc... and watch how quickly it goes away.

I feel 200-250K is the true well off category.

Where do you live so I make sure not to ever live there. $200/wk for daycare? $800/mo for property taxes? I assume that means you have a million dollar house on that property?

Small town living isn't for every one, but shit I'd take it over that BS.

 

[radhak]

damn you dual income families, damn you to hell.

At a point in the past I thought she hated her job, had some health issues, and would love to spend time with the kids when they got back from school, so I put all my persuasive powers to work and made her quit, because we could easily manage on one salary. Within weeks she was complaining of this and that, and started complaining that I had 'forced' her to stay home and she was feeling all worthless and what was the point of her parents pushing her to an engineering degree if she had to slave for her man, and what not. I fielded that for a year or two, then pushed her to get a job again, and then stayed out of her way. Now she complains almost daily that she hates to go to work (though she likes her job) and would love to give up and stay home. One fine day I reminded her of all that past, and told her this time she had to make that decision herself, as I will not say anything, not even hint on what I thought she should do. It continues, but at least she knows now. Women !

FWIW, I'd have loved to have her at home so I could relax a bit with the household work (I work from home). But can't help it.

 

[Exterous]

damn you dual income families, damn you to hell.

What was that? I can't hear you over the sound of all the $ we are making. No kids either so I'm not sure what we're going to do with it all. Bonfire I guess

 

[Dulanic]

Totally dependent on area.


Where do you live so I make sure not to ever live there. $200/wk for daycare? $800/mo for property taxes? I assume that means you have a million dollar house on that property?

Small town living isn't for every one, but shit I'd take it over that BS.

IL.... my house isn't even 400k. Property taxes are insane. Want to leave trust me.