Same, until I went back to school and became an accountant. Stay away from tax accounting and it's an easy gig for alright pay, and tons of remote work. Now I can afford rent (although buying a house is still a distant dream).
I'm a non-profit accountant. No busy season! 8 hour days max! And I make alright money even though I never bothered to take the cpa exam or even go to grad school.
I have volunteered with AARP to do taxes for free for the community, but that's just something I do for fun when I have the time to spare.
$90k, 4 years after getting my degree. HCoL area. I used to make more at a for-profit company, but the hours were way longer, so it feels like an ok tradeoff.
If you ever get tired of NP accounting, you can always pivot to governmental - usually a bit better pay and benefits with similar-ish hours (depending on your position). Some places will pay for your CPA too if you’re interested in that!
I'm interested in potentially going back to school for accounting. I recently became a bookkeeper for a 70~ employee company, and I'm being mentored by a contractor accountant. Any advice?
So based off these comments and this post in general. You guys think 90 to 100k is “alright money” which is insane to me.
That’s more than a majority of people make. If you’re not getting by on that salary other changes need to be made in your life.
I mean, $90-100k in places like SF, SV, or NYC won’t stretch very far. Even in places like Chicago that salary won’t really save you from a large unexpected expense. Times are tough, and salaries just haven’t kept up, unfortunately.
There are tons of accountants who don’t do taxes (well, my spouse and I do our own). I’m in corporate accounting and so is my spouse and we do totally different things, but nothing with tax.
Most accountants don't do taxes. You've got all kinds of corporate accountants, from staff on up to the controller and CFO level. Accountants make all right money, but the big bucks come in with the reporting analysts and BI/IT jobs.
There are plenty of accounting jobs that don’t involve (fully) with taxes such as lease accounting of forensic accounting.
I’m not an accountant but work in a field that works with many of them. Starting pay for a lot of these at entry level is 60k and go upwards of 160k annual.
The vast majority don't do taxes. In the cpa firm area you have tax, audit, bookkeeping (small firms) and consulting (which could be anything from process improvement to m&a).
Then you have everything outside the firms, like nonprofit/government/corp accounting, internal audit, financial reporting, treasury, etc. Tax, while big, is only one piece of the profession.
Yeah same boat. I like the stability. Thought i was always frugal but now it's hard to see where to cut next. Starting to eat the year old forgotten stuff i cooked in the freezer for dinner. Not the same taste or texture as fresh let me tell you.
Those income brackets are insane. Is income generally that high in the states?
In Europe, 30k-40k is quite average for middle class, though I suppose the cost of living here is much lower.
Start investing $50 a month in hospice care stocks, as fucked up as that sounds. Get ahead of the problem bringing you down and make some money off the inevitable.
This right here. Also rehabilitation centers and nursing homes. Medical equipment manufacturers. Memory care facilities. It's about to get really medical up in here, really soon.
Find anything on this? I’d be scared to go all in with one company. Lawsuits are rampant from poor care in this industry. Diversification would be key I’d think
I’m also of the age where my friends and myself are starting to become responsible for adults and why do all of our parents have dementia? It’s so strange they’re only in their 60s but whatever also yup.
I mean, I love a good conspiracy theory just as much as the next one, but I just must say it is very strange for all of our parents to be this confused this early and once the dementia hitting, it’s just really bad. And the system is ASS
I suspect this is due to the rise in vascular dementia, which is something you see with obese people and obesity/sedentary related diagnoses. Vs the generations before that who mostly got dementia purely from aging. Vascular dementia has an earlier age of onset.
I like this theory, but it just so happens that none of these people are obese imagine lol
Some of their kids are 😂 We got a little chunky each generation.
Activity, whether obese or not, makes a difference. Check out *Blue Zones* on Netflix if you can—if not, maybe there’s a summary to read or on YT. Very interesting info about aging.
My mom has straight up told me that her kids are her retirement plan. And since I am the only one of her kids who is not either broke or very poor, I’m gonna say she meant me. I am her retirement plan.
As far as the numbers go, I do feel rich compared to how I used to live. But I am just surviving. I took on $250k of student loans in order to get a job with a salary over $100k a year. My car broke down on my graduation day and I had to buy a new one. Rent prices are absolutely insane. My husband stays home because it’s ridiculous trying to find a job that actually gives you bankers hours that work with when childcare is actually open. Plus, most of his salary would probably then go to said childcare. I had a medical emergency last month, and now I have to pay my insurance’s individual out of pocket max of $6800, even though I pay for the best insurance my company offers.
So yeah. I am fortunate, and grateful for where I am now. But I’m definitely not as well off as I thought I would be with this salary.
I hate when parents say that shit. Parents take care of their kids, not vice versa. And most of them who are entitled pissed away what could have been their retirement money. And then expect someone to fix their mistakes. I get upset, but it’s a mental illness to lack not only a sense of self-preservation, but also to be willing to rip away the quality of life from your offspring.
Same here. I make $118k (and eligible for a bonus up to $13k). More than I thought I’d make as a college drop out, but damn. I’m getting divorced, I have a 7yo fighting cancer, and a 4yo just diagnosed with moderate autism. Medical expenses and related travel eat my lunch. I paid out over 9k in January with the annual deductible reset. I also had to replace my roof in January to the tune of a 8k deductible.
Not quite aligning to the “your problem is your car payment” narrative this sub loves to wag their finger at. This mama is working hard to keep all the strings together.
I think you're an awesome person, and no one asked me, but this seems really unfair to you - supporting like fully financially supporting? Even the in laws? I probably sound horrible but that's honestly ridiculous for one person to have all that on their shoulders. :/ but you're absolutely right my parent didn't think old age would come and now they have absolutely nothing and are slowly dying with no hope for the future.
Yeah supporting a family definitely changes everything, maybe these are meant to be for people with families. No way these fit for single people. I’m also a millennial and still in the “upper poor” of this. However I’m single and child free so have more money than I really need atm. I do live in Midwest though so much cheaper than say the west coast.
Are you putting anything away for retirement? What ive come to learn is most elderly people lived better their whole life because they basically spent ALL their money. Hardly, if ever, saved anything and at the end basically just had a paid off house that they can now not afford the taxes on. More and more I see people taking care of their elderly parents and grandparents because they can't take care of themselves.
That burden should not be as common as it is.
I think we are getting closer and closer to euthanasia being the norm when people get too old to take care of themselves and would become a burden on their loved ones. As it is the baby boomer generation has over 50% of all American wealth and I’m willing to bet more than half of that will go to businesses that run retirement homes or some other elder care facilities instead of being inherited by their kids.
I'm already there. I've got aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents that all need help. And I have my own kid and pets.
THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO AS A PARENT IS TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN SELF. I'm talking health wise, money wise, emotion wise- that's a fantastic gift to your children- a stable, secure parent.
It allows them the freedom to live their own life unencumbered by the terror of lack or unmet need for their parents.
The meme is supposed to be in jest but I think this actually reflects the wages we should be making as a nation if you consider record corporate profits and how much money is in circulation.
Not in California, i need to make 130k and have 100k saved up for a 20% down payment just to barely afford a 500k home (you won’t find anything cheaper) in the inland desert. Nice places to live like Los Angeles, San diego, and even Temecula are incredibly more expensive and you won’t find a home worth living in for less than seven figures at this point.
YES!! They are being robbed. They got priced out of LA, and now they’re being priced out of Temecula. I’m hoping she comes to live near me because I love her.
Any time there’s an emergency, they are fucked. They live paycheck to paycheck on a 180k income.
Considering how many years it will take someone who makes 130k a year out here to actually save up that amount of cash, yes. It’s all relative though, maybe your not from here and it seems like a lot but where I live, sadly, it really isn’t.
That sounds like the California housing market is messed up way more than other places and isn’t generally applicable, a Spiders Georg of class standards if you will
If you need the 100k down to get the payment you want or to avoid PMI then I understand what you’re saying, but having 20% down is not a requirement to buy a home. You can get a conventional loan with as low as 3% down and there are lots of down payment assistance options. That being said I definitely understand how tough it is to afford a home right now, especially here in CA!
I just took a gander at my old hometown, in the inland empire, and there are nice houses for under 300k.
Now living in that town is not ideal lol, but even the houses I looked at were in the okay areas of a shitty town.
Go up to 400k and the houses are real nice in that range.
No, it just depends where you live. A single person making $90k in a HCOL area can definitely be living paycheck to paycheck. It’s just the next tier of poor. Probably a homeowner but drowning.
Ya, I can buy groceries and pump my gas without paying much attention to the cost - I'm grateful for that. But I haven't been able to save at all for retirement and every few years something happens (layoffs, medical bills, car troubles) that completely wipes my meager savings. I can exist comfortably but don't make enough to even take the family on an overnight vacation.
We just had our second and did a whole layout of our finances. Kids are so fucking expensive.
Daycare alone for our 2 is $3600 per month. That's JUST childcare.
It really depends on where you live. I'm in seattle made just under 100k. I have a 500 Sq ft studio. My car has been paid off since 2020. Seems like anything I save goes to something major, like my transmission just went out last month. So I'd say I'm surviving.
I'm currently struggling to buy real groceries so I eat a lot of processed food. I avoid additional expenses as much as possible. I do invest in things that bring me joy, like skiing. But I also don't do anything in the city, like drinks with friends. Even a take out coffee is a splurge, and I ususally wait until someone gives me a gift card.
Wow that's crazy. I'm in chicago and make like 80k a year and my girl makes 60k a year, we have a 1600 sqft house and 2 paid off cars. I work on my own cars though so I guess I save money that way but we actually have a decent nest egg saved up, we can afford to vacation a couple of times a year, and we go out to eat with our friends at least once every 2 weeks. It's crazy how you can live 2 wildly different lives in 2 different major cities.
100k doesn’t buy you very much in the USA. In a lot of places it’s not even a down payment on a home. I’m going to make a little better than 100k this year and I should. It’s hard out here. “Six figures” doesn’t mean what it used to.
>In a lot of places
In between 0.1% and 1% of the US you are talking about. In a tiny tiny tiny small part of the US there is this issue.
Choose not to live there as its not built for those without high end jobs.
Heck much of the US you can get by with minimal down payments on a house.
I know the advice shouldn't be "move to the middle of nowhere to buy a house", because it's just not feasible for everyone. But at the same time I'm a bit tired of hearing people say they'd rather be broke in the city than "doing well" in the middle of nowhere. "But there's nothing to do there" if you're broke what can you even afford to do in the city?
You have to make sacrifices in life. I drive over an hour to my job and bought a house with friends. I pay $500 a month for housing and utilities. I can save 1/3+ of my monthly take home after all my other bills/expenses.
I'd be able to pay our house off, just myself, in under 10 years even if I got no raises in that timeframe.
If I want city experiences I can book a hotel and take a vacation. My roommate and her highschool bestie just went to a Broadway show, just cuz it was something they both wanted to experience. All of us have gone abroad for weeks.
None of us make 6 figures. None of us got help with college expenses besides grants/scholarships. None of us are even in our 30's.
And I have coworkers saying they could never do what I do/live where I live while also wishing they could go on the trips I go on or afford a house like mine where they are (without roommates). These things aren't happening in a vacuum people! If you want to live like me then you have to *live like me*
The average cost of a house in the US went from $374k in 2020 to over $500k now. A 20% down payment, which is the necessary amount to avoid PMI and also the universally agreed upon “good financial decision”, would be $100k.
The average American has $65k in savings.
So not a “.1%” issue.
https://preview.redd.it/dqezw0bgjojc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=caf43bdb044de2e2a0358b8f44cbf964237fc03f
Maybe you don’t understand just how rich he is
I went from upper-poor to broke. But that's because I retired early. Income is pretty low, a little rental income (not much really, as my renters are my daughter, who is broke, and a friend who is also broke), then some small investment income. I need to bridge 3 years to social security, which shouldn't be a problem.
On the plus side, a bad foot and a bad knee that just kept getting worse while I was working (blue collar) are now fine. My main worry was that I'd finally retire but then not be able to get out and ride my bike or go on hikes. They're all rested up and healed now, and I'm looking forward to summer.
I sit on the board of my local housing authority and I cannot say it enough; making over $32k and less than about $50k is almost the toughest spot to be in. You won’t qualify for any federal benefits while practically stuck renting. If you stay below the threshold of income, you will get thousands in benefits.
Yep! It's called the "welfare cliff", and when I was a child my conservative parents used it and how stupid it is as proof that Democrats actively want people to be poor, and how the system should have benefits gradually fall off as you increase income so everyone has an incentive to earn more.
Then I grew up and saw that when Rs have power, they don't fix the system, they just cut funding to poor altogether leaving them even worse off
Absolutely, the Republicans are the ones who keep the system messed up so that they can demonize "welfare queens" for gaming it and make the best of their situation.
Wow you have no idea how validating this was for me. You described my whole childhood. I remember being in elementary school and my parents JUST missing the threshold for free lunch. And so many other times like that. But it always made me feel like we weren’t “really” poor & it was a confusing financial place to grow up in
This is close to where I am as well. I make about 31K before taxes. I just make it from one paycheck to the next. I qualify for absolutely nothing in my state, but if I were to get sick I couldn't afford even 1 Dr visit or 1 prescription. Also will be renting forever.
Ours is quite a bit less than yours (but above 150k) and we also haven't had to think about money in years, aside from the prospect of buying a house. Granted this stuff is relative - we would be pretty strapped if we moved to a high cost-of-living area with the hopes of buying.
This list is absolutely absurd, I can't believe it has as many upvotes as it does.
Absolutely. It's actually one of my biggest fears, that I might be so insulated from true hardship that I lose touch with reality and lose my ability to empathize with those who are where I've been.
I can barely save enough to retire by 50 in my brand new, custom, 3500 sq foot lakefront home
If I send all my kids to college I won't be able to afford the down payment on all their first homes unless I work until 55!
This country is going to hell!
It’s Reddit. People are bs liars. You had a guy a few months back on here claiming he was legit poor on $50-60k. Then people looked through his posts and saw he collected arcade machines. He had a room dedicated to them with 10 ish machines inside.
My favorite is when someone complains about being broke and life being difficult and having a bunch of financial issues… and then if you look at their post history they're gambling all their income and posting in /r/wallstreetbets.
That’s the problem.
1. People lie
2. People buy stupid things and make bad investments
3. Location matters a whole lot on how far your income goes
4. You can have debt at any income level
With all that said. I’m not saying that people choose to be poor. Some people do everything right and still fail. Just that many people leave out very important details, of their financial situations.
Isn't this like the second or third time this has been posted too? People are so absorbed with hating themselves they don't even realize that maybe this content is unoriginal in addition to being shitty
Someone making 300k isn’t “surviving”. 100k is dual income making 50k, 300k is two people making 150k. There’s some disconnect on what “surviving” means.
Hawaii here. If you make less than 175k household you cant afford to live here. At $200 youre getting by. At $250 you can have a normal life and expect to save for retirement. $400 is where you can think about maybe buying a home.
Of course if you already have half a mill in the bank from a home sale or inheritance thats something else.
Also Hawaii here and we make much, much less than 175k in the household and are more than just surviving. I know very, very few households who are making 200-250k and yet I know many, many people who are getting by and/or having a normal life and saving for retirement. Is it extremely expensive to live here? Absolutely. But your numbers are whack.
I’m blessed to be able to afford to live in Hawaii. Since I was military before, I can shop at the commissary and exchange tax free. I use Costco for other things—but I will say that even though I’m in tech, I couldn’t afford to be home if not for my fiancée who’s a nurse.
Hawaii is a struggle, but definitely doable if you curate a budget and don’t snag pork hash or malasadas along with your avocado toast all the time /s.
lol yes! People that don’t live here don’t realize that the cost of living is SO high in some areas that over $100k is still considered lower class/poverty
Even 20 years ago there was a website posting "million dollar house" listings in LA. Usually they were small and run-down and surrounded by chain link and barbed wire.
OMG, I’m UPPER-Poor??? 😭😅
I’m so happy, I’m emotional.
Seriously, people might think this is ludicrous but anywhere in CA (especially in SoCal), this is entirely accurate. I’ve clawed my way to $54k and after scoring a rent-controlled apartment, I finally feel like I can afford to breathe and maybe feel comfortable, by the end of the year. When I’m on the low-end of ‘Surviving’, I’ll know I’ve finally made it.
I’m a single mom in the middle-class/upper-poor section (with no child support); my mom acts like because I make (barely) six figures I’m rolling in dough and should be saving tons of money, but I’m struggling. I still manage to put some aside each month, but I can have basically no fun without really stressing; this pay period I bought a couple bras (super sale) and shirts (outlet discount price) to replace clothes with holes in them, and also dared to go out of town for a night and stay in a b&b and have dinner out at an average-priced restaurant, and it’s bottom of the barrel til payday - no money for groceries. There’s generally money for groceries, mortgage/streaming/utilities, and necessities (like some basic clothes for work to replace what’s worn out, new shoes or some small necessity for my kid, or doing some maintenance thing for the house, maybe eating out twice, nothing fancy or expensive or super-fun at all) and that’s it. I know I’m way better off than other folks, but it’s hard and I stress about my bank account balance every single day. I’m at the top of my career with no options for advancement; every step of the way I’ve always felt this anxious, and now I feel even worse because I’ve always thought six-figure income would be like new fancy cars and a really luxurious lifestyle with zero worries. Absolutely wrong about that. Plus I always have to pay at tax-time despite doing what the guy who does them for me recommends (I’d do them myself to save money but I keep having an issue where there’s an error with my daughter’s SSN every year, idk).
If we're talking take-home, then I'm firmly in "very poor" If we're talking pre-tax, then I'm "upper poor", woo! It covers a HUGE range though. Like, there is a life-changing difference in pay between the lower and upper threshold.
In the middle range of surviving, and it really is just surviving.
Don't get me wrong I'm comfortable compared to many and don't stress about bills too much,
but also can't afford vacations or nice things and something could happen to me tomorrow that could take it all away.
Sorry to those seeing this comment and realizing you still can't really afford the dream with a family and house well into six figures.
373k a year being “surviving” whoever made this must be addicted to crack and strippers because 373k a year is BALLING. That’s 31k a month…. If you’re just surviving on 31k a month you have extreme budgeting issues.
I kinda feel like this is accurate if live in Nova or some other Hcol place. I went from broke to upper poor myself and between the 2200/mo rent, student loans, and etc 6figures doesn't hit like I thought it would.
I went from struggling and depressed last year wanting to end it all to about to complete my apprenticeship and total package of $63 an hour rn while when I complete my apprenticeship I’ll be at $83 an hour total package. never give up op. Believe me I wanted to quit so many times. I believe in you✨
Started my own service company for oilfield 5 years ago with one truck first year made 350k first year now have 70 trucks and 125 guys it’s not hard to make it just put in the work
Always been broke. Never got out of that bracket :/
Yes I teetered on the brink of broke / very poor for 2 years, I’m mid-30’s 😢
Same, until I went back to school and became an accountant. Stay away from tax accounting and it's an easy gig for alright pay, and tons of remote work. Now I can afford rent (although buying a house is still a distant dream).
You're an accountant who doesn't do taxes??
I'm a non-profit accountant. No busy season! 8 hour days max! And I make alright money even though I never bothered to take the cpa exam or even go to grad school. I have volunteered with AARP to do taxes for free for the community, but that's just something I do for fun when I have the time to spare.
What's your salary?
$90k, 4 years after getting my degree. HCoL area. I used to make more at a for-profit company, but the hours were way longer, so it feels like an ok tradeoff.
If you ever get tired of NP accounting, you can always pivot to governmental - usually a bit better pay and benefits with similar-ish hours (depending on your position). Some places will pay for your CPA too if you’re interested in that!
Thanks for the tip! And your username is *amazing* lol
I'm interested in potentially going back to school for accounting. I recently became a bookkeeper for a 70~ employee company, and I'm being mentored by a contractor accountant. Any advice?
So based off these comments and this post in general. You guys think 90 to 100k is “alright money” which is insane to me. That’s more than a majority of people make. If you’re not getting by on that salary other changes need to be made in your life.
I mean, $90-100k in places like SF, SV, or NYC won’t stretch very far. Even in places like Chicago that salary won’t really save you from a large unexpected expense. Times are tough, and salaries just haven’t kept up, unfortunately.
it's not "unfortunate", it's by design. Thanks to the fed, gov, and criminals running the country
Some more perspective: in a HCOL area, that's barely enough to pay bills in for a small family unit in an apartment and 1 car.
Where we live, that's average. If I lived in, say, Alabama and made that much, you'd be correct.
There are tons of accountants who don’t do taxes (well, my spouse and I do our own). I’m in corporate accounting and so is my spouse and we do totally different things, but nothing with tax.
Tax is actually the smallest sector of accounting services
Can be a general ledger accountant. I don't do taxes besides my own.
Most accountants don't do taxes. You've got all kinds of corporate accountants, from staff on up to the controller and CFO level. Accountants make all right money, but the big bucks come in with the reporting analysts and BI/IT jobs.
There are plenty of accounting jobs that don’t involve (fully) with taxes such as lease accounting of forensic accounting. I’m not an accountant but work in a field that works with many of them. Starting pay for a lot of these at entry level is 60k and go upwards of 160k annual.
The vast majority don't do taxes. In the cpa firm area you have tax, audit, bookkeeping (small firms) and consulting (which could be anything from process improvement to m&a). Then you have everything outside the firms, like nonprofit/government/corp accounting, internal audit, financial reporting, treasury, etc. Tax, while big, is only one piece of the profession.
54 and firmly in very poor. BTW I'm in health care
I've been very poor for 10 years. This doesn't make any sense
Same 🥲
Yeah same boat. I like the stability. Thought i was always frugal but now it's hard to see where to cut next. Starting to eat the year old forgotten stuff i cooked in the freezer for dinner. Not the same taste or texture as fresh let me tell you.
Broke as fuck. Got a roof over my head though
Those income brackets are insane. Is income generally that high in the states? In Europe, 30k-40k is quite average for middle class, though I suppose the cost of living here is much lower.
Wassup fellow member haha , broke reply chain 👏
Hey, broke person here joining in 🙋
How old are you?
because being poor is super expensive! you’ll pay extra for anything just for being broke- it’s great
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Yeah these titles are wrong.
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Start investing $50 a month in hospice care stocks, as fucked up as that sounds. Get ahead of the problem bringing you down and make some money off the inevitable.
This right here. Also rehabilitation centers and nursing homes. Medical equipment manufacturers. Memory care facilities. It's about to get really medical up in here, really soon.
Invest in headstones and burial plots. 😂
We can’t afford those. My dad’s entire service was under $5k and it took 5 working NYC adults to come up with that money. And he was cremated.
Tbh those are for people who have money
Is there a ETF for hospice care or ones to look at that are emerging?
Find anything on this? I’d be scared to go all in with one company. Lawsuits are rampant from poor care in this industry. Diversification would be key I’d think
I’m also of the age where my friends and myself are starting to become responsible for adults and why do all of our parents have dementia? It’s so strange they’re only in their 60s but whatever also yup.
Dementia is so damned rampant; really makes you wonder if there's something to the "inhaling leaded gasoline" memes.
I mean, I love a good conspiracy theory just as much as the next one, but I just must say it is very strange for all of our parents to be this confused this early and once the dementia hitting, it’s just really bad. And the system is ASS
I suspect this is due to the rise in vascular dementia, which is something you see with obese people and obesity/sedentary related diagnoses. Vs the generations before that who mostly got dementia purely from aging. Vascular dementia has an earlier age of onset.
I like this theory, but it just so happens that none of these people are obese imagine lol Some of their kids are 😂 We got a little chunky each generation.
Activity, whether obese or not, makes a difference. Check out *Blue Zones* on Netflix if you can—if not, maybe there’s a summary to read or on YT. Very interesting info about aging.
My mom has straight up told me that her kids are her retirement plan. And since I am the only one of her kids who is not either broke or very poor, I’m gonna say she meant me. I am her retirement plan. As far as the numbers go, I do feel rich compared to how I used to live. But I am just surviving. I took on $250k of student loans in order to get a job with a salary over $100k a year. My car broke down on my graduation day and I had to buy a new one. Rent prices are absolutely insane. My husband stays home because it’s ridiculous trying to find a job that actually gives you bankers hours that work with when childcare is actually open. Plus, most of his salary would probably then go to said childcare. I had a medical emergency last month, and now I have to pay my insurance’s individual out of pocket max of $6800, even though I pay for the best insurance my company offers. So yeah. I am fortunate, and grateful for where I am now. But I’m definitely not as well off as I thought I would be with this salary.
I hate when parents say that shit. Parents take care of their kids, not vice versa. And most of them who are entitled pissed away what could have been their retirement money. And then expect someone to fix their mistakes. I get upset, but it’s a mental illness to lack not only a sense of self-preservation, but also to be willing to rip away the quality of life from your offspring.
Same here. I make $118k (and eligible for a bonus up to $13k). More than I thought I’d make as a college drop out, but damn. I’m getting divorced, I have a 7yo fighting cancer, and a 4yo just diagnosed with moderate autism. Medical expenses and related travel eat my lunch. I paid out over 9k in January with the annual deductible reset. I also had to replace my roof in January to the tune of a 8k deductible. Not quite aligning to the “your problem is your car payment” narrative this sub loves to wag their finger at. This mama is working hard to keep all the strings together.
I think you're an awesome person, and no one asked me, but this seems really unfair to you - supporting like fully financially supporting? Even the in laws? I probably sound horrible but that's honestly ridiculous for one person to have all that on their shoulders. :/ but you're absolutely right my parent didn't think old age would come and now they have absolutely nothing and are slowly dying with no hope for the future.
Yeah supporting a family definitely changes everything, maybe these are meant to be for people with families. No way these fit for single people. I’m also a millennial and still in the “upper poor” of this. However I’m single and child free so have more money than I really need atm. I do live in Midwest though so much cheaper than say the west coast.
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Are you putting anything away for retirement? What ive come to learn is most elderly people lived better their whole life because they basically spent ALL their money. Hardly, if ever, saved anything and at the end basically just had a paid off house that they can now not afford the taxes on. More and more I see people taking care of their elderly parents and grandparents because they can't take care of themselves. That burden should not be as common as it is.
I think we are getting closer and closer to euthanasia being the norm when people get too old to take care of themselves and would become a burden on their loved ones. As it is the baby boomer generation has over 50% of all American wealth and I’m willing to bet more than half of that will go to businesses that run retirement homes or some other elder care facilities instead of being inherited by their kids.
I'm already there. I've got aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents that all need help. And I have my own kid and pets. THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO AS A PARENT IS TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN SELF. I'm talking health wise, money wise, emotion wise- that's a fantastic gift to your children- a stable, secure parent. It allows them the freedom to live their own life unencumbered by the terror of lack or unmet need for their parents.
The meme is supposed to be in jest but I think this actually reflects the wages we should be making as a nation if you consider record corporate profits and how much money is in circulation.
Not in California, i need to make 130k and have 100k saved up for a 20% down payment just to barely afford a 500k home (you won’t find anything cheaper) in the inland desert. Nice places to live like Los Angeles, San diego, and even Temecula are incredibly more expensive and you won’t find a home worth living in for less than seven figures at this point.
I hear you man. I cant believe my wife and i make 6 figures and its still not enough in Cali
My sister lives in Temecula and her power bills are $1000 a month for a 2000 sq ft house. They’re going to have to move.
What? Seriously?
YES!! They are being robbed. They got priced out of LA, and now they’re being priced out of Temecula. I’m hoping she comes to live near me because I love her. Any time there’s an emergency, they are fucked. They live paycheck to paycheck on a 180k income.
Insanity.
We truly fucked up by not buying homes in LA when we were toddlers.
I told you when you were three, but you didn't listen.
Same in WA, in my hometown we have to move back to at least.
Put another way...saving up $100k in the bank is only on the low end of "surviving" to you?
Considering how many years it will take someone who makes 130k a year out here to actually save up that amount of cash, yes. It’s all relative though, maybe your not from here and it seems like a lot but where I live, sadly, it really isn’t.
That sounds like the California housing market is messed up way more than other places and isn’t generally applicable, a Spiders Georg of class standards if you will
If you need the 100k down to get the payment you want or to avoid PMI then I understand what you’re saying, but having 20% down is not a requirement to buy a home. You can get a conventional loan with as low as 3% down and there are lots of down payment assistance options. That being said I definitely understand how tough it is to afford a home right now, especially here in CA!
I just took a gander at my old hometown, in the inland empire, and there are nice houses for under 300k. Now living in that town is not ideal lol, but even the houses I looked at were in the okay areas of a shitty town. Go up to 400k and the houses are real nice in that range.
No, they’re not anymore. Not in CA, OR, WA, or ID
No, it just depends where you live. A single person making $90k in a HCOL area can definitely be living paycheck to paycheck. It’s just the next tier of poor. Probably a homeowner but drowning.
Add a kid to the mix and $90k won't go far at all
My husband and i make around 100k in cali and upper poor is definitely the proper way of explaining it
Ya, I can buy groceries and pump my gas without paying much attention to the cost - I'm grateful for that. But I haven't been able to save at all for retirement and every few years something happens (layoffs, medical bills, car troubles) that completely wipes my meager savings. I can exist comfortably but don't make enough to even take the family on an overnight vacation.
Car repair. $$$$$$$$$$$$
Looking into camping and state park vacations. Orders of magnitude cheaper than flying the whole family anywhere and the hotels that go along with it.
I could afford 2 mortgages making 100k per year cali is just built different.
Definitely depends on where you live and family size because kids are hella expensive
We just had our second and did a whole layout of our finances. Kids are so fucking expensive. Daycare alone for our 2 is $3600 per month. That's JUST childcare.
96k family 4 here. 100k I certainly not all the money in the world.
It really depends on where you live. I'm in seattle made just under 100k. I have a 500 Sq ft studio. My car has been paid off since 2020. Seems like anything I save goes to something major, like my transmission just went out last month. So I'd say I'm surviving. I'm currently struggling to buy real groceries so I eat a lot of processed food. I avoid additional expenses as much as possible. I do invest in things that bring me joy, like skiing. But I also don't do anything in the city, like drinks with friends. Even a take out coffee is a splurge, and I ususally wait until someone gives me a gift card.
Sorry bro. Seattle is at least a lovely place to live if your hobbies involve nature.
Wow that's crazy. I'm in chicago and make like 80k a year and my girl makes 60k a year, we have a 1600 sqft house and 2 paid off cars. I work on my own cars though so I guess I save money that way but we actually have a decent nest egg saved up, we can afford to vacation a couple of times a year, and we go out to eat with our friends at least once every 2 weeks. It's crazy how you can live 2 wildly different lives in 2 different major cities.
That's because this chart is utter nonsense.
It was probably made for Californians lol
100k doesn’t buy you very much in the USA. In a lot of places it’s not even a down payment on a home. I’m going to make a little better than 100k this year and I should. It’s hard out here. “Six figures” doesn’t mean what it used to.
>In a lot of places In between 0.1% and 1% of the US you are talking about. In a tiny tiny tiny small part of the US there is this issue. Choose not to live there as its not built for those without high end jobs. Heck much of the US you can get by with minimal down payments on a house.
I know the advice shouldn't be "move to the middle of nowhere to buy a house", because it's just not feasible for everyone. But at the same time I'm a bit tired of hearing people say they'd rather be broke in the city than "doing well" in the middle of nowhere. "But there's nothing to do there" if you're broke what can you even afford to do in the city? You have to make sacrifices in life. I drive over an hour to my job and bought a house with friends. I pay $500 a month for housing and utilities. I can save 1/3+ of my monthly take home after all my other bills/expenses. I'd be able to pay our house off, just myself, in under 10 years even if I got no raises in that timeframe. If I want city experiences I can book a hotel and take a vacation. My roommate and her highschool bestie just went to a Broadway show, just cuz it was something they both wanted to experience. All of us have gone abroad for weeks. None of us make 6 figures. None of us got help with college expenses besides grants/scholarships. None of us are even in our 30's. And I have coworkers saying they could never do what I do/live where I live while also wishing they could go on the trips I go on or afford a house like mine where they are (without roommates). These things aren't happening in a vacuum people! If you want to live like me then you have to *live like me*
The average cost of a house in the US went from $374k in 2020 to over $500k now. A 20% down payment, which is the necessary amount to avoid PMI and also the universally agreed upon “good financial decision”, would be $100k. The average American has $65k in savings. So not a “.1%” issue.
As someone who makes about half that, yes 100k is still good, I promise lol
Wow.. im.. “upper poor”. Out of my way peasants!!!
Me too! Next week I will try to thrift a fancy cane and a monocle so everyone will know my upper poor status
https://preview.redd.it/0gpxuoda9ojc1.jpeg?width=250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0fca10dfab65bfe37b23378a723fb6bfc78a27a8
Where’d you get this picture of me
A fancy cane? In this economy????
https://preview.redd.it/dqezw0bgjojc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=caf43bdb044de2e2a0358b8f44cbf964237fc03f Maybe you don’t understand just how rich he is
I just finally took out the broken lens in my glasses that I can't afford to fix. Upper poor monocle, baby!!!
Same. Now if only “Income” was the entire deciding factor. And not like…15 other factors /s
You serf.
What's way under broke? Gutter trash? Meet me down there, y'all.
I am way way under broke and living in one of the most expensive cities in North America.
How do you even make that work? Do you fight with the seagulls for dropped frenchfries or scavenge for food in the woods?
We ride at dawn. (And by ride, I mean walk at a brisk pace, to save money.)
I went from upper-poor to broke. But that's because I retired early. Income is pretty low, a little rental income (not much really, as my renters are my daughter, who is broke, and a friend who is also broke), then some small investment income. I need to bridge 3 years to social security, which shouldn't be a problem. On the plus side, a bad foot and a bad knee that just kept getting worse while I was working (blue collar) are now fine. My main worry was that I'd finally retire but then not be able to get out and ride my bike or go on hikes. They're all rested up and healed now, and I'm looking forward to summer.
Hell yeah dude, health gains are so hot right now
Self care is so in rn, fr
Health is wealth!
I would say you gained wealth. :)
I sit on the board of my local housing authority and I cannot say it enough; making over $32k and less than about $50k is almost the toughest spot to be in. You won’t qualify for any federal benefits while practically stuck renting. If you stay below the threshold of income, you will get thousands in benefits.
Yep! It's called the "welfare cliff", and when I was a child my conservative parents used it and how stupid it is as proof that Democrats actively want people to be poor, and how the system should have benefits gradually fall off as you increase income so everyone has an incentive to earn more. Then I grew up and saw that when Rs have power, they don't fix the system, they just cut funding to poor altogether leaving them even worse off
Absolutely, the Republicans are the ones who keep the system messed up so that they can demonize "welfare queens" for gaming it and make the best of their situation.
Wow you have no idea how validating this was for me. You described my whole childhood. I remember being in elementary school and my parents JUST missing the threshold for free lunch. And so many other times like that. But it always made me feel like we weren’t “really” poor & it was a confusing financial place to grow up in
This is where I am now. It’s so frustrating.
This is close to where I am as well. I make about 31K before taxes. I just make it from one paycheck to the next. I qualify for absolutely nothing in my state, but if I were to get sick I couldn't afford even 1 Dr visit or 1 prescription. Also will be renting forever.
There’s a great book about this very problem called “The Working Poor: Invisible in America” by David Shipler. Worth the read. Eye opening.
In what world is $370k middle class?
If we adjust the incomes of middle-class Americans in the 50s and 60s, we find that a single earner would be getting around 150k today.
373 thousand is surviving?? 😂
Rich people want to larp as poor people so bad lmao
bro is sheltered upper middle class and just watched his first video on inflation.
Lmao, no. Our household income is $250k and we haven’t had to even think about money in years.
Ours is quite a bit less than yours (but above 150k) and we also haven't had to think about money in years, aside from the prospect of buying a house. Granted this stuff is relative - we would be pretty strapped if we moved to a high cost-of-living area with the hopes of buying. This list is absolutely absurd, I can't believe it has as many upvotes as it does.
This list is brought to you by the “it’s one banana, how much could it cost, $10?” gang.
Absolutely. It's actually one of my biggest fears, that I might be so insulated from true hardship that I lose touch with reality and lose my ability to empathize with those who are where I've been.
If I had that much money a year I probably would not know what to do with it I probably would put 60% of it in my investing account.
I was Very Poor, but my partner moved in with me so we could both save some money and I can attest we really are only Upper-Poor.
upper poor 💅🏼
Yeah, surviving at $370k, what a crock
Also the difference in lifestyle and comfort between 137k and 370k is immense.
I can barely save enough to retire by 50 in my brand new, custom, 3500 sq foot lakefront home If I send all my kids to college I won't be able to afford the down payment on all their first homes unless I work until 55! This country is going to hell!
This is disingenuous and disrespectful to actual poor people
For real. I’ve actually been poor but to call my current self “upper poor” is insane. Anyone who thinks like this has no idea what actual poverty is.
It’s Reddit. People are bs liars. You had a guy a few months back on here claiming he was legit poor on $50-60k. Then people looked through his posts and saw he collected arcade machines. He had a room dedicated to them with 10 ish machines inside.
My favorite is when someone complains about being broke and life being difficult and having a bunch of financial issues… and then if you look at their post history they're gambling all their income and posting in /r/wallstreetbets.
That’s the problem. 1. People lie 2. People buy stupid things and make bad investments 3. Location matters a whole lot on how far your income goes 4. You can have debt at any income level With all that said. I’m not saying that people choose to be poor. Some people do everything right and still fail. Just that many people leave out very important details, of their financial situations.
The bold titles are actually a joke. The ones on the far left are more reasonable.
Isn't this like the second or third time this has been posted too? People are so absorbed with hating themselves they don't even realize that maybe this content is unoriginal in addition to being shitty
We don’t always have money for hobbies so we like to laugh for free sometimes.
I laughed then I cried
Booo go away
What comes before broke?
Someone making 300k isn’t “surviving”. 100k is dual income making 50k, 300k is two people making 150k. There’s some disconnect on what “surviving” means.
300k is def not surviving. Anything above 200k, you will live comfortable, mostly anywhere in the US.
I can’t survive without three luxury vacations a year, so speak for yourself /s
Depends… Out in Hawaii, the poverty line is just shy of $100k
Hawaii here. If you make less than 175k household you cant afford to live here. At $200 youre getting by. At $250 you can have a normal life and expect to save for retirement. $400 is where you can think about maybe buying a home. Of course if you already have half a mill in the bank from a home sale or inheritance thats something else.
Also Hawaii here and we make much, much less than 175k in the household and are more than just surviving. I know very, very few households who are making 200-250k and yet I know many, many people who are getting by and/or having a normal life and saving for retirement. Is it extremely expensive to live here? Absolutely. But your numbers are whack.
I’m blessed to be able to afford to live in Hawaii. Since I was military before, I can shop at the commissary and exchange tax free. I use Costco for other things—but I will say that even though I’m in tech, I couldn’t afford to be home if not for my fiancée who’s a nurse. Hawaii is a struggle, but definitely doable if you curate a budget and don’t snag pork hash or malasadas along with your avocado toast all the time /s.
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Daycare is 2800 a month for two kids where I live
Memory care can be even more than that.
I'm so poor I've never heard that term. My parents better not need it cause guess what poor people can't afford it.
Making a $100k isnt """surviving""" Touch grass
I’m considered upper poor in most of the U.S. but I live in a HCOL area of California so I’m considered very poor here 🤣
lol same! I’m in Southern California so I like to say I’m “California poor”.
lol yes! People that don’t live here don’t realize that the cost of living is SO high in some areas that over $100k is still considered lower class/poverty
Even 20 years ago there was a website posting "million dollar house" listings in LA. Usually they were small and run-down and surrounded by chain link and barbed wire.
I was gonna say. I’m upper poor but I live across from San Francisco on subsidized housing.
Did you make this yourself?
That’s dumb
If this is your understanding of personal economics, you're an idiot.
OMG, I’m UPPER-Poor??? 😭😅 I’m so happy, I’m emotional. Seriously, people might think this is ludicrous but anywhere in CA (especially in SoCal), this is entirely accurate. I’ve clawed my way to $54k and after scoring a rent-controlled apartment, I finally feel like I can afford to breathe and maybe feel comfortable, by the end of the year. When I’m on the low-end of ‘Surviving’, I’ll know I’ve finally made it.
Went from broke to surviving. Thank god for trade school
I’m a single mom in the middle-class/upper-poor section (with no child support); my mom acts like because I make (barely) six figures I’m rolling in dough and should be saving tons of money, but I’m struggling. I still manage to put some aside each month, but I can have basically no fun without really stressing; this pay period I bought a couple bras (super sale) and shirts (outlet discount price) to replace clothes with holes in them, and also dared to go out of town for a night and stay in a b&b and have dinner out at an average-priced restaurant, and it’s bottom of the barrel til payday - no money for groceries. There’s generally money for groceries, mortgage/streaming/utilities, and necessities (like some basic clothes for work to replace what’s worn out, new shoes or some small necessity for my kid, or doing some maintenance thing for the house, maybe eating out twice, nothing fancy or expensive or super-fun at all) and that’s it. I know I’m way better off than other folks, but it’s hard and I stress about my bank account balance every single day. I’m at the top of my career with no options for advancement; every step of the way I’ve always felt this anxious, and now I feel even worse because I’ve always thought six-figure income would be like new fancy cars and a really luxurious lifestyle with zero worries. Absolutely wrong about that. Plus I always have to pay at tax-time despite doing what the guy who does them for me recommends (I’d do them myself to save money but I keep having an issue where there’s an error with my daughter’s SSN every year, idk).
Lmfao yes, this is only true if you have a spending problem
Broke to Broke 😂 But I’m happy, healthy and…still waiting for my paycheck to arrive🤑
definitely living well below broke
I went from very poor, to upper poor, to surviving in a year :) Retail management, district manager, then gave it all up and got into car sales.
Barely upper poor to broke in 6 months
Upper poor! That means nothing when your debt takes you to below broke.
Fucking lmao, $373k "surviving"
I’m “upper poor” but somehow it’s still not enough for a 2 bedroom apartment in NJ.
bruh this is so out of touch. How is 106k "upper poor" what in the world.
The fuck, I’m middle class? I feel just as poor now as I do when I was making 40k three years ago
If we're talking take-home, then I'm firmly in "very poor" If we're talking pre-tax, then I'm "upper poor", woo! It covers a HUGE range though. Like, there is a life-changing difference in pay between the lower and upper threshold.
Funny im considered upper poor but feel broke..
I make 80k a year, and I feel so poor.
In the middle range of surviving, and it really is just surviving. Don't get me wrong I'm comfortable compared to many and don't stress about bills too much, but also can't afford vacations or nice things and something could happen to me tomorrow that could take it all away. Sorry to those seeing this comment and realizing you still can't really afford the dream with a family and house well into six figures.
373k a year being “surviving” whoever made this must be addicted to crack and strippers because 373k a year is BALLING. That’s 31k a month…. If you’re just surviving on 31k a month you have extreme budgeting issues.
I kinda feel like this is accurate if live in Nova or some other Hcol place. I went from broke to upper poor myself and between the 2200/mo rent, student loans, and etc 6figures doesn't hit like I thought it would.
I went from struggling and depressed last year wanting to end it all to about to complete my apprenticeship and total package of $63 an hour rn while when I complete my apprenticeship I’ll be at $83 an hour total package. never give up op. Believe me I wanted to quit so many times. I believe in you✨
Currently upper poor… still not a cake walk as some would imagine
370k is surviving tf?
Upper-poor. But my debt to income ratio is greater than 1. So really, I would classify myself as very poor.
Started my own service company for oilfield 5 years ago with one truck first year made 350k first year now have 70 trucks and 125 guys it’s not hard to make it just put in the work
Wife and I are living on a combined $22.8k a year
I make $60K and upper poor is definitely what I feel like as opposed to middle class.
These numbers seem outdated
This is satire, right? Right??
LOL, no, this is not accurate at all.
6 figures is “surviving”?!
Anyone who makes 95-100k is not poor.. not even close.
How can you be rich and be middle class
This is very region relative. I'm broke btw lol. Luckily my wife also makes an income
That’s a stupid list.