Why Upper-Middle Earners Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck

[the cac mamba]

bruh, that's just one example. most people have responsibilities (i.e. a family to care for, mortgage, etc), you always default to the young unattached person as why people should be doing X if they make six figures, that's such a small percentage of people making six figures.

ok. as long as you know i'm not denying the obviously correct and real example you just used

of course a single mother making around 100k in a big city is cutting it close

 

[Serious]

i had 20k in loans that i paid off. no, i dont take out car notes to buy 20-30 thousand dollar cars, i buy 10k cars

i dont empathize with people who make 6 figures a year and don't know how to budget it sorry

talking about "how could i not be capable of looking through the eyes of someone who makes 150 thousand dollars a year you fukkin cracker"

i make 60 a year. you're right, i wish i could look through their eyes

It's pathetic man. Some of these people don't even understand how out of touch with reality that they are.

 

[Saltmoney]

Breh I hear you and understand, but how many people are really doing what it takes to cut cost. A grown person over 25 shouldn't be living check to check. I don't care if that means you have to go a couple months without a pleasurable entity, until you reach that cushion, but that self sacrifice needs to be done, especially if you making 6 figs, get a roommate, for 6 months, while you stack.


I hear but that's my main reason why i took a paycut. The organization I work at pays less, than what I could be making in the city, but my commute to and from work is cake. I sleep in late, and commute to and from work with no traffic. I'm not tired when I get home.

I'm also in a good place financially, so I can still put a decent portion of my income away every check.

Forget the rat race. What good is making 100k if I'm stressed and don't even get to enjoy it.

Definitely agree but I think a lot of young people don't really see the benefits to living farther away because who wants to be in their 20s living in bumblef$ck county?

Like you said, if you really don't want to live in the burbs then just do it with a goal in mind to save money for a certain amount of time so you can actually afford to be closer to the city without having to spend most of your earnings on housing, have no emergency funds and go into debt.

 

[choc_cardigan]

Breh I hear you and understand, but how many people are really doing what it takes to cut cost. A grown person over 25 shouldn't be living check to check. I don't care if that means you have to go a couple months without a pleasurable entity, until you reach that cushion, but that self sacrifice needs to be done, especially if you making 6 figs, get a roommate, for 6 months, while you stack.


I hear but that's my main reason why i took a paycut. The organization I work at pays less, than what I could be making in the city, but my commute to and from work is cake. I sleep in late, and commute to and from work with no traffic. I'm not tired when I get home.

I'm also in a good place financially, so I can still put a decent portion of my income away every check.

Forget the rat race. What good is making 100k if I'm stressed and don't even get to enjoy it.

You are just repeating what the troll said and skipped over the posts that answered your question

 

[Hahahaha]

People need to be smarter when they are younger to prevent this from happening. College loan debt + not staying at home to build a savings is likely the biggest reason. Then lifestyle creep as their income rises. Most people I know making 6 figures came from poor homes and left the house early with no savings. It’s all they know.....

 

[ℒine ☈acks]

i posted this in a thread over 2 years ago...

Families earning $117,000 now qualify as "low income" in California's Bay Area

 

[num123]

move further out for many people means 2+ hour commutes, sure you save money on housing but at the expense of your wellbeing (you also will need a reliable car in that case).

people also never seem to look at fixed costs in these fantom move to cheaper state X examples. if i buy a car, i'm on the hook for $400/month in CA or Iowa, if i have $500 CC payments, a $700 student loan payment, my meds cost $125 month, my cell phone/internet/cable bill comes to $400/month. none of that changes. so i save $1000 month on housing yet bring home $4000 less due to the paycut i took moving to Iowa, that's not getting ahead either.

Looking at your list, you should not have a car note that is reaching 400 a month, try to cut that by half. Cut cable out and get a cheaper phone plan. I do not know how much initial salary the $4000 was taken out of so i can speak for that. For myself just looking at my 1 bedroom apartment in Chicago i would most likely be paying 2500-3000 if i lived in a comparable spot, but i only pay 850. I got a good deal on my place but if i paid $1500 that is still only 25% of what i take home after taxes, healthcare, 401k, etc... .

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Looking at your list, you should not have a car note that is reaching 400 a month, try to cut that by half. Cut cable out and get a cheaper phone plan. I do not know how much initial salary the $4000 was taken out of so i can speak for that. For myself just looking at my 1 bedroom apartment in Chicago i would most likely be paying 2500-3000 if i lived in a comparable spot, but i only pay 850. I got a good deal on my place but if i paid $1500 that is still only 25% of what i take home after taxes, healthcare, 401k, etc... .

a car note of $400 is a very realistic car note (the avg car note is $390 used and $550 new), especially if you're living far out and have to commute and hour+ to work, you're likely in a newer, reliable, good gas mileage car, not sure how everyone expects people to either drive an unreliable old ass car or have 10k saved up to put down on a car (the whole point of this thread is people living check to check).

and paying 400 for cell/internet/cable and/or streaming services is also a realistic budget. most people are paying 50-100/month for cell, 50-100 for internet, and if they have cable thats 100-200, let alone netflix/spotify/hulu etc - everyone cant leach, at some point someone has to pay for this for all that password sharing to happen.

$850 in chicago is the hood or near it or an old apartment. i get people not living in the nicest areas, but folks should live in an area they feel safe, especially for women.

 

[num123]

a car note of $400 is a very realistic car note (the avg car note is $390 used and $550 new), especially if you're living far out and have to commute and hour+ to work, you're likely in a newer, reliable, good gas mileage car, not sure how everyone expects people to either drive an unreliable old ass car or have 10k saved up to put down on a car (the whole point of this thread is people living check to check).

and paying 400 for cell/internet/cable and/or streaming services is also a realistic budget. most people are paying 50-100/month for cell, 50-100 for internet, and if they have cable thats 100-200, let alone netflix/spotify/hulu etc - everyone cant leach, at some point someone has to pay for this for all that password sharing to happen.

$850 in chicago is the hood or near it or an old apartment. i get people not living in the nicest areas, but folks should live in an area they feel safe, especially for women.

No actually i live in a nice part of Chicago. Like i said in my previous post i got a good deal due to being friends with a family member of the owner. It is older but it is not worth paying double to live in a "new" place, but even if i paid $1500-1700 i still be paying a low percentage of my salary in rent. People find ways to spend money on things they can do without or spend too much on it. If you are a person making 100k by yourself there is no reason to be living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[Serious]

No actually i live in a nice part of Chicago. Like i said in my previous post i got a good deal due to being friends with a family member of the owner. It is older but it is not worth paying double to live in a "new" place, but even if i paid $1500-1700 i still be paying a low percentage of my salary in rent. People find ways to spend money on things they can do without or spend too much on it. If you are a person making 100k by yourself there is no reason to be living paycheck to paycheck.

Exactly.

minimum wage no matter where you live is still no where near 100k.

There are families that get by everyday on way less than 100k, which may be classified as poverty depending on your city, but get this that should you be your mindset until your funds are straight.

No one wants to sacrifice, temporary satisfaction, for a long term pay off. The shyt people complain about are first world problems man.

I guarantee people making 100k a year, have great benefits. Healthcare, dental, HSA,FSA, life insurance, etc. That’s an incredibly different lifestyle than a lot of families that don’t have any type of health insurance or even education.


The real problem on top of a limited social safety net is that, Americans aren’t taught to save or be frugal.

 

[Wild self]

Rent is too high and should only be 15% of a person's monthly income.

 

[spencerforhire]

Which is why I plan on saving and moving somwhere like Germany. Where rent is like $800 per month and you dont need a car to get around.

You save so much money. I'll be eating good and chasing Pawgs all day.

 

[CrimsonTider]

People need to be smarter when they are younger to prevent this from happening. College loan debt + not staying at home to build a savings is likely the biggest reason. Then lifestyle creep as their income rises. Most people I know making 6 figures came from poor homes and left the house early with no savings. It’s all they know.....

a lot of people don’t have the luxury of staying at home

 

[CrimsonTider]

I think some but not too much of a distinction has to be made between keeping up appearances and just plain keeping up.

We are not machines. Someone making 100k isn’t doing it bullshyttin (sometimes). They’re under a lot of pressure and need certain things to relieve it. A bottle of wine at the end of the night just ain’t cuttin it.

Like JR Smith was saying, you don’t buy a Lambo and treat it like a Honda.

I’ve never had a job with that level of responsibility, so me explaining theirs is conjecture.

But retail therapy is a thing. Vacations are a thing. Ppl need breaks and rewards.

I believe a lot of hard work is done in this country, but this country is founded on passing off hard work to others and taking credit for someone else’s work.

A lot of ppl are getting off after a full day of lies. That can contribute to a decadent lifestyle. When you actually earned yours, you don’t need as much, cause the feeling of being actually competent is the best reward.

To add to this the person that makes 100k and living “paycheck to paycheck” has a higher quality of life than the person making 50k with a years worth of expenses saved up

that higher quality of life is what Americans work for, better house, better vacations, better cars etc

 

[Pressure]

The point is 100k isn't what it was when it was set as some type of gold standard over two decades ago.

The fact that we have @the cac mamba telling people they need to live with their parents, have multiple roommates, don't buy a new car, or. Have children pretty much sums it up.

It's a shame he can't see that because his worldview won't allow him to see things objectively.