Am I the only one who thinks $100,000 isn’t really that much anymore?

Depends on what you do with it. If you want to do everything on your wish list at once, you probably won't be satisfied with it.

I am currently at about $100k with a stay at home spouse and 2 kids. We purchased our house 7 years ago at $270k (I know... Likely a $375-400k home now) in a MCOL area (current home average transaction price is about $380k). We save nearly 40% of our after tax income, have 2 paid for cars that each had an MSRP of about $35k and are less than 5 years old, and generally have a very comfortable lifestyle. If we wanted to cut back our savings rate we could do significantly more lifestyle bumps... But those will come with greater compensation down the road. We have also amassed a total net worth (including home equity) of about $350k, and are on track to crack $1m by 38 years old with no gifts or inheritances to speak of.

We are SIGNIFICANTLY better off than the great majority of people in the world at our age. Sure sometimes I would like a few fancy vacations a year, order out more often, and buy some nice clothes, maybe a boat and atv... But all those things bring very temporary joys. I think lifestyle creep catches up with a lot of people - if you make $100k you can certainly live it up in a a couple areas of your life, but not all. It isn't always about how much you make, but how much you keep.

Introducingggggg....

The current most out-of-touch thread on this bowl!

Yes, cost of city living should be a factor

Yes, wages generally haven't kept up housing price increases (depending on profession)

Still... 100K is easily enough to live anywhere in the US comfortably. The only difference is that if you live in a HCOL you wouldn't be able to save nearly as much...

How do I know this?

I've been comfortably living in Chicago over several years on average with 35K to 40K expenses. I know if I tried I could do it on less than $30K (at this point I would be probably sacrificing some level of comfort).

I'm above over $150K TC and feel that in terms of financial stability, this is beyond easy mode now I'm not suffering in any kind of way in saving over $60K annually.

If you think I'm off base, take a look at medium household numbers in the US and compare yourself...

People in this thread probably won't want to admit that they let lifestyle inflation suck them in and they're somewhat keeping up with the Joneses to some extent, but that's exactly what's happening. That's why I'll never understand those who make over $200K individually and still feel that it's not enough. That's unless you're sole caretaker for 8+ people, that's entirely on you.

I think there's a certain degree of thruth to that $70Kish salary being ideal for most people for achieving optimal happiness. There are less fortunate families making it work with less and achieve the same level of happiness or more being healthy and productive.

The one obvious exception to this is that crippling student debt from certain degrees. What I'm saying doesn't apply you to (keep living like a broke student though and you'll get to that financial freedom faster than you know it!). Also props to anyone taking on the burden of caring for people with no support or just engaging in a significant amount of charitable giving.

I make $48k/ yr working at Deloitte. and y’all whining about not making enough money, ffs people

Reading this app regularly really skews your perspective of income. Marketing, advertising, tech, law, and consultants (basically all of us here), especially in coastal cities, are all overpaid. Very few of us contribute to society meaningfully.

And yet every other thread is “I have 3 years of experience and make $120K, am I underpaid?” No, you’re overpaid. Drink your $22 martini and stop complaining.

Growing up, six-figures subconsciously felt like a lot but I’m now well over $100k in my late 20s and I really don’t feel rich at all. Comfortable but not rich.

Maybe just the consequence of inflation over the years? Looking at an inflation calculator and 100k back in the 90s is now over 200k now. Same with being a millionaire. $1m doesn’t really seem like a lot anymore but back then with $1m, it felt like you had it made and could go drink mimosas on a beach till the end of time.

Tell that to the head of an average family making half that.

It’s not. I live in a small suburb of a Midwest city with A-rated public schools and a newly renovated 2200 sq ft house just went for over $900K, which is basically the monthly take home of a $100K salary (that’s assuming you had $180k for a 20% down payment- otherwise, monthly payment would be more than that). I repeat: a Midwest suburb. The cost of living has become absolutely insane.

My mom thinks I am making 200 because my cousin works at Twitter and making that much and he is 8 years younger...and I am making 120. I am embarrassed to even say how much I make and I just nod when they assume I am making so much...

My wife and I both make $500k, still doesn’t sound like enough. It’s kinda relative, you just have to make it work.

It also depends where you live. 100K doesn’t go nearly as far in NYC as it does in the Midwest.

Nobody’s making $100K at KPMG

Lol well this thread is a bummer. Just signed a new offer at 105k while my current role is at 65k. I thought I was making fat dough 😂

It's a lot for a lot of people. But in terms of educated people with career driven jobs, yes I agree that its basically average and not that much money

What if i told you that 300k isnt alot either when u have 3 kids stay at home wife and live in high tax state

Growing up in the 80s I always heard100k was the magical number. You would need to make $250k to equal that now. $250k seems about right

For what it is worth...
There was a study a while back that said nationally $70k was the magic number to financial contentment.
Anything less - money was a major stressor.
Anything more - diminishing returns in terms of happiness.
Now this was probably 8 to 10 years ago so adjust for inflation and we’re looking @ 75k or so nationally.
The point is if you make 80k you think a 100k will make you a lot happier, but the statistics show that it actually won’t. You just get to 100k and then think “well, if I made 125k I’d be happy” and on and on.

I am 29, live alone in NYC in the west village, and make $115k. I save 10% in my 401k and aim to save/invest another $1k cash every month. I also go out to eat a few times a week and occasionally treat myself to nice shoes, facials etc.

I am definitely worried about financing things like a house or kids one day but really surprised to see that people “can’t breathe” on less than 250k as a single person in New York. My starting salary was in the 30s though so I’ve learned to budget (literally every dollar in an excel) and I feel rich compared to where I started 🤣

Even $1 million is not that much. You can’t even get a house on the beach in Los Angeles for that price or a nice “million dollar” place in NYC. Inflation keeps going up, yet salaries have stayed almost the same for decades now. The recession is coming soon for sure.

It's all in what you're use to. I grew up with one parent making $30,000. So to me it's a lot but if you grew up with more I could see it not seeming like a lot

If you think 100k isn’t much, I’m making 50k and that’s basically nothing lol.