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Nope. I’m done. This is enough.
I never thought I’d get to a point where I was making in a month what my single mother made in a year. It’s overwhelming and crazy and if this doesn’t make me feel secure and full-filled, literally nothing will.
I’m now devoting the rest of my life to taking trips with my mom. We made it!
💯 ^^ same! I was elated at $140 (more than my entire family combined…..); at $220 + LTI, I can support every cause I care about, help my family cover gaps, travel wherever I want and treat my loved ones. Life is great!
We’ll make $400K this year in a LCOL area. We have two young kids and I don’t ever worry about money and know that we are very well off. But you definitely get used to whatever you have. And lifestyle creep is so real. We max out our 401ks and save about $2k extra per month. I guess this is what being “rich” feels like, but I don’t feel rich.
That said, I’m also not going around talking about how “hard” it is to survive on $400k or how other people “just don’t get how expensive private schools are.” I’m blessed and thankful.
I feel like because we can never guarantee a great return on investment from private school (kids are all different and who knows how they will turn out regardless), a good quality public school is the way to go. Plus, I want my kids to work for their college tuition, no free ride from us.
Yes. I make ~400k (cash) and am single. Somehow I can’t seem to save that much money, even though I don’t have expensive tastes 😞
try making $80k and see how much you save. Jesus, I could do SO MUCH with that salary
Chief
I make $250k a year and feel like it’s enough. I’m no longer motivated by the money. I’m picking roles and work that I care about in a 9-5.
I’m an SC and our household is $250 & we feel the same!
Rising Star
At one point I would have said $100k was incredible and then $250k was more than I ever thought I’d make.
Then I saw people I knew I was or could outperform making $500k or >$1M. It no longer became so much about the money as the principal.
I mainly live like I did when I was making $150k with just more capital purchases and fewer worries.
I think this is the point, your contributions to the company (through managing large projects and bringing in revenue) can be WORTH a lot more than 250k. It's not that you NEED to make more than that, but if you are helping the firm grow and succeed, then you deserve to be paid in line with what you are bringing in terms of value. We probably all agree that 250k is more than enough to live comfortably, but when you have talent and/or work hard, then you should be compensated for that, which enables you to buy a nicer car, a nicer house (or a second home), take nice vacations, or invest more for your children's future. Alternatively, you could work an easy 9-5 job and live very frugally if you place a higher value on low stress, predictable hours, and more free time for yourself or with your family.
Yes - all the time. When I have 10-20M liquid…I think
Chief
Why would they hang it up? The job is super fun and influential at that level. It’s like asking why rich people would bother running for President when it doesn’t pay much and doesn’t leave much time for hobbies.
Rising Star
Not really. We’re a DINK couple with a HHI of about $450k and have aggressively avoided lifestyle creep. We have one car (a 2012 Ford), have housing costs of approximately 16% of take-home pay, and while we’re willing to pay for quality, we don’t ball out on luxury goods (no Rolexes or Louboutin shoes, etc.). We’re able to do basically whatever we feel we’d like to, so I don’t really feel like we need more. That said, if kids came into the mix, that would likely change pretty quick.
Consumption habits say about values
Rising Star
~$1M HHI here. It’s more than enough. Instead of trying to maximize our compensation these days, we spend a lot of time maximizing for quality of life and having more time to spend with our kids and doing things that we enjoy.
We live very well but always make sure to save/invest heavily too.
Cuz crypto money^
I feel that at about a total income of around 750k - I should feel fine.
It's not that I'm hiring now.
I max out all retirement options. Give my parents a nice allowance, am paying down grad school debt, donate a good amount to charities, and am still saving a good chunk.
But for me. I want enough money to invest in startsups, and have enough to bail out friends and family
Can I put in an application to be your friend G1?
Chief
I live in SF and was making 800k HHI with wife and two toddlers. It was great, spent a ton of money on luxury stuff, saved a ton of money, basically did whatever we wanted without a care in the world.
And then I joined a startup which cut our liquid comp to 550k. Starting to feel the pinch
Not uncommon to make $300k+ in a BizOps role (total comp) at sr. manager level or above
We’re a 500k HHI with no kids. We basically live the same way we did when we were newlyweds with a 200k HHI. Maybe a splurge on a vacation or a night out, but not buying luxury just to show off…not our value system. The high percentage of our income that we invest gives us peace of mind for our retirement and will allow us to help family as needed.
Rising Star
Household Income
Rising Star
I don't need more, but I want more. The more I earn, the more I save and invest - it's not about making a certain amount of money, but creating a situation where I don't have to worry about money, now or in the future.
Pro
Yes. I think part of it is I grew up poor and while I don’t spend that much, I still don’t feel financially comfortable yet since I could still be bankrupted by a bad luck event. I also want to retire early so the more money I make, the quicker I’ll hit my financial target.
We’re at currently at $700k HHI, early 30s, and looking to double to $1.4-1.5m HHI over the next 10 years. Then aiming for one of us to retire early 40s.
MSC1, $500k combined base salary.
This topic has been discussed ad nausium…..
Individuals at every pay band will always say they need more. My sister and her husband have a HHTC of ~200k with 5 kids and are incredibly happy. My wife and I have 3 kids and ~250k HHTC and are happy but another 50-100k would go a long way to not worrying. A friend of mine makes 750k with 2 kids and is constantly complaining about money.
It’s all about mindset. There is no standard number. Be happy with what you have but always strive for more. 🙏
Ad nauseam
I honestly don’t know what I would spend the excess money on. We have everything we want and need at 350k HHI in a MCOL city with one kid.
How about a better house with a shorter commute?
Hard to get a very nice home close to a MCOL city at that income level.
Alternatively, how about paying off the house and saving more? (after taxes, mortgage payments, and bare-bones living expenses, you can't be saving even $100k a year, takes a while to build real wealth and the freedom that comes with it at that rate)
Happiest i ever was in my life was making strong five (yes 5) figures and living is small southern city.
A lot of people say the same thing. One thing I wonder though is it the change in income, or the change in life circumstances since?
Long term relationships, marriage, kids, job responsibility, mortgage, car note, etc. all starts to add up in parallel to income rising
It's all relative. I'm in my 40's w family and kids single earner $300K/year. I'm a big saver so I save $100K/year. More importantly, I'm worth $5M and if you are careful with money that's when you start thinking about getting off the rat race and retire early.
At a minimum, I take my job very differently knowing that I'm financially stable. Less stress and a more balanced approach.
My advice is to save up early and focus on what's important. Oh yes and look into the mega backdoor Roth!!!
Take care.
Did it pass the senate ?
Rising Star
I keep raising the bar for my kids- if we made more I’d be sending them to the private school we currently can’t afford. I spend next to nothing on myself, but when it comes to them there is no limit 🤦🏼♀️
Definitely celebrating you for providing for your kid’s wants and needs. But as a parent, it is imperative for you to fill your cup as well. Having something that you do often during the week is key. It doesn’t have to be the same thing but explore what resonates and leave what doesn’t. Gardening, drawing, painting, wine making, glassblowing, Muay Thai (personal recommendation lol), swimming, writing, reading books, CrossFit, etc. whatever vibes, tap in and hold yourself accountable. As they grow older, they’ll be learning from you continuously on how to care for oneself. You are the greatest example and deserve the love.
Husband and I make significantly more than this (probably $600k this year with bonus). We have three kids, a full time nanny, a house, two cars, three 529s. It’s more than enough money yet we definitely do not feel flush with cash. I don’t have a number in mind… in fact I may leave consulting which is likely to come with a pay cut or at least lower forward trajectory.
Industry is hiring like crazy and you will more than likely make more at your level.