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Originally Posted By imq707s: I'd love to see the budget of those six-figure earners that say they "don't feel high income"....... probably spending thousands a month on junk, going out to eat, huge car payments, 10 different streaming services, starbucks, etc, etc...... But nobody wants to ever talk about that....... No different that those people who win millions in the lottery, and then are bankrupt in a couple of years. Some people are just bad with money....no matter how much they make, they are always broke. He's right. Pre-covid I was grossing ~$65k/year. One income, wife and two kids. We were doing fine and saving as long as we were frugal. We bought our house when mortgage rates were 3% and before prices spiked, otherwise our mortgage payment would be $1000/month higher. Thankfully wife went back to work part time right before Covid. Now she grosses 65k/year and I'm right around 100k. We could cut some stuff if we had to, but my income alone would be tight now. Especially if we had to purchase a home right now or pay rent. I would say 100k is the new 55-60k. |
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Originally Posted By tucansam: Imagine being able to buy 100,000 items at a store and not being considered rich. Originally Posted By tucansam: Originally Posted By Butternut: Six figures and still struggling: Dollar General CEO says Americans earning $100,000 'don't feel high income' anymore Imagine being able to buy 100,000 items at a store and not being considered rich.  Mr. General please... yes, hi. Please load up your items into my truck. Yes, of course, here is your $100k. |
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Originally Posted By bjkb1f: Inflation is a thing. Just like being a millionaire doesn’t mean the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. |
"Whoever dares to look upon them as an irregular mob will find himself very much mistaken. They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about.” Lt Gen Hugh Percy
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Originally Posted By tucansam: Imagine being able to buy 100,000 items at a store and not being considered rich. Originally Posted By tucansam: Originally Posted By Butternut: Six figures and still struggling: Dollar General CEO says Americans earning $100,000 'don't feel high income' anymore Imagine being able to buy 100,000 items at a store and not being considered rich. lol Dollar stores ended with the inflation wave during the pandemic. Dollar General was never a true dollar store. Dollar General is where the guy who buys gas $10 at a time goes to pay more for products in small quantities because Walmart is too far and/or the normal retail size packages cost too much. |
"Sometimes, the grass is greener because it's on a septic system."
"Sporterizing: The art of spending $700 on a $300 gun to make it worth $200." -GTwannabe
"Sporterizing: The art of spending $700 on a $300 gun to make it worth $200." -GTwannabe
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Originally Posted By sabre_kc: Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. Originally Posted By sabre_kc: Originally Posted By bjkb1f: Inflation is a thing. Just like being a millionaire doesn’t mean the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. Eh... 25 years ago, $1M was enough to retire at almost any age. Today, $1M might not be enough to retire at 55. Give me $1M tomorrow, and I'll be happy to pay off my house and load up on investments, but I'll be on that 9AM Monday conference call as if nothing changed. |
"Sometimes, the grass is greener because it's on a septic system."
"Sporterizing: The art of spending $700 on a $300 gun to make it worth $200." -GTwannabe
"Sporterizing: The art of spending $700 on a $300 gun to make it worth $200." -GTwannabe
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Originally Posted By EMP: I honestly don't see how people survive on $100K and still invest in their future. I assume 100% of their salary goes to living and there is nothing invested for the future. Depends. Pension? House paid for? Low/no debt? LOCOL makes a huge difference. |
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100K doesnt cover my mortgage If diesel stays at 7-8$ a gallon ill put 20k into my truck this year 2 of my kids tuition at a private university is $60k a year groceries are $18,000 this year Medical inurance for my wife and 2 kids will be 40k this year Auto insurance is 14000 this year Im 50 retired and have hobbies Its tough all over |
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Originally Posted By imq707s: I'd love to see the budget of those six-figure earners that say they "don't feel high income"....... probably spending thousands a month on junk, going out to eat, huge car payments, 10 different streaming services, starbucks, etc, etc...... But nobody wants to ever talk about that....... No different that those people who win millions in the lottery, and then are bankrupt in a couple of years. Some people are just bad with money....no matter how much they make, they are always broke. Wut? We routinely break down the income of the $250k couples when these articles come out $50k tax bill $3-7k mortgages PITI/Hoa $36k his and hers 401k $12k his and hers HSA $20k child care $1-1500 in two car payments $1-3k student loans |
I wouldn't stand in front of a piss-filled supersoaker. Does that make it a good pistol? - Caboose314
I thought I was covered for 22 cans, but the NFAids is a bitch when it mutates - themagikbullet
I thought I was covered for 22 cans, but the NFAids is a bitch when it mutates - themagikbullet
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Originally Posted By sabre_kc: I wonder who he’s talking about. I’m under 100k, making more than I ever have, and feel great about it. This is the latest version of “they closed the mill and the town died” doom tripe I heard growing up in the 80s. Also Dollar General bro is a yardstick for success? Those stores are roach motels and are full of poor and usually fat, white people. I think I'm taking crazy pills. Yeah they closed the mill and it has been extremely destructive to our society. |
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Originally Posted By shrimpmoney: Complete BS. Who the hell goes to any grocery and convenience store and talks about how much they make? Imagine telling a cashier make $20 an hour, “I make $100k a year and feel broke.” Who does that? Nobody. But I did take a $50 winning scratch card into our local grocery that had been sitting in my office desk for several months. The lady at the desk noticed the game ended quite a while back, and exclaimed pretty loudly, "who forgets they have a $50 scratch card?" It was kind of embarrassing, but I understood exactly where she was coming from. |
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Originally Posted By CaliContractor: Our monthly expenses are about 5k a month, no car payments , CC paid off monthly, house is 1,400 a month at 2.875. We eat out maybe once every few months, we just did this weekend as my MIl was in town visiting, dinner was about 350.00. The bulk of our income is going into 401k, we max ours out and my wife's business matches 100%. Definitely doesn't feel like High income even double and at times triple that. The GF and I are spending around $6500 a month for living expenses BUT we have 2 homes and a farm and hardly ever have to tap into our savings at this point. Granted we have no mortgages and no debt but we are home bodies, hardly ever eat out, just have basic cable for our entertainment and watch our expenses. I HATE spend waste, my father was really frugle and I think I got that from him. He passed away being a multi-millonaire, I think I'm heading towards that same path without tapping into our savings/investments. |
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Originally Posted By sabre_kc: Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. Originally Posted By sabre_kc: Originally Posted By bjkb1f: Inflation is a thing. Just like being a millionaire doesn’t mean the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. Hahahaha!!! A million dollar plus net worth isn’t shit in 2026. Around 20% of U.S. households have a million dollar net worth or more. So top quintile. Big fucking deal. I can’t eat my home equity either. Nor can I use it for a 4% withdrawal rate. The idea that a million dollar net worth means you can do what you want hasn’t made sense at any time this decade or most of the last one, unless you want to retire in Bangladesh. Let’s say you have a $400k house, no mortgage, no vehicle loan and no revolving debt with $100k in the bank and $500k in your 401(k). The $100k in the bank generates maybe $3,000 and the 401(k) you can tap for $20,000 for a safe 4% withdrawal rate, assuming you’re not yet doing RMDs. How are you supposed to live off of $23,000? Let’s say you’re old enough to collect Social Security. The average benefit in 2026 is around $25,000. Now you’re a big shot pulling in $48k. Pre-tax. Even in a low cost of living area, that’s a pretty meager existence. |
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Originally Posted By Guitargod1985: Hahahaha!!! A million dollar plus net worth isn’t shit in 2026. Around 20% of U.S. households have a million dollar net worth or more. So top quintile. Big fucking deal. I can’t eat my home equity either. Nor can I use it for a 4% withdrawal rate. The idea that a million dollar net worth means you can do what you want hasn’t made sense at any time this decade or most of the last one, unless you want to retire in Bangladesh. Two words: Reverse mortgage. |
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Breaking news: dumb faggot who makes $8 million a year thinks he can speak on behalf of lower-class Americans. 
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Originally Posted By 0311SKI: "Why are the customers all gone Todd?" "I dont know Margo..." Originally Posted By 0311SKI: Originally Posted By LV1976: Originally Posted By CouncilOfDave: Originally Posted By shrimpmoney: Complete BS. Who the hell goes to any grocery and convenience store and talks about how much they make? Imagine telling a cashier make $20 an hour, "I make $100k a year and feel broke." Who does that? You mean that Dollar General cashiers don't pick up the phone to call DG corporate and say, "Hey, is Todd there? Yeah, just tell him its me." "Why are the customers all gone Todd?" "I dont know Margo..." 
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Originally Posted By imq707s: You absolutely can be. If you can't figure out how to live within your means.......you can be sweating all that stuff, no matter how much money you make. $100K is a pretty good salary. Originally Posted By imq707s: Originally Posted By woodsie: Originally Posted By imq707s: I'd love to see the budget of those six-figure earners that say they "don't feel high income"....... probably spending thousands a month on junk, going out to eat, huge car payments, 10 different streaming services, starbucks, etc, etc...... But nobody wants to ever talk about that....... No different that those people who win millions in the lottery, and then are bankrupt in a couple of years. Some people are just bad with money....no matter how much they make, they are always broke. "Six-figure earners" covers a pretty wide chasm between $100k and $999k. But we're talking about people making $100k per year and we aren't talking about people feeling "poor" we are talking about people "not feeling high income". If you are sweating car payments, eating out, streaming subscriptions, and starbucks, you definitely aren't high income. You absolutely can be. If you can't figure out how to live within your means.......you can be sweating all that stuff, no matter how much money you make. $100K is a pretty good salary. I'm not sure what the disconnect is here. I'm speaking to your original point in the context of the subject of the thread. This isn't over whether $100k is a pretty good salary or not. It's not about whether you can make it simply by living in your means. We are talking about the simple observation that it's no longer high on the hog in the same way it used to be. |
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Originally Posted By ZF-1: 100k is the new minimum wage... You're joking, but a family of four with a household income of 40k can collect about 40k worth of welfare benefits. 80k isn't that far off 100k. |
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Originally Posted By King_Mud: I’m not saying that you’re lying but a couple meals out of a chicken for a family of three? Are you mice? I have two teenage boys and it’s closer to a chicken each than making several meals out of one. Originally Posted By King_Mud: Originally Posted By imq707s: Originally Posted By billth777: Originally Posted By imq707s: I'd love to see the budget of those six-figure earners that say they "don't feel high income"....... probably spending thousands a month on junk, going out to eat, huge car payments, 10 different streaming services, starbucks, etc, etc...... But nobody wants to ever talk about that....... No different that those people who win millions in the lottery, and then are bankrupt in a couple of years. Some people are just bad with money....no matter how much they make, they are always broke. $1300 mortgage, one $400 car payment, eat out once every other month maybe. Most of my streaming services are 'free' with other subscriptions (tmobile and Amex). Our largest expense BY FAR is groceries. $600-$700 a week. It's tripled since 2020. How big is your family? That's a ton of money on groceries. What are you buying??  I probably spend $200 a week for our family of 3, and I'm not skimping on anything. But I also cook every meal, and don't buy much per-packaged or processed stuff. Chicken, Pork, Veggies, Fruit....$200 will get a lot of that. Hell, we get those rotisserie chickens from Costco for $5. I can make a couple of meals out of that pretty easily. I’m not saying that you’re lying but a couple meals out of a chicken for a family of three? Are you mice? I have two teenage boys and it’s closer to a chicken each than making several meals out of one. Some of the people in this thread wouldn't know whether to shit or go blind if they saw how many eggs and how much ground beef my 18 year old stepson eats. |
We're getting close, real close. And now for some more bad news... Ready?
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Originally Posted By EMP: I honestly don't see how people survive on $100K and still invest in their future. I assume 100% of their salary goes to living and there is nothing invested for the future. I think housing, and when they got it, is the big x factor for most people. Trying to buy today vs having bought in 2019 could easily be the difference between having the dough to make solid impact on the ol' 401k every year. I bought my current place in 2019. The the mortgage on it if bought today would probably be about double between appreciation and higher rates. |
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Originally Posted By sabre_kc: Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. Originally Posted By sabre_kc: Originally Posted By bjkb1f: Inflation is a thing. Just like being a millionaire doesn’t mean the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. Maybe you can be really frugal and get by if you don't have a family, but a million dollars isn't going to carry you decades unless you're planning on living in poverty for the rest of your life. At a conservative 3% draw down, that's 30k/yr. Poverty level for a family of four is ~30k/yr. |
We're getting close, real close. And now for some more bad news... Ready?
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Originally Posted By tifosi: +1 The purchasing power of a dollar is less each year. That's not some revolutionary statement, we all know that. It is what it is. But we live in a consumer driven society. People are programmed to spend money and they do so freely. So it doesn't really matter what their income is, they spend it. Learning how to suppress that dopamine hit of instant gratification and not spend on shit that brings no meaning into your life, instead opting to save and invest and live frugally, is like a super power. |
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Originally Posted By sq40: Just look at the average home price in your area, and average mortgage rate, property tax and homeowners insurance. Then look at one basic used car price and interest rate. Originally Posted By sq40: Originally Posted By imq707s: I'd love to see the budget of those six-figure earners that say they "don't feel high income"....... probably spending thousands a month on junk, going out to eat, huge car payments, 10 different streaming services, starbucks, etc, etc...... But nobody wants to ever talk about that....... No different that those people who win millions in the lottery, and then are bankrupt in a couple of years. Some people are just bad with money....no matter how much they make, they are always broke. Just look at the average home price in your area, and average mortgage rate, property tax and homeowners insurance. Then look at one basic used car price and interest rate. Yeah. And then the cost of food, gas and medical insurance. $100,000 isn't poor but in many parts of the country it isn't really upper middle class anymore either. |
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Originally Posted By LV1976: And there it is, GD's favorite trope that if people would just quit drinking Starbucks, their economic struggles will disappear. Originally Posted By LV1976: Originally Posted By imq707s: I'd love to see the budget of those six-figure earners that say they "don't feel high income"....... probably spending thousands a month on junk, going out to eat, huge car payments, 10 different streaming services, starbucks, etc, etc...... But nobody wants to ever talk about that....... No different that those people who win millions in the lottery, and then are bankrupt in a couple of years. Some people are just bad with money....no matter how much they make, they are always broke. And there it is, GD's favorite trope that if people would just quit drinking Starbucks, their economic struggles will disappear. you're right a $7 drink 30 times a month is just pennies at the end of the day. $210 bucks a month is only 65.6% of what it costs to keep my 2800 sqft house 72 degrees 24 hours a day in august in west central florida. or 73.6% of my buddies car payment or 7 phone lines with my cell phone carrier or 2 months of my internet or $25 more than full coverage on my 4 vehicles ($100,000-$300,000 coverage) through progressive. or basically nothing. now just add in a pack of smokes day, a couple cheap mcdonalds value meals a day, a financed top tier phone, and a new tattoo every couple months, baby daddy / baby momma bail money every now and then, a little bit of weed here and there. its only a $10 here and there all day, basically nothing. hell min wage is $15 here. $10 only takes 66.6% of an hour that's only 40 minutes of my time im only gonna spend 16 of them $10 bills here and there and everywhere a day "it should be fine by the end of the month". this math is how ive made a fortune in the pawn business. this math is the same math that tells customers that 300% apr really isn't 300% its only 25% a month. i honestly thought "common core math" was bad when it first came out but buddy like mcdonalds, "im loving it". 
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Originally Posted By ecreps: That's kind of the point of the article, 6 figure earners can't afford to buy a new car every 5 years, can't afford to go out to eat, and can't afford small daily luxuries. That firmly puts them not in the "high income" category. High income insinuates that you can have luxuries in live without stressing about them. We aren't talking ferrari here, we are tyalking about new or lightly pre-owned fords and GMs and Toyotas. Originally Posted By ecreps: Originally Posted By imq707s: I'd love to see the budget of those six-figure earners that say they "don't feel high income"....... probably spending thousands a month on junk, going out to eat, huge car payments, 10 different streaming services, starbucks, etc, etc...... But nobody wants to ever talk about that....... No different that those people who win millions in the lottery, and then are bankrupt in a couple of years. Some people are just bad with money....no matter how much they make, they are always broke. That's kind of the point of the article, 6 figure earners can't afford to buy a new car every 5 years, can't afford to go out to eat, and can't afford small daily luxuries. That firmly puts them not in the "high income" category. High income insinuates that you can have luxuries in live without stressing about them. We aren't talking ferrari here, we are tyalking about new or lightly pre-owned fords and GMs and Toyotas. i am a truck guy, specifically a ford super duty guy. an f250 xl 4x4 (pretty basic with power windows, mirrors, door locks, and cruise control) is $60k here. the same truck fully loaded top trim is $100,000. i rarely see xl trucks running around, people are financing $40k just for extra packages on this base truck. i guess why not its only $1700 a month for 7 years what could go wrong? most of my customers drive "better" vehicles then i do, everything they have is brand name. i have one customers 3 most current i phones, just keep paying me that $150 a month in interest. she is currently driving a new mid tier mercedes sedan. 
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Originally Posted By sabre_kc: Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. Originally Posted By sabre_kc: Originally Posted By bjkb1f: Inflation is a thing. Just like being a millionaire doesn’t mean the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Anybody worth 7 digits (assets minus liabilities > 1 million USD) today means exactly the same thing it meant 25 years ago. Inflation or no what that kind of net worth means is that nobody owns you and you can do what you want, then and now. you're right to an extent. i just sold my shops in march-ish, i owed nothing, i kept all the precious metals and refined them. i cleared a little more than that, plus the 20+ years of savings, retirement accounts, investments, ect. i am a "rich" man "on paper", and my wife's income covers all the bills (nothing owed just utilities, insurances, ect), but in this economy im living tighter than a bull frogs asshole. if you dont think $1000 a month grocery bill for 2 people that eat home cooked whole foods doesnt sting (no matter how much money you have) youre crazy. $200 tank of gas stings. whats that gonna do to the electric bill in a few months went they add the "fuel surcharge". my lights will never be turned off, my gas tank will never be empty, but anyone not currently watching that bottom line is in my opinion an idiot. |