Gross household income on the DIS

[eliza61]

Would you mind sharing what your husband does for a living? I ask because I would like to embark on a career change, but only to a career that earns a substantial amount of money (and that I enjoy!!). I am currently a mechanical engineer and although the money is good, I just don't enjoy it, so I am looking to switch to something I like that also makes better money. Anyone who has a well-paying, enjoyable career is welcome to respond.
Thanks all!

I loved being what my company calls a Principle Investigator. LOL plain ole chemist. I enjoyed solving problems, working on developing new products.

I took a position that is more regulatory and wish I hadn't. I'm not the office type gal and I hate dealing with regulatory agencies.

What do you consider well paying? Our Associate investigators with BS's probably start out at 60-65K a year. They do get great benefits though.

 

[lauradis]

Money is a tool. Money does give us happiness. In the form of less stress minus taxes.

Ever take a couple of thousands $$$ out of the bank in cash, it will make you smile.

We enjoy living well below are means for housing and cars, just not that materialistic (minus my shoe addiction)

My Bil made the statement of you guys go on lots of vacations to DH
which his reply was we don't have 4 car payments and laura's good with money.

My mil made the statement of you should update you kitchen instead of going to Disney. My answer was nope just renting from the bank rather go to Disney.

Bil and mil aren't poor they just have decided to live at the top ends of their means because stuff and pretty houses are important to them.

 

[mrsabbott]

We don't live in an area where there is a high cost of living.. I'd say it's pretty average. We would be in better shape financially if we didn't have debt. At one point, we were debt free but then we tried to start our own business and.. well.. we have debt now. Hubs has started back to school in an attempt to figure out what to do with his life and, hopefully, get a better paying job then he would be able to get now. I work full time but don't make much money. We have 4 children.

If we had NO DEBT.. we'd be living comfortable. Unfortunately, for the moment we can't get ahead. We don't take many vacations or go out to eat or anything like that. I don't buy anything unless it is on sale. Our vehicles are older and in need of repair. Our house is in decent shape, although it does need some cosmetic repair (paint and flooring mainly, plus our fence isn't in great shape).

I don't look at someone badly because they have more financial success then we do. It does sometimes baffle me when I see people make (to me) frivolous financial choices.. but I might make those same choices if I had the disposable income.. I don't know. My step FIL buys a new truck once or twice a year. Trades in his boat for a new one every year. Eats out 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. But you know, he can afford to do so and that's his choice. We probably live on what he spends on restaurants a year alone.. I look at his lifestyle and think to myself that he'd probably be a millionaire by now if he'd quite buying brand new cars and eating out all the time. But he's a good guy and he works hard and it's his money to spend.

 

[pigletto]

I was thinking the same thing. How is it a bad thing that the PP's husband makes a comfortable income? When did financial success become a badge of shame?

You would be amazed at the amount of disdain and gossiping that comes when someone is well off. My family is wealthy. I am not. There is a difference. We as children are expected to make our own way though we've been given help with schooling or homes etc. From some family or neighbours or people you might hardly know you will hear any number of rude comments, speculation and unkindness. "Must be nice" with an eyeroll is one of the most common. My parents worked their way up from nothing, but that didn't matter once they reached an income level that would be considered wealthy. It's not everyone by any means, but there is a certain level of spite that's thrown their way that I don't understand.

 

[eliza61]

We don't live in an area where there is a high cost of living.. I'd say it's pretty average. We would be in better shape financially if we didn't have debt. At one point, we were debt free but then we tried to start our own business and.. well.. we have debt now. Hubs has started back to school in an attempt to figure out what to do with his life and, hopefully, get a better paying job then he would be able to get now. I work full time but don't make much money. We have 4 children.

If we had NO DEBT.. we'd be living comfortable. Unfortunately, for the moment we can't get ahead. We don't take many vacations or go out to eat or anything like that. I don't buy anything unless it is on sale. Our vehicles are older and in need of repair. Our house is in decent shape, although it does need some cosmetic repair (paint and flooring mainly, plus our fence isn't in great shape).

I don't look at someone badly because they have more financial success then we do. It does sometimes baffle me when I see people make (to me) frivolous financial choices.. but I might make those same choices if I had the disposable income.. I don't know. My step FIL buys a new truck once or twice a year. Trades in his boat for a new one every year. Eats out 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. But you know, he can afford to do so and that's his choice. We probably live on what he spends on restaurants a year alone.. I look at his lifestyle and think to myself that he'd probably be a millionaire by now if he'd quite buying brand new cars and eating out all the time. But he's a good guy and he works hard and it's his money to spend.

and more importantly would he be any happier if he did that?

My husband denied himself some things in order for the proverbial "rainy day" and then died at 55. I very much often wonder what was it all for? For some supposed "happiness" that was supposed to come when we reach a magical debt free end point?

So now I'm firmly in the middle. I drive about 110 miles a day round trip for work. So now yep, I'm spending the extra money to drive in a little luxury.

I take vacations now, regardless. for me the time with my kids is more important than paying off my car loan. Now granted I say that from a very comfortable place, my kids college tuition is taken care of, my mortgage paid off. but my attitude has change a bit. If my kitchen needed upgrading, I have no issues with using my helo to do it and going on a vacation. Now granted my definition of vacation is very wide. I don't need a Disney one to go have fun.

I just no longer believe that if I have X amount of money than I will be much happier.

 

[CanBeGrumpy]

I loved being what my company calls a Principle Investigator. LOL plain ole chemist. I enjoyed solving problems, working on developing new products.

I took a position that is more regulatory and wish I hadn't. I'm not the office type gal and I hate dealing with regulatory agencies.

What do you consider well paying? Our Associate investigators with BS's probably start out at 60-65K a year. They do get great benefits though.

Good question as to what I consider "well-paying". I guess I would love to make 6 figures, which could possibly happen if I stuck with engineering for the next 10 years, but I'd rather be happy. So I guess now that I think more about it, I'd like a job that has potential to be 6 figures in the next 10 years (or less, of course!) but that also makes me happy.

I think my strengths lie with facts and numbers; I don't really like creating things. I've thought about getting into insurance. I know a woman who works in insurance sales who makes more than I do and she does not have a college degree. It would be great to find something like that, although I am not opposed to returning to school to learn a new field. I am in my mid-40s though, so the clock is ticking!!

Although Chemistry is a subject I had trouble understanding, my son is very good at it so I will pass along your info to him as a possible career. He will be entering college in 2015. So thank you for the information!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

You would be amazed at the amount of disdain and gossiping that comes when someone is well off. My family is wealthy. I am not. There is a difference. We as children are expected to make our own way though we've been given help with schooling or homes etc. From some family or neighbours or people you might hardly know you will hear any number of rude comments, speculation and unkindness. "Must be nice" with an eyeroll is one of the most common. My parents worked their way up from nothing, but that didn't matter once they reached an income level that would be considered wealthy. It's not everyone by any means, but there is a certain level of spite that's thrown their way that I don't understand.

And yet, for many people, college loans and house payments are where the lion's share of money goes.

My parents were able to help me with college; I'm forever grateful and try to do my best to not take that gift for granted because so many of my friends had to do it all on their own and their lives will forever be harder.

 

[DawnM]

n/m

 

[mhsjax]

I agree that I am not surprised to see so many ppl making above average money.

Ppl always ask me how can we afford to go to Disney so much. I usually just tell them I find good deals and save up for it.

How do you tell ppl without making them feel bad that well I take a lot of very expensive vacations because we can afford it. We have a very high income.

And the bad thing about my situation is it is ONLY my husband working and his salary is extraordinary compared to most.

We live modestly though. We do not live above or even near our means. I do drive a luxury car but that is the only indication we make above average money. We live in a normal 2500 sq ft house on 2 acres of land. Not a McMansion.

You can't look at most of the posters sigs and see they go to Disney two or three times a year and assume they make 50k or less per year.

You shouldn't have to "downplay" you income. This is what is wrong, people seem to feel guilty because of their good fortune/hard work. Be proud of it, you don't have to flaunt it, but don't feel bad about it either.

 

[mhsjax]

I was thinking the same thing. How is it a bad thing that the PP's husband makes a comfortable income? When did financial success become a badge of shame?

I have an answer for that, but I would get points.

 

[Colleen27]

We've seen it work to the other absurd extreme as well, where people are in one thread wondering how they'll buy groceries for the kids and in another thread planning their forth trip to Disney in two years because "I need it."

Each end of the income spectrum could probably stand to learn something from the other - at the high end we could stand to learn that cutting out eating out, not having granite countertops and driving a five year old car is something people at the lower end do and STILL don't vacation every year if they are responsible. At the other end, some people could learn that one of the ways some of us have gotten financial security is to spend what we could afford to spend - even if that means skipping vacations we "need" and "deserve."

That's true. There's certainly been plenty of absurdity from both extremes, and it seems like it all lands on this particular sub-forum!

Personally I don't think that's true either. ...

Now me, I was perfectly happy making less money, with a car note and a mortgage. My happiness did not depend on paying off my mortgage nor was I on some plan to pay any thing off early and I darn sure wasn't giving up my vacations to become debt free.

I think being debt free equals freedom only when the cost of servicing that debt (financial or otherwise) is significant enough to interfere with one's desired lifestyle. For us being debt free is freedom because if we had a mortgage my husband wouldn't be able to continue to pursue his dream of his own business while I hold down the fort here at home. A bad year, for us, means vacationing in the Michigan state parks instead of Florida theme parks but we have the security of knowing it will never mean foreclosure and that's the only reason we can ride out those bad years confidently.

But not everyone wants to make choices that disrupt their earning potential for years on end, and for someone who is happily, steadily, and gainfully employed a mortgage or car payment or student loan isn't the handicap that it would be for us.

And yet, for many people, college loans and house payments are where the lion's share of money goes.

Precisely. We're very fortunate and that's the first thing I say when someone asks how we do it. Between the generous help of family, particularly when we were just starting out, and incredibly lucky timing in our housing decisions we do well even though we have an income in one of the lower brackets on this poll. Someone doing it all on their own would have a much, much harder road than we've had and I try very hard to keep that in mind (especially when we are in the midst of one of those bad years!).

 

[crisi]

You can't really underestimate the head start people are getting when they get a college education and leave college without significant debt. Its the difference between being able to choose to buy a house at 22 or 24, and staying in college like apartments with roommates, moving in with your parents, or HAVING to move in with your girlfriend/boyfriend because its more grown up than room mates or your parents. Its the difference between putting enough away from your first job into a 401k to get the match and saying "if I do that, I'm going to have a hard time ever getting to a movie until my loan is paid off." Its the difference between being able to quit when you have kids - or afford daycare - and realizing when you are pregnant that making ends meet will be nearly impossible.

The head start is particularly large for two types of people - those who graduate from private schools with lower paying majors (teachers, social workers) and those who go on for professional degrees - where you can graduate with $100,000 in debt pretty easily.

 

[pigletto]

And yet, for many people, college loans and house payments are where the lion's share of money goes.

My parents were able to help me with college; I'm forever grateful and try to do my best to not take that gift for granted because so many of my friends had to do it all on their own and their lives will forever be harder.

I think perhaps I gave the wrong impression with my post. I did not receive a cent for my education, though some of my siblings did. I am the oldest and my parents circumstances were different at different times. Nowhere was I saying I was ungrateful for anything at all, nor that I am unaware that the financial security of my parents has not allowed for their 6 children to receive a blessed life.
All I was responding to was the question of "When did it become a badge of shame to make a good living?".
My answer was illustrating that I have personally witnessed disdain for THEM and their income despite very few people knowing that the lions share goes to charities and to improve the lives of others. It's not something that keeps me up at night.. I was just saying it does indeed happen that people are not nice about someone else having wealth.

 

[JanaDee]

You would be amazed at the amount of disdain and gossiping that comes when someone is well off. My family is wealthy. I am not. There is a difference. We as children are expected to make our own way though we've been given help with schooling or homes etc. From some family or neighbours or people you might hardly know you will hear any number of rude comments, speculation and unkindness. "Must be nice" with an eyeroll is one of the most common. My parents worked their way up from nothing, but that didn't matter once they reached an income level that would be considered wealthy. It's not everyone by any means, but there is a certain level of spite that's thrown their way that I don't understand.

Therein lies the difference. If my schooling had been paid for and we got a healthy chunk of money towards a house from wealthy parents, we'd be much further ahead in paying off our mortgage and have more in savings.

You truly don't understand the difference?

 

[pigletto]

Therein lies the difference. If my schooling had been paid for and we got a healthy chunk of money towards a house from wealthy parents, we'd be much further ahead in paying off our mortgage and have more in savings.

You truly don't understand the difference?

All I can do here is ask you to read the post above yours again and assume you missed it. And to reiterate.. I have received none of the above and am still paying my student loan. My wording was poor. I am the oldest by 20 years. It was different for me. But I was NOT referring to me when I said I've witnessed disdain, but referring to the comments and attitudes about my parents. That's it.. that's all. I pay my bills and carry my debt like the rest of you.

 

[NotUrsula]

The thing is, when you are comparing the folks who make 6 figures and the folks who make $50K, you have to realize that very often they can be the same people at different stages of their lives. We've been in both places, and now we are on the nicer end of the scale, but depending on what comes up in our lives, we could slide back a bit (such as something we are now dealing with; an unexpected need to support an elderly parent. And yes, she saved and had what was supposed to be excellent insurance, but Medicare has a lot of gotchas, and she's been bitten just recently by some of them).

The thing is, for most of us, despite our very best efforts, there are no guarantees. As Burns so famously said to that mouse, "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft agley ..."

I agree about life being short, however. As long as the basics are covered and your financial behavior is considered and reasonable given your means, there is nothing at all wrong with enjoying the fruits of your labor, even if you don't have an orchard's worth of fruit.

 

[eliza61]

The thing is, when you are comparing the folks who make 6 figures and the folks who make $50K, you have to realize that very often they can be the same people at different stages of their lives. We've been in both places, and now we are on the nicer end of the scale, but depending on what comes up in our lives, we could slide back a bit (such as something we are now dealing with; an unexpected need to support an elderly parent. And yes, she saved and had what was supposed to be excellent insurance, but Medicare has a lot of gotchas, and she's been bitten just recently by some of them).

The thing is, for most of us, despite our very best efforts, there are no guarantees. As Burns so famously said to that mouse, "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft agley ..."

I agree about life being short, however. As long as the basics are covered and your financial behavior is considered and reasonable given your means, there is nothing at all wrong with enjoying the fruits of your labor, even if you don't have an orchard's worth of fruit.

Very true and it also depends on when you were coming up.

For example, neither me nor my dh had student loans. thankfully college back in the 70's and 80's didn't cost an arm and a leg and both our parents well upper middle class. My mom was an attorney. dh's dad was a big executive at IBM international.
Now when we first got jobs we had pensions, it never entered our minds to save "extra" for retirement. there was no such thing as 401k's. We lived within our means but we definitely spent what we made.

Now I guess we would have been mortgage free and huge savings but we did other things that I don't regret. tons of traveling and had our second house built. everyone picks their poison.

Now my sons will graduate student loan free. Who knows if that will give them an edge. my youngest is the more artistic of the two, he would be the one who would pack up and discover Europe for a few years and be totally happy. Do I encourage him to "settle" down and get a 9-5 put 10% away for some rainy day or do I encourage him to take the opportunity that so few get.

I've found that it's easy to say "if I only had a million bucks, my life would be so much easier" but life rarely is linear like that.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I just no longer believe that if I have X amount of money than I will be much happier.

For us being debt free is freedom because if we had a mortgage my husband wouldn't be able to continue to pursue his dream of his own business while I hold down the fort here at home.

I agree with both of these comments, I don't think extra money makes me any happier but I know for a fact not having to worry about paying my bills does. I struggled financially for years and not having enough money to pay bills every month sucked. I remember that feeling of dread every time my phone rang because I knew it was a bill collector, calling the phone company and begging them to give me until payday before they turned off my phone, or having to pay outrageous payday loan fees just to keep the lights on.

To me debt free isn't so much about making x amount of money, it's about not having to make x amount of money. Rather than having to make a minimum of $3500 a month to keep my head above water I can survive on $1500 a month if I had to. I'm turning 40 next month and going back to college in January, I've wanted to go back for a long time but couldn't afford to work less, by being debt free I'm finally in a position that I can work 25hrs a week and devote time to college without stressing over bills.

 

[Angie789]

My takeaway from this poll is just how freaking expensive a Disney vacation is - we are in one of the higher income categories listed, and we STILL have to budget, save and strategize to afford Disney.

 

[crisi]

I agree with both of these comments, I don't think extra money makes me any happier but I know for a fact not having to worry about paying my bills does. I struggled financially for years and not having enough money to pay bills every month sucked. I remember that feeling of dread every time my phone rang because I knew it was a bill collector, calling the phone company and begging them to give me until payday before they turned off my phone, or having to pay outrageous payday loan fees just to keep the lights on.

To me debt free isn't so much about making x amount of money, it's about not having to make x amount of money. Rather than having to make a minimum of $3500 a month to keep my head above water I can survive on $1500 a month if I had to. I'm turning 40 next month and going back to college in January, I've wanted to go back for a long time but couldn't afford to work less, by being debt free I'm finally in a position that I can work 25hrs a week and devote time to college without stressing over bills.

For me, there is a next step. Being relatively debt free (we are leveraged in a mortgage) and having savings in addition to debt means that we can survive for months - years probably - with no salary based income (we'd be spending down investments and still have investment income). Our standard of living would change, but we wouldn't end up homeless.