What do you consider a "comfortable" yearly salary?

[elaine amj]

Pay no attention to the crap in this thread. 3 Words: Mr. Money Mustache (google it!). A family of 3 living a life of luxury spending $25k per year.

As for me and my family of 4...living VERY comfortably in Pittsburgh on under $100k salary. All of this talk of $175k...if we had that kind of income I'd be able to retire within 10 years, probably less.

I'm a MMM fan too Although I am still very much a spendypants Very hard to resist lifestyle inflation - even though I said we absolutely would resist when DH got a new job last year. We have splurged a little more than I had wanted to over the past year.

Just wanted to add...YOUR comfy might not be MY comfy. I have a tiny house - we bought it recently and it was listed as 1200 square feet...including the basement. it has one tiny bathroom, and 3 tiny bedrooms. It is more than enough room for us. I don't need (or want!) anything bigger.

Our luxuries are eating out (Chili's!), and vacations. Having those two things available to me are what makes MY life comfy. We did it on $55K a year, and we do it now as more than double that. Those priorties did not change..

All my life I have always thought of money as finite. I know that I only have so much money to spend. It can be little, it can be a lot, but it is always finite. So even if I made $300k a year, there still needs to be a budget and there are still limits. Dunno about the multi-millionaire thing, but I imagine there still is. Think of all those superstars making mountains of money who wind up broke.

That has served me well in my financial life. Thankfully, DH is a saver too. I was a SAHM for many years and we lived very "comfortably" on his $70k income. We always had extra in the bank, had no credit card debt, could buy a modest home, and saved a chunk of money every month. We didn't have a lavish lifestyle and said no to many of the things our friends did. And we only did occasional pricey vacations.

When I started working, our income went up and it made annual Disney trips affordable and now we spend about $6k a year on vacations (we take a ton of vacations every year on this budget with heavy supplementation of credit card churning). And our lifestyle has inflated a little - more meals out, a little more reckless spending. But we still have no debt (and house will be paid off next year!), have plenty of cushion in savings, and still live well within our means.

It does make a difference what you consider comfortable. For me, feeling comfortable means that I have enough to spend and not worry about "not having enough". Even if we both lost our jobs tomorrow, we have enough financial cushion to get us through years of unemployment. If I have an unexpected bill for $10k, it's a bummer, but no more than an annoyance. As far as I am concerned, our lives feel lavish. Our frugal choices and careful attitudes towards money have made our lives "comfortable" and I am thankful for that.

 

[punkin]

We are in the DC suburbs...very expensive COL area. I have a second child applying to college this year. All small, private liberal arts colleges except one in state safety. I will need approximately $60K per year extra after tax for the next 4 years in addition to our current expenses (I do not expect a single penny in financial aid). I think about half a million would be comfortable. lol.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

.....heavy supplementation of credit card churning.......

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

 

[tvguy]

We are in the DC suburbs...very expensive COL area. I have a second child applying to college this year. All small, private liberal arts colleges except one in state safety. I will need approximately $60K per year extra after tax for the next 4 years in addition to our current expenses (I do not expect a single penny in financial aid). I think about half a million would be comfortable. lol.

Since you have been putting away 15% of your pay for the past 18 years in a college fund, you should be fine.

 

[tiffjoy]

That makes sense, at your income level. Based on my level, I've never been able to receive any of the credits. That's the "punishment" that people in high COL areas face. There is no inflation index on income for COL so you lose in many ways.

This. My DH and I both make well into six figures, but we live in the costly Bay Area, so it doesn't go nearly as far as one would think. I still am thankful and feel that we are comfortable, but housing costs are absolutely insane if you haven't lived out here and owned your home for the past 30 years or so. Getting into the market is a total nightmare. I wish more things took into account COL.

 

[Art 1]

Since you have been putting away 15% of your pay for the past 18 years in a college fund, you should be fine.

Smart woman putting her children's future first.

 

[sunshinemelody]

It was real interesting reading all of these posts. Truly. I knew that the COL was obviously drastically different in different parts of the country, so, that wasn't a surprise, but seeing some of the numbers pop up for comfort made me wonder if I'm dreaming up too lavish a lifestyle for myself. Maybe?

I'm in college, wanting to become a surgeon in 50 zillion years time, and I figure that if I wanted to get married, own my own home, have 2.5 kids (I want to adopt and that's an expensive process and to be a foster parent) and have the option of going on vacations as many as 4-5 times a year (I love to travel and don't get to do it as often as my eyes do through Pinterest), I'd have to be making a minimum combined salary of $500K. I've already resigned myself that my children will go to a private school and I'm not sure if I'll even stay in CT (probably not, taxes are out of control, and there's nothing to see or do here), so maybe life won't be as expensive. I know that it looks lavish, but I want the best for my kids and I just think of all the opportunities that I missed out on that I could afford my own little rugrats (like spending money to send them to Guatemala or some awesome Polynesian island) in the future. Plus, if I'm going to spend 8-10 more years of my life in medical school and residency and then fellowship after undergrad, I darn well better be compensated well for the time that I spent studying and practicing to be the best darn surgeon I can be.

Maybe I'm asking for too much, but I don't know, after the life that I've lived, it'd be nice to sit back and not have to worry about anything.

 

[FINFAN]

Do most of you guys take loans for your cars or do you just buy them straight up?

we usually buy used, cash. We did finance one, (1%) our newest car ('07) as that purchase hit right when DD was about to start college in '08.

 

[FINFAN]

The discrepancy is between "doing just fine" and being "comfortable". For a lot of people (myself included), "comfortable" means not really having money concerns. I pay my bills, have a few luxuries, save some for retirement, drive decent cars, etc. But hardly a day goes by that I don't have some sort of financial "worry". What if this happens? What if that happens? Man, I wish we could afford this!

So, while we're "doing fine", we're not "comfortable", at least not by my definition.

ITA... and the older I get , the less comfortable my salary feels lol. I remember thinking 100,000 was ridiculously wealthy when I was in college . That was before said college costs went through the roof, lol. Speaking of roofs, back in college I didn't think about the cost of replacing those either

 

[Art 1]

It was real interesting reading all of these posts. Truly. I knew that the COL was obviously drastically different in different parts of the country, so, that wasn't a surprise, but seeing some of the numbers pop up for comfort made me wonder if I'm dreaming up too lavish a lifestyle for myself. Maybe?

I'm in college, wanting to become a surgeon in 50 zillion years time, and I figure that if I wanted to get married, own my own home, have 2.5 kids (I want to adopt and that's an expensive process and to be a foster parent) and have the option of going on vacations as many as 4-5 times a year (I love to travel and don't get to do it as often as my eyes do through Pinterest), I'd have to be making a minimum combined salary of $500K. I've already resigned myself that my children will go to a private school and I'm not sure if I'll even stay in CT (probably not, taxes are out of control, and there's nothing to see or do here), so maybe life won't be as expensive. I know that it looks lavish, but I want the best for my kids and I just think of all the opportunities that I missed out on that I could afford my own little rugrats (like spending money to send them to Guatemala or some awesome Polynesian island) in the future. Plus, if I'm going to spend 8-10 more years of my life in medical school and residency and then fellowship after undergrad, I darn well better be compensated well for the time that I spent studying and practicing to be the best darn surgeon I can be.

Maybe I'm asking for too much, but I don't know, after the life that I've lived, it'd be nice to sit back and not have to worry about anything.

You'll be compensated as much as people, or the government or insurance is willing to pay. No more than that. We all can bill whatever we want. What we receive is a different story.

 

[eliza61]

It was real interesting reading all of these posts. Truly. I knew that the COL was obviously drastically different in different parts of the country, so, that wasn't a surprise, but seeing some of the numbers pop up for comfort made me wonder if I'm dreaming up too lavish a lifestyle for myself. Maybe?

I'm in college, wanting to become a surgeon in 50 zillion years time, and I figure that if I wanted to get married, own my own home, have 2.5 kids (I want to adopt and that's an expensive process and to be a foster parent) and have the option of going on vacations as many as 4-5 times a year (I love to travel and don't get to do it as often as my eyes do through Pinterest), I'd have to be making a minimum combined salary of $500K. I've already resigned myself that my children will go to a private school and I'm not sure if I'll even stay in CT (probably not, taxes are out of control, and there's nothing to see or do here), so maybe life won't be as expensive. I know that it looks lavish, but I want the best for my kids and I just think of all the opportunities that I missed out on that I could afford my own little rugrats (like spending money to send them to Guatemala or some awesome Polynesian island) in the future. Plus, if I'm going to spend 8-10 more years of my life in medical school and residency and then fellowship after undergrad, I darn well better be compensated well for the time that I spent studying and practicing to be the best darn surgeon I can be.

Maybe I'm asking for too much, but I don't know, after the life that I've lived, it'd be nice to sit back and not have to worry about anything.

LOL, nothing wrong with shooting for the moon just recognized that the "I'm every woman" theme song can get real exhausting. lol

right now you're in college, also realize that dreams morph, change, disappear over the course of ones life. How do you know your children will go to a private school? You may live in an area with great schools. You're going to be a surgeon and go on vacations 5 times a year?.. really? I'm related to a surgeon, he's still laughing over that line. Med school and residency, how's that going to be paid for?

My point is dream big but make decisions rationally. There is a big difference in my life and dreams from 22 to 32. Concentrate on building a fulfilling life, instead of a lavish one.

 

[tvguy]

Do most of you guys take loans for your cars or do you just buy them straight up?

DW and I have had 9 cars between us in our lifetimes (including the 5 we currently own). Paid cash for 4, financed 5.

I am turning into my father. His motto always was, "if you can't pay cash for a car, you don't need a new car". I will never finance a car again. I will buy what I can afford to pay cash for. I bought both my kids used rental cars that were a year old and had less than 30,000 miles on them, for less than $10,000 each. If that is what I have to buy fine, I can swing cash for that.

 

[Maxpowers]

I bought both my kids used rental cars that were a year old and had less than 30,000 miles on them

How have those worked out? I always hear to stay away from used rental cars.

 

[sunshinemelody]

LOL, nothing wrong with shooting for the moon just recognized that the "I'm every woman" theme song can get real exhausting. lol

right now you're in college, also realize that dreams morph, change, disappear over the course of ones life. How do you know your children will go to a private school? You may live in an area with great schools. You're going to be a surgeon and go on vacations 5 times a year?.. really? I'm related to a surgeon, he's still laughing over that line. Med school and residency, how's that going to be paid for?

My point is dream big but make decisions rationally. There is a big difference in my life and dreams from 22 to 32. Concentrate on building a fulfilling life, instead of a lavish one.

Tell your surgeon friend, I can laugh too, it's a fun thing to do.

I'm a dreamer and I'm all about the dreams. Not letting anyone kill that. However, I do understand, I'd rather dream big than small and nothing at all. I'll reach for the next galaxy, the moon isn't big enough.

@eliza61 What kind of surgeon is your friend? I would like to become a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and I just did a little research for UPENN's General Surgery program and they've got 3 weeks of vacation, which is enough vacation to stretch that into 4 vacation times (that aren't necessarily a week long of course) if I were just an ickle resident.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

DW and I have had 9 cars between us in our lifetimes (including the 5 we currently own). Paid cash for 4, financed 5.

I am turning into my father. His motto always was, "if you can't pay cash for a car, you don't need a new car". I will never finance a car again. I will buy what I can afford to pay cash for. I bought both my kids used rental cars that were a year old and had less than 30,000 miles on them, for less than $10,000 each. If that is what I have to buy fine, I can swing cash for that.

I agree with your dad. To me, a car seems like a rather small expense and taking on debt to finance it just seems unnecessary. But I know not everyone has that comfort level.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

How have those worked out? I always here to stay away from used rental cars.

Buying an ex-rental car is a lot like marrying an ex-prostitute.

 

[Maxpowers]

Buying an ex-rental car is a lot like marrying an ex-prostitute.

That pretty much sums up what I've heard about buying them. To be avoided. Curious how it's worked out for the guy that bought some.

 

[eliza61]

Tell your surgeon friend, I can laugh too, it's a fun thing to do.

I'm a dreamer and I'm all about the dreams. Not letting anyone kill that. However, I do understand, I'd rather dream big than small and nothing at all. I'll reach for the next galaxy, the moon isn't big enough.

@eliza61 What kind of surgeon is your friend? I would like to become a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and I just did a little research for UPENN's General Surgery program and they've got 3 weeks of vacation, which is enough vacation to stretch that into 4 vacation times (that aren't necessarily a week long of course) if I were just an ickle resident.

Hey sunshine,
that's the tickets. My friend (truthfully I should say more of an friend through my late husband) is a Pediatric thoracic surgeon, he decided in the end to not have any children though. Not sure how much vacation he gets, I think it maybe a lot of "dedication to the job" type of stuff.

good luck with your studies. you'll make it.

 

[tvguy]

How have those worked out? I always hear to stay away from used rental cars.

Great. My son's car went over 100,000 miles without a single repair. My daughters car, same make and model but 1 year newer has needed 2 fuel pumps and a brake master cylinder at 70,000 miles. First fuel pump was covered by Ford because they had issues with fuel pumps. But that had nothing to do with them being rental cars, just bad luck. Sons is a 2006 Taurus, daughter's is a 2007 Taurus. Both bought directly from Hertz.
Hertz keeps the best cars to sell themselves. The higher mileage cars and those with issues are wholesaled to auto auction houses.
I know at the time I bought these cars, Carmax had a bunch of Hertz cars. Their cars were spotless too, but had 20,000 more miles on them, and had a $2,000 higher price tag.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

Buying an ex-rental car is a lot like marrying an ex-prostitute.

Hey, I resemble that remark! I bought a 2007 Chrysler Pacifica that was an ex rental and it has served me very well (knock wood). It was almost brand new and saved me $20,000.

Also, because your finance previously giving it away for free with multiple ex boyfriends is a much better investment?