What do you consider a "comfortable" yearly salary?

[NewRVLady]

Of course no one talks about salary. The average home price here is $471,000, and most of our friends live in average homes. Everyone's property taxes are over $10,000 a year. My very average utility bill us $500 a month. Many of our friends have both spouses working, and if wouldn't even know which spouse makes more money. However, just based on basic living expenses, a family needs a certain income just to live here.

and where is "HERE"?

My older son bought his first home for $150k-n the South
my younger son lives in southern CT-and homes there are crazy expensive-they are looking to move elsewhere to get a house

 

[sunshinemelody]

and where is "HERE"?

My older son bought his first home for $150k-n the South
my younger son lives in southern CT-and homes there are crazy expensive-they are looking to move elsewhere to get a house

Yeah, if he's out here in Fairfield, tell him to run.

 

[mjkacmom]

and where is "HERE"?

My older son bought his first home for $150k-n the South
my younger son lives in southern CT-and homes there are crazy expensive-they are looking to move elsewhere to get a house

NE NJ. To give a comparison, Gumbo4x4 mentions teachers wth 20 years making $55,000. The starting salary for teachers here is $48,000, and I just checked the payroll online, to find many teaches making $100,000+.

ETA, I was curious, and it turns out that my 12 year olds 6th grade teacher is making $82,000. Her husband retired from police chief making $175,000. They live in town in a modest 3 bedroom house. I'm sure they are set for retirement with 2 nice pensions, though. If they lived elsewhere in the country, they would probably be considered very well off.

 

[eliza61]

I don't know what anyone around me makes, period. It's just not something discussed with family and friends.

My company has salary Levels, so if you came in at say a level 6, pretty much everyone here would have a good idea of your salary range. that is standard information any employee can get in their contribution meeting. now they won't know the exact dollar and cents.

I always say my circle of friends is small, I've had the same 6 friends (1 is my sister, 1 is my cousin, other 4 are my college friends) for over 35 years. One of my girlfriends is also my attorney so since she does every legal thing and is the executor of my will, she knows my financial situation. same with my sister,

I don't think it's an issue of sitting around discussing salaries, it's more that we do have discussion about financial matters. If some one needs a financial adviser we'll give recommendations, that will start a discussion.

Colleen27 was just discussing tuition, well my cousin and I have kids that both were in college at the same time so we discussed financial aide and when we discussed financial aide we do it with real numbers.

It's interesting on the dis that people are scared to discuss money, I hang out at two retirement sistes. early-retirement.org and bogleheads.org and if you want advice you'd better be prepared to give exact amounts, where it's stashed, what you plan on doing with it and a whole lot more

 

[NewRVLady]

Yeah, if he's out here in Fairfield, tell him to run.

He is!
So we drive north on various roads(towards her parents in Hudson valley)-its hysterical-we stop at a coffee at some picture postcard town miles away-and the houses are even mORE expensive there!!!

 

[sunshinemelody]

He is!
So we drive north on various roads(towards her parents in Hudson valley)-its hysterical-we stop at a coffee at some picture postcard town miles away-and the houses are even mORE expensive there!!!

And it only gets worse! It's ridiculous! But it's funny how the state is set up, too. You come in from NY-end and bam, you see yachts coming into Cos Cob and you see mansions if you're on Route 1 or whatever, and then you get into shady spots in Stamford and then bam! Again! Ritzy! Well, not on the 1 anyway, but you go North and you've got Hartford and it's weird how only a few towns over people are livin' the good life and they're not. It's just ... CT is a weird place to live. I'd rather move back to NYC and at least know my corner Pizza Rat is struggling and not pretend like it's not happening.

 

[NewRVLady]

We get coffee in Darien at Starbucks a lot( their rental is nearby)-I love to rub elbows with the upper crust

 

[SirDuff]

My company has salary Levels, so if you came in at say a level 6, pretty much everyone here would have a good idea of your salary range. that is standard information any employee can get in their contribution meeting. now they won't know the exact dollar and cents.

We have that too. Plus, since we are quasi-governmental (we are independent but most of our funding is from the governmental) we are part of the annual salary disclosure for anyone making $100,000 or more. So, if you make that, I can find out (to the penny) what you make. As can everyone else in the province (well, I guess country if they want)

 

[vrajewski10513]

I'm late to the game but I'm from Buffalo, NY.. The median income around here is just over $30,000 and the median housing price is just under $118,000... We bought a nice starter home for under $100,000. If you're talking about living in the actual city, with their lower taxes you could live comfortably on about $70,000... If your looking in the suburbs where taxes are higher as long as you don't have a ton of debt you could probably live pretty cozy on $90,000-100,000

 

[StitchBuddy]

I am getting a chuckle out of this thread!! You all do realize that only a wealthy few make that much, even in the U.S. Of course most of the people on this board probably make somewhere near that. 175K is a lot of money most places. It's how you spend your money that matters. People tend to spend what they make.

 

[Art 1]

I am getting a chuckle out of this thread!! You all do realize that only a wealthy few make that much, even in the U.S. Of course most of the people on this board probably make somewhere near that. 175K is a lot of money most places. It's how you spend your money that matters. People tend to spend what they make.

I agree with your last two sentences. However, raising children on that salary would not leave a family comfortable. Private schools, braces paying for college, health care and so forth. I went for years paying $1400 a month for insurance and their tuition alone was much more than that.

 

[hsmamato2]

ok.... let me rephrase that.... I don't know too many people who make that amount. I actually am friendly with a large variety of people where I live,and it's a HIGH COL state.... maybe I am referring more to myself and my perspective.... It's probably more likely we don't ever discuss incomes,etc. But I think the average income for many people I know is less than 100k,in some cases,much less. For ourselves,we have managed to raise our family in one of the highest COL states/areas in the country,on FAR less than 100k,and live very comfortably. (though I would like a bigger tv lol) SO I guess I can speak only for myself. As we age,our income is going up,due to seniority,etc- but over the years....far,far less than 100k.

 

[NewRVLady]

,we have managed to raise our family in one of the highest COL states/areas in the country,on FAR less than 100k,and live very comfortably. (though I would like a bigger tv lol) SO I guess I can speak only for myself. As we age,our income is going up,due to seniority,etc- but over the years....far,far less than 100k.

where is this?

My son lives in Fairfield county CT-which I believe is #1 Cost of Living-Greenwich CT is where all the New York Execs live. No way they could even rent their townhouse living on less than $100K!One of the townhouses next door is for sale for $400k-it blows me away-1500 sq feet only 1 1/2 baths 3 BR

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I agree with your last two sentences. However, raising children on that salary would not leave a family comfortable. Private schools, braces paying for college, health care and so forth. I went for years paying $1400 a month for insurance and their tuition alone was much more than that.

And I think that right there is as big a factor as where you live. If one has access to good public schools and an employer-provided "Cadillac" healthcare plan, one can be "comfortable" at a much lower income than someone who doesn't.

 

[hsmamato2]

I am uncomfortable naming exact places..... our area is a little less than your example in Fairfield....but not much off. In fact most listings I see locally are somewhere between 300k-450k for homes..... that said, if you look in the right places (even locally) you can find 'deals' on homes...we bought 15 years ago,and got a deal on a fixer upper(a nice one) for way less than 200k- and a super refi deal puts our actual mortgage at about 1/2 of what most rentals cost in my state-(the homes on either side of us were in the 300k range within the past 10 years,so nothing fancy, but VERY comfortable,and I love it here) the taxes are another story,and we just suck it up and pay them. So median prices on homes vs. actually what you can find with some detective work can vary quite a bit. When I found out what my SIL just paid for a brand new home in the midwest,and her property taxes are 1500 per year(!!!!!!!) I choked..... But again my idea of 'comfort' is smaller homes, modest cars,modest living,and mostly things money can't buy.....(I guess that's how we manage in our area)

 

[HeatherC]

You may be able to find a "deal" on a home anywhere. However, in a higher COL area everything is more money. Taxes are usually higher, commuting costs are higher, food is often more expensive.

And remember, the thread was not how much can you live on, but rather what do you consider comfortable. With that in mind, making $50,000 in a high COL area makes it very hard to live "comfortably" on that salary. Can it be done? Probably. Is it comfortable? I am guessing most times no....especially if you have kids to support.

 

[eliza61]

LOL, I was thinking about a comfortable salary yesterday.

My poor dog Hobbes is diabetic. he has to get 2 shots of HumlinN every day. because I don't have pet insurance that sucker runs me 140 dollars a month (120 for the medicine, 20-23 bucks for the syringes). comfortable means I can do that,

I can't tell you how many people told me to put him down because no way where they going to spend almost 2K a year on a dog.

 

[Dis703]

I live in a HCOL area where the fixer upper homes are around 500K. Like others have said everything is more expensive here. Full time childcare for 3 kids alone will run in the $35-40,000 range. Property tax, insurance, utilities, they are all insane. Even little things cost more. A friend of mine in another state was talking about her birthday party plans for her son. She rented a bouncy house for $100. Here that same bouncy house would have been $400. All those little hikes in prices add up fast.

I'm thinking comfortable here, for our current set up with 3 kids and our current childcare expenses, medical bills, needed home repairs, etc. we'd probably need to be near 200K to be comfortable.

 

[Christine]

I am uncomfortable naming exact places..... our area is a little less than your example in Fairfield....but not much off. In fact most listings I see locally are somewhere between 300k-450k for homes..... that said, if you look in the right places (even locally) you can find 'deals' on homes...we bought 15 years ago,and got a deal on a fixer upper(a nice one) for way less than 200k- and a super refi deal puts our actual mortgage at about 1/2 of what most rentals cost in my state-(the homes on either side of us were in the 300k range within the past 10 years,so nothing fancy, but VERY comfortable,and I love it here) the taxes are another story,and we just suck it up and pay them. So median prices on homes vs. actually what you can find with some detective work can vary quite a bit. When I found out what my SIL just paid for a brand new home in the midwest,and her property taxes are 1500 per year(!!!!!!!) I choked..... But again my idea of 'comfort' is smaller homes, modest cars,modest living,and mostly things money can't buy.....(I guess that's how we manage in our area)

It's hard for me to think that one of the highest COL places only charges $300-$450K for homes. That's not high COL at all. No wonder you can do it (live comfortably) under $100K. $300-$450 is a run down house here OR you are in a VERY, VERY far flung suburb of the work center.

 

[HeatherC]

I live in a HCOL area where the fixer upper homes are around 500K. Like others have said everything is more expensive here. Full time childcare for 3 kids alone will run in the $35-40,000 range. Property tax, insurance, utilities, they are all insane. Even little things cost more. A friend of mine in another state was talking about her birthday party plans for her son. She rented a bouncy house for $100. Here that same bouncy house would have been $400. All those little hikes in prices add up fast.

I'm thinking comfortable here, for our current set up with 3 kids and our current childcare expenses, medical bills, needed home repairs, etc. we'd probably need to be near 200K to be comfortable.

OMG...I cannot even imagine child care costing 35-40,000 a year. Sad part of that too is the fact that most of those working in the Early Childhood field are making peanuts for what they do.

It really is mind boggling to hear what things cost.