Nearly half of Americans making $100K are living paycheck to paycheck, survey finds

[Charlemagne]

Nearly half of Americans making $100K are living paycheck to paycheck, survey finds

“With inflation up 7.5 percent in the last 12 months, consumers of all income brackets are struggling to find a way to make ends meet,” said the financial health officer at LendingClub.

thehill.com

 

[escortsxxx]

WOW

 

[glamphotographer]

Well they need to make lifestyle changes, stop buying Starbucks every day, stop eating out every day and cook at home, stop buying a new phone every year.

 

[oil&gas]

They also need to cut back on driving sooner or later.

 

[stinkynuts]

$100,000 for a family of four is a comfortable but not wealthy lifestyle. After taxes, health insurance and other deductions it’s only 6000 a month.

Mortgage is 1500
Car payment is 600
Gas, insurance, maintenance is 500
Water, electric, Netflix, cell phones is 700
Childrens clothes, school supplies, parties, gifts, activities and lessons is 500
Groceries and take out is 1500
Wife’s clothes, cosmetics, jewelry, beauty, manicure, hair, massage, spa is 500
Personal allowance for entire family is 800
Total is 6400

What if the roof needs to be replaced at $8000? Or you need a new fridge or furnace? Monthly housing repair and maintenance is not factored in. Also many people have lines of credit, credit card, and student loan debts.And to top it all off, I have not included any prescription medication. This could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month

This means there is no way to save evdn with 100k. Inflation is too much. Today meat is so expensive that I cannot even afford to buy a steak or chicken breasts. I’m now using tofu, ground beef, and vegetables instead.

 

[Ponderling]

I when was working full time I was in this range of income, but never the fast lane life style.

But I knew in my 20's just out of uni I wanted to work to the option of being able to bail on the rat race early. So I lived below my means, saved and invested.

So: Buy a 3-4 year old basic used car, drive it to 14-17 years old, and then last trip is to the scrap yard.
Along the way ,mate, later wife, has another slightly newer used car so oldest one dying is not a huge inconvenience.

Live with house mates though 20's to start of 30's.

Coffee from a pot at home to a road mug. Never buy take out coffee as a daily experience.
Plan meals a week ahead and then grocery shop weekly so needed ingredients are at hand to make them when you get home from work or slow cooker in am.

Order take out only on someones birthday as a treat.
Host dinner parties rather than huge expensive restaurant/bar extravaganzas.

Save and buy a basic house in the burbs near my place of work. Put enough down we paid no mortgage insurance.

Not the newest house, and work to update its energy efficiency and freshen it up over time, mostly as DIY where I could.
Paid down the mortgage aggressively- this was back when interest rates were near what you would get from bond investing.
Never moved house as income rose.

When house paid off keep saving that money as well as other savings that topped up RRSP's every year

Never had a vacation property, never a boat other than a used canoe.
Camping vacations mostly when kids were young.
But we have vacationed further afield as the kids got older and could absorb the experiences it a bit more: Ottawa, Newfoundland, PEI/Nova Scotia, Chicago, LA, NYC, Paris. Now with kids working part time family getaways just don't seem to happen.

So definitely could have slipped into the fast lane, but by playing the long game I have missed a lot of the fast lane pratfalls.

 

[stinkynuts]

I when was working full time I was in this range of income, but never the fast lane life style.

But I knew in my 20's just out of uni I wanted to work to the option of being able to bail on the rat race early. So I lived below my means, saved and invested.

So: Buy a 3-4 year old basic used car, drive it to 14-17 years old, and then last trip is to the scrap yard.
Along the way ,mate, later wife, has another slightly newer used car so oldest one dying is not a huge inconvenience.

Live with house mates though 20's to start of 30's.

Coffee from a pot at home to a road mug. Never buy take out coffee as a daily experience.
Plan meals a week ahead and then grocery shop weekly so needed ingredients are at hand to make them when you get home from work or slow cooker in am.

Order take out only on someones birthday as a treat.
Host dinner parties rather than huge expensive restaurant/bar extravaganzas.

Save and buy a basic house in the burbs near my place of work. Put enough down we paid no mortgage insurance.

Not the newest house, and work to update its energy efficiency and freshen it up over time, mostly as DIY where I could.
Paid down the mortgage aggressively- this was back when interest rates were near what you would get from bond investing.
Never moved house as income rose.

When house paid off keep saving that money as well as other savings that topped up RRSP's every year

Never had a vacation property, never a boat other than a used canoe.
Camping vacations mostly when kids were young.
But we have vacationed further afield as the kids got older and could absorb the experiences it a bit more: Ottawa, Newfoundland, PEI/Nova Scotia, Chicago, LA, NYC, Paris. Now with kids working part time family getaways just don't seem to happen.

So definitely could have slipped into the fast lane, but by playing the long game I have missed a lot of the fast lane pratfalls.

Problem is that today is very different. Housing is no longer affordable, everyone has a college degree and is in debt from the very beginning of the race. Living expenses are through the roof. No matter how thrifty you are, a young person cannot thrive in Toronto financially

But your way of living is the correct way. The problem today is that everybody wants the newest shiniest gadget. They need to be validated by their friends, and so spend money to keep up with the Joneses. This is a huge mistake, as their hard earn money is wasted on depreciating goods. If they chose to invest it, they would be better off

 

[Ponderling]

The college degree I sought was electrical engineering, and was a stepping stone to professional engineer.
Lots of other sorts college courses end up that you can debate Kafka, while asking if they want it Grande.

Oh, and I rarely buy the latest thing.
Buy most at yard sales or thrift store, or find it broken on the curb and bring it home and repair it.
Yes, that makes me an outlier, but one who at 56 is working three days and still quite happy with the pay i get for the three days a week I work.

 

[princekwekua]

Self employment is the biggest liberator. But it takes a certain aptitude so not many involved. 18 hour days/7 days a week for two years to build my business twenty years ago. Business runs itself. Company vehicle, etc. Good disposable income.

 

[Leimonis]

$100,000 for a family of four is a comfortable but not wealthy lifestyle. After taxes, health insurance and other deductions it’s only 6000 a month.

Mortgage is 1500
Car payment is 600
Gas, insurance, maintenance is 500
Water, electric, Netflix, cell phones is 700
Childrens clothes, school supplies, parties, gifts, activities and lessons is 500
Groceries and take out is 1500
Wife’s clothes, cosmetics, jewelry, beauty, manicure, hair, massage, spa is 500
Personal allowance for entire family is 800
Total is 6400

What if the roof needs to be replaced at $8000? Or you need a new fridge or furnace? Monthly housing repair and maintenance is not factored in. Also many people have lines of credit, credit card, and student loan debts.And to top it all off, I have not included any prescription medication. This could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month

This means there is no way to save evdn with 100k. Inflation is too much. Today meat is so expensive that I cannot even afford to buy a steak or chicken breasts. I’m now using tofu, ground beef, and vegetables instead.

they have $1500 mortgages??

 

[harbourhavoc]

they have $1500 mortgages??

$100,000 for a family of four is a comfortable but not wealthy lifestyle. After taxes, health insurance and other deductions it’s only 6000 a month.

Mortgage is 1500
Car payment is 600
Gas, insurance, maintenance is 500
Water, electric, Netflix, cell phones is 700
Childrens clothes, school supplies, parties, gifts, activities and lessons is 500
Groceries and take out is 1500
Wife’s clothes, cosmetics, jewelry, beauty, manicure, hair, massage, spa is 500
Personal allowance for entire family is 800
Total is 6400

What if the roof needs to be replaced at $8000? Or you need a new fridge or furnace? Monthly housing repair and maintenance is not factored in. Also many people have lines of credit, credit card, and student loan debts.And to top it all off, I have not included any prescription medication. This could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month

This means there is no way to save evdn with 100k. Inflation is too much. Today meat is so expensive that I cannot even afford to buy a steak or chicken breasts. I’m now using tofu, ground beef, and vegetables instead.

Lol….and you didn’t even include our hobby!

 

[stinkynuts]

they have $1500 mortgages??

I think 1500 is typical in US

 

[bazokajoe]

$100,000 for a family of four is a comfortable but not wealthy lifestyle. After taxes, health insurance and other deductions it’s only 6000 a month.

Mortgage is 1500
Car payment is 600
Gas, insurance, maintenance is 500
Water, electric, Netflix, cell phones is 700
Childrens clothes, school supplies, parties, gifts, activities and lessons is 500
Groceries and take out is 1500
Wife’s clothes, cosmetics, jewelry, beauty, manicure, hair, massage, spa is 500
Personal allowance for entire family is 800
Total is 6400

What if the roof needs to be replaced at $8000? Or you need a new fridge or furnace? Monthly housing repair and maintenance is not factored in. Also many people have lines of credit, credit card, and student loan debts.And to top it all off, I have not included any prescription medication. This could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month

This means there is no way to save evdn with 100k. Inflation is too much. Today meat is so expensive that I cannot even afford to buy a steak or chicken breasts. I’m now using tofu, ground beef, and vegetables instead.

700 a month for water,electric, Netflix and cell phones? That's pretty high estimate.

For me water bill(every 3 months) is approx 150-160. Electric bill approx 60/month in winter, about 110-120 in summer. I don't have Netflix. Cell phone is 50/month.

 

[Jasmina]

Depends where you live, type of housing, number of people in housing. My household runs nearly $700 a month in utilities (water, hydro, and gas) if you include, internet, and cell phones (5). We have Netflix, Prime, Crave, and Disney (still considerably less than "cable").

700 a month for water,electric, Netflix and cell phones? That's pretty high estimate.

For me water bill(every 3 months) is approx 150-160. Electric bill approx 60/month in winter, about 110-120 in summer. I don't have Netflix. Cell phone is 50/month.

 

[stinkynuts]

700 a month for water,electric, Netflix and cell phones? That's pretty high estimate.

For me water bill(every 3 months) is approx 150-160. Electric bill approx 60/month in winter, about 110-120 in summer. I don't have Netflix. Cell phone is 50/month.

Well, for a family there will be maybe three cell phones, so 3 x 50 =150
Water 70
Electric and heating on average has to be at least 300 a month for a house

Netflix is 15 for family plan. Most families have many more plants such as Amazon prime, Hulu, Disney. I would say all of these subscriptions on average would be about $40 a month.

Adding it all up, it seems like $560 was more accurate, But this is theminimum for a family. For a higher income family, I think they would spend more because they would have a larger house, and would subscribe to more entertainment plans

 

[altid13]

Earning 100k in areas like NYC, DC, Silicon Valley, LA, Chicago, etc…. is ok but is not a lot of money because of cost of living. You are not going to get a mortgage for $1500 month in these areas. You will have to double it to $3000 a month at least.

The report should put some geography info into the stats. $100k in Charlotte, NC goes a hell of a lot further than $100k in DC. $100k in Charlotte you can be comfortable.

Of the people who can’t afford to live off of $100k where do they live? If you live in a place like Birmingham, AL and earn $100k you should be doing very well. If not then you should look at what is going on with your spending.

 

[poker]

If you give the avg unemployed guy walking down the street $100… he is just going to expense it. Packs of smokes, maybe some weed… bag of chips… scratch tickets. Money will be gone by the end of day, maybe last til tomorrow.

If you give the avg guy working a decent job a $10,000 raise… he is just going to expense it. Maybe get a better car. Maybe go on vacation. Buy a boat, or motorcycle, but it gets spent fairly quick.

Does not surprise me when I hear of people going bankrupt while making great money.

 

[rhuarc29]

I think 1500 is typical in US

A $1500 mortgage will now get you a beginner house in Canada. If you're lucky.
I'm amazed at how expensive housing has gotten, even in rural areas of SW Ontario.

 

[Indiana]

Why do people still think 100k makes someone wealthy?

 

[altid13]

I think 1500 is typical in US

If the mortgage is new (30 year fixed @ 4.00% interest rate) about $200,000 the amount will be around $1500 a month (including property tax & hazard insurance) and you have a 20% equity in the home.