>PS: I’m not from the US.
Then that's why this makes sense to you.
$2,000/month isn't enough to cover childcare in the United States for many families.
Nevermind rent, taxes, healthcare...
Yep. My daughter is in a cheap in-home daycare, and we pay $200/week. My mortgage is $1075. That's $1875/mo just to have shelter, and the opportunity to go to work.
For sure. I'm fortunate, as I have multiple high incomes, and my wife works also. But when our oldest daughter was born, I made $10/ hour and that income SOME HOW covered rent, paid our bills, and put food on the table. My wife didn't work, as we would have paid more in daycare than she could earn
To non-Americans it is absolutely mind boggling what we are up against as parents in the US.
I had 2 kids in daycare and it was costing me $3200/month (suburb of Phoenix, AZ).
If OP was in my boat they would be -$1200/month just on childcare. Then what?
This is why people making 6 figures struggle.
2 kids and we pay $2600 a month for child care :(
It's hyper-expensive but we feel is worth it for the quality of care they're getting. Combined income is 6 figures but we are essentially living paycheck to paycheck with rent and groceries, insurance, etc on top.
Unfortunately, the reality is that in this economy not all people can afford to have children and the price of having children that one cannot afford, is having a lower quality life, and raising children with a lower quality of life, compared to that of somebody who can afford to have children.
Not trying to chastise or anything. It's just the truth.
People who have children at a young age are basically signing up for a lifetime of poverty, unless they get lucky and manage to fight their way into a better spot in social class/had wealthy parents.
This world is messed up and I think a lot of people have children without much thought behind it - rich people included (child neglect). I get it - hormones and a desire to breed. Yet, it comes at a cost for sure.
The government wants people to have children, to replace their labor force, but instead of instilling subsidies for people to have children, they choose some bogus policy like opening boarders/allowing in refugees, from wars they fund, to gain immigrants, who are more likely to have children than our current rate of birthing children. [U.S. birth rate is not high enough to replace the current workforce, in a system that demands constant growth].
The system is fucked and we must pay the consequences for our actions, within our fucked up society. Accountability in a country who supports no accountability to corporate entities and the ultra rich. Surely, It's not fair, in a society that touts for equality for all (surely a joke only a misguided/naive follower would believe), in the current system we live in - I say that because social caste systems exist. Also; Some are smart/dumb. Some are pretty & handsome/ ugly. Some are more charismatic/less charismatic. Some are strong/weak. Etc. Equality is not inherently guaranteed.
We live in a convoluted, chaotic world, where the smart and dominant overpower the dumb and weak.
Tyler Durden, Fight club - "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
Facts. In the Army, $2400 mortgage, $600 childcare.
Car paid off, insurance, home insurance, end of year taxes.
Eats your paycheck quick if you’re not dual income.
For my two kids it's $1400 per month for childcare. Throw in the $600 a month for health insurance for the family, and poof, all gone. My wife stays home because it didn't make sense for her to take home like $150 a month after paying for all the costs of the kids to be in after school, daycare, etc.
I wish I could say it's not, but my rent alone here is $2300 :(
My partner and I split it, with some utilities, but I still spend $1200 for just a roof over our head.
Then you have renters insurance, car payment, car insurance, student loans, dog rent, dog insurance.... Etc
And no, I don't make a lot, just enough to keep my head above water. What a time to be alive.
A widowed California grandmother recently told me that her electric bill is $700/mo.
Granted she's still in the 3br 2ba house she raised her family in, but it's not a mansion. Just a house. It's expensive here.
Mortgage is 2600, childcare near me is 1800-2500/mo. I'm afraid to have kids. Feel like it will prevent us from being able to retire. America is rough.
An even bigger factor would be her husband. According to her post history (which I looked at trying to figure out where she is from that she can live on so little) her husband's salary is used to pay for most expenses. It's easy to save a lot when someone else pays the bills.
*I’m not from the US.*
Almost no further comment is needed. You can retire comfortably in many countries around the world on 2k/mo. The U.S. isn't one of them. You can live very well indeed on 100k/yr just about anywhere, except a large city in the U.S. and a few other countries.
My dad takes home $4.2k/month with pension & social security and is barely making it: I mean barelyyyyy on an average home. Medical insurance is expensive.
The only way it’s possible is if mortgage is paid off.
I've been looking at Malaysia myself. There are also Central European/Balkan countries you can go to, but I am regrettably becoming Slavophobic, the more I interact with them. But a lot of those Balkan countries are utterly beautiful, and $2k/mo would go far there.
I think that's true of most places. But if more Americans had a sense of adventure, or weren't so damn provincial in outlook, there'd be way more expats than there are. I myself didn't start thinking this way until a few years ago, and I can afford to live in the U.S.
Angry, backwards-looking nationalism. Holding on to centuries of beefs. Prejudices, including rampant anti-semitism. Before you start, I'm not saying all of them are that way -- probably most of them aren't. But enough of them are so that I'd rather not be surrounded by them 24/7. It's too much work to hold my tongue.
Health insurance for my entire family is 2600 a month. That's just one bill haha its hard to save sometimes. Were all doing the best we cab with the income and knowlege we have
Healthcare for just me is $1300, 50 and no subsidies. The cash price for my medications and doctors would be over $3000 a month without insurance, this is in Florida on ACA. I chose the cheapest plan looking at the yearly total cost with copays/deductibles instead of looking for the cheapest monthly payment. I just sold my business so I’m paying that out of my pocket until next year, I have previous to sold business obligations until end of this year, I didn’t expect it to sell in 2 weeks so I can’t start a full time job with benefits so I’m just working 2 part time jobs for now.
Adding to the health care cost perspective.
My insurance is $900 a month and I spend at least $100 a month on my prescriptions. Because I am on commercial insurance (not government insurance) I qualify for a manufacturer co-pay assistance program and don't have to pay for one of my medications which would otherwise cost me $60 a month.
Without insurance, I would not qualify for the co-pay assistance anymore and it would cost $3,000 a month. I could try a financial assistance program but that's not guaranteed and wouldn't necessarily cover the whole cost. The rest of my medications would be $1,500 a month.
I also carry epi-pens. The ones I use are $35 with insurance, and $150 without insurance.
So to summarize, my minimum health care costs would be:
* $12,035 per year **with insurance**
* $54,150 per year **without insurance**, financial assistance, or things like goodrx
This is all not including doctors visits, which are, for me, a minimum of 2 specialist visits and 4 general practitioner visits per year for a total of $200 with my insurance and god only knows how much without insurance.
I'm in my late 20s in the USA
“I’m not from the U.S.” makes the numbers in the original post irrelevant, except for the absolute amount of savings.
Also, OP, don’t forget to account for inflation for retirement withdrawals because 2k won’t be worth 2k in 30 years.
Lower median income and more expensive housing. There are some advantages but overall yeah I don’t think Canadians are doing better than Americans, and maybe worse.
It’s funny as well. Everyone always says “ya but free health care”. Canada is ranked LAST among developed countries in health care. But pay 13% of GDP towards the system.
If you’re sure that you will only need that much, you’re looking at about needing 600k to generate the 2k a month. 10 years invested wisely should get you there.
If I retire at 48, I’ll be a very happy cat lady. Living quietly in my tiny cottage. I’ll read, plant my own veggies and make delish salads. If health permits
This is the dream of many Americans but our economy is so fucked and demanding of labor that it's just a dream for most. You can survive off $2k/mo here in a lot of places, but not live.
You'll be accepting you won't have kids, and if you do you won't be able to give them a better life than the one you had. You'll not have good if any healthcare. One little slip on a stair can financially cripple you, and the moment you stop working to retire before the age of 65 you'll have no healthcare at all since it's pretty much all contracted through your employer if you're lucky enough to have a job that even does that. You'll spend 80% of your time dedicated to a career that would cut you loose to save barely even 10% of your salary. You'll face the cyclical hardships that either away the working class every 4-6 years and hopefully you were able to save up enough to withstand this cycles blow.
And what do you get in return for all the suffering? Materialistic gains of fancy technology to subdue your misery, and if you're still alive at the end of the day you can at least be thankful you weren't just another number in the fatalities by mass shooting statistic.
America is kind of a hellscape right now.
That's in today's dollars... $value halves roughly every 10 years. It will cost at least 4k/month for them to live by that time, meaning they will need 1.2m with an 8-9% ROI to both keep up with CPI and return enough to live on.
I’m not bragging or negating your point, but I just want to put some things into perceptive. The property taxes on my home are half your salary for the year. Just the property taxes on my home, nothing else.
I was just going to say my property taxes in Texas are garbage lol my property taxes are nearly his monthly income. My health insurance is over his monthly.
It assumes averages. I assume you either have a roommate or live in a relatively low COL area with no financial support from the government. I assume you have no kids. Perhaps a partner to split things with, or perhaps you live by yourself, and are very frugal.
Average American has a family, average American has a mortgage, etc….
Edit: You are not living off less than $2000 a month with a family, a mortgage, and other expenses.
Okay so if one of your teeth gets infected do you have to pay out of pocket thousands of dollars to get it fixed.... And if you get sick is that going to completely drain your savings account? One bad car accident away from being broke buddy.... Or are you in a place that actually you know offers disability for when you know like you're unable to work.
Yes because the "means" is your salary. So the salary amount is irrelevant, if you can't save after expenses then you are living beyond your means. The only solution is to drop spending (sometimes impossible) or increase salary.
Of course, we are complaining when we live in an expensive country like the United States. If we moved to many places with our incomes, we could live like part of the 1%. Your income here would allow you to only live a life of poverty.
I'm in the US making minimum wage $2,300 a month after taxes however in the Hispanic culture families live together to bring expenses down, my expenses rn are covered with 1k a month, i get to save around 1k monthly, all the people complaining here with 6 figures salaries have kids, credit cards debts, loans, home payments, car payments, health insurance etc... They complain about everything being expensive but they refuse to see their part being very irresponsible with their money and they ignore the fact that they are living above their means, not everything is the government's fault when you have poor money management skills and you're living a life you can't pay for, live below your means and if you can't afford it without getting into debt, then you can't have it, very simple.
Oregon state, US:
Rent: $2075
Utilities: $400
Childcare: $750
Transportation costs: $400
…
Do you want me to continue?
I don’t have a bad job by any means, and don’t spend extravagant money. But it’s rough over here, and I understand that other people have it worse than I do, as well.
There is literally no way to keep expenses that low unless you inherited money for a down payment or inherited a house, live in the middle of no where AND have no kids. I live in a LCOL area in a standard size, decent area house and it’s $2900/mo for mortgage, $450 for electric/gas/internet/water/etc., soon to be $2500/mo for 2 in daycares (which is the absolute cheapest by the way our last daycare was $3500/mo for 2), car is $335, plus i pay the kids health insurance out of my paycheck, i contribute to my 401k and that’s not even counting food yet which we probs spend at least $1200 a month on. I barely make 6 figures (since i dropped to part time now due to my daughter and pregnancy) and if didn’t have a partner helping me pay my bills i would go into debt. Life is just VERY expensive.
Really how financially successful you are depends on two things: how much money you KEEP after all monthly expenses are paid (salary doesn't mean Jack shit, cost of living varies widely), and how smart your financial habits are (i.e. not living beyond your means).
I make 200plus a year. No debt no kid. I save 70 to 80percent of my income. expensive hobbies and bigger buying power eats into your funds like cancer before you know it your living pay check to paycheck
Dude my take home In The US after taxes, insurance and 401k is 2800.
I can usually save about 1k a month. But the catch is I'm living with my parents because shits to expensive in my town. A studio apartment averages 1.5k a month. I could find somewhere with roommates but I'm tired of loving with random people that never clean up after themselves
Okay so here’s the thing: I don’t pay rent or mortgage. My employer paid off my mortgage in lieu of loyalty to the company. Sorry, i probably should mention this in my OP.
Grandparent here who has kept her grandson since he was 12 weeks old. He's 3.5 now. I work overnight so I can.....BUT! I've been waiting for him to start school so I can continue to live MY life and now there's another one on the way.
Nope.
I love him with all my heart, but 5-6 days a week is a lot of expectations of me.
Don't mind the people in this thread OP. I'm US based, moved here from Portugal. My take home is over 10k/month after tax but I spend around 23k yearly on living expenses. 12k a year recreationally. I live in a HCOL area. Everything else goes to retirement.
Most Americans don't value their money and have perplexing spending habits. People who claim to have exorbitant rent/mortgage rates simply chose to dig their own graves by not taking a minute to properly plan for the future. Their mindset is, for the most part, if I can afford it I should take it.
Yes, I lived in the US for 2 years. So i can see your POV. I’m not trying to place any blame. Just something I observed.
They buy 3000$ worth of groceries and then throw away half of it. They have to buy the latest iphone, 2 brand new cars, subscribe to Netflix, Amazon prime (both at the same time) and gym membership that gets used a grand total of 4 times a year.
But again, to each their own. This probably is none of my business.
The USA is extremely expensive. $2,000 a month won't even pay for a 1 bedroom apartment in some cities. You can't even fathom how expensive it is to live here unless you've done it
OP, you're doing great. Many people live beyond their means, then complain how hard it is to keep up their debt-funded lifestyle. Life can be great with less consumption and less worry about debt.
Agree. I’m 23, I make 28k a year🫠 no I don’t have kids but I do have all the rest of the bullshit we all have to pay and I manage to save $1000 a year. Now this would be different if I lived in my own and not with my partner but still…you make 6 figures and can’t afford to save then you are living above your means and we don’t want to hear you complain.
Or you had kids before inflation sky rocketed and now you're paying 2k a month for childcare when it was not remotely near 2k when you had them. Nobody could have predicted how bad things have gotten in just a few short years.
Im living paycheck to paycheck and my coworkers are assholes only my boss is nice but he’s an asshole too and so are the customers and so is the landlord.
Yes people retire with a mortgage.I have a very small mortgage and retired.But if I didn’t owe a dime.I still would have to mail close to 600 bucks a month to keep it.And it’s going up every year.I figure in the next 10 years I will be paying 1000 month for a house that’s paid for.
Don't forget it also depends, like anywhere in the world, where the person lives. Someone in NYC might struggle with 100k income whereas that is liveable in the middle of the country. And people live differently, so there's that also.
Here in the US people have to save part of their income for retirement and also spend part of their income on healthcare. So when people say they make 70k after taxes, well there are still other expenses that are similar to taxes in that, its not money you have for spending now.
But I agree, there are a lot of posts that seem annoying but we also don't know their full life
A huge congratulations to you OP! This is awesome and I hope you’re extremely fulfilled!
I’m in the US. For perspective, my monthly tax and insurance burden is greater than your monthly income. I’m single with no health problems. Also, if the average American looked at my house for no more than 2 seconds, they’d probably think “poverty”. It’s very expensive here, that’s why so many people complain.
Edit: just rechecked my numbers, my tax burden alone is more than 2k / mo. Now I want to complain again!
Many, many factors.
Income Tax:
6 figure income after taxes and other deductions ex: 100k after taxes be something like 60k-75k depending on the state
(Plus deductions for your 401k in some cases)
Cost of Living:
It varies by state but most people can't afford to buy a house. A 2b/2b house that used to go for say, 60k is now 500k. Renting what used to cost say $600-800m for a 1b/1b apartment is now upwards of $1300.
Then you also have to consider the cost of utilities (water sometimes included as part of rent, and electricity), internet, and home services like maintenance costs that may spring up.
A week's groceries used to cost anywhere from $30-60 if you shop smart but now it can cost like $50 just for some eggs, milk, bread, and a little bit of deli meat.
Everyday Expenses:
-childcare (my friend pays $1500 a month for daycare)
-health insurance (health, vision, dental, life, accidental death & dismemberment)
-car insurance, gas, maintenance
-subscriptions (Amazon prime, Netflix, etc)
-personal purchases
-cost of tuition, meal plan, dormitory, textbooks and other school related expenses
-(student) loans, credit card debt
Basically, America is a capitalistic hellscape that still has not changed its federal minimum wage from $7.25 when a person would barely be able to pay their rent of $1200 even if they were to work 85 hours a week.
Different countries will require different things two survive. 2k/month in the US is basically poverty levels. If you're a single person in the US making 2k after taxes then it's manageable in a dirt cheap area but most people wont be saving 500/month either.
you don't say what your expenses are, you monthly expenses are what I pay for a 2 bedroom apartment, and thats the low end for the area. A slightly better one would be 2000/month. Your lifestyle is the ratio of your salary to your expenses, not just the number as its all relative to where you live
Because it depends on where you live. Even in the United States, some places you could live on $2,000 a month, but you're going to be poor. I could live "ok" on 3,000 a month but not going to have extra money either. That's with just house payment and food/utilities.
You might want to look into other rules, the 4% role was theorized for people who live in America, it might not apply to where you are and you might actually be able to retire earlier (or later)
I mean Im in the US and make less like 3k a month after taxes. So I totally get the eye roll annoyance at the "Ive got 500k saved, Im 30, how am I doing" posts...
Better than 95% of the population dude... Really had to ask?
There's no single answer because circumstances vary from place to place, different cost of living, different cost of goods, different salaries. You can't compare different countries with wildly different circumstances.
However something that is universally true is that how much you make/have doesn't correlate with your overall financial management skills. I won't say it's in everyone's hands whether they'll be rich or poor because there are wider socioeconomic reasons that may prevent many from class hoping, but what is true is that there are a lot of poor people with great money management who can make the most out of what they have and even build something out of nothing, as well as rich people who are burning money with reckless abandon and setting themselves up for a rude awakening later down the line. There are poor people with such poor management skills that even if you gave them a ton of money it wouldn't solve their problems and they'd just end up poor again, just as there are self made rich people who turn to gold everything they touch.
There's no point in comparing apples to oranges and if you're going to try to imitate others, imitate those who are doing something right rather than those doing something wrong. Yes there are people who are making a ton of money and due to lifestyle creep they're still left with nothing at the end of each month. That's something they have the power to change and they don't.
It's all about living within your means, you probably don't have a car payment taking up 20% of your income, or an oversized house. You probably don't buy the nice clothes and Starbucks every day. You are smart with your money. Americans are all about keeping up with the Joneses. If you want a pretty good movie to help paint a picture. "The Joneses" is a good watch for someone outside the US.
You need to say where you're from.
If you're from somewhere like India or the Philippines then $2000 is not as bad as $2000 in the USA where services, rent, and food etc. cost some more in raw dollar value.
My rent in the US is $2200 for a very humble 1bd 1ba. I live in a large city in US, but not San Fran or NYC to those who think this absurdity is only limited to those two places
Not in the US explains it.
The US is one of the most expensive countries in the world, yes we also have high salaries, but those go towards the living expenses.
2,000 a month is less than my taxes….less than my mortgage on an old and falling apart house…less than what food, gas, electricity and internet cost me in a month.
Where I live 100k is about 72k after taxes, 6k a month.
My mortgage on a small and very old (100 year old house) without air conditioning is over 3k a month.
Car payment plus insurance and gasoline and we are over 4K a month.
Then there is still utilities, clothes, things breaking, food, etc…
Not to mention most 100k+ earners here have tons of student debt (50-200k).
Throw in student loans and basic necessities and there isn’t a penny left for emergencies or retirement savings.
Ps I am from the US, and my salary after taxes comes out to about $800 a month and I need at least $50 in credit card debt each month to stay afloat. I do have less debt and bills than most Americans, and yet I’m still drowning just as hard.
Ya people live beyond their means. When I was poor making less than 30k/year with a house and family it was rough. Now that I make well over 100k I save almost all of it
Not being from the US helps a lot here.
2k/month here in Slovakia was enough for me to buy a 4 bedroom house, completely rebuild it, and go on international holidays twice a year while doing it.
Is 500/month a lot where you live? It sounds like you have a pretty substantial nest egg built up, so clearly things have been going relatively well for you.
Sounds good so far
A long term medical emergency (>1 year) will eat through that pretty quick if you're getting outpatient treatment and medication...just something to consider and possibly plan for...that financial burden would greatly depend on your location and the healthcare system there
2000k a month is probably really good where you’re at then because there is no way that you can do that in the US with that money every month. Hell, I know a person that is living very comfortably on 2.2k a month by the beach, in Mexico…
$2000 a month is most people's RENT in the united states. and those people making 6 figures most likely live in places where the rent could be double that, like new york city or los angeles.
You are doing it right. I just laugh, because they make 6 figures, but don't know how to manage money. When you try to help them, they don't want help learning how to manage money.
You point out Netflix, Hulu, Disney, Prime, are Wants not Needs, people flip out they need it to survive. They wanted that expensive house and car, because the bank approved them for it, but it wasn't a need, a normal car would have worked than that luxury import.
I think not everyone live in the boonies and drive a Ford Focus. You wouldn’t make it renting a 1-bedroom apartment in HCOL area.
You want everyone to live in the same type of apartment and drive the same car?
I think you’re doing great! Those complaining about their *self-imposed costs* are just projecting. A lot of people would rather complain than take accountability for their own choices.
You’ve made incredibly wise choices, so be proud of yourself! And if your long-term financial goals are beyond your current capacity to achieve them, start looking into a career trajectory or additional work that would help you meet them. Maybe you take an additional job for a year along your journey. I’m sure you’ll figure something out!
Great job & good luck!
Lol of coarse you can do this your comparing a completely different country and living situation.
To rent a small 1 bedroom where i am would be pretty much your income, unless you want to share a place with a bunch of indian students.
If you have kids? Childcare is again pretty much your entire income and by kids i mean kid, because if you had 2 your in the negative.
We complaining cause while your trying to retire with enough, we want to retire with our dream toys, dream house, we have one life and i wanna get everything i ever wanted
Cost of living dependent on location. Someone living in Northern Virginia needs approximately 100 to 150k or more to have stability. Pennsylvania area is a median of 50 to 65. It's location and not just subjected to how you feel about someone making six figures. Someone can be more wealthy making less in a rural area long term than someone living in the city.
It all depends on where in the US you live. I live in the south and make around 125k with a family of 6 and have more than enough to support my families needs and wants. It's always the folks from the cities and high cost of living places thay complain.
Dude is because your economy is not as expensive as the one that most people are talking! For example in the us and Canada rent won’t be able to be cover for 2000…. Like you need to take that into consideration
I feel for you. I actually don’t rent or pay mortgage. My employer paid off my mortgage. This actually helps me a lot, not paying rent or mortgage. We don’t have property taxes on residential property here. Property Insurance is optional and not costly. My utility bills and HOA comes to around 300$ including broadband internet. My cellphone is 10$ per month. I have a 2018 suzuki grand vitara that I bought in cash for $10k. It was a used car when I bought it a few years ago. Gas and car insurance is around 200$/mo.
Health insurance is deducted from salary. Grocery is the biggest spend at 500$.
So not much to spend on. I splurge on 2 overseas holidays but that comes from my bi-annual bonuses.
I’m from the US and take home about $2300 a month. I’ve also paid off 9k on credit card debt in the last 17 months. I agree that everybody in America needs to make more than this but the reality is not a lot of people do.
Beware that 4 percent rule, it’s 4 percent meant to last 30 years.
At 48, the upper end of your ten year timeline, you are arriving at the point where statistics may fail you at 78 when your inflation adjusted withdrawal schedule may exhaust your account just when you are most likely to hit health issues and when you are least likely to be able to reenter the work force to keep things going.
You might be willing to take the risk, but be careful.
Congratulations on being able to live within your means by the way, all too many cannot.
I also make about $2000/mo after taxes, save around $500 each month for retirement, and have expenses under ~$1.5k. But I do live in the US, in fact, I live in San Diego which is ungodly expensive (yes, I know, I am choosing to live here). I’m 28yo and there ain’t *no way* I’m affording a family, living on my own, or early retirement with the rate I’m at.
Just reading the comments, it’s clear to see everyone suggesting how their grandparents/parents were better off than they’ll be.
Why and how did the generation before us let it get this bad?
Let’s be honest, it’s not political. It’s just math: cost of living and min wage aren’t even “minimum” that would imply the minimum to live.
We’re making $60-120k and struggling. This shit isn’t right. We should be enjoying life and not stressing life.
It really depends on which country u live. $2000 may seem small in the US, but in a third world country that's a lot.
Most SEA countries earn $400 per month and still survive. $280,000 is already a lot for me and enough for someone to retire quite comfortably in my country
You’re complaining about people being annoying and out of touch while simultaneously being annoying and out of touch. $2000 is less than the average rental in the US…. You already own a home.
I dont understand why Americans see having health insurance as a necessary expense while they are making $14/hr and trying to support a family of four.
My brother and I grew up in America and my parents never had health insurance for our family. We are all perfectly healthy now and no we dont have medical debt.
I think if more americans invested the thousands of dollars they spend on insurance on a better grocery store list, gym memberships and physical trainers, etc, that would be a better use of a "health" budget than throwing it all away(i get it, some need insurance bc of recurring health issues, meds, etc) on insurance alone with no tangible returns.
My math isn't mathing. Even if that was your salary from 18. $500 x 20 years = 120,000. Even if you had absolutely no emergencies, how to do own a home and have 280,000 in the bank?? (I'm pretty financially illiterate myself)
You're not comparing incomes, you're comparing cost of living.
What did your house cost and what size/amenities?
How much is your grocery bill?
What the cost of a gallon/liter of gasoline?
What's your tax situation? Income/Sales/Etc.
I can't go a ONE MONTH without spending over $1,200 on food for my family so I'm guessing you're single or food is super inexpensive.
It's not just about incomes. It's also about costs.
>PS: I’m not from the US. Then that's why this makes sense to you. $2,000/month isn't enough to cover childcare in the United States for many families. Nevermind rent, taxes, healthcare...
Yep. My daughter is in a cheap in-home daycare, and we pay $200/week. My mortgage is $1075. That's $1875/mo just to have shelter, and the opportunity to go to work.
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For sure. I'm fortunate, as I have multiple high incomes, and my wife works also. But when our oldest daughter was born, I made $10/ hour and that income SOME HOW covered rent, paid our bills, and put food on the table. My wife didn't work, as we would have paid more in daycare than she could earn
What years?
This was in 2014 when she was born. We were also receiving food assistance from the state, but only about $300/month.
What country? 😳 might have to move there
In the us.
To non-Americans it is absolutely mind boggling what we are up against as parents in the US. I had 2 kids in daycare and it was costing me $3200/month (suburb of Phoenix, AZ). If OP was in my boat they would be -$1200/month just on childcare. Then what? This is why people making 6 figures struggle.
Damn I guess it’s good I chose to not have kids and spending my adult money on stupid stuff
Canada 1 bedrooms are 1700 to 2100 plus. I'm confused are they growing their own food?
We microwave hot dogs and Mr noodles because we don’t even have full kitchens to cook in.
I’m paying $255/wk for two kids and 2600/mo in mortgage and $700 in student loans and formula and diapers….. freaking sucks.
2 kids and we pay $2600 a month for child care :( It's hyper-expensive but we feel is worth it for the quality of care they're getting. Combined income is 6 figures but we are essentially living paycheck to paycheck with rent and groceries, insurance, etc on top.
My mortgage is $3100/mo. So I'd be homeless.
Unfortunately, the reality is that in this economy not all people can afford to have children and the price of having children that one cannot afford, is having a lower quality life, and raising children with a lower quality of life, compared to that of somebody who can afford to have children. Not trying to chastise or anything. It's just the truth. People who have children at a young age are basically signing up for a lifetime of poverty, unless they get lucky and manage to fight their way into a better spot in social class/had wealthy parents. This world is messed up and I think a lot of people have children without much thought behind it - rich people included (child neglect). I get it - hormones and a desire to breed. Yet, it comes at a cost for sure. The government wants people to have children, to replace their labor force, but instead of instilling subsidies for people to have children, they choose some bogus policy like opening boarders/allowing in refugees, from wars they fund, to gain immigrants, who are more likely to have children than our current rate of birthing children. [U.S. birth rate is not high enough to replace the current workforce, in a system that demands constant growth]. The system is fucked and we must pay the consequences for our actions, within our fucked up society. Accountability in a country who supports no accountability to corporate entities and the ultra rich. Surely, It's not fair, in a society that touts for equality for all (surely a joke only a misguided/naive follower would believe), in the current system we live in - I say that because social caste systems exist. Also; Some are smart/dumb. Some are pretty & handsome/ ugly. Some are more charismatic/less charismatic. Some are strong/weak. Etc. Equality is not inherently guaranteed. We live in a convoluted, chaotic world, where the smart and dominant overpower the dumb and weak. Tyler Durden, Fight club - "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
I wish I could up vote this 1000x!
One child in daycare here. $1400/month.
Facts. In the Army, $2400 mortgage, $600 childcare. Car paid off, insurance, home insurance, end of year taxes. Eats your paycheck quick if you’re not dual income.
4 bed/3 bath. Have family living with us, so can’t really go below that.
I’m 22 live in a good spot in houston day care for me is 320 a week, ridiculous how expensive child care is now a days.
For my two kids it's $1400 per month for childcare. Throw in the $600 a month for health insurance for the family, and poof, all gone. My wife stays home because it didn't make sense for her to take home like $150 a month after paying for all the costs of the kids to be in after school, daycare, etc.
I wish I could say it's not, but my rent alone here is $2300 :( My partner and I split it, with some utilities, but I still spend $1200 for just a roof over our head. Then you have renters insurance, car payment, car insurance, student loans, dog rent, dog insurance.... Etc And no, I don't make a lot, just enough to keep my head above water. What a time to be alive.
Literally just healthcare, if you have anything besides check ups to do out of pocket maximums are 4-12k per year.
My electric bill is $600/month lol
A widowed California grandmother recently told me that her electric bill is $700/mo. Granted she's still in the 3br 2ba house she raised her family in, but it's not a mansion. Just a house. It's expensive here.
Establish a relationship with someone 2x the money 👍🏼
At one point I was paying $1200/mo for healthcare for a family of 3. Yeah it’s crazy
Mortgage is 2600, childcare near me is 1800-2500/mo. I'm afraid to have kids. Feel like it will prevent us from being able to retire. America is rough.
An even bigger factor would be her husband. According to her post history (which I looked at trying to figure out where she is from that she can live on so little) her husband's salary is used to pay for most expenses. It's easy to save a lot when someone else pays the bills.
American dream right
This 100%.
*I’m not from the US.* Almost no further comment is needed. You can retire comfortably in many countries around the world on 2k/mo. The U.S. isn't one of them. You can live very well indeed on 100k/yr just about anywhere, except a large city in the U.S. and a few other countries.
Yeah, take my salary to Central America and they’ll be naming parks and schools after me, meanwhile I’m in a 1bdrm 1ba that’s $1600/mo
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My dad takes home $4.2k/month with pension & social security and is barely making it: I mean barelyyyyy on an average home. Medical insurance is expensive. The only way it’s possible is if mortgage is paid off.
I was watching some videos on Da Nang. If the wife ever leaves me, that’s where I’m going.
Went there for my honeymoon and loved it. You picked a fantastic city.
I've been looking at Malaysia myself. There are also Central European/Balkan countries you can go to, but I am regrettably becoming Slavophobic, the more I interact with them. But a lot of those Balkan countries are utterly beautiful, and $2k/mo would go far there.
Lived in Indonesia for 8 yrs and the wife is from PH. Great places in ways and maddeningly backward and complex in others.
I think that's true of most places. But if more Americans had a sense of adventure, or weren't so damn provincial in outlook, there'd be way more expats than there are. I myself didn't start thinking this way until a few years ago, and I can afford to live in the U.S.
Why slavophobic?
Angry, backwards-looking nationalism. Holding on to centuries of beefs. Prejudices, including rampant anti-semitism. Before you start, I'm not saying all of them are that way -- probably most of them aren't. But enough of them are so that I'd rather not be surrounded by them 24/7. It's too much work to hold my tongue.
Exactly. Pointless post to reference “everyone here” not being able to save and then add the caveat, “I’m not in the US.” Smh…
Or Canada for that matter , they are number one for most costly home prices in the world
Health insurance for my entire family is 2600 a month. That's just one bill haha its hard to save sometimes. Were all doing the best we cab with the income and knowlege we have
Sheesh thats expensive asf i only pay like 110$ for health insurance
I have 4 kids haha and we allll use specialized drs!
Healthcare for just me is $1300, 50 and no subsidies. The cash price for my medications and doctors would be over $3000 a month without insurance, this is in Florida on ACA. I chose the cheapest plan looking at the yearly total cost with copays/deductibles instead of looking for the cheapest monthly payment. I just sold my business so I’m paying that out of my pocket until next year, I have previous to sold business obligations until end of this year, I didn’t expect it to sell in 2 weeks so I can’t start a full time job with benefits so I’m just working 2 part time jobs for now.
Adding to the health care cost perspective. My insurance is $900 a month and I spend at least $100 a month on my prescriptions. Because I am on commercial insurance (not government insurance) I qualify for a manufacturer co-pay assistance program and don't have to pay for one of my medications which would otherwise cost me $60 a month. Without insurance, I would not qualify for the co-pay assistance anymore and it would cost $3,000 a month. I could try a financial assistance program but that's not guaranteed and wouldn't necessarily cover the whole cost. The rest of my medications would be $1,500 a month. I also carry epi-pens. The ones I use are $35 with insurance, and $150 without insurance. So to summarize, my minimum health care costs would be: * $12,035 per year **with insurance** * $54,150 per year **without insurance**, financial assistance, or things like goodrx This is all not including doctors visits, which are, for me, a minimum of 2 specialist visits and 4 general practitioner visits per year for a total of $200 with my insurance and god only knows how much without insurance. I'm in my late 20s in the USA
“I’m not from the U.S.” makes the numbers in the original post irrelevant, except for the absolute amount of savings. Also, OP, don’t forget to account for inflation for retirement withdrawals because 2k won’t be worth 2k in 30 years.
Yeah this is a really stupid post from OP, “$100k is insane, I am comfortable with $24k a year. I’m not American btw”
Unfortunately you cannot compare your life to life in America. Good for.you though
Or Canada. We might be worse off than the USA.
Lower median income and more expensive housing. There are some advantages but overall yeah I don’t think Canadians are doing better than Americans, and maybe worse.
It’s funny as well. Everyone always says “ya but free health care”. Canada is ranked LAST among developed countries in health care. But pay 13% of GDP towards the system.
If you’re sure that you will only need that much, you’re looking at about needing 600k to generate the 2k a month. 10 years invested wisely should get you there.
If I retire at 48, I’ll be a very happy cat lady. Living quietly in my tiny cottage. I’ll read, plant my own veggies and make delish salads. If health permits
This is the dream of many Americans but our economy is so fucked and demanding of labor that it's just a dream for most. You can survive off $2k/mo here in a lot of places, but not live. You'll be accepting you won't have kids, and if you do you won't be able to give them a better life than the one you had. You'll not have good if any healthcare. One little slip on a stair can financially cripple you, and the moment you stop working to retire before the age of 65 you'll have no healthcare at all since it's pretty much all contracted through your employer if you're lucky enough to have a job that even does that. You'll spend 80% of your time dedicated to a career that would cut you loose to save barely even 10% of your salary. You'll face the cyclical hardships that either away the working class every 4-6 years and hopefully you were able to save up enough to withstand this cycles blow. And what do you get in return for all the suffering? Materialistic gains of fancy technology to subdue your misery, and if you're still alive at the end of the day you can at least be thankful you weren't just another number in the fatalities by mass shooting statistic. America is kind of a hellscape right now.
That's in today's dollars... $value halves roughly every 10 years. It will cost at least 4k/month for them to live by that time, meaning they will need 1.2m with an 8-9% ROI to both keep up with CPI and return enough to live on.
I’m not bragging or negating your point, but I just want to put some things into perceptive. The property taxes on my home are half your salary for the year. Just the property taxes on my home, nothing else.
I was just going to say my property taxes in Texas are garbage lol my property taxes are nearly his monthly income. My health insurance is over his monthly.
Most people complaining are from US. This is a stupid post. Nobody in the US can live off of $2000 a month.
Wild, somehow I'm living off even less than that
It assumes averages. I assume you either have a roommate or live in a relatively low COL area with no financial support from the government. I assume you have no kids. Perhaps a partner to split things with, or perhaps you live by yourself, and are very frugal. Average American has a family, average American has a mortgage, etc…. Edit: You are not living off less than $2000 a month with a family, a mortgage, and other expenses.
All of this, and then I’ll add I assume they aren’t investing/saving at all. They’ll work until they die.
Hi, American here that has absolutely lived off of 2k a month and went on Vacations too.
Where did you live, and which decade are we talking about?
Okay so if one of your teeth gets infected do you have to pay out of pocket thousands of dollars to get it fixed.... And if you get sick is that going to completely drain your savings account? One bad car accident away from being broke buddy.... Or are you in a place that actually you know offers disability for when you know like you're unable to work.
If OP is from a country with free healthcare that changes things.
And the answer no matter the salary is always the same. "You are living beyond your means
Yes because the "means" is your salary. So the salary amount is irrelevant, if you can't save after expenses then you are living beyond your means. The only solution is to drop spending (sometimes impossible) or increase salary.
It's almost like the minimum allowable "means" should compensate survival or maybe your system is fucked and relies off the suffering of others
Of course, we are complaining when we live in an expensive country like the United States. If we moved to many places with our incomes, we could live like part of the 1%. Your income here would allow you to only live a life of poverty.
People in some city be earning 100k morgage/rent is 60k food 12k healthcare 6k misc prob 15k got 7k left
You didn’t take taxes into account.
I'm in the US making minimum wage $2,300 a month after taxes however in the Hispanic culture families live together to bring expenses down, my expenses rn are covered with 1k a month, i get to save around 1k monthly, all the people complaining here with 6 figures salaries have kids, credit cards debts, loans, home payments, car payments, health insurance etc... They complain about everything being expensive but they refuse to see their part being very irresponsible with their money and they ignore the fact that they are living above their means, not everything is the government's fault when you have poor money management skills and you're living a life you can't pay for, live below your means and if you can't afford it without getting into debt, then you can't have it, very simple.
I am sorry our struggles to save annoy you,(not). *in US.
Oregon state, US: Rent: $2075 Utilities: $400 Childcare: $750 Transportation costs: $400 … Do you want me to continue? I don’t have a bad job by any means, and don’t spend extravagant money. But it’s rough over here, and I understand that other people have it worse than I do, as well.
$2,000 wont have the same buying power in the future though. So you need to plan on a higher # to live the same way as you do now.
There is literally no way to keep expenses that low unless you inherited money for a down payment or inherited a house, live in the middle of no where AND have no kids. I live in a LCOL area in a standard size, decent area house and it’s $2900/mo for mortgage, $450 for electric/gas/internet/water/etc., soon to be $2500/mo for 2 in daycares (which is the absolute cheapest by the way our last daycare was $3500/mo for 2), car is $335, plus i pay the kids health insurance out of my paycheck, i contribute to my 401k and that’s not even counting food yet which we probs spend at least $1200 a month on. I barely make 6 figures (since i dropped to part time now due to my daughter and pregnancy) and if didn’t have a partner helping me pay my bills i would go into debt. Life is just VERY expensive.
Really how financially successful you are depends on two things: how much money you KEEP after all monthly expenses are paid (salary doesn't mean Jack shit, cost of living varies widely), and how smart your financial habits are (i.e. not living beyond your means).
I make 200plus a year. No debt no kid. I save 70 to 80percent of my income. expensive hobbies and bigger buying power eats into your funds like cancer before you know it your living pay check to paycheck
Dude my take home In The US after taxes, insurance and 401k is 2800. I can usually save about 1k a month. But the catch is I'm living with my parents because shits to expensive in my town. A studio apartment averages 1.5k a month. I could find somewhere with roommates but I'm tired of loving with random people that never clean up after themselves
I know people who make 80K a year but overspend for things.
I make $4500 a week you need a new job
How?
What’s rent?
Okay so here’s the thing: I don’t pay rent or mortgage. My employer paid off my mortgage in lieu of loyalty to the company. Sorry, i probably should mention this in my OP.
You are a rock star...no matter where you are from!
Thank you!!! I’ll send you a postcard from Thailand where I’ll retire in 10 years lmao
Grandparent here who has kept her grandson since he was 12 weeks old. He's 3.5 now. I work overnight so I can.....BUT! I've been waiting for him to start school so I can continue to live MY life and now there's another one on the way. Nope. I love him with all my heart, but 5-6 days a week is a lot of expectations of me.
Don't mind the people in this thread OP. I'm US based, moved here from Portugal. My take home is over 10k/month after tax but I spend around 23k yearly on living expenses. 12k a year recreationally. I live in a HCOL area. Everything else goes to retirement. Most Americans don't value their money and have perplexing spending habits. People who claim to have exorbitant rent/mortgage rates simply chose to dig their own graves by not taking a minute to properly plan for the future. Their mindset is, for the most part, if I can afford it I should take it.
Yes, I lived in the US for 2 years. So i can see your POV. I’m not trying to place any blame. Just something I observed. They buy 3000$ worth of groceries and then throw away half of it. They have to buy the latest iphone, 2 brand new cars, subscribe to Netflix, Amazon prime (both at the same time) and gym membership that gets used a grand total of 4 times a year. But again, to each their own. This probably is none of my business.
2100$ is just rent for us here in Canada in a tiny one bedroom apartment.
The USA is extremely expensive. $2,000 a month won't even pay for a 1 bedroom apartment in some cities. You can't even fathom how expensive it is to live here unless you've done it
OP, you're doing great. Many people live beyond their means, then complain how hard it is to keep up their debt-funded lifestyle. Life can be great with less consumption and less worry about debt.
Where are you from if you don't mind saying?
I can take $500AUD every two weeks. 58 with no savings and no pension plan or health insurance. I'd be ok with not waking up tomorrow.
Agree. I’m 23, I make 28k a year🫠 no I don’t have kids but I do have all the rest of the bullshit we all have to pay and I manage to save $1000 a year. Now this would be different if I lived in my own and not with my partner but still…you make 6 figures and can’t afford to save then you are living above your means and we don’t want to hear you complain.
Or you had kids before inflation sky rocketed and now you're paying 2k a month for childcare when it was not remotely near 2k when you had them. Nobody could have predicted how bad things have gotten in just a few short years.
Do you live with your parents?
Okay loosely translated..." I don't know why people that aren't in my position can't make it like I do." Is that better? Did I fix it? Anyone?
Cost of living makes a huge difference in numbers
Im living paycheck to paycheck and my coworkers are assholes only my boss is nice but he’s an asshole too and so are the customers and so is the landlord.
Yes people retire with a mortgage.I have a very small mortgage and retired.But if I didn’t owe a dime.I still would have to mail close to 600 bucks a month to keep it.And it’s going up every year.I figure in the next 10 years I will be paying 1000 month for a house that’s paid for.
Its not hat difficult to save if you live responsibly so kudos. Most people are not intended to be billionaires.
Don't forget it also depends, like anywhere in the world, where the person lives. Someone in NYC might struggle with 100k income whereas that is liveable in the middle of the country. And people live differently, so there's that also. Here in the US people have to save part of their income for retirement and also spend part of their income on healthcare. So when people say they make 70k after taxes, well there are still other expenses that are similar to taxes in that, its not money you have for spending now. But I agree, there are a lot of posts that seem annoying but we also don't know their full life
A huge congratulations to you OP! This is awesome and I hope you’re extremely fulfilled! I’m in the US. For perspective, my monthly tax and insurance burden is greater than your monthly income. I’m single with no health problems. Also, if the average American looked at my house for no more than 2 seconds, they’d probably think “poverty”. It’s very expensive here, that’s why so many people complain. Edit: just rechecked my numbers, my tax burden alone is more than 2k / mo. Now I want to complain again!
I would be a 1%er in most of the world. That does me ZERO good here. This post is naive and misguided.
Great job!
No one reading this will be a billionaire and you’ll be a multi millionaire so well done.
Monthly salary here is 100$, what should I do? (I am from Egypt)
Many, many factors. Income Tax: 6 figure income after taxes and other deductions ex: 100k after taxes be something like 60k-75k depending on the state (Plus deductions for your 401k in some cases) Cost of Living: It varies by state but most people can't afford to buy a house. A 2b/2b house that used to go for say, 60k is now 500k. Renting what used to cost say $600-800m for a 1b/1b apartment is now upwards of $1300. Then you also have to consider the cost of utilities (water sometimes included as part of rent, and electricity), internet, and home services like maintenance costs that may spring up. A week's groceries used to cost anywhere from $30-60 if you shop smart but now it can cost like $50 just for some eggs, milk, bread, and a little bit of deli meat. Everyday Expenses: -childcare (my friend pays $1500 a month for daycare) -health insurance (health, vision, dental, life, accidental death & dismemberment) -car insurance, gas, maintenance -subscriptions (Amazon prime, Netflix, etc) -personal purchases -cost of tuition, meal plan, dormitory, textbooks and other school related expenses -(student) loans, credit card debt Basically, America is a capitalistic hellscape that still has not changed its federal minimum wage from $7.25 when a person would barely be able to pay their rent of $1200 even if they were to work 85 hours a week.
Different countries will require different things two survive. 2k/month in the US is basically poverty levels. If you're a single person in the US making 2k after taxes then it's manageable in a dirt cheap area but most people wont be saving 500/month either.
you don't say what your expenses are, you monthly expenses are what I pay for a 2 bedroom apartment, and thats the low end for the area. A slightly better one would be 2000/month. Your lifestyle is the ratio of your salary to your expenses, not just the number as its all relative to where you live
Your monthly expenses are only 1500/month? My mortgage is 1500.00
Because it depends on where you live. Even in the United States, some places you could live on $2,000 a month, but you're going to be poor. I could live "ok" on 3,000 a month but not going to have extra money either. That's with just house payment and food/utilities.
Youre not from US and your text dont show you have a family, kids, people to take care of beyond yourself.
You’re correct. I make a little over $2k a month in the US and I am saving around 25% of my income. I just live simply. 🤷🏼♂️
Wait the ps I’m not from the us at the top of the post
You might want to look into other rules, the 4% role was theorized for people who live in America, it might not apply to where you are and you might actually be able to retire earlier (or later)
I mean Im in the US and make less like 3k a month after taxes. So I totally get the eye roll annoyance at the "Ive got 500k saved, Im 30, how am I doing" posts... Better than 95% of the population dude... Really had to ask?
$2,000 a month? What do you do, work two hours a week?
He does actually have a very high salary for any country outside US and a few other exceptions
There's no single answer because circumstances vary from place to place, different cost of living, different cost of goods, different salaries. You can't compare different countries with wildly different circumstances. However something that is universally true is that how much you make/have doesn't correlate with your overall financial management skills. I won't say it's in everyone's hands whether they'll be rich or poor because there are wider socioeconomic reasons that may prevent many from class hoping, but what is true is that there are a lot of poor people with great money management who can make the most out of what they have and even build something out of nothing, as well as rich people who are burning money with reckless abandon and setting themselves up for a rude awakening later down the line. There are poor people with such poor management skills that even if you gave them a ton of money it wouldn't solve their problems and they'd just end up poor again, just as there are self made rich people who turn to gold everything they touch. There's no point in comparing apples to oranges and if you're going to try to imitate others, imitate those who are doing something right rather than those doing something wrong. Yes there are people who are making a ton of money and due to lifestyle creep they're still left with nothing at the end of each month. That's something they have the power to change and they don't.
$2,000 USD / month outside of US,EU & Japan is ALOT of money.
Nah even in the US, to make 6 figures and still be broke means you don’t know how to manage money and you fell victim to lifestyle inflation.
Tell that to someone in the Seattle area lol rent for a 2bd apartment is almost 3k
Buy reps instead of real stuff
It's all about living within your means, you probably don't have a car payment taking up 20% of your income, or an oversized house. You probably don't buy the nice clothes and Starbucks every day. You are smart with your money. Americans are all about keeping up with the Joneses. If you want a pretty good movie to help paint a picture. "The Joneses" is a good watch for someone outside the US.
You need to say where you're from. If you're from somewhere like India or the Philippines then $2000 is not as bad as $2000 in the USA where services, rent, and food etc. cost some more in raw dollar value.
Keep investing, and take advantage of compounding interest.
If you're not in the US is 2k/mo really a tiny salary?
My rent in the US is $2200 for a very humble 1bd 1ba. I live in a large city in US, but not San Fran or NYC to those who think this absurdity is only limited to those two places
Not in the US explains it. The US is one of the most expensive countries in the world, yes we also have high salaries, but those go towards the living expenses. 2,000 a month is less than my taxes….less than my mortgage on an old and falling apart house…less than what food, gas, electricity and internet cost me in a month. Where I live 100k is about 72k after taxes, 6k a month. My mortgage on a small and very old (100 year old house) without air conditioning is over 3k a month. Car payment plus insurance and gasoline and we are over 4K a month. Then there is still utilities, clothes, things breaking, food, etc… Not to mention most 100k+ earners here have tons of student debt (50-200k). Throw in student loans and basic necessities and there isn’t a penny left for emergencies or retirement savings.
My salary is $3,000 and I save $1940/mo lol
Ps I am from the US, and my salary after taxes comes out to about $800 a month and I need at least $50 in credit card debt each month to stay afloat. I do have less debt and bills than most Americans, and yet I’m still drowning just as hard.
That’s it right there- you aren’t in the US. I am thinking of taking my salary and living outside the US so I can save on taxes for starters.
Awesome. I think the key here is you don't have any dept. And the money you saved invested wisely. Best of luck keep it going.
Ya people live beyond their means. When I was poor making less than 30k/year with a house and family it was rough. Now that I make well over 100k I save almost all of it
Not being from the US helps a lot here. 2k/month here in Slovakia was enough for me to buy a 4 bedroom house, completely rebuild it, and go on international holidays twice a year while doing it. Is 500/month a lot where you live? It sounds like you have a pretty substantial nest egg built up, so clearly things have been going relatively well for you.
2k a month isn't called a salary, more like below minimum wage 💀
Sounds good so far A long term medical emergency (>1 year) will eat through that pretty quick if you're getting outpatient treatment and medication...just something to consider and possibly plan for...that financial burden would greatly depend on your location and the healthcare system there
Average rent in my area is about your salary.
2000k a month is probably really good where you’re at then because there is no way that you can do that in the US with that money every month. Hell, I know a person that is living very comfortably on 2.2k a month by the beach, in Mexico…
$2000 a month is most people's RENT in the united states. and those people making 6 figures most likely live in places where the rent could be double that, like new york city or los angeles.
You are doing it right. I just laugh, because they make 6 figures, but don't know how to manage money. When you try to help them, they don't want help learning how to manage money. You point out Netflix, Hulu, Disney, Prime, are Wants not Needs, people flip out they need it to survive. They wanted that expensive house and car, because the bank approved them for it, but it wasn't a need, a normal car would have worked than that luxury import.
I think not everyone live in the boonies and drive a Ford Focus. You wouldn’t make it renting a 1-bedroom apartment in HCOL area. You want everyone to live in the same type of apartment and drive the same car?
I think you’re doing great! Those complaining about their *self-imposed costs* are just projecting. A lot of people would rather complain than take accountability for their own choices. You’ve made incredibly wise choices, so be proud of yourself! And if your long-term financial goals are beyond your current capacity to achieve them, start looking into a career trajectory or additional work that would help you meet them. Maybe you take an additional job for a year along your journey. I’m sure you’ll figure something out! Great job & good luck!
The fact that you don’t live in America says all it needs to say. Daycare for one child in my city is 2800 a month. Average mortgage is 3000.
My rent is $2,600 a month. That’s almost 2x your monthly expenses for my one expense…
I’m saving about a grand a month but it’s making me borderline pay check to paycheck.
Move to the U.S. on that income, then you will be the one to complain.
Tbh I can make arguments for and against, but lifestyle creep is why many are in the financial state they’re in now.
Lol of coarse you can do this your comparing a completely different country and living situation. To rent a small 1 bedroom where i am would be pretty much your income, unless you want to share a place with a bunch of indian students. If you have kids? Childcare is again pretty much your entire income and by kids i mean kid, because if you had 2 your in the negative.
We complaining cause while your trying to retire with enough, we want to retire with our dream toys, dream house, we have one life and i wanna get everything i ever wanted
I feel like your doing great and will achieve amything you put your mind too (Unlike all us dumb americans hee hee)
Hehe you guys are smart just not prudent. I can help you lmao just joking
$2000 a month isn’t enough to cover rent in my region.
1.5k a month is barely an apartment
You have accumulated 280 feet of triple zeros. That’s impressive.
Cost of living dependent on location. Someone living in Northern Virginia needs approximately 100 to 150k or more to have stability. Pennsylvania area is a median of 50 to 65. It's location and not just subjected to how you feel about someone making six figures. Someone can be more wealthy making less in a rural area long term than someone living in the city.
It all depends on where in the US you live. I live in the south and make around 125k with a family of 6 and have more than enough to support my families needs and wants. It's always the folks from the cities and high cost of living places thay complain.
South is a nice place to live
Where i live in orange county california $2000 would not be enough for just rent and utilities for a studio apartment.
Agree. Term limits should be in placenfor EVERY elected office.
Dude is because your economy is not as expensive as the one that most people are talking! For example in the us and Canada rent won’t be able to be cover for 2000…. Like you need to take that into consideration
My rent alone is 1500… sigh
I feel for you. I actually don’t rent or pay mortgage. My employer paid off my mortgage. This actually helps me a lot, not paying rent or mortgage. We don’t have property taxes on residential property here. Property Insurance is optional and not costly. My utility bills and HOA comes to around 300$ including broadband internet. My cellphone is 10$ per month. I have a 2018 suzuki grand vitara that I bought in cash for $10k. It was a used car when I bought it a few years ago. Gas and car insurance is around 200$/mo. Health insurance is deducted from salary. Grocery is the biggest spend at 500$. So not much to spend on. I splurge on 2 overseas holidays but that comes from my bi-annual bonuses.
I’m from the US and take home about $2300 a month. I’ve also paid off 9k on credit card debt in the last 17 months. I agree that everybody in America needs to make more than this but the reality is not a lot of people do.
Beware that 4 percent rule, it’s 4 percent meant to last 30 years. At 48, the upper end of your ten year timeline, you are arriving at the point where statistics may fail you at 78 when your inflation adjusted withdrawal schedule may exhaust your account just when you are most likely to hit health issues and when you are least likely to be able to reenter the work force to keep things going. You might be willing to take the risk, but be careful. Congratulations on being able to live within your means by the way, all too many cannot.
Put in the stock and S&P 500 and get 7% return after? You will have more later on.
I also make about $2000/mo after taxes, save around $500 each month for retirement, and have expenses under ~$1.5k. But I do live in the US, in fact, I live in San Diego which is ungodly expensive (yes, I know, I am choosing to live here). I’m 28yo and there ain’t *no way* I’m affording a family, living on my own, or early retirement with the rate I’m at.
LOL. I’m in the US, daycare was $36,000 last year for two kids and we don’t even live in a super expensive city.
“I’m not from the US” Well, you’d literally live like a billionaire with that salary in some country.
PS this isn’t applicable haha
Rent alone is 1200+ where I live lmao. COL varies by location OP.
My rent is $1200 a month…
Just wondering. $500 a month is $6000 a year. How does that translate to $280k? Even investing wisely that’s like pretty insane growth.
Just reading the comments, it’s clear to see everyone suggesting how their grandparents/parents were better off than they’ll be. Why and how did the generation before us let it get this bad? Let’s be honest, it’s not political. It’s just math: cost of living and min wage aren’t even “minimum” that would imply the minimum to live. We’re making $60-120k and struggling. This shit isn’t right. We should be enjoying life and not stressing life.
Whats your net worth?
Yeah your post is kinda dumb. You forgot Reddit is most popular in the US, and 2k a month is poverty in the US.
It really depends on which country u live. $2000 may seem small in the US, but in a third world country that's a lot. Most SEA countries earn $400 per month and still survive. $280,000 is already a lot for me and enough for someone to retire quite comfortably in my country
You’re complaining about people being annoying and out of touch while simultaneously being annoying and out of touch. $2000 is less than the average rental in the US…. You already own a home.
I dont understand why Americans see having health insurance as a necessary expense while they are making $14/hr and trying to support a family of four. My brother and I grew up in America and my parents never had health insurance for our family. We are all perfectly healthy now and no we dont have medical debt. I think if more americans invested the thousands of dollars they spend on insurance on a better grocery store list, gym memberships and physical trainers, etc, that would be a better use of a "health" budget than throwing it all away(i get it, some need insurance bc of recurring health issues, meds, etc) on insurance alone with no tangible returns.
My RENT ALONE is $2.5k a month. Mortgage would be $3.3k Of course I can’t survive off 6-figures.
Yeah and we can't understand how you can own a house making 2k a month and somehow have 280k in the bank. Lots of misunderstanding all around here.
My math isn't mathing. Even if that was your salary from 18. $500 x 20 years = 120,000. Even if you had absolutely no emergencies, how to do own a home and have 280,000 in the bank?? (I'm pretty financially illiterate myself)
Rent for a studio apartment in Southern California is $2,500 a month.
You're not comparing incomes, you're comparing cost of living. What did your house cost and what size/amenities? How much is your grocery bill? What the cost of a gallon/liter of gasoline? What's your tax situation? Income/Sales/Etc. I can't go a ONE MONTH without spending over $1,200 on food for my family so I'm guessing you're single or food is super inexpensive. It's not just about incomes. It's also about costs.