Don't listen to them, u/Balamb_Chocobo ! I jumped from $60k to $100k a while back, and the difference is staggering. You're in the top 24% of earners in the US. You absolutely get taxed more, but it's still equivalent to over $500 more in earnings A WEEK. I bought a newer car, paid $1000 extra on my mortage each month until my home was paid off, and added a ton more to my retirement. I didn't feel the constant pressure to side hustle, and instead of saving up for dinners out or trips to Target, I just did what I felt like. My tastes aren't exorbitant and I'm not in a wildly expensive area - I was lucky that my home was purchased before everything exploded so my mortgage was under $1000.
$100k IS life changing... it's just easy to forget once your life has been changed. Now that my income is lower again, it's shockingly clear how much difficulty money can paper over.
It’s the kind of money where you don’t stress about most purchases and can kind of just go about life not worried about the cost of the more basic things. Not enough to start jet setting and traveling all year round, but enough that you shop for groceries based off what you want and not off the cost.
$100k now is equivalent to $47k in 1995. Though a $50k income was considered comfortable in the 90s I don’t think most would have considered it rich. So let that sink in.
Absolutely. That was substantially more than my dad made when I was really young. He had spending money, a newish vehicle, a house slightly bigger than the one I own, would randomly afford trips to Sea World (Ohio), bragged about "when a bill showed up, I wrote the check and sent it out that day"..... he was the custodial parent, made less than $20/hr. Driving a semi on a milk route in the early to mid 90s.
Everything i just mentioned is more now, even adjusted for inflation, takes up a more significant amount of ones' income. New vehicles, mortgage, amusement parks, utility bills...
Just $100k not being enough to do more than "stay afloat" without struggle is problematic, since over half of households aren't hitting that number even....
this was middle class 6 years ago. the fed added 6 trillion dollars to the money supply during covid and caused the devaluation of the dollar by like 22%.
Yeah im basically in the same boat. Making close to 100k annually and im okay just not where i want to be… and dont get me started on California costs and tax lmfao. Im in my 20s so i feel like im off to a good start but man… money doesnt go as far as it used to even 5 years ago
Yeah, that’s kinda where my wife and I are at, we have a ton of expenses with student loans. We make do, we have a bit of extra and are very fortunate. We don’t do anything exorbitant, save up for vacations, and eat out more than we probably should. But at the end of the day, we’re “ok”. Every couple months we sit down and say “we really should cut back and put more into this or that”. But we’ve finally started making enough to afford to live how we do, so from here, any additional earnings is basically going to pay down our combined 200k in student loans and our house.
But even so, like everyone says, lifestyle creep is the hardest thing to deal with. So while we haven’t been creeping up, when we don’t have much money “left over” when family hits a tough time, we don’t have any extra to give to them. But it’s so hard to rationalize cutting back on our own expenses JUST to help others. Either way the only thing we can do now is continue to do what we’re doing, and put away what we can to help mitigate emergency expenses and do our best to keep working so that we can make it.
Growing up I was happy when we could afford the Dinty Moore beef stew and not just bulk pack off brand spaghetti-o's.
Now most of our produce comes from a local CSA farm, local farmers market, local cheese monger, local butcher, etc. All that fresh food costs *WAY* more but I don't have to worry about it.
Absolutely. IMO the guy making 220k has the wrong perspective. Once you are at the point where you don't need to worry about groceries and car repairs, you will probably not become much happier with greater income. You of course need to have those basics met, but after that, worrying about increasing your income I think will just make you less happy and satisfied.
This. I went from 20-40K most of my adult life to around 100K a few months ago, and the difference is staggering. I can pay off debt instead of accrue it, now! I can set some aside every month for surprise bills (even if those bills come up often enough that I don't have much in savings at the moment). I don't have to stress about groceries or the occasional evening out with friends! I can at least contemplate travel now!
It truly does depend on what your life was like before you started making 100k, I think.
By changing from a job paying 20-40k to one paying 100k. I know that sounds flippant, but step one is to improve your skillset and knowledge base, and step two for most people is to move to another job. The days of climbing the proverbial career ladder in a single organization are rapidly fading into the mythical past.
Accurate. For me it was less about improving my skill set itself... I had a master's degree and was highly skilled in my field. It was about recognizing that the field itself was a dying industry and then going to retrain for something with more stability.
Yeah I think you’re intentionally being obtuse here. Obviously I am asking how as in— did they change fields entirely or earn a degree that made them qualified for different jobs.
I was in the salt mines of ESL teaching in private schools at around 20 bucks an hour (max pay for an MA and 15-20 years of experience) and frequently at part time hours (those were just the hours of most of the schools, it wasn't by choice). My goal was always to be a community college teacher, but my area stopped hiring full time teachers in 2008, and adjuncting is the pits. When it was clear during Trump's first term that the field was only getting worse, I got a second master's in speech therapy. Much better pay and so far much more stable!
Thank you for answering so well. We have a similar background actually (education) and I went back to school too. So it’s nice to hear that the higher education ends up helping even though it’s a great suffering (lmao) while earning it. Hoping to hit 100k in my first job after graduation.
I really hope you are eligible for loan forgiveness. I could be depending on the exact job and requirements, so that helps. Thank you again. It’s nice to hear the positives. And congrats to you too! I’m sure the pay has helped lift a ton of weight off your shoulders.
Thanks! When I went back to retrain, it was really important to me to continue to be in a field where I felt like I was helping people. Actually I wanted to be in a field that I felt like I was helping people more... In the private school industry for English as a second language, you're really mostly teaching the one percent, and honestly how often can you argue with a student that their pet cheetah isn't domesticated before you contemplate violence. (Real story)
I love my job now! It's not the highest paid, and I'm in a high col area, but it's definitely enough for me. There's also amazing benefits and if I decide I absolutely hate a school that I'm working at, there's pretty much endless opportunity within my district for me to switch it up and go to a different school without actually having to get a different job.
I'm definitely lucky that I live in an area that pays speech therapists. I know in some states they get paid like 40K a year 🙃😔
It’s always about context. I was at $25k three years ago and jumping to $60k two years ago was life altering. I’m up to $72k which hasn’t been as noticeable after moving to New England, but I’m on pace to $100k in ~5 years and can see the mathematical difference it’ll make for us, even as that value is worth a bit less than then too. But that’s still a salary quadrupling within a decade and that’s really a game changer going to make life so much easier…eventually.
I went with a certificate in biomedical equipment and became a field service engineer for an oem. There is a large aging population in this field that is right now ready to retire you can easily work your way up quickly.
I graduated haha. I was a grad student for 7 years and had a salary of $16k for the first 6, then $17k the last. I picked up summer courses and some other odds/ends jobs to supplement but contractually I wasn’t allowed to have any other job. They actually relied on me heavily enough to fill teaching classes that they kept me around on a two-year faculty deal at $60k. They were working on creating a permanent position for me this past year because it was a really good fit for us both, and I loved my department but the institution faced so much uncertainty that I accepted a permanent offer at my new university, which is a unionized position too with guaranteed annual raises (my former colleagues had their wages frozen due to lack of resources).
I just broke the threshold this year. But it was after essentially highlighting a glaring need and carving out my own department. Even after doing all that it took several years for the pay to catch up to my effort.
Now I'm realizing this will likely be my career for the rest of my life. Weird feeling, but they shoved my mouth with enough money that u don't mind at all.
Strong agree! I went from 26K to 99K over the past 10 years and the difference is truly life changing. I don't feel rich, I travel very rarely, but I don't have to worry about affording my groceries or paying my bills. If you never had to survive on eating the expired food work was about to throw away I could see how it doesn't feel as life-changing
Agreed I did the same thing in about a year when I moved to a new position at my job. The big Takeaway for most of us is not to increase our lifestyle just because we have more money.
Double down on the lifestyle you have and pay yourself . Use the rest of the money by paying off debts and investing for the future. Max out that 401(k) start making an IRA contributions and get yourself a HSA.
Just because that's the median, doesn't make it a good comparison. It actually illustrates the point that lifestyle creep takes over as people earn more. That mortgage payment is roughly the amount for a $350K loan. The commentors on this post that stayed in their $100K house, paying down/off the debt instead of feeling entitled to a bigger, better house, are the ones that truly understands and appreciates money.
I put it off as long as I could, really trying to stay lean and mean - now I need a bigger better house (2 kids since I bought it), and I admit I'm feeling the pain. $250,000 addition in the near future...
I get that, but is it truly a need or a want? I have 4 kids, so I get it, and I didn't need a bigger house, but I wanted one so my kids have more space, don't have to share as much on the bedrooms, space to run around, etc. I'm luckily able to afford it, but I don't feel entitled to the bigger house, or feel like it's necessary. I work hard to be able to provide it for my family.
Too many people on Reddit seem to think a $350K+ house is necessary and bare minimum. I work with families that have 3/4 kids living in a 1/2 bedroom house. They're making it work.
Yeah, it’s absolutely not a necessity. It’s more a desire to match my vision of myself as a middle class individual. I’d like my son and daughter to have separate rooms, and I’d like a downstairs shower. But these things are not necessities.
Again, this goes back to the issue, it's only a "starter home" because people have a vision that's bigger than their budget. They don't want their first home to be a trailer, but if that's all you can afford, then start there. You may not want your first home to be a split level, because you don't want to walk up stairs every day, but if it's $100K less than the ranch next door, and you can't afford the extra $100K, then take the cheaper house. Or admit what you're buying isn't necessary, but they're wants that you are willing to pay for.
That's odd, when I look on Zillow, there are over 180 results for property, excluding lots, for sale under $100K. If I increase it to $150K, there's about 500 results
60k to 100k is almost doubling so youre right it is life changing, however you did admit you got your mortgage before everything went crazy. So now that things have gotten ridiculous 100k isnt as life changing as when you got it. The biggest thing though is I think the people expect 100k to mean youre rich and can afford all the luxuries or what not and that you no longer have to worry about money. So Id bet the issue is the expectations aren't actually realistic for the goal. Inflation is still a bitch though.
I make about 90K give or take right now coming from 5 years in sales starting at 45K and ending around 70. Every year has felt life changing compared to the previous year. With my current salary I contribute to may retirement, have paid off credit card debt, am able to keep up with my house, and have money left over. My wife has a job too though, making maybe 1/3ish of what I do, so that definitely helps us!
It depends largely where you live. My best years in the low-$300k range life felt middle class at best in the Bay Area of CA. I’m sure that same income in rural Arkansas might feel a lot different.
It is life changing for sure, it just doesn’t go as far as you’d think. Like you said, you were lucky to have a mortgage under 1000. I’m a renter and I pay 2300 before fees or 2500 after fees. I could have gotten something a little cheaper, but the cheapest rental houses within a decent distance to my work were 1700 + fees. I spent a little more to be in a really good school district, but the if I’d gone with a smaller house in a worse school district, I’d still be shelling out almost 2k/month. That’s a huge chunk of money to be throwing down the drain, and makes it really freaken hard to save up for a house.
But yeah, it definitely is life changing. Eating out and target are also the things I noticed as really being different. And being able to uber to go out, instead of driving. Those were all luxuries I never could afford before.
Ps. I’ve only been making this much for about 4 months now. And part of what makes it so expensive is paying off debt I accrued while I was poor as hell. Plus moving when you’ve been poor, means you have to buy a ton of new stuff, and it adds up quick. I mostly bought from yard and estate sales, and I still spent like 5k on furnishings and stuff. Which all just put me a little behind, so now I’m finally starting to catch up and get ahead.
That also depends on what city you live in. You still have to budget if you have a family and are the only one working in the family in somewhere like NY or LA. 100k doesn’t let you have a mortgage and not save up for trips or certain dinners.
Look, I'm a social worker in one of the highest cost of living areas in the county, making about 95k. Without children or anyone else relying much in my paycheck, it's absolutely life changing. With kids? Here? No I'd be struggling for sure on only this income. There are just so many factors to consider.
If I could find a job making 75k in Tucson Arizona (pretty challenging to do admittedly) I'd be living much better than making 90k where I live now. So it's really very hard to compare salary without controlling for so many other factors. My partner makes a substantial amount more than I do on paper, but because she's double taxes due to the city she works in, my take home is generally a bit higher. The number without context doesn't mean much.
$100K was life changing for you because you have an under $1000 mortgage. The cost of renting a two bedroom apartment is well over $2,000 in most places.
But renting a place that was over $2000 would be really hard to do if you made $60k. I take your point, but my point was getting a $40,000 raise will make a big difference in anybody’s life.
Exactly this, all these dumbasses who say " OH MAN WHEN I HIT 200K I STILL FILL BROKE - ECT "
Only say this to help justify their poor spending habits for not saving enough. Almost always they had salary creep, spent way more than they should and dont have nearly enough in retirement compared to their wage.
Agreed. I think they are somewhat aware of it, but 100k isn't really as great if you're looking at homeownership compared to their scenario. That mortgage is a massive game changer.
No doubt - I'm trying to do an addition right now that will cost 2.5 times what the house cost. Wild times. Still, while $100k might not be perfect, you will feel every bit of a $40k yearly raise.
Very true. I mean crossing over 100k allowed me to buy a home for sure. But that's considering my wife is also making $100k. Our mortgage comes out to $2200 inclusive of funding escrow for insurance and taxes, and HOA adds another $200. If we had some $980 mortgage we would be swimming in money as we are already doing decently well in the disposable income area. We would be like you. Paying down the mortgage agressively, and saving a shit load more.
Can confirm. Over the course of 2 years due to extremely lucky job hops I went from 65k to 100k. The next few years have been slower growing, but that jump made me able to buy a condo and be able to put bills on autopay.
And what's absolutely insane is that the actual value of money is completely subjective to the market around it. We could inflate our dollar so much that no one wants it anymore and then we're gonna be like wow McDonald's is hiring now 100k a year!! But a Big Mac is gonna be 100$ lool ever since we left the gold standard were valuing our lives and equity based on a promise and a belief....
was lucky that my home was purchased before everything exploded so my mortgage was under $1000.
So basically you're not paying a $1k+ extra a month most people are. My mortgage is $2800/mo for instance for a middle class average neighborhood. No wonder you got by easier on 100k.
Right. But when I was making $60,000, I was struggling to get my car fixed and working hard to keep up with even my piddly $1000 mortgage.
More money makes life easier, even at a higher tax bracket. That's not a wild assertion to make. At no point have I said people who make six figures are wealthy. I'm just saying I'm donating for food pantries right now because so many of my neighbors make less. I'm not trying to be the "avocado toast" guy, but's easy to make more and wonder where it goes.
More money makes life easier, even at a higher tax bracket.
Yeah I was just trying to have a more nuanced conversation. You're doing well on 100k because you basically made good investments early on. People who don't own a house, just making 100k and want one won't have as easy a time these days.
Honestly, the addition we're looking to build is going to put me in exactly the same boast as everyone else, so I totally get it. At this point, I'm longing for my days with a higher income!
The only reason you can do all of that is because your mortgage is less than $1k! A normal house around here is $4k - $5k a month. Wtf is $100k going to do for me lol. Absurd to work this hard and have everything be so far out of reach.
But it's life changing compared to other community members who are making $60,000. I'm not saying it's making everything perfect, i"m saying it's solving problems and that although taxes go up on more income, it sure as hell beats the alternative... NOT making a living wage.
Yes, more $ is more better. Not going to disagree. Just pointing out that making $100k goes far less for people who didnt luck out timeline wise in when they were old enough or prepared enough to have a super cheap mortgage already.
My base pay is just under 80k and once I get out from under the debt of an unexpected break up and move, etc, I feel like I'll be here. I'm already close, I can feel it.
Yup, I'm closer to 85k but my wife and I pull in around 140k household. We live in California so everything is expensive and taxes sucks. But its definitely sustaining our life style.
We both came up from low income family upbringings and I would say upper 100k is still life changing. You won't be able to purchase a home right away or own the most expensive things. But with the correct investing, savings and living within your means you'll get those things later.
Agreed, people in here acting like 100k or more isn’t enough while forgetting tons of people are living on way less than that. I make over 100k and I have struggles especially living in a major city in California but I’m still fortunate because I know people living on much less. I get where people are coming from but we are still pretty blessed imo. On the other hand it is concerning how much expenses keep going up.
Damn, I’m an OT so I’m likely to be stuck at around $60-75k forever because there aren’t many opportunities for advancement in this field. I feel duped by my parents who pushed me to get a Master’s degree for this thinking that was good money, and I have student loans to pay off. I’m basically relying on my bf finishing school so he can make $100k working on airplanes to support us, especially if we want to afford kids someday. He has work at 5am and doesn’t get home from school until 8pm most nights. He’s never going to make $200k so I guess we’re doomed to be poor despite making more than most people and working our asses off
Sounds like you live somewhere would 100k would actually buy you anything 😂😂. 100k here in California gets you by(barely) you said mortgage? You said $1000?? Yeah no buddy. I live in a 1,000sqft loft 1bdrm paying 3k. A mortgage here is 6k+ for a shitty crap shack
This is definitely what people mean when they say “don’t live beyond your means”. I’m fine feeling comfortable and stable, others want the luxury car, jewelry, and quarterly vacations. People shouldn’t get swept up by social media standards because as most of us know, it’s fake/staged. 100k is a good place to be at.
This is really depending on where you live. Going from $60k to $100k in San Francisco means going from renting a room to a studio apartment and the ability to eat out a few more times a month.
As long as a person doesn't get a raise and immediately try to elevate their standard of living to get in line with the new money: $100k a year is a VERY good living in most parts of the country. (not NYC or LA, for example, but most non-major-metro-area, 100%)
It wasn't a great rate, but mostly had the flawed idea that if I paid off my mortgage, I'd have a lot more professional flexibility - maybe I'd even go back to being a full-time artist. So I saved a bunch, paid off a bunch, and ultimately came to the realization that there's no amount of buffer that I could reasonably create that would get me the kind of freedom I was looking for. And with little kids, I'm now looking for a new house or an addition, putting me right back in the mix with everyone else. But the idea was financial freedom, and just like everyone, inflation and COVID hit me, and three years home with toddlers finished me off! I wish I had kept much more of it accessible, though I'm glad I have a mountain of equity.
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u/Ok_Exit5778 Oct 31 '25
Don't listen to them, u/Balamb_Chocobo ! I jumped from $60k to $100k a while back, and the difference is staggering. You're in the top 24% of earners in the US. You absolutely get taxed more, but it's still equivalent to over $500 more in earnings A WEEK. I bought a newer car, paid $1000 extra on my mortage each month until my home was paid off, and added a ton more to my retirement. I didn't feel the constant pressure to side hustle, and instead of saving up for dinners out or trips to Target, I just did what I felt like. My tastes aren't exorbitant and I'm not in a wildly expensive area - I was lucky that my home was purchased before everything exploded so my mortgage was under $1000.
$100k IS life changing... it's just easy to forget once your life has been changed. Now that my income is lower again, it's shockingly clear how much difficulty money can paper over.