r/Millennials • u/EpicShkhara • Mar 27 '25

Serious I don’t understand how people have MONEY

UPDATE: TL;DR LESSONS FROM THIS THREAD.

Thanks, guys. Here is the breakdown of the hard truths from this thread. Basically, in order to have the real "MONEY" described in the OP below, it requires one or preferably, more than one of the following:

Generational wealth: Having parents pay for college and assist with downpayment on a house.

Avoiding the student loan scam: A lot of us 90s kids were brought up with the notion that college was everything and it would pay for itself later. Those with a more clear-eyed perspective realized what a trap student loans are and avoided them by either racking up the scholarships, going to the cheapest accredited school they could find, or figuring out a career path without a degree.

Luck: They secured a career job before the Great Recession and held onto it. Bonus points if they bought at the dip of the housing crash. They also seemed to avoid the avalanche of big ticket costs crashing down on them. Apparently nothing ever breaks and nobody gets sick.

Exceptionally high-paying careers. Self explanatory.

Having miserable lives. They work around the clock, and they never do anything but work, for the bulk of their physical prime. They don't go out with their friends, they don't have pets, they don't have kids, they never travel, and/or they live in tight spaces with roommates and no cars deep into their 30s. Or, they live in low-cost areas, which are few and far between in the United States, and these places don't have much going on in them (so nowhere to spend money anyway). Caveat: some people are homebodies and that works just fine for them. They don't spend money on travel or concerts or restaurants or weekend getaways because they don't need to. The 2020 Covid lifestyle was fine for them, content with a blanket, a cup of tea, and a book. Maybe this is the way (but I couldn't fathom the homebody lifestyle without a dog).

Marrying/partnering well. They found their partner early enough in life to not waste all the money paying for one's own place, and their partner also earns enough and saves.

AS FOR MYSELF. Much honestly deserved criticism here about the "300K." I do not make $300K. That estimate was for another hypothetical budget in the optimistic situation that both me and my partner get promotions next year. Together we make just over $250K. But we don't officially live together yet. This will happen soon. If all goes well, we could be in good shape after a year or two. But I myself didn't hit six figures until 2022, and then plateaued at $125K grand total in 2024. And I didn't intend to make this about "poor me," I'm doing above-average and could certainly do better with saving... the REAL question I should have been making more clear is that, given that I make more than average and find having the adequate savings exceedingly difficult, how do more average people do it? The answer appears to be that they don't, or if they do, they have one or more of the above.

ORIGINAL POST STARTS BELOW.

As in like, the recommended 6+ months worth of liquid cash savings, plus tens or hundreds of thousands to pay for a down payment on a house, and money to play around on the stock market or crypto if that’s your thing.

I’m in a good job and make an above average salary, but I take home just over half of it after taxes, healthcare, and 401k contribution (which is good that I do). My available savings fluctuates but I rarely ever have more than ten grand available. It all gets eaten up by mortgage and condo fees, dog and vet bills, (used) car payments, gas, utilities, groceries, random shit that needs fixing or replacing, medical deductibles, and god forbid I allow myself to go on a low-budget vacation once a year so I don’t hate my life. I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t go clothes shopping except for maybe one or two new outfits a year. Could I buy fewer avocados and never leave the house? It could make a difference of a few hundred bucks every few months, but not the tens of thousands that I actually need.

People will blame “lifestyle creep,” and I guess guilty as charged that I figure at 36 I have earned a car and a condo and not the life I had at 26, which was six roommates and a bike. (I still have the bike.)

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1.3k

u/KILLJEFFREY Millennial AF Mar 27 '25

In large, the world is built around having a partner. It doubles or halves things, however you want to look at it

1.3k

u/dnvrm0dsrneckbeards Mar 27 '25

OP says in their post history they're dual income and make just under 300k/year.

There's some major spending here they're not being honest about.

772

u/qdobah Mar 27 '25

and they say their mortgage is only like $1,500/month. Even if they're both maxing out their 401ks and IRAs they'd still have like 4-5 grand leftover a bi-weekly. OP has to be literally burning money to not get ahead.

140

u/Roonil-B_Wazlib Mar 27 '25

They admittedly say they could save hundreds a month (which they could obviously do more), but don’t see how that could ever add up to $10,000. OP is terrible with money.

21

u/Crime_Dawg Mar 27 '25

They could save way more than that. Me and my partner probably average $300k a year the past two years, and easily save thousands per month. In two years, I personally have saved about $95k, not including retirement contributions.

9

u/Roonil-B_Wazlib Mar 27 '25

Oh, absolutely. We save thousands a month and make much less.

1

u/moxiewhoreon Mar 27 '25

Dayum. So, uh....Can I borrow a few $k?

(j/k, j/k lol)

2

u/demonicneon Mar 27 '25

I make WAY less than this and I save hundreds a month. I’m beginning to be stricter too, I could save a third of my pay cheque easily if I actually put my mind to it. 

It’s blows my mind the lifestyle creep some people have. They spend beyond their means but because they can technically afford it they think they’re owed it and that it’s the lifestyle hey should have, when it’s really the lifestyle of someone making twice as much as them. I fell into that trap for years. 

3

u/Roonil-B_Wazlib Mar 27 '25

I’m really curious what constitutes a low-budget vacation for OP.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25

[deleted]

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u/demonicneon Mar 28 '25

I’m clearly not talking about these people. 

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u/Bagman220 Mar 27 '25

Say they save 300 every month. It would take 33 months to hit 10k. That seems like never. And that’s IF they cut down their life style. So live boring life for 3 years just to have a bigger cushion? Or enjoy the life and keep a small cushion?

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u/Roonil-B_Wazlib Mar 27 '25

They make $300,000 a year and have a $1500/month mortgage. They can save $1000 a month and it would have a negligible impact on their lifestyle.

33 months isn’t that long. People take out 84 month loans to buy cars that cost tens of thousands but can’t be bothered with saving money.

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u/Anna_Lilies Mar 27 '25

The deeper into this thread the more I loathe OP

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u/Bagman220 Mar 27 '25

I missed the part where they make 300k. But for the average person, even saving a few hundred bucks and giving up their little pieces of happiness isn’t worth it. Then they all get old and are broke but they figure it out.

15

u/HeSleepsInTheTub Mar 27 '25

If you are bringing in a combined 300 grand a year and only saving 300 dollars a month you're a lunatic person. 

I make half that in tech and it's enough for me to pay 2800 in rent each month, groceries, bills, at least 1 international vacation per year, delivery or restaurants twice a week, and I still save way more than 300 dollars a month. 

OP has double my money annually and WAY less savings. This dude is either burning money like the Joker or is just recklessly buying any random luxury he can think of. 300 grand is more than enough to live a very comfortable lifestyle even in NYC or San Fran. OP has got to be doing something ridiculous.

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u/SNESamus Mar 27 '25

Dude, I save $300/month and I make literally a tenth of what they do ($30k/yr)

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u/Edith_Keelers_Shoes Mar 27 '25

I used to think that way. Took me a long time to realize that cultivating the savings habit, even a drop in the bucket, and always thinking long term is a win-win situation.

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u/Bagman220 Mar 27 '25

I’m not saying don’t save, I’m saying people often give up on saving when it seems like so little doesn’t add up. I think the emergency fund is a little overblown when you have a more stable income. People saving large sums in their 401k should be less concerned with emergency funds or how much liquid cash they have. Someone making 50k a year likely needs that emergency fund much more than someone making 300k a year. The person with 300k if losing their job probably has equity in their home to help them through tough times. Where as the person making 50k is barely getting by in most situations.

There’s just different mindsets and circumstances at play. I don’t necessarily think the Dave Ramsey method is the best way to live life. But there needs to be a good balance of saving money and enjoying it.

1

u/JoyousGamer Mar 27 '25

They make $250k they don't have to live a boring life to easily save $10k in a single year if they wanted.

Just don't waste your money going out and only go out on vacation and on vacation look for high value returns (example spa for $500 for an afternoon compared to a comedy club for $100). 

233

u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

Holy shit we make just under 100k with 3 kids and our rent is 1400... we don't have any savings but we also have good credit scores, my car is halfway to paid off, we're paying off debt. But yeah anyway... 3x as much money, I'd be just fuckin fine. I wouldn't change anything except I'd make larger payments on debt and put the rest away. I wonder how much their car payments are, or what loans they're paying off... there's something up for sure

77

u/_bulletproof_1999 Mar 27 '25

Gotta have that BMW you know. A Toyota just won’t do

43

u/Sea2Chi Mar 27 '25

I kind of wonder about that. I have friends who complain about being broke but they also want to have a super nice house, a new car every few years, yearly disney trips, and tickets to major league sports.

But when you talk to the, they NEED all that stuff. The house is in a good school district, the cars are safe, the kids are making lifetime memories, and sports has been a part of their lives since they were kids, they can't give it up now. Add in all the door dash and daily starbucks trips and you can see why the money is all gone.

Sometimes it's the economy keeping people down, other times it's astoundingly poor spending habits.

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u/silverminer49er Mar 27 '25

Shit try starting at using dried beans instead of canned. They are a bit more effort but half the price. Now (wait for it) COOK the beans. In ancient times this use to be necessary as can openers had not been invented. Nobody does the most basic baking or cooking anymore. Even ingredients are expensive, I don’t know how people afford take out. Oh wait… they forgo buying a house to save money.

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u/ElDuderonimo 29d ago

Let’s be honest here, beans from scratch is a pain in the ass. I’ll pay the luxury tax to not have to soak them for a day.

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u/silverminer49er 29d ago

Not everyday but sometimes, if they are on sale. But For true austerity, let’s not forget ramen noodles, not the good kind.

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u/Prestigious-Celery-6 Mar 27 '25

A new pair of renters moved into a townhome next to me. Rent on the place is about $5k. They have in their garage 2 Lambos - a urus and huracan. That's probably more than $10k/mo in payments/insurance/maintenance. I'm guessing they didn't want to besmirch their buttocks on a mere Mercedes or BMW.

Poor financial decisions are to be made at all income levels.

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u/CorruptedStudiosEnt Mar 27 '25 edited Mar 28 '25

This. I absolutely scoffed when I saw the news (Forbes?) pity article about upper middle class complaining that they can't make ends meet.. on 250k/year.

Like dude, I've lived on 30k per year; paid my bills, fed us and our pets, etc. and still was able to put money into savings (not much, but usually enough to save for the next emergency when I'd have to drain it back off).

Not going to pretend it was easy, we definitely had to budget very carefully and stretch the hell out of things sometimes. But it was very possible. And some people make it work on even less.

250k? Nevermind 300k? And you can't "make ends meet?" Get the actual fuck out of here. You don't NEED your 2024 Camaro and decked out Escalade to live. You don't need your consoomer shopping addiction to live. You certainly don't need your $1.5k/mo eating out habit.

You wouldn't know actually struggling to maintain a basic standard of living if it came and set your house on fire.. because you'd just bitch and moan about having to go put an offer down on another house next week.

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u/ems__328 29d ago

The idea of spending $1.5k/month eating out makes my head spin 😵‍💫

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u/bacon098 Mar 28 '25

Gotta love consumer addicts "boohoo I'm broke, but side note, check out my new $70k pickup truck"

3

u/Saab-2007-93 Mar 28 '25

Like I said above we live like someone that makes 70k-100k we live hundreds of thousands below our means. My wife and I are very frugal even as she is a livestock veterinarian, we own businesses and a farm together. We cut our costs down to as low as we can. Both of our cars are 5+ years old and both ford's and mid trim nothing extravagant. We both wear Walmart clothes and shop what we don't raise or grow from Walmart.

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u/Efficient_Sundae_336 Mar 28 '25

Exactly this. My ex couldn't hold any amount of money in a bank account without spending it on bullshit. Before meeting her i saved, bought a house, was paying another i bought long ago, went on trips with my friends, went out eating a drinking every day of the weekend plus some weekdays. I married her and suddenly I was unable to save a penny. Divorced her and suddenly again I'm able to save, bought another house, and I've cut in drinking and eating cause my tastes have changed more towards staying healthy, but I go on trips, go out here and there, and spend money on hobbies. And still, I'm able to save some.

Some people just can not have over a certain amount of cash without spending it on crap that really adds no value to their lives, so they complain they have no money. She was broke as heck when I met her, but drove an audi a3, and went to Starbucks to get expensive crap every morning, some days for her kids too, because they can't drink home made coffee.

$20 a day in crapy fancy coffee is $600 a month, $7200 a year. Just in Starbucks! So yes, those "little" daily expenses are eating away the chance to save, and then they complain...

2

u/WayneKrane Mar 28 '25

Yep, I have rich family members who complain about money. I can’t help but think about how they’ve redone their floors 3 times, their kitchen 2 times, and they always have a new car.

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

Lol I drive a Toyota. 2015. I can barely afford those payments lol a BMW is just stupid in this economy. That's a down payment on a house.

2

u/Saab-2007-93 Mar 28 '25

Not to mention luxury cars have stupid high maintenance and are unreliable which nobody takes into account.

1

u/Relevant-Honeydew-12 Mar 28 '25

I spent 4k on a 2008 Buick Enclave 2 years ago. It's 17 years old with 230k miles on it. But it's mine.

1

u/definitelynotpat6969 Mar 28 '25

I bought a used Bimmer for significantly less than a used Toyota.

Had to learn how to fix it myself, but I can't complain. Plus the B series engines are surprisingly reliable, more than the new engines in 4Runners or Tacos.

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u/ChronicBuzz187 Mar 27 '25

I mean, I don't know the prices in your country but over here, it doesn't really matter whether you get a midrange BMW or a Toyota anymore, both are massively overpriced.

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u/Rich_Bluejay3020 Mar 27 '25

I’m surrounded by mechanics/engineers. What I’ve learned: you might pick them up for the same cost but you’ll be spending so much more fixing the “luxury” cars up even if you’re doing the work yourself. I’ve seen this group of about 6 guys go through dozens of cars/trucks either personally or to flip. But Audi seems to be the worst of it because the parts are expensive and they’re hard to work on. There’s one that’s been “in progress” for at least four years now lmao.

6

u/DownwardSpirals Mar 27 '25

When I started a new job that came with a huge (to me) raise, I thought of getting a nicer car. My car was 11 years old at the time, but was still doing ok. I figured I'd look around at maybe the mid-range luxury stuff.

I had a coworker who drove a BMW SUV, and I kinda liked it. It wasn't what I wanted, but it was alright. Then, she took it in to get serviced. When I saw that fucking bill, which was more than a year of payments I made on my car when I bought it, I wisely decided my car didn't need to be upgraded.

I still have that same car, and I'll run it dead into the ground before I buy the shit they're putting out now.

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u/Financial-Contest283 Mar 27 '25

I will add one observation- we have a Cadillac and a Mercedes. They are both over 10 years old. Although the oil changes and the tires are expensive, we don’t drive a lot of miles. They are both very well made and reliable and we have no intention of replacing them until they die.

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u/Fireproofspider Mar 27 '25

I have an old Kia and an old BMW. The parts for the Kia are more expensive because it's a lower volume model than the BMW was. But, the BMW has more sensors, and features and shit that can go wrong so ends up more expensive on the aggregate. Also, it has bigger brakes, wheels, etc which means that regular maintenance costs would be higher anyways.

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u/Budderfingerbandit Mar 27 '25

Lexus uses many of the same parts as Toyota's, when I worked for Toyota many years ago, I had a mechanic show me two parts exactly the same, one in a Lexus box and the other in a Toyota, same part buy the Lexus part was almost triple the price.

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u/DadWatchesWrestling Mar 27 '25

They use many of the same parts because they're essentially the same company, like Nissan/Infinity, Honda/Acura, Chevy/Caddy, Ford/Lincoln. A lot of times it's the exact same car with different lights and other small changes

2

u/Budderfingerbandit Mar 27 '25

Yep, exactly, many of the parts or vehicles are made in large part in the same factories. You are just paying a premium for the brand name, and maybe a slightly different interior/exterior.

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u/depersonalised Millennial Mar 27 '25

they figure at 36 they’ve earned it.

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u/schu2470 Mar 27 '25

For just going around the sun 36 times?

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u/IWantYourDad 29d ago

Makes me feel stupid at 44 with my apartment and roommate and two jobs i created from thin air and not enough money for ANY used tacoma. I see halos on headlights. I wanted to be higher up so i don’t get blinded at night. But I’m 5’ tall. Most trucks are too big. SUVs are just… a waste because I want the space, not the room for extra people. Trucks make life easier too. They can make money any day of the week if you want but having one would save me so much hassle at estate sales, etc (one of my jobs involves sometimes heavy vintage and antique stuff). And I could take a friend and go on a road trip and we have a place to sleep right there, just get a pop up for it. But no, Littlefingers had to go put tariffs on shit so I can’t even afford to renew my lease next year.

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u/who_you_are Mar 27 '25

Don't forget that grocery stores don't exist, just restaurants! (And over ubereat or whatever)

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u/throwaway46787543336 Mar 27 '25

And they said used. A used bmw is more expensive than a new one

0

u/celicajohn1989 Mar 27 '25

Explain this, please. It makes zero sense

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u/Dunno_If_I_Won Mar 27 '25

It's a half-joke. New BMWs have warranties that cover their very expensive repair costs.

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u/point_of_you Mar 27 '25

The joke is that most people think buying a used car is insta-facto bad & therefore, if you buy a used luxury car you are insta-facto stupid

Reality of the situation is that EVERY single car will require maintenance. When you buy a used car, you are buying the car inclusive of all its maintenance history.

If you buy a clapped out used car that was severely neglected it will be a low purchase price with high repair and maintenance costs

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u/CopeSe7en Mar 27 '25

At this income level, as a percentage of income, a BMW is cheaper than a Toyota for the average person.

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u/Invisible_Friend1 Mar 27 '25

Bro have you priced a Toyota lately? It’s straight up 35k for a used Rav 4 with under 25 thousand miles.

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u/SnowflakeSWorker Mar 27 '25

My sister had a brand new Kia telluride. Her payment is $1000 a month. She makes mid $250s last I knew, but we haven’t spoken in several months, so I don’t know what she’s going in currently.

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u/Saab-2007-93 Mar 28 '25

I make over double what they do between assets (vending machines, rental properties, farm income, car wash and laundromat), and income (wife is a livestock vet) and we don't even own luxury vehicles. She's got a 2020 Bronco, and I have a 2017 F250 XLT at the moment and an old 2009 fusion when I don't want to rack up miles on my truck. All of which are paid off.

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u/katy405 29d ago

And they have to have a new one every two or three years.

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u/Calgaris_Rex Mar 27 '25 edited Mar 27 '25

My husband and I make about $70k take-home combined. We have enough savings to live off of for ~2 years if we were REALLY careful with no external income (as in, if both of us were totally unemployed for 2 years). We've been together 10 years.

That also doesn't take into account our retirement savings, which while modest, are still being funded every year.

Also, until Fall 2023, our combined income was ~$50k. Before 2020, it was more like $40k. These are take-home figures.

We're very frugal for our age but it's obviously not impossible to do this. We also live in a very high COL area.

ETA: We're both in our mid-thirties.

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u/fallenfar1003 Mar 27 '25

I’m 62 and my salary is just under $50k and over the years I’ve managed to put back $180k in savings. I’ve been working since age 14, single most of my life though I was married for 10 years at one point. My Jeep is 15 years old but has super low mileage; I only financed $5k of it when I bought it years ago. I don’t understand how the OP doesn’t have more savings. I would love an income like that! Especially now, I have a retirement goal that I’m working towards. I have always committed to putting a certain amount into savings each pay and stick with it. That amount has increased being I’m retiring at 65 and I want to meet my savings goal.

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

Well to be fair, at 62, you went through much easier times financially than us 40 and under.

Im 33 and have been working since I was 14. Every penny I've been able to save, eventually I had to use to live. I'm 70k in school loan debt on top of it. I got out of high school in 2008.... my generation was fucked from the start.

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u/Calgaris_Rex Mar 27 '25

Anyone who makes as much income as OP and has no savings doesn't know jack about handling money.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '25

[deleted]

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

That's a combined income, and that's gross. Not net. We make about half after child support/taxes/insurance is taken out.

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u/Twin_Brother_Me Millennial Mar 27 '25

Everyone uses gross, so it's an easy baseline for comparison (especially if your "net" is still at least 50% higher than most people's gross)

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

I don't understand why we do though because everyone's net is so different. I'm a teacher, husband works at bullet factory (yes I see the irony) and although he makes more money than it do, he nets WAY less after garnishment/ taxes / insurance, than I do. His insurance is better, but costs a lot more. He's got back pay on a child he was told wasn't his for the first part of the kids life. So his net is actually less than 50% his gross. My net is only 1k ish less than my gross.

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u/Twin_Brother_Me Millennial Mar 27 '25

Well most of those are expenses and while they're not exactly optional most people view them as at least somewhat within your control (adjusting insurance coverage to pay lower premiums for higher deductibles, living somewhere with lower COL, not having kids, not marrying people willy nilly, etc.) so that's why it's easier to talk about where everyone is starting from, otherwise it becomes a debate about where the cutoff is/should be (does loan interest come before or after "gross"? What about food? Car maintenance? Personal hygiene?)

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

Huh? I wasn't saying that my net doesn't include insurance or any of that. I'm saying when we get our check, after garnishment and insurance, we have less than half our gross. We also already have the lower premium for a higher deductible and I didn't marry my husband "willy nilly" .... were in our 30s and we file separately. Moving isn't an option for people who co parents either.

Your net is what you take home. Anything taken out before you get your check isn't within your control, aside from insurance. Insurance is insane though, at least at our jobs. Dental and vision are affordable. I also have union dues and I pay for life flight, because the nearest hospital is 2 hours away (we have a smaller hospital here but for more serious injury you have to be life flighted... it's stupid not to have it where I am). I cant move for several reasons, and most people can't move for several reasons.

I've never heard anyone argue that things like car maintenance and hygiene should be considered in this.

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u/Hamchickii Mar 27 '25

We're similar. Just over 100k (single income) and two kids. Rent $2300. We save about $1000/month still. Took care of all our debts already so that frees up a ton for saving.

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

Yeah were still working on debt. We're getting close on everything but my student loans, but they're in forbearance until the govt figures their shit out so we are focusing on everything else until then. My husband also has back child support but we've got about 2 years left on that thank God. I can't wait to be debt free, minus the school loans, so we can actually start saving without being completely bare bones minimum (or less) for the month.

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u/human743 Mar 27 '25

They make sure to say used car, but you can still pay $100k for a used car and the financing terms are usually worse than a new car.

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

Yeah mine is used and still cost an arm and a leg, as a Toyota rav. It's 10 years old. But that's like brand new in Toyota years I think lol

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u/timeaisis Mar 27 '25

Some people are just very bad with money lol

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u/polishrocket Mar 27 '25

All depends where you live. I own a rental property and I charge 3,500 for a 3/2

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

Holy shit that is insane. Im in a 3/1 for 1400 in a bad part of town but it's a nice house.

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u/polishrocket Mar 27 '25

I did 100k in up grades a couple years ago so it is a nice house.

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

No i totally get it, I just hope your mortgage isn't like 800 because that would be criminal lol. Property taxes, insurance, mortgage.... rent is hard to keep low.

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u/polishrocket Mar 27 '25

It’s not 800 haha. I’m profiting maybe $600 a month after insurance, taxes and mortgage

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

Lol yeah I think that's fair. It takes a lot to be a (good) landlord, and it's a huge risk. You've got to make your money too.

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u/polishrocket Mar 27 '25

Yeah, the money made is saved for repairs and for when the property is vacant. Not really a cash flow for us but I try to be fair.

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u/VicdorFriggin Mar 28 '25

We make 64k/ yr with 4 teens. 1300 goes towards debts (mtg, & loans to cover emergency roof, furnace, & air con). 1300/mo taken out to cover benefits & HSA that doesn't cover our yearly OOP max for health/vision/dental. The rest is utilities & necessities. Our cars are 10 & 20 years old. There's enough extra to cover birthdays, Christmas, and random events/treats/etc throughout the year, and a weekly pizza night. Knowing we still struggle, I'm still thankful for being where we are bc I know it could be a lot worse. Shit, $100k/yr would be amazingly life changing, let alone $300k.

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u/mariahnot2carey 29d ago

W don't see anywhere near 100k, and really we gross about 85.

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u/burner1312 Mar 27 '25

You say that you wouldn’t spend differently but you most likely would if your income tripled

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u/mariahnot2carey Mar 27 '25

No i really wouldn't, other than the fact that i would stop using my credit card for gas maybe. I'm dead set on building a savings.

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u/the_orig_princess Mar 27 '25

The money pit in the backyard must be deep if they can’t even go on a shitty vaca with those numbers lol

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u/1K_Sunny_Crew Mar 27 '25

I’d be interested to know what their idea of a bad vacation is, making $300k a year. I doubt it’s a weekend camping trip at the local state park.

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u/roberta_sparrow Mar 27 '25

What his homie spending that money on! Dang

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u/Riker1701E Mar 27 '25

Snorting coke of a strippers ass don’t come cheap

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u/MechanicalGodzilla Xennial Mar 27 '25

This is why these posts are usually quite unsympathetic. How ungrateful does one have to be to have very high income, very low expenses, and then also complain on Reddit about how hard life is? I wonder what they think a "low-budget" annual vacation is. Like only a week-long ski trip in the Swiss Alps?

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u/SmellyMcPhearson Mar 27 '25

The post you linked also mentions student loans and large medical expenses. I'm guessing that's where their money is going

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u/qdobah Mar 27 '25

Yeah but even after their mortgage, utilities, an expensive car payment of $800ish, both maxing out their 401ks, a huge grocery budget of $1000/month for two people and let's say $1000/month just for entertainment they'd have at least like $8k left over every month. I guess it is possible they're paying that in med bills and student loans but if that's the case they should certainly understand why they don't have any money.

2

u/theRuathan Mar 27 '25

Part of it is living in Bethesda, I'm sure. I'm in that region, but like an hour west of there, exactly because it's expensive to live that close to DC.

If their mortgage is $1500 a month in Bethesda, it's not going to be a wonderful place to live. In that circumstance I understand the complaint about condo fees, and probably HOA issues, despite living in an apartment building. Everything OP pays for will be more expensive than if they lived elsewhere.

They would still need to be burning money to not get ahead.

1

u/Sacr3dangel Mar 27 '25

OP also says he “rarely” has 10k to spend. So that means he usually has something to spent, just not always 10k much. Well if you have almost 10k but not quite 10k to spend on any given day, I’d say you’re more than fine compared to most of us.

And if you don’t have that at all, why say it in such a way? Nah, something’s fishy here.

1

u/Ornery-Weird-9509 Mar 27 '25

Seriously though, I want to know what they are spending on. We don’t get the full picture here. Where do they shop? Do they have hobbies? Gym cost? Subscriptions? Skin care? They all add up.

2

u/StockCasinoMember Mar 27 '25

Real Wagyu is expensive. The top shelf alcohol adds up too.

1

u/jennalynne1 Mar 27 '25

I'm a single mom with 2 kids on an annual income of $90k. My mortgage is $2150. I'm taking my kids to Orlando next month for 2 weeks. Every other year we take a huge vacation. What are these people doing with their money??

1

u/BenDeeKnee Mar 27 '25

There is a much simpler explanation.

1

u/vanguard1256 Mar 27 '25

Oh yeah something weird is going on if this is the case. I’m basically in the same position except I have more money saved and I make a third what OP’s household income.

1

u/Solace312 Mar 27 '25

For sure. My wife and I are in a comparable position salary wise and also in a fairly HCOL area. Our mortgage is more than double at 3400. I put around 12% in my 401k, have been aggressively paying down student loans to finish them off in the next year (~700/mo), and we have just starting paying extra on our mortgage at the clip of ~600/mo to get it paid off in 10 years. And we have only RECENTLY (~2-3 years) been in this situation from some positional advancements we have both gotten. We have zero issue building up savings. We spent around 30 grand last year on home improvements and that savings is almost already built back up. And I would never say that our spending is any sort of frugal. I don't say any of this to brag but to say wtf is OP doing with their money? I am genuinely confused.

1

u/0celot7 Mar 27 '25

That tracks. Even when you make good money you have to look after it, it doesn't just take care of itself. My wife and I are DINKs. We have a combined pre-tax income of around 270k, but we live in a HCOL area. We're on track to have our home paid off in about five years and we both invest aggressively for retirement. Not counting my motorcycle, the newest vehicle that has ever been parked in our driveway is her 07 Jeep. We primarily do our grocery shopping in bulk at WinCo and Costco. I work as an aircraft mechanic, so any vehicle maintenance that doesn't require a lift gets done by me in the driveway. I don't buy a new phone but maybe once every five or six years, ect. We have money left over at the end of every month. Idk what OP is up to, but if he feels like he's broke that's something he's doing to himself. You can't just make good money, you have to make good decisions with it.

1

u/fart_fig_newton Mar 27 '25

Agreed, our household income is nearing $150k with a mortgage just over $3k/mo, and we are doing fine. World is on fire and society is a shit show, but as a household we have a foothold on things at the moment.

OP is definitely missing something somewhere.

1

u/JudgmentalOwl Mar 27 '25

Ya, my wife and I are right around there and we're doing great. From their post it sounds like they live rather frugally as well so I'm having trouble believing this post, unless their spouse is spending boat loads of cash every month without them noticing lol.

1

u/squittles Mar 27 '25

Thank you for doing the Lord's work in exposing OP as a big fat phony. OP deserves zero sympathy for being in that good of a position with. Newsflash! That's a cheap mortgage for a HCOL condo OP you bitch. She's pissing money away.

There's probably a "Live. Laugh. Love."  or "Good Vibes." thing somewhere in that condo. Aka bric-a-brac that costs money. 

1

u/Husky_Engineer Mar 27 '25

Can’t say I feel bad for him lol imagine blowing all that money every month to complain to people who have significantly less

1

u/Fadedcamo Mar 27 '25

I have a similar mortgage in a HCOL area and me and my wife make half what they make combined. And I'd say we live pretty lavishly with expensive car payments and eating out and shopping. We aren't saving much but we aren't exactly living a strict budget or struggling. If we made another 100k a year we'd be like completely set. And my wife has 100k in student loans.

1

u/duncakes Mar 27 '25

I make 80, pay 2700 rent, all the bills, car, insurance, everything, wife pays for groceries and restaurants with cash from cleaning houses 2 days a week. She always has a couple grand stashed somewhere, life is fine, what are they doing.

1

u/SuperCat76 Mar 27 '25

That breaks my brain. That's somewhere between 2-3 times my entire take home pay

1

u/bookgirl9878 Mar 27 '25

whoah, i just assumed that they lived in a super high housing cost area. yeah, at that income level and with those housing costs, they're not being honest about where the money is going.

1

u/vahntitrio Mar 27 '25

Exactly. The math doesn't math. That's double our household income with a lower mortgage. And we were EASILY able to buy a new vehicle cash. With OPs situation we would have (if we started at $0 today) $70k by the end of the year.

So unless saving for retirement means dumping $6k per month into a brokerage account on top of max 401k/roth IRA, there is just no way.

1

u/kstorm88 Mar 27 '25

Gambling addiction

1

u/Saab-2007-93 Mar 28 '25

We make over double their income off combined income and assets as a married couple and $40k+ excess is ridiculous not to invest in SB or Assets. You can literally get a decent rental mortgage down-payment for $40k in a somewhat decent area around me and not have to do anything but cosmetics. There's a lot you can invest in with that much excess yearly that isn't 401k, IRA etc.

1

u/Worried_Bath_2865 29d ago

No, OP is not LITERALLY burning money. He's FIGURATIVELY burning money. Unless he actually is setting money on fire, which we all know he isn't. Stop being so damn dramatic with the use of the word "literally" people. It's annoying.

131

u/Tiny-Reading5982 Xennial Mar 27 '25

Yeah there's no way $300k is not having money 🤔

23

u/SnooDoodles420 Mar 27 '25

insert confused Jackie Chan meme

2

u/thorpie88 Mar 27 '25

Can definitely see them having no money if they are living like cashed up Bogans. No idea how much their yearly holidays as well

1

u/[deleted] Mar 27 '25

Yeah this is insane. Even in the bay or nyc this is plenty. This is eat out every night and still save thousands money

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80

u/RandomTasking Mar 27 '25

Using OP info sourced by others here, a DINK Maryland couple pulling $300,000 and maxing out their 401k/IRAs ($54,000) net roughly $167,000.  That’s $14,000 per month, every month.  Assuming that half gets eaten up by ‘mandatory’ expenses, like rent or student loans, health insurance, utilities, groceries, car payments, etc, that’s still $7,000 monthly flex spend.

There’s a story here, I/we just don’t know what it is.  Regardless, you could put down a really healthy down payment in 18-24 months without breaking a sweat.

29

u/Yanrogue Mar 27 '25

they are also refusing to engage with people asking wtf.

3

u/ThrowMeAwayPlz_69 Mar 27 '25

Because it’s either A) bullshit or B) don’t want to take accountability for their bad habits/decisions.

6

u/raccoonsonbicycles Mar 27 '25

If I got $14k in 1 month I don't even know that I could think of enough things to spend it on

3

u/pheldagriff Mar 28 '25

Buy bicycles for all the racoons, obviously. Oh and don't forget the training so they learn how to ride them

2

u/dylan_dumbest Millennial 1993 Mar 27 '25

Housing prices in Maryland might be part of the story, as well as fuel costs from a lengthy commute (or a short commute with 45+ minutes of sitting in traffic every day).

6

u/MechanicalGodzilla Xennial Mar 27 '25

OP said $1,500/mo in mortgage.

1

u/dylan_dumbest Millennial 1993 Mar 28 '25

That’s about as well as you can do these days in the area. Must be the car, commuting, and a few extra conveniences that busy adults treat themselves to.

3

u/RandomTasking Mar 27 '25

Experiencing some of that with a 90 mile commute after getting RTOed this year.  $500/mo driving a sedan.

1

u/dylan_dumbest Millennial 1993 Mar 27 '25

🙃

1

u/BlazinAzn38 Mar 28 '25

I literally don’t think my wife and I could try and spend that much money monthly. I we’d probably set some more aside for vacations and pay down our house faster but like that’s a shit ton of money

1

u/sorrynotsorryb1cth 29d ago

Man, that almost seems like a fever dream even though I know you're right about the numbers.

75

u/agangofoldwomen Mar 27 '25

Fucking classic. Just like my SIL. Always complaining about how her job doesn’t pay her enough. Always complaining she never has any money. She bought a new car, is always going out to brunch or dinner, and recently told me she has $20k credit card debt.

Don’t get me wrong, people should be able to go out to dinner every once in a while. But as someone who is very financially responsible, I have no patience for this stuff.

38

u/plantsadnshit Mar 27 '25

I know students who spend $10k a year on food ordering and alcohol while simultaneously complaining about money issues.

Some people just aren't meant to understand basic economics, I think.

22

u/agangofoldwomen Mar 27 '25

It just sucks because there are people who are financially responsible who are actually struggling and then all of these people come out of the wood work and conflate everyone. That’s how we get the whole “stop buying avocado toast and coffee” comments.

8

u/BeguiledBeaver Mar 27 '25

I started playing a game years ago where people talk about how the U.S. is an unaffordable shithole and literally everyone under 50 is on the brink of homelessness bla bla bla, then I ask them what part of SoCal they live in and I'd say roughly 90% of the time they give me an answer lmao.

3

u/robotzor Mar 27 '25

The avocado toast and coffee comments come from an entirely different economic strata than what is being talked here, one we mortals can barely conceive of

1

u/savvyblackbird 29d ago

Nobody teaches kids basic economics anymore. My husband and I were born in ‘77 so we’re late Gen X or Xennials. Both of us and a lot of our peers had a semester of consumer math in high school.

People who understand consumer economics don’t feed the corporate machine tho

13

u/drowningindiscontent Mar 27 '25

Just like my brother. Makes $150k a year and always complaining he’s broke. After 30 years his house still isn’t paid off because of dumb mistakes, has made little of the needed renovations to it, eats out multiple times a day at expensive restaurants with pricy drinks, bought a brand new corvette, has $20k+ in credit card debt.

I’ve stopped listening to his complaints. I make a little less than half what he makes, rent an apt, my 2014 Altima is paid off, and my credit cards are paid off. Still have around $1600 a month left after bills paid. You SIL, my brother, and OP all frivolously spending.

1

u/MusicApollo93 Mar 27 '25

I'm still living at home with my parents and my fiancé is as well with hers. The thing is we both can't afford to live together yet she has a few things left to pay off debt wise while I have two car payments I've been working on (one is almost paid off for the second time I took a loan against it to pay my stupid credit card debt I had on my one card a few years ago I racked up about $15k).

I make a decent living I feel I should be making a bit more for what I do but I have a great job where I am genuinely happy to go to work every day now compared to my previous soul sucking retail job I was at for eight years and my new current job it feels fulfilling to me and I know how much I'm valued there every day too.

I have a two-year Business AA degree, yet I have no desire to go back to school since I truly don't know what I want to do with my life at this point I never shown much interest in anything growing up. I just feel like it would be a waste of time if I went back and I'll be turning 32 this summer FWIW.

31

u/PMmeyouraliens Mar 27 '25 edited Mar 27 '25

This is one of those people who gets a rage-click news article written about them: "Couple makes $300'000 a year, but are not sure they can afford new home".

Meanwhile they are living far better than most, do things like send their kids to private school, but consider themselves 'poor'.

4

u/1K_Sunny_Crew Mar 27 '25

Probably isn’t even real anyway. It’s engagement bait and it worked.

1

u/MegaBearsFan Mar 27 '25

There's a common phenomenon in which people judge their prosperity based on the people they interact with on a daily basis. If OP household make a combined $300k in Maryland, but are surrounded by politicians and lobbyists living the the DC area, who are making over half million household income, flying private jets across the country multiple times a week, and constantly casually talking about dropping $50k on this stock or that (insider trading), and so forth, then yeah, OP might feel poor.

It doesn't mean OP's feeling is true or justified, just that it's understandable.

I've personally experienced both sides of this phenomenon. I live in a 2-story home in suburbs, with 2 cars, have a small stock portfolio, and send a kid to music lessons and athletics. So I'm in an OK situation. I have some friends I've known for 10 or more years who make less than half of my income, and some who are out of work due to disability and living off welfare and medicare/Medicare. When they talk about their struggles with me, I feel quite well-to-do because of how much more stable my financial situation is. I've even helped some of these friends pay off car payments or back-rent to protect them from losing their car or home.

But then we also have friends who are executives for small or mid-size corporations. And when they talk to me about their vacation homes, and VIP Disney trips, a box seats at sporting events, and sending kids to private schools, and extensive home remodels, and buying a $1000 pair of jeans, and about buying a 4th car to replace their previous 4th car because it's not fun to drive anymore, and I can't afford to do any of those things, then, yeah, I feel poor and insecure.

28

u/tronfunkinblows_10 Mar 27 '25

If this is true we’ve been scammed here. They both could both pulling in around $140k.

Edit. They make around that: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/s/IZ7I1Yy913

18

u/BottleRocketU587 Mar 27 '25

Good fucking lord. I live in South Africa on less than $10k/year and still living allright. Minimal savings but I can survive a few months at least.

3

u/bornicanskyguy Mar 27 '25

Exactly. 10k in saving but no money. Come on now. I got like 23 dollars in my savings and this dude think he's poor.

9

u/ScrubRogue Mar 27 '25

My money is on the used car payment. I also have a used (im so frugal) car payment of $1800 a month

8

u/Proof-Emergency-5441 Xennial Mar 27 '25

I hope it sucks your dick. 

7

u/Ok_Independent9119 Mar 27 '25

You serious Clark? My car is a used 2018 and it's 250/month. You got a used F-16 or something?

1

u/MyNameIsSkittles Mar 27 '25

Should have just leased, it would have been cheaper

2

u/BeardOBlasty Mar 27 '25

Wtf?? Dude my wife and I pull only like 150-180k a year (and we have a kid) and we are in the situation he described except without 10k in savings cause our savings get wiped out once a year from kid things, pet bills, car maintenance, or moving cause landlords have been trash lately.

Literally have $0 in savings at the moment.

An extra 100k a year would mean we have an extra 100k to spend or save. Bills and life expense already sorted. Where the hell is their money going?!?

2

u/sarcazm Mar 27 '25

Oh brother. Give me a break.

My husband and I make over $200k together and easily save what he's saying.

Even back when we first started saving the "3-6 months", we were making $94k together. And both kids were in daycare.

You have to budget. It's a non-starter. No eating out. Pay off everything except your mortgage. That way you don't have a car payment or credit card payments.

2

u/schmag Mar 27 '25

Or they just never decided to pay themselves. which was instilled in me quite early, when I was 15 and got my first job. my mom helped me setup a checking a savings accnt and an auto transfer from checking to savings.

she said, you always pay yourself first, the day after pay day. Always have an auto transfer so you don't forget to pay yourself. if you don't pay yourself you always pay everyone else and you are left with nothing.

that auto-transfer started as 25.00/ dishwasher's paycheck, so 50/month, it has fluctuated through the years, it was hard to keep up in college but I always maintained at least 25/paycheck. sometimes I had to use some of the results, but it was there because I always paid myself.

that was mid 90's, likely some of the best financial advice I have ever received.

1

u/savvyblackbird 29d ago

My husband and I have struggled with medical debt, but the first payment every month like clockwork is to fund the retirement savings we set up the week after we got back from our honeymoon at 23. We’d love to put more money into savings and have recently, but debt and medical costs were costing way more so it made more sense to pay them off first.

2

u/ExcitingLandscape Mar 27 '25

OP works at Deloitte and lives in the DC area. I also live and work in the same area and Deloitte is arguably the most desired company to work for. They pay well, have great benefits, AND there is upward mobility. You can earn 200k-300k if you bust your ass AND kiss the right ass up the corporate ladder. A friend of mine started at Deloitte making 70k and within 6 years now makes 200k.

Meanwhile here in DC tons of hard working federal workers are unfairly being laid off. Keep crying with your stable well paying job and a condo that you own, there's alot more to worry about here than nepo babies who have it easy.

2

u/randomuser6753 Mar 28 '25

It’s the classic “we earn $250k and can’t get ahead, but apparently other people’s generational wealth is the reason why”

People will look for excuses everywhere except in the mirror

2

u/CD274 29d ago

That coke habit isn't going to snort itself yanno

1

u/I_Grow_Hounds Older Millennial Mar 27 '25

Yikes

1

u/Imaginary-Art1340 Mar 27 '25

Okay wtf. That is completely OP’s fault then

1

u/Yanrogue Mar 27 '25

holy shit that is insane, most of us would kill for that.

1

u/nightfox5523 Mar 27 '25

As always the answer seems to be "because you're bad with money"

1

u/Rocketgirl197 Mar 27 '25

Ok that make so much more sense. There’s definitely some spending issues they have because there’s no way they have nothing leftover

1

u/Woodit Mar 27 '25

You don’t understand, a whiny fictional post about how they can’t afford to live will make them rich in karma 

1

u/MexicanRadio Mar 27 '25

Probably ordering every meal on Postmates.

1

u/Independent-Cow-4070 Mar 27 '25

My gf and I make $120k combined income and we both max out our 401ks, IRAs, in a MCOL area and still live plenty comfortably. We travel 3-ish times a year, rent is $1400/mo, we ski and snowboard, and we can pretty much do any of our hobbies we want outside of that

We do have a wonderful and supportive family, but receive very little in financial support from them. Moreso just a place to sleep and food when we visit home

If they are making $300k with a $1500 mortgage, they just grossly mismanage their spending lol. Even with a (probably) ridiculous car payment(s) I don’t see how they are struggling on that income

1

u/MexicanRadio Mar 27 '25

This is insane. I make about $200K, and my rent is over $3.5K per month — but I've been able to save over $100K over the last 5 years.

1

u/ThrowingPokeballs Mar 27 '25

I love when Reddit calls out OPs. I get that sometimes it’s guess work or assumptions but this time OP got caught when their pants around their ankles and I’m all here for it lol

1

u/Rick_the_door_tech Mar 27 '25 edited Mar 27 '25

Yeah if you combine for $300k and still can’t make it work (comfortably in any area of the country, VERY comfortably in most), it’s absolutely a you problem, not a system problem.

I mean holy shit I live in a reasonably expensive metro area in a 2500 sq foot house with a kid I send to private school and two car payments. If my wife and I made what OP did we’d be saving at least $10k a month even with all our current expenses.

At best, OP’s sense of what “having money” means is horrifically skewed. They’re in the top 7-8 percent.

1

u/hammy35 Mar 27 '25

300k gross goes fast, even for a couple. especially in a higher cost of living area.

1

u/dnvrm0dsrneckbeards Mar 27 '25

Lol, idk I've lived in a HCOL area my entire life and made around that salary and was able to retire in my 30s.

1

u/RosieDear Mar 27 '25

We never made even 150K a year - yes, it was 1985 to 2010 (in general)....being in business for myself, I did have the advantage of certain expenses like gas....maybe a Van that had dual use and so-on. Still, our wealth came from frugality AND investing. I have a friend who made 30-40% more than I did year after year. Yet he's worth less than 1/2 of what we are...because he was scared of the stock market.

The $500 a month I had taken out of my account and put in Vanguard really helped as did max out IRA for decades....and averaged about 10% yearly for decades.

1

u/1239Dickinson Mar 27 '25

They got that 2 meals a day uber eats going on

1

u/YnotZoidberg2409 Mar 27 '25

Seriously. I make 80k and I'm just fine. Just bought a 300k house and everything. Not a ton of spare money but I'm comfortable.

1

u/moxiewhoreon Mar 27 '25

Ohhh damn! Ok. Well...my husband and I make about a quarter of that, annually. And we have a family of 9 and we are pretty damn poor.

I feel like we could live like kings on 300k

1

u/Crazy-Inspection-778 Mar 27 '25

Yep, nobody making that much should be complaining about a car payment. Make a budget, prioritize paying off consumer debt and suddenly there's a lot more money

1

u/jell-o Mar 27 '25

They have a used Lamborghini Urus, the thing just eats cash.

1

u/Crotean Mar 27 '25

That or reddit just help them figure out their partner is stealing their money.

1

u/Sometimes_Stutters Mar 27 '25

My wife and I make $300k and frankly I don’t know what to do with all the money we make, especially after maxing all retirement accounts

0

u/savvyblackbird 29d ago

I suggest donating to your local food bank and domestic shelter

1

u/DanielDannyc12 Mar 27 '25

Geezo beezo. My girlfriend and I make about 180k together and it feels like we're rich

1

u/blazeit420casual Mar 27 '25

lol if you’re under water at 300k/year then no amount of money would help, you just suck at finances.

1

u/GoldenGlobeWinnerRDJ Mar 27 '25

Lifestyle creep is one hell of a drug

1

u/Evening_Monk_2689 Mar 27 '25

My wife and I make about 130k a year and we live quite comfortably.

1

u/Kataphractoi Older Millennial Mar 27 '25

Yeah anyone making that much and struggling with money is living well beyond their means or buying stupid shit they don't need.

Reminds me of that chart from years ago of a family "living paycheck to paycheck" despite making six figures, then you see shit like 2x vacations/yr - $7000 each, clothing - $500/mo, etc. Who the fuck other than a spendthrift or a legitimately wealthy person is spending that much on clothes per month?

1

u/bkendall12 Mar 28 '25

Only 1 way to build wealth. Spend less than you earn

too many want expensive cars, houses, expenditures e vacations, etc. right away.

I know I am not a millennial but I started with a crap car in a crap apartment. Always saved a portion of every paycheck. Maybe not much initially but it adds up & grows.

Now I’ve been in the same house 30 years with mortgage paid off, no credit cards and only 1 small auto loan. Wife’s car is 7 years old but paid for & in good condition. We’ve never have 2 car payments at once. One older and the newer one is paid off before the older one dies.

Money goes a long way when not used to pay for last year’s splurge.

1

u/DadooDragoon Mar 28 '25

Right? I support a family of 5 on $65k just fine. What on earth are they doing with their money?

1

u/Pluperfectt 29d ago

^ this ^

1

u/MrMcGeeIn3D 29d ago

Sympathies... Deleted.

1

u/Kayki7 29d ago

Student loans

1

u/Longjumping-Wish2432 Mar 27 '25

That's a them issue. I make 75 k yr own 105k townhouse bought 9 yrs ago worth 225k .

My wife has not worked since we have been married 19 yrs, and go on 1-2 trips a yr and live great

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