4 people who earn six figures and still feel broke

[Sea Moose]

Turned over 100k in the first year working for myself... Lost most of it in taxes.. went back to wages. Ten times less stress

 

[BikeJunkie]

Turned over 100k in the first year working for myself... Lost most of it in taxes.. went back to wages. Ten times less stress

Just out of curiosity, what did you do when you were self employed? What are you doing now?

 

[Sea Moose]

I worked as a HVAC mechanic, and now i am employed as a Facilities Manager...
I look after property maintenance and contractor management etc on commercial buildings

 

[z1ggy]

No sympathy for those "wanting nice things". The idea of doing good making six figure is to live like you're making $40-50k.

Don't we have a resident AT member, M3 driving, six-figure earner who has money trouble?

Why yes.. yes we do. I wonder why he hasn't chimed in to share his wonderful wisdom? Maybe another vacation for him?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

A quote from the story:


The "deserve nice things" comment is always a red flag to me when I hear white collar workers say it. They HAVE nice things. I bet they have a reliable late model car, eat fresh food, a comfortable place to live that's adequately furnished, a job that doesn't require manual labor, a decent wardrobe.

They just aren't satisfied with the nice things they already have.

Dave quoting a sob story about people he has previously portrayed as "rich" is, in fact, rich in its own way. 😀 You're right about the story though -- each case has examples of some bad financial judgment and of course, the story overdramatizes it and plays it up kind of like the "CNN Sob Story of the Week" does.

I think the intent of the story is a good one, however -- that is, it shows six figures isn't what it is cracked up to be. Remember, the top 5% of household incomes in the US starts just south of $170K. That's a group (the top 5%) that is often demonized as being "rich." Many of us on AT are in that group and I'd wager none of us live like we're rich. I might have it a little better than some since I don't have kids and live in a cheap part of the country, but I'm not jetting all over the globe to vacation homes every month, nor am I springing for a new car every year (still drive my 2001 Grand Prix because I'm a cheapass).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

With that in mind, I'd love to live in an outdoos-ey town with a lower median income and pump the brakes a bit on constantly "keeping up."

I recently moved to a consulting job for much, much more money. I'm hoping to work this and similar jobs for 7 to 10 years, save lots of money, and then maybe I can settle back down in a relatively stress-free corporate job and coast to retirement. We don't plan on having kids so we could live well even on half of my current salary, not to mention my wife's salary.

TimeWarner - I'm looking at you, motherfucker.

We have a mutual foe, I see. 😀

 

[Hacp]

That's called the trap. If you spend on a fancy house with a fancy car and a fancy wife who poops out fancy kids, then you'll be spending like a millionaire with just a middle class salary.

 

[BikeJunkie]

I worked as a HVAC mechanic, and now i am employed as a Facilities Manager...
I look after property maintenance and contractor management etc on commercial buildings

I've always envied FM's... on your feet walking around most of the day (or so it seems?)

Since I work from home 99% of the time, I've actually taken to working while standing up. There's an island in the kitchen and I just plop my laptop there. Still not that same as traversing an office building 9 - 10 times over the course of a day, but better than sitting on my ass I suppose.

 

[slayer202]

omg, you mean you still have to worry about how much you spend??

people need to stop having kids. problem solved

 

[BikeJunkie]

I'm not jetting all over the globe to vacation homes every month, nor am I springing for a new car every year (still drive my 2001 Grand Prix because I'm a cheapass).

Bingo 😉 I fellow consultant goes on a vacation every month or so. He's living it up and it's difficult to not be envious, but he's living paycheck to paycheck.

I really wish I had my car-buying under control when I was younger, but now is better than never!

I recently moved to a consulting job for much, much more money. I'm hoping to work this and similar jobs for 7 to 10 years, save lots of money, and then maybe I can settle back down in a relatively stress-free corporate job and coast to retirement.

Yep, that's my plan, too - strike while the iron is hot and then relax a bit.

We have a mutual foe, I see. 😀

One, at least 😉

 

[rudeguy]

omg, you mean you still have to worry about how much you spend??

people need to stop having kids. problem solved

I don't disagree.

I am still waiting for Darwin to show up and clean out the gene pool.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I think the biggest problem with making 6 figures is that a lot of places that have more of those kinds of jobs have a higher cost of living....so, on average to make that money without being a doctor/lawyer and working harder, the pricier places will pay computer guys or office administrators/managers more money....but you can lose much of the extra earnings to state income tax or higher taxes.....then lose the rest of real estate costs.

 

[Sea Moose]

I've always envied FM's... on your feet walking around most of the day (or so it seems?)

Since I work from home 99% of the time, I've actually taken to working while standing up. There's an island in the kitchen and I just plop my laptop there. Still not that same as traversing an office building 9 - 10 times over the course of a day, but better than sitting on my ass I suppose.

I seem to spend way too much time on my arse in front of the computer... I get to do site inspections though. I am one of the only ones in my office that comes from a trade background... the others have university degrees... thefore they think they know everything lol They all come to me for technical advice haha

 

[PricklyPete]

The key is living under your means regardless of what you make. It helps to surround yourself with friends of similar mindset.

There are a lot of things that my wife and I "could afford", but we choose not to for financial peace. This mindset will allow her to leave her job in a couple of months when the twins are born without thinking twice about it.

 

[rudder]

Six figures aint what it used to be.

Sure it is... aside from the high taxes. I live near a GM plant and I remember a few years back talking to a few workers who were really hurting. This was before theeconomy started hitting the brakes. They were working a lot of overtime and making bank. Buying $40,000 cars, expensive houses, etc. Overtime gets slashed and now they are hurting and going to food banks.

Sure living in NYC $100,000 is like minimum wage... other places it all about managing money wisely.

 

[PricklyPete]

Why yes.. yes we do. I wonder why he hasn't chimed in to share his wonderful wisdom? Maybe another vacation for him?

Maybe he is slowly maturing at the ripe age of 43?

 

[dmcowen674]

Dave quoting a sob story about people he has previously portrayed as "rich" is, in fact, rich in its own way.

I think the intent of the story is a good one, however -- that is, it shows six figures isn't what it is cracked up to be.

Remember, the top 5% of household incomes in the US starts just south of $170K. That's a group (the top 5%) that is often demonized as being "rich."

Many of us on AT are in that group and I'd wager none of us live like we're rich. I might have it a little better than some since I don't have kids and live in a cheap part of the country, but I'm not jetting all over the globe to vacation homes every month, nor am I springing for a new car every year (still drive my 2001 Grand Prix because I'm a cheapass).

But your attitude and posts as if you are a 1%er

You're even worse, a wanna be rich.

 

[BikeJunkie]

I seem to spend way too much time on my arse in front of the computer... I get to do site inspections though. I am one of the only ones in my office that comes from a trade background... the others have university degrees... thefore they think they know everything lol They all come to me for technical advice haha

Ha! If a university degree served as proper prep for Facilities Management, then I'd be in Facilities Management!

 

[BikeJunkie]

But your attitude and posts as if you are a 1%er

You're even worse, a wanna be rich.

Reading comprehension fail:

Many of us on AT are in that group and I'd wager none of us live like we're rich. I might have it a little better than some since I don't have kids and live in a cheap part of the country, but I'm not jetting all over the globe to vacation homes every month, nor am I springing for a new car every year (still drive my 2001 Grand Prix because I'm a cheapass).

 

[mnewsham]

this is a FACT, mind you

let us know how that goes in a few years

 

[Vdubchaos]

It doesn't matter what you make. It's about what you spend!

Just getting a new car every 3 years (x2 if you have Significant other) can put a HUGE dent into ones finances.....many Americans have this problem.

Without even getting into going out to eat too often......

 

[PricklyPete]

I would LOVE to move to a small town (Moab, Grand Junction, Golden, Bend) and settle for a lesser standard of living...

Golden is not particularly cheap...need to head a bit more into the mountains to find a small, cheap area.

If we ever move from the downtown area, Golden or more likely Evergreen will be where we head. The nice thing about Golden is that they extended the light rail out there, so you can still work downtown and not necessarily needs car.

Evergreen is just so much more beautiful ( though not any cheaper).

 

[PricklyPete]

Reading comprehension fail:

That is pretty much his MO.

 

[BikeJunkie]

let us know how that goes in a few years

I know, I know 🙁

Golden is not particularly cheap...need to head a bit more into the mountains to find a small, cheap area.

If we ever move from the downtown area, Golden or more likely Evergreen will be where we head. The nice thing about Golden is that they extended the light rail out there, so you can still work downtown and not necessarily needs car.

Evergreen is just so much more beautiful ( though not any cheaper).

Yeah, CO is tricky. Fort Collins was on our short list for a long time (and we almost pulled the trigger last year, but my wife got a 1 year teaching contract at the last minute), but cost of living was just too high. We could afford it, but it wouldn't accomplish what we're setting out to do (reduce expenses).

As a cyclist, I would kill to live in Salida, Fruita, or Grand Junction, but there's just no employment opportunities in those places. Even though I telecommute right now and don't need to be tied to a geographical location, I can't depend on that holding true in the long term. Local employment as a backup needs to exist.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

But your attitude and posts as if you are a 1%er

That's because you're clueless and a hypocrite. I'm not going to demonize folks in the 1% who <gasp> want to keep more of what they've made when if I were in that position, I'd probably feel the same way. I'm not a 1%er by any stretch but still want to keep more of what I make.

Are there "evil" 1%ers out there who care for nothing but their own interests and themselves? Yes, but that happens at every economic layer. The amount of time you spend complaining about life would be better spent on training, education, or something of that nature.

You're even worse, a wanna be rich.

But you said I was rich before. So which is it -- am I rich or not?

I have no desire to be "rich." To rise to the level of truly being "rich" from a middle-class background takes an incredible amount of work, passion, and drive, along with a little luck thrown in. Even then, it is still a longshot. No thanks -- I have a life to live and there are more important things. At my age, I'm not going to work 80+ hours per week in a likely futile attempt to become "rich."