how much money should someone be making by age 35?

[brianmanahan]

i need to know if i'm dong OK at life or not

 

[purbeast0]

Completely depends on where you live and what your career is.

I'm 36 and I'm making more than double what my older brother is after his overtime and probably around triple what my sister who is 34 is making. I'm a software engineer though while my brother is a fire fighter and my sister is an athletic trainer.

 

[sandorski]

$billions

 

[Darwin333]

At the very least your basic corporate jet money.

 

[Wreckem]

I don’t know, I make about $75k in Texas. I work in the public sector and only work 200 days a year.

Wife’s income is $75k next year. She works 207 days a year. She’s likely to get promotion netting an additional $25-30k in a year or two. So we are $150k DINKs. We will probably hit over $200k before 40.

I’m in the 5th year if my career. My wife is in her 6th year.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

35, ~$90k year, tech sector. Single income family (no kids thankfully), in a high COL area. We do okay, not 'throw cash in the wind' though.

 

[OverVolt]

Depends on your cost of living. I don't make what you guys do but my rent is in the $700's and a family house in this area is 2-3x my income.

It is so much less stressful than living in those high cost of living pressure cookers of stress. "Hope my career holds out because I have $800k in debt" fuck that I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

 

[Naer]

zero dollars if you are smart enough to invest in efficiency where you don't need to buy anymore

If i have three wooden chairs, on at my piano, one at my computer, and one in a misc area, all of which degrades over time, since the material of wood has as life span(wood breaks). Once they reach their end point, i decide to invest in a durable swivel chair. Not only do i kill three birds with one stone, i have a chair that will last far longer than the previous wooden chairs

 

[AdamK47]

You should be making around $250 in birthday money at age 35.

 

[Naer]

You should be making around $250 in birthday money at age 35.

I know this is a joke load your ego, but still.

 

[Pulsar]

I know this is a joke load your ego, but still.

So, are you self sufficient Naer? Work a job and make enough to put away for retirement with no outside help or support? suspect the answer is no - in which case you shouldn't be commenting in this thread.

To the OP:
I was making 40k when I graduated school. When I was 35, I was making around 80k. Wife never worked, 3 kids. We have some toys, but live pretty frugally. Been putting away in a 401k. Between social security, a company pension, and my retirement money, I suspect I'll be able to retire around age 55-60. Perhaps earlier if I want to push it. I'd be in a lot better shape financially if my wife worked, but I think our kids are much better off having had a parent home with them all the time rather than growing up in daycare.

You can live on a lot less than that though - like I said we have some toys and our house is bigger than we really need (1400 sqft.) so we could have saved money there.

So what is your real question? Starting putting money away. Budget. Figure out how much you'll need to retire and when you want to retire then work backward from there. There is no simple answer to your question.

 

[jpiniero]

$420.69/hr

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

By 35? I mean by that time you should be at a point where you are past the point of "self-sufficient".... so at least $50k I would say.

Personally I had the goal of reaching 6-figures by the time I was 30. So ultimately, it's up to you. But as far as the question of how much SHOULD you be making I would say by then you should know what you're doing in life and hopefully be making at least $50k.

 

[purbeast0]

I also wanted to say that what is nicer than making $X is not really caring when you get paid and not waiting for money to come in so you can spend it. Not living paycheck to paycheck is better than making $X amount of dollars. But obviously you can't get to that point until you hit a certain threshold. Having that freedom and not worrying is a better feeling than making $X at a certain age IMO.

 

[Thebobo]

Don't worry you'll be dead before you know it.

 

[Exterous]

At 34 I started thinking more about net worth than salary. I think its also easier to deal with depending on the neighborhood you live in. Make $80k and live in a neighborhood where most people make $50k and you will probably feel good about where you are in life. It can be harder to feel that way about where you are in life if you make that and live in an area where everyone makes $120k.

 

[nutxo]

$420.69/hr

LOL, thats my wifes bday

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

At 34 I started thinking more about net worth than salary. I think its also easier to deal with depending on the neighborhood you live in. Make $80k and live in a neighborhood where most people make $50k and you will probably feel good about where you are in life. It can be harder to feel that way about where you are in life if you make that and live in an area where everyone makes $120k.

Truf.

Regardless of salary at the end of the day my most important factor is that my net worth is going up (and by more than just the 401k contributions).

 

[ImpulsE69]

I had my own private jet and moon base by my late 20's. Get with the program slacker.

 

[Oyeve]

I make ~ 120k at age 51. I live in NYC. I am poor.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I also wanted to say that what is nicer than making $X is not really caring when you get paid and not waiting for money to come in so you can spend it. Not living paycheck to paycheck is better than making $X amount of dollars. But obviously you can't get to that point until you hit a certain threshold. Having that freedom and not worrying is a better feeling than making $X at a certain age IMO.

I think you hit a very huge point people don't think about. I'm not 'rich', but I am comfortable enough I rarely look at my bank account.

 

[purbeast0]

I think you hit a very huge point people don't think about. I'm not 'rich', but I am comfortable enough I rarely look at my bank account.

I still look at my bank account but it's not to worry about whether I can survive or buy groceries. It's more along the lines of paying off the credit card balance and then being like 'okay we have a lot of extra cash time to plan that next vacation' and then I get into that mode.

 

[Humpy]

Don't worry you'll be dead before you know it.

How far should you have ridden a bicycle by age 35. How many puppers should you have hugged by age 35. How many jokes should you have told. How much longer will the cancer stay away.

It's difficult/impossible not to focus on the lubricating film of money that many of the good things in life slide on.

 

[SearchMaster]

I used to read Money magazine in the early 90s, and I recall one article said you should be making 4,000 x age. So at 35, you should be making $140K in ~1990 dollars. According to dollartimes.com, this would translate to $273K in 2018 dollars.

Enjoy your poverty!

 

[clamum]

I'm 35 and pre-tax, I make $79, 860. I also have a 401(k) that I'm contributing 6% to.

I think for my profession and area I'm making about average, probably a bit less. Software developer, ~11 years experience, metro Detroit.