My wife and I have not ever made big money. I think our biggest yearly income (as recorded by gross income on our W2's) was 63k combined. Right now, we are making a combined income of (don't laugh)... 18k per year.
... and so far we haven't been able to qualify for any state or federal assistance.
So... what is a good salary? I don't care. I am an intelligent man with 9 years of secondary education. I'm applying for a job at Starbucks for $8/hr.
bastomatic wrote: Six figures is a very good salary, and puts you in the top 7% of all single earners. Probably most of the people you see living in those houses, and driving those cars cannot actually afford them.
This, check out the parking lot at our local low income health care facility sometime, I bet the majority of cars in the lot are nicer than what most of this forum uses for daily drivers.
There is a movie on netflix called "Happy" 2011, that has a great perspective on this.
But the magic number for the average US citizen is $75K, dollars to happy article
Kenny_McCormic wrote:bastomatic wrote: Six figures is a very good salary, and puts you in the top 7% of all single earners. Probably most of the people you see living in those houses, and driving those cars cannot actually afford them.This, check out the parking lot at our local low income health care facility sometime, I bet the majority of cars in the lot are nicer than what most of this forum uses for daily drivers.
most of the cars out there are a lot nicer than what most of this forum uses for daily drivers.
Datsun1500 wrote: The smart ones will. Most really successful people, buy average cars
I call BS on this blanket statement. Most really successful people I know do not buy average cars. Although it all depends on your definition of "really successful" and "average cars."
Here are some numbers for reference: the average new car last year was a little under $31k. The average used car was a little over 15k.
You guys are getting my point. So many people to stretch the last penny to look "rich", only to dig themselves deeper in a hole. I'm far from financially stellar, but my boring $2500 car gets me to work just as well as a new, boring $15,000 econobox without the crushing debt.
bastomatic wrote:Datsun1500 wrote: The smart ones will. Most really successful people, buy average carsI call BS on this blanket statement. Most really successful people I know do not buy average cars. Although it all depends on your definition of "really successful" and "average cars." Here are some numbers for reference: the average new car last year was a little under $31k. The average used car was a little over 15k.
Save for a neurosurgeon (F430, A7, Range Rover, Tundra), my "successful" friends don't drive anything all that impressive. New, sure. Luxury/high end? Not really.
My friend Melissa is an executive way up there in Aetna and she has a CPO BMW 3-series. (I'll bet she's deep into the $200k range) Her husband does well (I'll guess $125k) and drives a beat-up Honda Pilot. He's getting something new soon, but it won't be a Benz/BMW.
The one year our household was at $115k/yr income, I was driving the same Civic beater I have now and we got my wife a Fit Sport. Ballin'
I guess I am going by my own personal experience here. I park in the same structure as the physicians at my hospital, all of whom make more than $250k, and park in designated parking spots.
The most popular make is Mercedes, followed by BMW, followed by Audi. There are three Teslas. I would say about 25% of the cars are greater than 5 years old.
/threadjack
Datsun1500 wrote: The successful guy will buy a limited ford explorer, the guy that wants you to think he's doing well will buy the Escalade.
Going by my neighbor, the answer is that the successful guy has his company lease his car and he drives what he wants. In the big scheme of things his 70k car is less of a percent of his overall income than my 5k car.
For the OP - 20-30% more than you make now 
I'm in healthcare - chairman rides around in a dassault falcon, ceo likes bentleys, coo has an R8. Most of the docs are mercedes, bmws & audis. Although one anesthesiologist DDs a 356 cabrio and the chief of surgery drives an old altima he had in his residency.
bastomatic wrote: I guess I am going by my own personal experience here. I park in the same structure as the physicians at my hospital, all of whom make more than $250k, and park in designated parking spots. The most popular make is Mercedes, followed by BMW, followed by Audi. There are three Teslas. I would say about 25% of the cars are greater than 5 years old. /threadjack
Yeah, that doesn't match my experience in semi-rural central FL. If we see an upscale/expensive car on campus, it is parked in student parking.
to put some perspective on it, the R8 and bentley guys are pulling down 8 figure incomes. The docs with mid 6-figure incomes drive 5 series bmws. there's a couple of S class mercs - but not the top of the line.
bastomatic wrote:Datsun1500 wrote: The smart ones will. Most really successful people, buy average carsI call BS on this blanket statement. Most really successful people I know do not buy average cars. Although it all depends on your definition of "really successful" and "average cars." Here are some numbers for reference: the average new car last year was a little under $31k. The average used car was a little over 15k.
my Uncle was the head of Cardiology at the local hospital for years. While he had a nice MB at home.. he only ever drove it for special occasions. Usually he was behind the wheel of an olds or ford wagon. His thoughts on it were that if his patients saw him driving a really nice car, they would think he makes too much money.
His house was the same.. from the street it looked modest.. but few people ever saw how big it really was. Landscaping hid a lot of it from view
Gearheadotaku wrote: Yep. The more you make, the more you'll spend. Lets say person A makes "X" and can stretch their budget to buy a 30K car. Person B makes 3 times "X" and can stretch their budget to buy a 90K car. Will person B buy the 30K car and have a comfy cash cushion?
no, but person C, such as myself, would buy a fleet of twelve $2500 cars, and have $60k left over for repairs and making things faster. and be extremely happy.
My best friend works for a high end/exotic car dealership network in southern California and the people that are the typical Ferrari and Lamborghini customers make so much money its hard for me to phathom. Mostly because the person that drops 150k on a car probably has 10 times that in their house, then the lifestyle / level of comfort that goes along with that.
I've never really used a number as a benchmark for how well I'm doing. Honestly the more I would make, the more I would spend relatively speaking. I make enough to enjoy cars, guns and other stuff but if I made measurably more it would be the same just nicer cars and guns.
Make sure the bills are paid and some is put aside and enjoy the rest without going nuts.
My only peer that makes big money (I'm guessing over $400k a year), has a Porsche 996 GT3 that he bought used and takes to autocross and track days. His wife told him to "buy something that's built for it" after his C5 Corvette had some spendy repairs a coupla years in a row (he says he thinks he got a lemon, but he had permission for the GT3, so...). I know I've seen him in his daily, but I can't remember. I'm pretty sure his wife has a Mercedes of some kind.
A good salary is when the salary makes itself.
I refuse to think that retirement is only for old people. I refuse to think that you've got to own your business in order to live life. I think corporate America just wants us to buy bigger and more expensive to keep us working and buying more. I want to buy less, work less, and live life.
Ever the idealist.
PHeller wrote: A good salary is when the salary makes itself. I refuse to think that retirement is only for old people. I refuse to think that you've got own your business in order to live life. I think corporate America just wants us to by bigger and more expensive to keep us working and buying more. I want to buy less, work less, and live life. Ever the idealist.
This is what I'm trying to do. I've scaled back my purchasing a GREAT deal- instead focusing on important stuff, and I haven't had to work in a year....
i had a decently comfortable life when i was making around $50k a year. house on an acre lot just outside of town, big shop, a yard full of cars...
but honestly, i had more disposable income (as a percentage of my income, anyways) when i was making $5 an hour and living in a 30 year old trailer house when i was getting free cable and things like the internet and cell phones weren't things that everyone had to have.
$31/hour. Can just barely get through it if I try hard. Of course, I'm single and have roommates, so that answer may change in a while.
Back in 1985 when I started working full-time we talked about what a good salary is(was). If you were making your age (in thousands) - that was a GOOD salary.
I was 23 years old so a good salary was $23,000/year (I started @ $17,500/year). The rumor we heard was that engineers were making $30,000 RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE! 
Datsun310Guy wrote: Back in 1985 when I started working full-time we talked about what a good salary is(was). If you were making your age (in thousands) - that was a GOOD salary. I was 23 years old so a good salary was $23,000/year (I started @ $17,500/year). The rumor we heard was that engineers were making $30,000 RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE!
that barely pays the cell phone and internet bill these days.
I just got back from Hattiesburg, Mississippi where the median income is $35,000 and the average home is $80,000.
I am rich if wealth is measured in dollars. If you hate to get up in the morning, there just isn't enough money.
Dan
Anything more than that, they say, is chasing a point of diminishing returns as for overall happiness and quality of life (working to live vs. living to work)...
chaparral wrote: $31/hour. Can just barely get through it if I try hard. Of course, I'm single and have roommates, so that answer may change in a while.
the most I've ever made is $30k … seemed to get along ok … can't even imagine what $31/hr would be like … much less what 6 figures or more …. hard to wrap my head around that much
914Driver wrote: I just got back from Hattiesburg, Mississippi where the median income is $35,000 and the average home is $80,000. I am rich if wealth is measured in dollars. If you hate to get up in the morning, there just isn't enough money. Dan
This.
My new "manager" is starting to make me really dislike coming into work in the morning. And our other chief engineer, who has failed to manage one project to completion since he started here 3 years ago, has now been promoted and is being transferred to one of our companies in Vancouver.
I can't even begin to explain what is going on here.
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