Whats a good salary to you?

I don’t think that’s even close to reality.
Agreed. I’m a product of this. Married with third kid on the way. Single income under 100k. But we have no debt, invest in retirement, raise our own kids, and live within our means. I still hunt a lot. We are happy. Sure, always be nice to have more. But that’s the problem, you can say that at any income level.
 
Just make sure you get married to somebody who is also bringing in a good salary.

My buddy makes ~100k/year but his wife only brings in around 40k. With their two young kids and a mortgage, they are pretty much broke all the time.

You have to be really ******* careful about who you marry and/or have kids with.

This is so true. I tell my boys this all the time. There are high value women out there who understand marriage is a partnership, two pulling as one. There are SO many marriages that are a one man Army because she was a hot princess once or whatever. I don’t say it that way to be misogynistic, I love my wife.


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2 incomes is such a blessing. A few co workers have stay at home wives. Poor guys have to say yes to most OT. Feel bad for their kids that have a dad that is never home.

Mom time is important, but so is dad time. A women who wants to stay at home, would have been an instant non- starter with me.
 
I dont disagree.

not in this situation yet I think working only makes sense if the couple is working for low wages , salary is 3 or more times more than child care, or there is a very specific career goal that keeps both working

Yeah I get it if both are making lower wages. The example was where one makes $100k and the other makes $40k.

Every place is different so below will vary.

The average yearly childcare is $14k, which I think is low. After taxes $40k brings home $29k. Which after subtracting $14k is $15k. fuel and vehicle maintenance to get to and from work is about $4000 a year. Now that $14k is $10k take home. I’m not saying $10k is nothing to shake a stick at. I’m just asking is there a way to cut costs to make up that $10k difference . Is the 100k earner able to get OT bc they don’t have to worry about picking up the kids from daycare.

Now if the $40k is just for a year or two and is expect to turn into $80k in 2-3 years, then I get it. Also that $100k should turn into close to 109k after 3 years.

I understand everyone’s situation is different. I have spoke to people that are bringing home even less than $10k after everything, when that small difference could be made up by changing spending habits.

The scenarios are endless. Just trying to provide some thinking points.


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My wife and I both make good money combining for probably 220-240k per year. This is enough to live very comfortably in the Midwest. We buy what we want within reason. It’s more money than I ever thought I’d make, yet it also sometimes feels tight. Part of that is intentional. I manage our finances and we put money into our 401ks and a Roth IRA. We have two small kids and pay into a 529 for future school funds. I set aside money from every pay check for Christmas, for vacations with the family, and for a future vehicle when we inevitably need one. This is all to ensure we have money for those things when the time comes and so that things like Christmas and vacation are fun and not stressful due to finances. I get a nice bonus and it’s set aside to pay for next year’s daycare bills instead of some toy I don’t need.

By the time all of the saving is set aside it often feels like there is not as much “left over” as there should be. I have to remind myself that’s because it’s all going other places. I do think there are benefits to feeling like you aren’t swimming in cash because I’d probably make some poor choices on things I don’t need if I did feel that way.
 
I don't think it is. What he's describing is living outside of your means. If you use debt to live your life and finance things you purchase, then by definition, you are living outside your means.

I think instead of the American dream, it's the American nightmare. People are conditioned and expect to be in debt and are consumed with their credit scores. Banks and credit institutions give horrible financial advice.

How finances work, explaining interest, debt, and investments, should be part of the education of our kids in school. It's surprising to see how little is taught about finances in school.

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Spot on!

Especially with current house prices relative to the current interest rates, average cost of living, average annual income, and current price of large expenditures like vehicles etc.

Now is the time to hunker and save and make smart choices but social media won’t let folks be happy with what they have. So they become slaves to banks to realize the fake “American Dream” where they don’t actually own anything at all.
 
how much can you save is sometimes more important on a salary!
i prefer working for myself not making others rich and enslaved for thier lifestyle we can all live.
Being sustainable is more important than money. food, water, power and building mechanical hunting skills. money is for consumers
 
My BIL and sis in the same boat. He finally bought a building to help with some of it but they really spank docs. No deductions to speak of.
Yep that may be our next step, but right now it doesn’t make sense, an office fully outfitted will run about 2.5-3million…
 
This does bring up an interesting question that I have for dual income homes. In the situation you described are they paying for daycare? I ask bc more often than not one of the incomes is only covering the daycare and contributing very little to the needed things.

When I hear of these situations I ask why work just to pay for someone else to watch your children. Not saying that is what is happening in your description, but I have come across it multiple times.

Idk what it costs to pay for daycare daily but if the % a day vs what a person makes daily is very high then why do it?


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In the situation I’m describing, yes, they are paying to daycare.

But that brings up another point. I work with a guy who has 2 kids, the wife refuses to work because she insists that the kids be homeschooled. Not that particular guy is on the lower end of the salary spectrum, probably making ~ 60k, no advanced degrees or anything. They are also broke and never have money, they are always getting g handouts from churches and other people like it’s seemingly normal.

I could never live that way.
 
WOW. That is quite the way to look at life. I will gladly be always on the verge of broke if it means keeping the great woman and 4 kids I have. What she made or makes had and have ABSOLUTELY no bearing on us being together. To each their own though.

To each their own. I personally would not be ok with my wife just staying home all day to play mom if we were struggling financially.

I say that though while my wife brought in over 180k last year as her contribution to our yearly income. I want things like home ownership, reliable vehicles, a good retirement account, little to no debt, yearly vacations and enough money after all of that to live the sort of life I want. My wife also wanted those things which is part of what o saw as marriage material.

If a girlfriend had of told me she wanted 4 kids that she could play house with while not working, that would be an absolute deal breaker for me but again, to each their own.
 
I don’t think that’s even close to reality.
It’s probably not poverty level but I’d imagine the take home on that would be 6k/month. Figure in mortgages, car payments, phone and energy bills, groceries, then factoring the cost of raising kids.

It could be pretty tight.
 
In the situation I’m describing, yes, they are paying to daycare.

But that brings up another point. I work with a guy who has 2 kids, the wife refuses to work because she insists that the kids be homeschooled. Not that particular guy is on the lower end of the salary spectrum, probably making ~ 60k, no advanced degrees or anything. They are also broke and never have money, they are always getting g handouts from churches and other people like it’s seemingly normal.

I could never live that way.

Yeah $60k would be rough and any contribution would help. I live in the same area and understand the cost of living needed.

I agree marriage is a team effort and if both have the same goals great things can be accomplished, if not well idk I’m not in that position.


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To each their own. I personally would not be ok with my wife just staying home all day to play mom if we were struggling financially.

I say that though while my wife brought in over 180k last year as her contribution to our yearly income. I want things like home ownership, reliable vehicles, a good retirement account, little to no debt, yearly vacations and enough money after all of that to live the sort of life I want. My wife also wanted those things which is part of what o saw as marriage material.

If a girlfriend had of told me she wanted 4 kids that she could play house with while not working, that would be an absolute deal breaker for me but again, to each their own.
That makes sense. But is nothing like what you said in the post I first commented on. A woman that wants to have kids to stay home and not work would probably be a deal breaker for most. But a woman who has a respectable job like my wife for instance (HS english teacher) making $44k and has 4 kids isn't a deal breaker because she makes less than half of her husband. Now I don't make $100k. But striving to this year.


That's what you described in your post I quoted. And I think the amount of men that would have a problem with that would be VERY VERY small
 
That makes sense. But is nothing like what you said in the post I first commented on. A woman that wants to have kids to stay home and not work would probably be a deal breaker for most. But a woman who has a respectable job like my wife for instance (HS english teacher) making $44k and has 4 kids isn't a deal breaker because she makes less than half of her husband. Now I don't make $100k. But striving to this year.


That's what you described in your post I quoted. And I think the amount of men that would have a problem with that would be VERY VERY small

It’s all relative. If what your wife brings to the table matches your life goals then there is no problem. There is nothing wrong with marrying a teacher as long as it works with the goals you have in common. I wouldn’t marry somebody without an education or somebody who had no ambition other than being a stay at home mom because I want to have a comfortable life but again, all that is relative. I want to have enough money to go do some saltwater my fishing every year and buy things I want when I want. I like going to the grocery store and not having to think about costs, I like being able to book an aoudad hunt to get out of Alaska in the winter for a few days.

My friends that have stay at home wives or low earning wives really struggle here where I live. The 44k your wife earns would look very different in Michigan vs. Alaska, California, Hawaii or any more expensive area.

For the record, where I live, 100k is good for an individual, it’s not good at all if that’s a dual income and 2 people together bring in 100k. Here, dual income homes that bring in 225-300k are doing well but still not “rich”.
 
I’ve been lucky enough to have a job that has projected pay growth per year for 25 years (government). Needless to say I make 4x now what I did 25 years ago and I personally feel it is plenty of money.

What I’ve learned in that time is the money you make doesn’t matter. My lifestyle personally isn’t that much different than when I was younger. I’m still frugal, still like to save, still drive my truck from 25 years ago. As many have said the only difference is probably some financial “freedom” and options from saving.

Most of my friends are in the same situation as me. But many of them elect to still live paycheck to paycheck and have newer things, not sure they’d say their lifestyle is any better. They complain about paying debt a lot.

Financial freedom is king though. I define that as not stressing about money one way or another. You can do that with very little money if your lifestyle and family support.
 
In my field, as an associate (non-owner) veterinarian, I believe I'm way above the national average. My W-2 says I made $204k in 2024 and I've increased each year since being started at a base salary of $65k + production in 2014 after graduation. I'm thankful and fortunate that I paid my nominal Vet school student loans off the week after I graduated. I work with a couple of DVMs with $350k+ in student loans and have no end in sight. Much different ROI compared to physicians.

Now that's a eat what you kill salary (22% commission). After taxes, health insurance (wife and 3 kids), seems like much less, probably in the ball park of $50-60K less. Work 4 days a week and average 50-55 hrs per work week.

My wife owns her insurance brokerage business with 2 partners and has been in business for 3 years. They're going gangbusters and she'll most likely exceed me this year. Once she's making a good 1-1.5x what I'm making, I think I'll try to go out on my own. Tired of having corporate goons tell me what to do and how to practice. As a practice owner, sky is the limit on earnings.

10/10 don't think I would recommend this profession for most folks, and definitely not my children.
Really, I thought being a vet was a really good career until I read this post.
 
Just make sure you get married to somebody who is also bringing in a good salary.

My buddy makes ~100k/year but his wife only brings in around 40k. With their two young kids and a mortgage, they are pretty much broke all the time.

You have to be really ******* careful about who you marry and/or have kids with.
My wife is a stay at home mom, wouldn't have it any other way
 
It’s not taught by design. The system is based on debit, it allows for a higher velocity of the money. While the average American is using the debit to purchase goods that depreciate a very small amount use the debit to purchase commodities that gain in value.

Dump the items that don’t appreciate and buy those that do.

Dump useless subscriptions to open up funds.


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I think it is set by design, but by the people who benefit the most, the people who sell debt. It's very easy to get loans.

Besides real estate and investments in retirement instruments, I can't think of much of anything that appreciates in value for the American consumers.

I used to use debt wisely, if that's a thing. But horrible health circumstances opened my eyes to the vulnerability I had exposed my family to. Most people are just one tragedy in life away from financial disaster. That is because they carry a lot of debt. I choose not to. It took my wife and I about 3 years post health issues to be debt free, minus my home. As soon as my kids are done with college, I'll pay off my house.

I think if most people understood and knew how to get out of debt, as well as had the patience and discipline to do so, they would be shocked how much further their salary could go.

I'm hoping I'm not getting this thread off track.. if so, someone yell at me, and I'll politely stop.

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