Is it average to earn over $350k

amother

Dodgerblue

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 7:51 pm

amother NeonOrange wrote:

How do you know what you will or won’t ever bring in? It’s all from Hashem. Whenever I find myself stressing about money, I realize it’s a nisayon on my emuna and I need to remind myself it’s out of my control. (Of course doing basic hishtadlus.)
Also, how old are you? Unless you’re close to retirement, you have years of working ahead of you, so who knows what will change?

Because we don't have high paying jobs or great degrees. Because we are terrible at business. Because we are mid 40s and I have a chronic illness.

I'm not sure what will change ......

amother

NeonOrange

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 7:58 pm

amother Dodgerblue wrote:

Because we don't have high paying jobs or great degrees. Because we are terrible at business. Because we are mid 40s and I have a chronic illness.

I'm not sure what will change ......

I give you a bracha that something will change iyh 🙏🏻

amother

Opal

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 8:57 pm

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

I am a professional, with my own business, that bh is very successful. This year, I will iyh have earned approximately 400k. My husband works and earns 120k with excellent benefits. I am able to get my kids on the bus and be there when they get home. From my experience, we are an exception and not the norm. Most of our friends earn between 100k-250k, together, per year. Some years are better than others and I have earned anywhere from 600k to 850k while my husband's salary remained static. We own a house worth 2M, no mortgage, a vacation home worth 300k, no mortgage, and have a nice portfolio of investments worth 650k. As a family of 5, we are comfortable. We travel well and frequently, prioritizing experiences over things. We drive luxury cars that are financed, pay maser and full tuitions with zero debt. Iyh, our investments will grow and in the next 5-10 years, be worth 5x or 10x our initial capital contribution. I am 39 and my husband is 42, for context. So yes, this type of life does happen but I don't personally know anyone else like us. I hear stories about wealthy folks or high earners but we don't know any of the Joneses.

You don’t have to answer this question but can I ask, do you give more then maaser? I grew up with comfortable parents who gave about 15-20% and in return downgraded their lifestyle a bit. I am wondering if they are unique or if that’s more the norm then I imag8ne.

amother

Tiffanyblue

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 9:08 pm

amother Opal wrote:

Yes, we do. I regularly sponsor school events for my kids yeshivas, give to a number of specific charities, and help pay for groceries on top of our maaser. I also dedicate a portion of my business to low-income, frum families and make sure they are taken care of.

mommy3b2c

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 9:10 pm

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

Why does your husband work at his job instead of helping you in your business ? Is it because of the benefits ? Also, im assuming $400,000 is a low earning year for you, otherwise I feel like it would be hard to own two fully paid homes and all the other luxuries you mentioned is not that doable on $500,000 a year . Possibly if that’s after taxes …

amother

Tiffanyblue

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 9:26 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

My husband and I share investments but otherwise, keep business separate from our marriage. After 20 years together, I know my own strengths and weaknesses. Working with my husband wouldn't be good for us. He's at a job that he enjoys and he's content. I don't ask for more from him, aside from being a good husband and father. He's supported me through school and the early years of my career. It's beyond enough. 400k is a low earning year, but I've traded off more time with my family. There were years where I killed myself at work, juggling it all, and that helped pave the way for our life today. Also, our bills are less than you'd imagine. Luxury cars (one is paid for by my business along with its insurance) aren't that much. Schools, tutors, property tax, utilities, food and spending money, etc. is less than 100k per year. Even after tax and maaser, we have plenty left over. Our tuition isn't 20k+, per child. We have a well so no water bill. Our vacation home is 5k a year to keep. I don't wear luxe brands or expensive shoes. You'd never know, from looking at us, how we are really doing. Aside from travel, we don't really spend on things. It's all just stuff. New clothes as needed. Not sure what other luxuries your referring to but that's how we do us.

amother

Opal

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 9:30 pm

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

Wow ❤️

mommy3b2c

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 9:32 pm

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

Maybe you have low tuition and are really small spenders . I don’t understand how all that can be less then $100,000 a year . What about cleaning help? Camp? Restaurants? Extra curriculars?
Anyway, good for you . Hashem should always shower you with Bracha .

amother

Tiffanyblue

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 9:43 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

No cleaning help. My kids can do their chores and we all pitch in. We don't have extra curriculars and camp is only for my two younger ones (4k total). My oldest works for me during the summers. Restaurants are factored into the 100k. Tuitions are a total of 23k. Property tax (20k), insurance (3k), electric / gas (10k), landscaper (3k), car insurance (3k), car payments (6k), cell phones (2k), internet (1k). Everything else is food and spending for stuff like clothes. Roughly 25k for food and clothes, which is about 2k a month, or 500 a week. That's more than enough for us. I didn't include our 5k for the vacation place so we're a little over 100k. It's fine. We can swing that Smile

As an aside, we loan out our vacation place to friends who can't spend for trips all the time. So, bh, it gets a good amount of use for our 5k. Lastly, what our properties are worth aren't what we paid for them. We bought for 1M, put 350k into renovations and watched the neighborhood turn very frum and appreciate. Our vacation house was bought right before covid for 120k. Property values skyrocketed and now fell back to the new norm. Again, bh, a good investment.

amother

Salmon

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 10:52 pm

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

No cleaning help and 500 a week on food mind-boggling at your income level.

amother

Bluebell

Tue, Sep 05 2023, 12:38 am

amother Papaya wrote:

Not gonna lie, those threads sometimes have me thinking, what are we doing wrong???
But I think the answer is that most or all of the high earners have their own business. I would never wish that stress on our lives.
It's also not normal for someone to just casually earn over 350k. Don't be fooled.
Dh is in a very influential and integral position in a multi million dollar corporate company. The owners have said numerous times they don't know what they would do without him (Non Jewish owners).
He earns about $200k pretax.
For the work and hours he's putting in he'd love to be earning at least $300k. But they'll laugh him outta there with that number.
Most people's salaries in that company are well under $100k.
I think outside of the Jewish bubble people don't just earn those high amounts as an employee.

It sounds to me like your husband doesn't work in corporate America. In corporate America, middle managers routinely earn 200K+ and executives earn significantly more. Coming from that space, to me personally it sounds like your husband is underpaid, but presumably the discrepancy is explained by the type of profession he works in.

amother

Crimson

Tue, Sep 05 2023, 7:24 am

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

Do you live in the tristate area? How is your tuition so cheap?

amother

Tiffanyblue

Tue, Sep 05 2023, 9:44 am

amother Salmon wrote:

No cleaning help and 500 a week on food mind-boggling at your income level.

I'm not sure why it's so shocking. We don't need the help and as a family of five, we don't eat that much. I meal prep in the beginning of the week for my husband and I (for dietary reasons), my kids are home for breakfast and dinner. Snacks are easy (we pack fruit and whatever else their into plus water in reusable bottles). My kids like simple food so dinner is usually a crock pot meal of beef and broccoli over white rice or Mexican sausages over spaghetti. We don't have multiple courses everyday and shabbos is simple by us. It's not like I'm restrictive; my family has more than they need. We just aren't into food or stuff. You seem bothered by my life choices, given our income. Why?

amother

Dustypink

Tue, Sep 05 2023, 9:53 am

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

No medical expenses/health insurance costs/copays? Household goods, cleaning supplies, toiletries? It sounds like you're missing a lot of expenses in your budget.

amother

Tiffanyblue

Tue, Sep 05 2023, 10:04 am

amother Dustypink wrote:

No medical expenses/health insurance costs/copays? Household goods, cleaning supplies, toiletries? It sounds like you're missing a lot of expenses in your budget.

No medical expenses aside from a $30 copay here and there. Household goods and cleaning supplies are in our food / spending. Part of the 500 a week average. Some weeks are a little more, some less. It's not a strict budget to go by but an average of approximately what we spend. Obviously, if I need new makeup (which I don't wear much of) or my kids want shoes or new coats, that's extra. But if I spent less that week on food, there's the difference. Even if we spent an extra 25k for things, doubled our spending budget, my point is that our post-tax income can easily absorb it. We don't though. I'd rather spend that 25k on a summer in Europe with the kids or taking 3 trips throughout the year. Different priorities.