195,000 not enough

[candyshopgirl]

So I was reading a article called whats the new six figure salary? or something like that. Well in the article this woman said her husband makes 195,000 a year and its not nearly enough. She has GASP make her own coffee and Gasp drive a used car. Who are these people. if my husband make that much I wouldn't have to work and we would live like fricking kings.

[Victory Sabre]

It depends on where they live. In Hollywood, 195k wouldn't, really be enough, because the cost of living is so high. Where the cost of living is low, like rural Mississippi, it would be plenty.

[Solumina]

Um...there is no place in the US that has a median household income nearing $195K (Loudoun County tops the list around $110K). There are some areas within cities that may be higher but $195k should be more than enough to live comfortably.

[Mishi]

It should be more than enough to live, but considering I know how much my parents make AND they seem to throw it all away, I can see how someone like this woman would say it's not enough money. That actually sounds like my mother!

[Solumina]

That is true. Growing up in Loudoun County I was always shocked at how much everyone complained about not having enough money even though I knew their families made a lot more than mine and I pretty much got everything I wanted.

[MoonCat]

Their spending habits have to be absurd.

[Ironclad Alibi]

She said her husband makes $195,000 a year. She didn't say how much of it he gives to her or lets her spend. Some people that make a lot of money can be very stingy.

[Food Lady]

I just took that amount, subtracted tax (or my idea of how much would be taken out) and my basic expenses. I would have $8638 left over every month.

[terakhan]

People are just screwy with money, simple as that. Pro athletes always amaze me for that. Some of them bring home more money PER GAME than a small town will see all year, and they still go on strike for more money.

[Racket_Man]

Heck back in my white collar days lived in the near north Chicago burbs and I made $55 - $60K a year and still had money left over

[candyshopgirl]

Heck me and the hubby only make 45,000 a year and I still manage to have nice things. I have a lot of designer handbags but I learn where I can buy them used here in town. So it just depends how you budget your money and learning some tricks along the way

[RecoveringKinkoid]

We are by no means rich and I don't even have any sort of real income to speak of. We still manage to live like kings. You know why? We aren't doing our level best to spend every penny that comes in our house on extravagant crap.

We both drive used cars (nice used cars, I might ad. A PT Cruiser and a Dodge Grand Caravan. Nothing fancy.) And I assure you I make my own coffee every single morning.

We go out of our way to not spend money we don't have to spend and live below our means. That way, if we need or even want money, there it is. We have it because we haven't blown it on extravagant crap.

I look at it this way: When I was at my poorest, living in a rotting trailer in the sticks and driving a shitbox, with holes in the walls and cheese I'd stolen out of the "destined for the trash" pile at the restaurant I worked at in my refridgerator, I STILL had it better than most people in the world. I had a roof, my own car, climate control, clean water, and enough food to keep from starving. People confuse what they "want" with what they "need."

We don't even "need" much.

[protege]

I could live like a king on $195,000 a year. Of course, I live in a small (2 bedroom) home in the 'burbs, have two cars (one thoroughly used, the other bought new), the kitties, my model collection, etc. But, other than that...I don't require much in the way of entertainment. Once I get the car paid for, and some other bills, I'll have more each month to hide away.

As for Ms. 195,000, I have a feeling that they're throwing money away on stupid shit that they "need." It doesn't matter how much you have, some people will always try to live outside their means. I know people on my street who have more money than brains. They're always cruising around in expensive cars, dressed to the 9s, yet are constantly bitching and moaning about how they can't meet the mortgage payment that month

[AccountingDrone]

This crap is why we call several of the shows on HGTV Entitlement Whores International, Entitlement Whores US Edition and Entitlement Whores NY.

I mean, really. Most of them would pop a blood vessel if they walked into my shoes for a day. We have an anual income of about $40K US, live in an 800 sq foot house that has not had much beyond routine maintenance in 20 years, though we have bought the stuff and are gradually making it over as hubbs gets the time [he leaves for work at 6 am, and returns at 7 or 8 PM most days, and telecommutes at least 6 hours most weekends] and the only real luxury is a hot tub that is a theraputic recommendation from my orthopede to make my life bearable.

I honestly do not know what to make of a family that spends $500K US on a main house, then is off looking for a tropical vacation place with a budget of $300 K US ... our place cost us $91 K US and is appraised for $135K US.

And to put the icing on the cake? This moron is moving to Holland to take a job and the job is located a 15 minute train ride out of the center of Amsterdam in a charming little village. She wants a flat in the center of Amsterdam. She is also bringing 2 fairly sizable dogs with her.

[surreal20]

i think the whole idea of there not being enough money to this women was that she had to do certain things for herself and had to buy things that weren't brand spanking new.

Not so much about where she lived and how much she maked.

I think it's in all agreement that just about everyone would be very happy was $195,000 a year.