College may not be as expensive (inflation adjusted) in the future because a) kids graduating high school will be going down, and b) technology will threaten the education industry if they don’t rationalize costs.
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I hope so, but won’t count on it. There seems to be plenty of demand for the top schools regardless.
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I think the salary thing also varies by location. Here’s the information on my school district that I just googled. I do not live in a crazy ritzy area, but not crazy cheap either. I think they’re paid pretty decent: Highest salary in year 2018 was $153k. Average annual salary was $74k and median salary was $78k. Average salary is 58 percent higher than USA average and median salary is 78 percent higher than USA median.
I guess my question for you is - do you consider that to be underpaid?
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I remember buying a 50+ dollar hoodie as a 14 year old with my first paycheck. My mom gave me a lecture on it. I told her it was an investment and I’d have it forever. I still wear that sucker 25 years later. It’s still one of the most comfy articles of clothing that I own. 
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Anyone can blow through money if they choose to. S knew that money had to last a long time and planned accordingly. He is very widely traveled and has stayed at some 5* places. I truly don’t think it’s a gender thing necessarily, it’s the ability of the person to decide priorities and stick to them.
He also figured out how to make money to supplement—got a job, sold stuff online.
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It’s always interesting to me to see how different families operate. For example, I got my first job at 14 and my mom cosigned for me to get my own credit card at 16. All credit card bills paid by me. I wanted better internet at age 15 so I bought it. This required a separate phone line so I got one of them too. My parents had to sign the paperwork and do both in their names as I was a minor and I paid them each month out of my earnings. I wanted a cell phone at 16 so I bought a pre-paid one. Wanted a car so I paid for that. etc. Needed insurance so paid for that. My car kept breaking so I paid for that. I made about $5/hour at my job. There wasn’t much $$ left for fun, but I still was able to treat myself to the movies every Saturday night with my friends. I worked all during college - both during the school year and during summers which paid for all of my living expenses while there.
However, my parents helped with tuition and I graduated with only about 20k in loans. I accidentally backed into another students car in college and my dad loaned me the money to repair it because it woulda really wiped out my savings. The first $1000 I made that summer paid him back. I randomly bought myself a new car senior year and my parents (unsolicited) gave me an early graduation present of some cash to put towards the payments. (I didn’t need the cash, and wouldn’t have bought the car if I couldn’t have afforded it, but it was a gift, so I digress). And, most importantly, My parents let me live with them rent free for a bit after graduation while I saved up money for a house down payment. That was huge and enabled me to buy my house with 20% down and also to buy an entire house worth of new furniture (though I do still have my 20+ year old rickety futon!). That was a huge assist.
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This morning I read an article in the NY Times on the city’s public defenders. Starting salary for new law grads is $74k, which is about what all the public lawyers start with (i.e. prosecutors & city lawyers). But by years out they lag the other public lawyers by $10k. The article didn’t mention what the salary 5 years out is, but $74k for someone with law school debt and living in New York City is not a good salary in my book.
According to the New York City’s website, the area median income for a household of one (single person) is $93,400. For a family of four, it’s $133,400.
In my state’s capital city, the teacher scale starts at $46k for a Bachelor’s and no experience. And if you have a PhD and 40 years of experience you’re looking at $68k. And to find a house in a safe area, you’re not looking at 3x income (it will be way more).
All this goes to show how our own perspectives can affect our perspective on what a “good” salary is, and how fortunate we are (or are not) in comparison with many others.
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agree, it’s tough in New York if you want to live in Manhattan. I remember visiting a friend whom lived in NYC when I was in college. He was doing his taxes while I was there. I saw the numbers and was shocked at how much he made. Looking back, it still was a good salary for New York, but it wasn’t nearly as great as I thought it was at the time.
Thank you for sharing the info! Great to see other areas represented!
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D2 will most likely work in the public sector for few years as a prosecutor or clerk for a judge. She would be earning much lower income than in the private sector, but when she goes back to her law firm she would get a large bonus for having worked in the public sector and also keep her seniority at the law firm. Many law firms encourage their associates to work few years in the public sector. Some of those public sector legal positions are very desirable and competitive.
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Good for her.
For $350, I would want the haircutter played by Warren Beatty in Shampoo.
Son has a techie salary in Seattle but likes to get his hair cut at Sports Clips.
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As you state, teacher salaries vary widely by location. I already posted the current salary scale for teachers in the town I lived in for 31 years, and once taught there and my kids attended school there and it was a lot lower than the rates you are sharing. So, my perspective was influenced by where I once lived and worked. That said, while the salary range you shared isn’t so bad, remember that the higher end of it (above the median) is for teachers with many years experience and graduate degrees, and so in that respect, it is not that high pay for someone with years of experience and graduate degrees compare to many other professions.
I still work in education, but not as a teacher, and have 42 years of experience and a graduate degree. I don’t know how much my kids earn, but am pretty sure they earn more than me and one works in an architecture firm and one works as a performer.
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10 posts were split to a new thread: How much do you pay for haircuts and/or coloring, etc…
I made no generalization that high maintenance means high pay. The generalization made is that high maintenance needs high pay to feel like they have a “good salary”.
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They could skim on other aspects that are not important to them.
My daughters always paid their own way on dates—as did most of their female friends. That’s my observation based on anecdotal data. Maybe this varies by region or age—not sure. I do think times have changed expectations about “who pays”!
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Perhaps haircare discussions could move to their own thread; starting to derail OP topic. Haircuts were only included here as an adjunct to different salary levels for college graduates, and what were considered living expenses at various levels.
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Let’s stick to the topic here please. Discussion of haircuts has been moved to this thread. How much do you pay for haircuts and/or coloring, etc…
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My D has her own studio in Manhattan and was spending about $5k per month for everything in 2021, and that included going out whenever she wanted. She’s not much into alcohol, so that probably helped significantly. But rent has gone up significantly, so with that and other inflation, probably $6.5k per month going forward.
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Because I wanted to instill a mindset of saving, when my D entered the workforce, I asked her to create a budget where she maxed out her retirement before considering her bonus, and she did. It’s probably my last major lesson to her as a parent.
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