<p>I think people are just misunderstanding the question in the topic title. The question is not “What would be your ideal salary?”, it is “What’s your ideal salary in order to live comfortably?”.</p>
<p>Man, I’ve never seen such ridiculousness in my life. I live in a country where one can earn an annual salary of 150000$ immediately after getting a bachelors (there are no taxes here, so the salary is more like an American 200000$. Also, over here, the salary I mentioned isn’t even that impressive). I can confidently say I can live on 60000$ comfortably (assuming I get married and have a couple of kids). What the heck is comfort to you people? Yachts? Ferraris? Gold-plated kitchen sinks? You guys just completely blew my mind with these outrageous numbers. I think CC has finally got me, not through the ridiculous “should-I-retake-the-SAT-to-improve-my-2380” threads, but through these insaaane numbers. I think I might have gotten trolled big-time. (There are sensible people in this thread, but unfortunately, they seem to be the minority.)</p>
<p>One of our kiddos have graduated & gotten a job that earns what he is very comfortable living on, with built-in promotions and raises, as well as opportunities to attend graduate school at employer’s expense. One of my nieces has a psych degree & is working for the county as a clerk, earning a fraction of what our S makes with no obvious track for promotions and raises. Another nephew just graduated from college & is hoping to get into med school (waitlisted at several places & not sure what to do this summer).</p>
<p>My ideal salary is to make a bit more than our needs and wants, so that we can be comfortable. So far, we have managed this OK so that we have minimal debt and have a decent place to live and are able to visit loved ones as needed and/or desired. We have been able to adjust living expenses, cutting back when our income is leaner and saving more(or using it to defray other expenses like college tuitions, etc.) when our income increases.</p>
<p>I agree with Rob. Some are forgetting the second half of the question, but hey, maybe people really think like that. It’s disappointing, but I never thought that there were people on CC that think like this.</p>
<p>Niquii, of course I have. People are stating the salaries they want. No where do people say that they expect the money without hard work. </p>
<p>Yeah, these salaries are huge. But remember, most high achieving kids come from, you guessed it, high income families. To them, 300k is a normal family salary. Btw, 300k doesn’t buy a yachts…lol. Anyway, I grew up in a family of 6 with considerably less than 300k, and we make it work. The 6 of us share three bedrooms, we all work part time (the kids), and we don’t go on vacation, etc. Yes I would prefer to have more money, but I think it has taught me a more realistic view of what I need to be comfortable. For me, 75k would be plenty. For a family, I would prefer that to double (ie 75k each). Of COURSE I don’t expect that right out of college. It is a goal, nowhere does stating a goal like that imply that I won’t work for it, just as I have worked extremely hard in school to set up a life that includes a decent job. </p>
<p>And btw, there’s no shame in wanting a large salary. People who are motivated by money will obviously work hard for it.</p>
<p>To live comfortably I would need to at least match my family’s current salary. So, about $1,500,000 or more depending on the size of my family.</p>
<p>uhhhh probably 30k to live comfortably by myself (20k of that i’m thinking would go to rent…).</p>
<p>Enfield, you’re forgetting a lot of costs. Rent/mortgage should never be more than a third of your income. </p>
<p>You will need a car in certain places, insurance, money to save for retirement and incidentals, groceries, clothing, etc. Costs like those are generally more than 1/3 of your income.</p>
<p>Alwaysleah, I agree with what you’re saying. At the time I was frustrated that people were stating these amounts, claiming that there degree from some Ivy school would get them XK salary. I can appreciate that you come from a household that has taught you the value of a dollar, but it just annoys me when individuals post things as if money grows on trees.</p>
<p>I agree. There is nothing wrong for wanting a large salary, but to live comfortably do you really need a million just for yourself?</p>
<p>You never know what life is going to throw at you. Our family paid $29,000 last year in out-of-pocket medical expenses. That was in ADDITION to monthly insurance premiums of $1,040. We were able to deduct about $13,000 of that on our income tax return. That’s a ridiculous amount of money! So yeah, we needed more than $100k to do OK last year. It’s looking as if our medical bills will be an ongoing fact of life, too. Just this week, we’ve received bills for ONE of our children for almost $850 (and there are two of them with issues).</p>
<p>I agree with what you are saying sleah. However, as a person who comes from a family that makes more money than it’ll ever need, I just don’t understand what these people regard as comfortable. Either people aren’t answering this question accurately or CC is mostly comprised of hedonistic people. Yes, a person’s socioeconomic background will definitely affect a person’s answer, but these numbers are still ludicrously high. Let me give you a simple example. I have a brother who’s currently studying in the US. He has a monthly stipend of about 6000$ (unbelievably high). He pays all his expenses with that money (apartment, food, clothes, games, trips, phones, whatever), yet he still saves about 1500$. Tell me: what else does he need? What else would a person need to live a comfortable life? There’s literally nothing left on which to spend the money. Even if he were to get married and have 7 kids, I don’t think he would need anything more than 120k (we’re talking about a nice life, too).I’ll concede that I have no idea what kind of expenses people in the US have to pay for health and other necessities, but 200k? Really?</p>
<p>I’m glad the younger posters on this thread have dreams and high expectations for themselves. The only thing I’ll say is this: make sure you know how to enjoy your life whether you have money or not. Jobs can come and go; so can material wealth. I made $17K/year in my first job out of college, and I was so happy – fun job, friends, a tiny apartment in NYC (ok – I slept on the couch but still – I was in Manhattan).</p>
<p>When I wanted to start a family, I took a “money job” (the kind where they advertise $$$$ in the job heading). I made money, and I saved money. At one point, I was saving 20-30% of my GROSS income (before taxes).</p>
<p>Now I’m making much much less. I have cut back on just about everything. I still have a TV, but I have the least amount of channels you can have and still be considered human.</p>
<p>I wish you all the best.</p>
<p>I don’t understand this question. From the way I see it, there should only be one answer. Sure the answer will vary by one’s location in the world, but there is no “ideal” salary to live comfortably. My thinking is that there is one minimum salary that would allow for a comfortable lifestyle. It’s when we get into different interpretations that we keep these answers from being comparable. I think we need to clarify whether we are setting a standard definition for “comfort” or if we are just surveying each individual’s ideal lifestyle.</p>
<p>My one motivating factor is the dream that I’ll one day make enough money to never have to worry about money. Obviously this is foolish, since everybody in the world wants more money; but I just want to make enough to not have to worry about it.</p>
<p>I’ve seen far too many people in this world that are mentally and emotionally broken because they don’t make enough money. Yes, money doesn’t mean happiness, but it sure as hell helps. I don’t ever want to have to live paycheck to paycheck; never.</p>
<p>Depends on how stupid you are with money. A lot of people spend too much trying to keep up with the Joneses. </p>
<p>Sent from my HTC Glacier using CC</p>
<p>6*10^23 dollars a year gotta live it big</p>
<p>What does Mitt Romney make? lol</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>He collected $374,000 in speaking fees last year, which he called “not very much.”</p>
<p>To live comfortably, $250,000 should suffice.</p>
<p>Probably 50K w/o taxes</p>
<p>Thats around $3,500 a month w/ taxes? If i live single, in a $799 monthly apartment, paying off loans, utility bills and other bills that’s plenty left over.</p>
<p>if you find employment in the midwest (MN, ND and SD (especially), NE, IA, KS, MO) there are some really cheap apartments</p>