<p>My family lives rather comfortably with 100k combined, family of four; I on the other hand, would be more “satisfied” with an income of around 150k.</p>
<p>There are lots of mixed opinions in this thread, some say 200k or more, others are more modest. I guess if I had a family, I would want 110-130k total yearly income (not counting later inflation, just now). I don’t plan to live in a big city, I’ve been living in the suburbs for most of my life and I like it…however I may have to. :/</p>
<p>People who want to make 6 figs, should be prepared for lots of hardships. Not to mention jobs that pay that much will probably have lots of pressure and you may not enjoy the money you’re making. However, if you really do enjoy the job and the responsibilities, then I guess it’s fine.</p>
<p>You do not need $200,000+ to live comfortably. My parents make about 70k combined and we live a very comfortable life, imo. To the kid who asked how does one live on 50k, I’d say most of America could answer that for you. My cousin graduated from med school and it took her like 6 years to make 150k. She is single, but also has a nice chunk of debt from school she’ll have to pay back. It’s obviously not impossible to make 200k, but don’t expect it right out school (even for MD’s).</p>
<p>In the area I live in (a suburb of DC) it’s difficult to live comfortably when you make less that 200k, but I know in some places that would be a lot of money. I think really depends on where you live.</p>
<p>Personally, I want to make at least how much my parents make so around 300k. I have a LOT of studying to do.</p>
<p>The ignorance and entitlement displayed here is frightening. </p>
<p>If you ask me, all of you people who are under the impression that you “need” 200k+ to live comfortably by yourself really need to learn the value of money before you make a cent.
You don’t deserve anything-you earn it.
What you really deserve is a dose of suffering or financial instability to open your eyes to the reality so many people live through. Unfortunately I’m sure your mommies and daddies would just bail you out and you’d remain just as blind as always.</p>
<p>keep in mind again, some people were considrering families</p>
<p>I know, and that’s perfectly reasonable to want to provide a good life for your children-that’s why I only said for those who think they need 200k+ to be comfortable by themselves</p>
<p>ok, I gotcha</p>
<p>Nothing, Diogenes style. :P</p>
<p>Seriously, I’m thinking for one person to live comfortably, $50k should be enough. To me, comfortably means knowing where the next meal comes from, not driving a Benz.</p>
<p>Three of my family members all have a similar style and size of house (4 BR split level, ~2500 sq ft, no fancy bells & whistles). In one community, it sells for about $90,000; in another, about $150,000; in another, it’s $450,000. How much salary one needs to pay for said mortgage varies widely, and in large part is affected by the availability of jobs.</p>
<p>My sister in central Kentucky has a very nice house, a boat, completely remodeled her kitchen for under $12,000 and takes great vacations. Takes a LOT less income to do that there than it does in suburban DC, greater NY area, etc. OTOH, finding a job that pays over $20/hr. is tough to find where she lives. Another sister has her BS in accounting, has 12 years of experience and makes $9.50 an hour in a career-track accounting position. She is thankful to have her job.</p>
<p>The key to living comfortably, we have found, is to live on less than what you make, whatever that figure may be.</p>
<p>^ Wow I feel sorry for your sister then. Only $9.50 an hour with a bs degree and 12 years experience. Did she happen to get her CPA or was that just out of the question.</p>
<p>^^^ I don’t think living comfortably is really knowing when your next meal is going to come. If that was it than pretty much all of America is living comfortably (with food stamps and stuff). I’d consider living comfortably is having enough money to pay the bills and not living paycheck to paycheck. For a family with two or more children I’d say this happens at about $200,000</p>
<p>I’ve always, ALWAYS wanted a ton of kids - maybe 4, most likely 5. So I’d say comfortably, 250k would be a good estimate.</p>
<p>Your salary isn’t the only part to the equation. Also important are your tenure and benefits. I want 5 kids. So, I’d say I could make due with 150K (if my wife worked, we could split). Obviously, I’d probably need to go to medical school for that unless I could land a research job at a university, major food company or something and have the tenure and benefits that would come with it.</p>
<p>Seeing as I intend to go down the path of a writer, I would probably be grateful to have an income of 60k.</p>
<p>This thread has proven to me how misguided and ignorant some cc users actually are. We ccers are some of the smartest students in the country, yet obviously being smart/ going to a good college doesn’t have anything to do with having an accurate perception of the world around you. I don’t mean to offend anyone, and most of you will probably live off 6 or 7 figures in the future, but by no means do you need that much to live comfortably. :P</p>
<p>^It is known that to live comfortably in NYC, especially in Manhattan you HAVE to make over $100k+. Everything is ridiculously priced and most apartments have rent over $3000, and that’s cheap for some areas. Now add the price of necessities (food, clothes, toiletry), bills (light, gas, internet, and cellphone, etc), now you can live without a car in the city, but if you want one think about a higher insurance rate. Now add some really high taxes, and your spending a crap load a month. Many people with $40 -70,000 salaries still have it hard in the city. Now add kids and that salary is nothing. </p>
<p>So yes a six figure is very necessary to live comfortably in a major city like LA or New York, no if ands or buts.</p>
<p>I would love to make 6+ figures someday, but that probably won’t happen (okay, maybe 6-fig). I’d say for a family to live comfortably, $100k+ combined (Husband+wife+any other income), single $50k+.
Just for some perspective, my dad makes roughly $100k, and my mom makes 30-40k. And for the people who think that they’ll be making 6 figures out of college, my dad has a PhD, has been working for 30 years, has a resume that includes working some pretty major projects, and is in the second most lucrative engineering field (mech eng, some say it’s the first), and is a project manager, and he’s never made more than 108000 including bonuses (to be honest, he could make more, but his company has a policy that puts a fixed limit on the number of stock options available to employees, so someone would have to retire or be fired for him to be promoted).</p>
<p>WoodrowWilsonJR, you’re gonna have a hard life in the real world. Come back when you’ve graduated college, and tell us about how much money you make. If I’m wrong, I’ll admit it, if I’m right, well, schadenfreude</p>
<p>ETA: The salaries for living comfortably are after taxed, and obviously, depend on the locale, rural Arkansas or Texas will obviously have a lower cost of living than LA or DC or NYC</p>
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<p>Honestly, my dad has earned enough for me to never work after college and still be really comfortable. But I am at Wharton and have a very good gpa(3.87) so I don’t exactly expect a “hard life”(nor do I think it is even a reasonable possibility). The “real world” is different for everyone, and your experiences won’t exactly match up with another person’s.</p>
<p>$100,000-if i decide to become an electrical engineer $500,000-if i decide to become a neurosurgeon</p>