And here I thought you had to earn 10k a month to even be a MM poster....at least 1mill for a "Clifford."
Ha. Or not. Maybe I'm just poor, but 10k/month is a lot of money even in a HCOL place. Is 15k more? Yes. Is 1 million a lot more? Yes. Is Clifford bigger than your average Saint Bernard?
And here I thought you had to earn 10k a month to even be a MM poster....at least 1mill for a "Clifford."
Ha. Or not. Maybe I'm just poor, but 10k/month is a lot of money even in a HCOL place. Is 15k more? Yes. Is 1 million a lot more? Yes. Is Clifford bigger than your average Saint Bernard?
we take home almost that and I feel poor ( I know, I know but its true). Defintely not a Clifford.
And here I thought you had to earn 10k a month to even be a MM poster....at least 1mill for a "Clifford."
Ha. Or not. Maybe I'm just poor, but 10k/month is a lot of money even in a HCOL place. Is 15k more? Yes. Is 1 million a lot more? Yes. Is Clifford bigger than your average Saint Bernard?
we make almost that and I feel poor ( I know, I know but its true). Defintely not a Clifford.
I just think people need perspective... Lots of people 'feel poor' but are actually much better off than most of the country. If 'big dog' is defined by how comfortable you feel financially then I'm sure we have some on this board with 50k HHI who apply and some with with 500k HHI who don't apply.
Ha. Or not. Maybe I'm just poor, but 10k/month is a lot of money even in a HCOL place.
No, it is not. It might not be poor, but it is not "a lot". Maybe you just don't understand what HCOL actually means.
I understand what HCOL actually means more than most (though note: I believe kershinc lives in the same VVHCOL city as I do), and I agree with kershinc here. Even in the most expensive areas of Manhattan (which I believe are the most VVHCOL part of the country?), there are a ton of people who would LOVE to make $250,000 a year , and those who do are living very comfortably. Maybe they aren't rolling in it, but it is a lot of money anywhere.
No, it is not. It might not be poor, but it is not "a lot". Maybe you just don't understand what HCOL actually means.
I understand what HCOL actually means more than most (though note: I believe kershinc lives in the same VVHCOL city as I do), and I agree with kershinc here. Even in the most expensive areas of Manhattan (which I believe are the most VVHCOL part of the country?), there are a ton of people who would LOVE to make $250,000 a year , and those who do are living very comfortably. Maybe they aren't rolling in it, but it is a lot of money anywhere.
Is $10K take home a lot in NYC? Would they be considered 'big dogs' there?
No, it is not. It might not be poor, but it is not "a lot". Maybe you just don't understand what HCOL actually means.
I understand what HCOL actually means more than most (though note: I believe kershinc lives in the same VVHCOL city as I do), and I agree with kershinc here. Even in the most expensive areas of Manhattan (which I believe are the most VVHCOL part of the country?), there are a ton of people who would LOVE to make $250,000 a year , and those who do are living very comfortably. Maybe they aren't rolling in it, but it is a lot of money anywhere.
Yeah I'm with v and kersh. We're in this ballpark and while I don't have a yacht, a home on the Hamptons and a 5 story townhouse, we're doing pretty well. I can't say we really deprive ourselves of anything. We live very comfortably and we manage to save a lot each year. So it's still a good chunk of money no matter where you live.
No, it is not. It might not be poor, but it is not "a lot". Maybe you just don't understand what HCOL actually means.
I understand what HCOL actually means more than most (though note: I believe kershinc lives in the same VVHCOL city as I do), and I agree with kershinc here. Even in the most expensive areas of Manhattan (which I believe are the most VVHCOL part of the country?), there are a ton of people who would LOVE to make $250,000 a year , and those who do are living very comfortably. Maybe they aren't rolling in it, but it is a lot of money anywhere.
But it goes back to the take home vs gross pay. And the definition of "a lot". My definition of "a lot" is much higher than comfortable. "A lot" to me means having excess vs being able to live in comfort. And what is the definition of comfort?
I'm going back to waving shiny things. Oh look! A squirrel!
Is $10K take home a lot in NYC? Would they be considered 'big dogs' there?
What do you think of as a "big dog"? Where in New York City (which is a large and diverse place)?
In Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, you would definitely be a big dog.
In Tribeca, I believe you would be above average but you would be poorer than a lot of your neighbors (and a LOT poorer than some of your neighbors). Your apartment definitely wouldn't be big and fancy (it may be big, or fancy, but very likely not both). But particularly if you don't have a kid, you and your spouse can have a nice apartment by Tribeca standards, will have money to eat out, and go on vacation, and contribute to retirement and such, and you'll be living better than most other Manhattanites and will be comfortable by anyone reasonable's standards.
As I said above, not necessarily much more than that. Per paycheckcity.com, a married NYC resident/employee with no deductions will take home $12,701.07 after state, local, and federal taxes (state and local are about 10%). Take off $1417 a month to max out 401(k), and you're at 11,284. Then take out health insurance, FSA, transit, LTD, etc., and you're pretty close to $10,000 a month.
And the COL argument is that it ridiculous to call those living in HCOL or VHCOL areas and earning $250k/year "big dogs" when their monthly housing expense for a 700 sq/ft apartment is more than most peoples total monthly income in the rest of the country. Hence me waving shiny things to distract people from this non-resolvable argument being endlessly debated again.
I hate to throw fuel on this, but I'm surprised it's still even in debate. It exists. As someone who would be big dog in 95% of the country, but live in NYC where, as I've said, I am a puppy. No joke.
For example: I just ate a sandwich and Popchips at my subsidized office cafeteria and paid over $7.00.
I don't think this means you're not a big dog. It just means you may have to pay more for your lunch than big dogs who live in cheaper areas. If big dog is defined based on income (either gross or net) you're a big dog regardless of money you pay for services. But of course many big dogs live in urban areas because a) they like the lifestyle those areas provide and b) they might not be able to earn big dog salaries in more rural settings.
It has been pretty right on the money when I've played with it with my paychecks.
At the end of the year, 58% of my gross pay goes bye-bye before I get it (at the beginning of the year it is a higher percentage, because social security is being taken out of each check), and I'm not the one paying for our health insurance (that comes from my husband's paycheck), AND we owe money to the feds every year at tax time (last year, over $10,000). When you don't own property, don't have kids, and live in an area with high state and local taxes, taxes are kind of scary and can turn numbers like $250,000 into numbers more like $130,000.
It has been pretty right on the money when I've played with it with my paychecks.
At the end of the year, 58% of my gross pay goes bye-bye before I get it (at the beginning of the year it is a higher percentage, because social security is being taken out of each check), and I'm not the one paying for our health insurance (that comes from my husband's paycheck), AND we owe money to the feds every year at tax time (last year, over $10,000). When you don't own property, don't have kids, and live in an area with high state and local taxes, taxes are kind of scary and can turn numbers like $250,000 into numbers more like $130,000.
Aww man that sucks. We don't get to take a lot of deductions either because we phase out (like for the kid one). It will be even higher next year, boo. I agree with the PP who said they need to create some more brackets for the true big dogs. Cliffords, haha.
Aww man that sucks. We don't get to take a lot of deductions either because we phase out (like for the kid one). It will be even higher next year, boo. I agree with the PP who said they need to create some more brackets for the true big dogs. Cliffords, haha.
We pay what we pay, what can you do? I'm okay with paying my fair share, and hey -- I choose to live in an area with high taxes. But my point is, when you have a relatively high tax burden it can eat up a lot of your takehome pay, so the monthly numbers I came up with plugging the $250,000 number into paycheckcity was not necessarily inaccurate.
We bring in almost $10k/mo in income but our expenses are insane... even though we are in a MCOL city. We have a ton of deductions and Heath insurance premiums & retirement are completely paid for by DHs company...so we bring home the vast majority of what we make...which is nowhere near $250k.