“Magic number” (income) - for fun

[mlkgls]

I don’t know that I have a specific number in mind, although I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to provide for myself and my @child comfortably. This year’s raise pushed me over a threshold I’m not sure I ever thought possible, but my comfort level has always been more tied to savings than income. I have mild anxiety about the possibility of job loss stemming from my childhood so I don’t think this will ever change much. 

[fernweh]

I don’t have a magic number. I alone make about 50% more than H and I made combined our first couple years of marriage. If you had told me then what our household income would be today it would have seemed unfathomable (we’re talking low six figures so nothing crazy).

That said we have minimal debt, pay our bills easily, and have money in savings but when we go over budget on something or have an unexpected expense, I panic. We though I KNOW we are okay. For my entire left until about 5 years ago though we struggled. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the moment of panic I feel when something unexpected happens.

[melmel48]

I really have no idea. I am single and live in what I consider a high cost of living.. not as high as other places, but high. If I did not buy my condo back when I did, I would need two jobs to survive.

I am starting a new job on Monday with higher pay, but my health insurance is going to double so I anticipate my take home will be about the same as it was. I have a comfortable life, but I stress daily about money. As soon as I get $$ in my savings, something happens and my savings is dwindled again. I just can't keep up most of the time.

I may be getting a small, part time job and if I do I plan on putting all of that $$ right into savings.

[mambo123]

$180k which is where we are now as DINKs in DC. We rent at below market, need to buy soonish. Once market calms down (3 years?).
I want to make $200k on my own, then I will feel like I made it. I'm $97k away sadly, but young (early 30s), its not an outrageous goal.

[brooke77]

I don’t know. We are behind on retirement. If I met my “magic number” retirement goal —— which I also have no idea what it is because the calculators are kinda everywhere —- then our current salaries would be fine.

I suspect I’ll be happy with our financial picture within the next year or two. I paid off my SLs (finally!) this month and our DS only has one more year of costly preschool. Those two expenses were/are $$$$$$$ and without them, we can start aggressively investing to catch up on retirement.

[Gato]

We were comfortable after $75K.  We started out making more than that, when both of us worked, but then lived a couple years with a baby on just $50K. H now makes significantly more than our "magic number."

H only works 37 hours a week; never brings anything home, no overtime.  I work zero, other than my personal writing.  That, to us, is the real luxury.

[heygrey]

I think for us it was less about a number and more about certain milestones. When I finished immigration and could work so we had 2 incomes, when H's student loans were paid off, when we were done with daycare payments, when we bought a house (this was HUGE in feeling secure - no rent increases or feeling like we'd never break into the market), in a couple months we'll have both cars paid off and no need to replace either. It's keeping the money that we do make that feels the most magic.

I do remember a specific grocery shopping trip right after H started a new job with a decent pay increase and I realized I didn't have to add up the prices to stay on budget. I could just buy what was on my list and if I went $20 over, it was totally fine. I think our HHI was around $65K then.

[dr.girlfriend]

Our income jumped around so much for years it was hard to really get a good handle on our finances. In the last year or two, though, I hit 150k with just my (stable) job, and it gave us a lot of freedom not to stress, and ultimately to allow my husband to quit his job and go full-time freelance.  

[rooster222]

I think 175K base. My dh is in sales so our income can fluctuate about 50K/year. We're coming up on college for our kids so that has me nervous and of course retirement. I'm another one that will probably always be anxious about money. I frequently lay awake at night worrying even though we have a healthy savings account and minimal debts. My dh on the other hand does not stress, which I think causes me to stress more.

[bdubs419]

For us I’d say it’s more about net worth then actual annual income, to feel good about where we are at.

[puppyluv]

At $160k (combined income) we were more than comfortable but still needed to budget and limit large purchases. We are at $190k now and have probably reached our magic number. We are at a place where I track our expenses just to know where we are at but we don’t worry about what we spend, how often we go out, or dropping money on vacations.

[gretchenindisguise]

I don’t think we will get there until my student loans are paid off.

[letsgetweird]

Idk if I'll ever not stress about money. I grew up poor and made some bad financial decisions in my 20s. But I have recently reached a point where I'm feeling more relaxed. I'm single with no kids and making $92k in a LCOL area.

[hocus2]

May 6, 2021 9:39:12 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

It's all changed so much - it's not so much our income as it is income + expenses. So it's a moving target? But I'd say next year when we're done w/daycare.

Ending daycare hasn't really impacted things nearly as much as expected.

During the school year it certainly was cheaper to use afterschool but camps here are so expansive here and actives (which are mostly on covid pause) are also more costly when the kids get older. I feel like it was a 30% savings to move from daycare to big kid care. I feel like as the kids age out of camps we'll have a  brief pause in high expenses followed by collage costs. I really hope the kids find good summer jobs around 16 or 17. 

[Deleted]

We were at about $65K HHI before i felt really comfortable. At that point, i didnt really feel like i needed to watch our spending, sudden extra expenses didnt stress me out, and we were able to save a considerable portion of our income.

That number seems low, especially by GBCN standards, but we are in a MCOL area, have no debt, no kids, are very frugal, and have always been big savers.

[wildrice]

Our income jumped from 85k to about 125k once my H started his first post-PhD job. That was when I finally relaxed. We still have a lot of catching up to do as far as saving for retirement, paying down student loans, and building other wealth, but I don't stress about money anymore and feel fine with saying "yes" to most things. We are 25-30 years from retirement so I figure we have plenty of time to catch up on the long term stuff, and have plenty of flexibility in the short term.

Perhaps I would have felt the same way at some number in between the two, but since we didn't gradually gain income like that I don't really know.

[busterpup]

I'm not sure what exact number we were at when I felt "ok" but probably around $130k-ish HHI when we had kids in daycare, student loans, etc. It would, of course, be lower once those expenses are gone but that's when savings can pick up and having money in savings is what gives me peace of mind.

[mactastic]

When we broke the 6 figure mark (by, like, 2k...), I finally started to feel like I could unclench a little. Right now, we have "discount" childcare (family) and don't have to pay on my H's student loans, so it feels luxurious, comparatively. However, we don't know how long the family member is willing to watch my son beyond his first birthday, so I'm making us make double payments on the SL while interest is at zero percent in the hopes of them being either gone or at least more manageable when paying them is required, along with more expensive daycare. After years in the restaurant business, H has a VERY stable government job with reliable raises and the potential for significant overtime, which helps as well.

This number would probably be a lot lower if we were willing to move back to the small-ish town I grew up it.

[arehopsveggies]

I always feel really out of place when I read these numbers.

We have been around $30-34k for the last few years and that is pretty tight.

We are going to go back to two incomes soon which will be more like $85k and that will give us so much more breathing room!