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Paramount
Sweet!
Member since 7/12 4287 total posts
Name:
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by chilltocam
Posted by jessnbrian
Posted by Paramount
The more you have the more you spend.
See, now, this is something that I don't agree with. For some, yes the more you have the more you spend... but for others, that is not the case. It all depends on your personal goals. You can CHOSE to own a smaller house that doesn't have a $600 per month powerbill (which is crazy by the way, even for a larger house, look into Solar City - they did wonders for my brother), that the mortgage is lower on, etc. It's all about what you want.
But to me, that's just it - "doing well" means you don't have to live in a smaller house to have a smaller power bill. Doing well means you can choose more luxury items, bigger house, better vacations, still save for retirement, etc without going in to debt. Can you have an absolutely wonderful life without all of that - of course. But MY definition of doing well is being able to have the bigger house with the beautifully landscaped property, nicer cars without going into debt
And this is how we see it. We work hard, don't have kids to pay for to keep us "poor".
(please note, I say that in the most BASIC way/sense. We don't have and child expenses that drain all the "extra" money. No day care, no food, no formula, none of those "burdensome" expenses. Those little humans are expensive)
We have worked hard and are able to spend the money we make on a bigger house, with bigger power bills, with bigger taxes. But we can afford it. Its just a lot.
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Posted 5/29/15 4:58 PM  |
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jessnbrian
Only God knows His plan for us
Member since 4/13 7238 total posts
Name:
Jessica
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What does
Its just another issue/topic that you are going to get a lot of different answers because everyone has a different opinion of what doing well is. And no way is right or wrong.
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| Posted 5/29/15 5:26 PM |
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by Paramount
Interesting. My DH and I are DINK's. (Double Income, no kids)
We both have newer cars.
We both have no debt.
*To clarify, no credit card or loan debt. My car will be paid off in a year. his is paid off.
We both have VERY good paying jobs.
Are we doing well? Depends.
With a home comes expenses:
Gardner
Lawn guy
Exterminator
Pool
maintenance
$600 month power bill
Insurance (car and home)
So we have money. Not a lot. But we are OK. But I def find that with our mortgage and monthly bills we are not saving. We are well above water and can afford what we have, but I would like to have a little more cushion every month. It can get tight. The more you have the more you spend.
I don't know how we would do with kids. But that's the plan so does not really matter.
I have a home and the only home expense we have on your list is the insurance.
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| Posted 5/29/15 6:19 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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What does
Everyone's perception is going to be different. We are what I call "comfortable". DH makes a good salary and I am a SAHM. We own a house we love, 2 cars, no credit card debt and go on 2 nice vacations a year. We have a 401K and good life insurance policies. DH gets bonuses each year and we put half into savings. That is our savings for the year. For us that is more than enough. On a week to week basis we do not save much since we do it in one lump sum. I like spending my money!
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| Posted 5/29/15 7:24 PM |
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drpepper318
MIR MIR MIR!
Member since 6/07 8274 total posts
Name:
me
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by busymomonli
Posted by jlm2008
$70k-$100K....but my standards are apparently a lot lower than most on LIF.
Me too. I'm kind of shocked at the numbers being thrown around.
I'm gonna third this... Dang, I want whatever jobs these people have making 200K+! I can't even imagine. I'm downright poor I suppose 
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| Posted 5/29/15 7:53 PM |
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by drpepper318
Posted by busymomonli
Posted by jlm2008
$70k-$100K....but my standards are apparently a lot lower than most on LIF.
Me too. I'm kind of shocked at the numbers being thrown around.
I'm gonna third this... Dang, I want whatever jobs these people have making 200K+! I can't even imagine. I'm downright poor I suppose
You are not the only one lol. We survive on almost nothing lol. We own a home, one paid car, one payment for another 2 years, kids, retirement savings, some college savings, a little bit of savings but have cc debt. We go on vacations, mostly with tax refunds though and eat out but we would be RICH if we made that kind of money. lol
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| Posted 5/29/15 8:18 PM |
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backfor3
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/14 568 total posts
Name:
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by jessnbrian
Its just another issue/topic that you are going to get a lot of different answers because everyone has a different opinion of what doing well is. And no way is right or wrong.
Well said! Agreed
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| Posted 5/29/15 8:43 PM |
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itsbabytime
LIF Adult
Member since 11/05 9644 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Wow - who would have thought this thread would generate so many pages!
I understand what you all are saying and I think maybe I should have re-phrased my question as "what do you consider to be a good salary" - but I guess that can be construed to be a relative question as well! To get more specific where this all came from - it just came up in talking with a friend that her DH didn't want to take a job with a better quality of life because he felt $200,000 per year was not a good salary. I thought to myself - wow, how things have changed in this world that this could be the case! Now, we are talking about an area where most of the homes are $1mil and up so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. I guess that is why I posted - I was curious if people from different areas on the island and different backgrounds would think this was a great salary! More a perspective kind of question. Because, and to address these posters, I could give a s@#t how others are doing financially! We are doing great and that is all that matters to me  I guess sometimes I feel your perspective becomes relative to what is around you and I was curious if this was the case.
Thanks for all the discussion though! It was very interesting to read! Most of what I gathered from this thread is that a lot of what is considered to be a good salary is tied into the neighborhood you live in and how much your home costs.
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| Posted 5/30/15 9:10 AM |
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Peainapod
Peanuts are here!
Member since 1/09 13591 total posts
Name:
Diana
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
it means being able to pay my bills free and clear, no CC debt, and money in savings and money in retirement funds.
it means being able to afford vacations a few times a year.
its not necessarily a number b/c people can make a figure on the low side, but live within their means so that to me means doing well.
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| Posted 5/30/15 9:41 AM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by itsbabytime
Wow - who would have thought this thread would generate so many pages!
I understand what you all are saying and I think maybe I should have re-phrased my question as "what do you consider to be a good salary" - but I guess that can be construed to be a relative question as well! To get more specific where this all came from - it just came up in talking with a friend that her DH didn't want to take a job with a better quality of life because he felt $200,000 per year was not a good salary. I thought to myself - wow, how things have changed in this world that this could be the case! Now, we are talking about an area where most of the homes are $1mil and up so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. I guess that is why I posted - I was curious if people from different areas on the island and different backgrounds would think this was a great salary! More a perspective kind of question. Because, and to address these posters, I could give a s@#t how others are doing financially! We are doing great and that is all that matters to me I guess sometimes I feel your perspective becomes relative to what is around you and I was curious if this was the case.
Thanks for all the discussion though! It was very interesting to read! Most of what I gathered from this thread is that a lot of what is considered to be a good salary is tied into the neighborhood you live in and how much your home costs.
I think your friend's husband is correct for his standard of living. $200,000 is a wonderful salary but for someone in a million dollar home, it is not enough to pay the bills, but realistically how many people live in million dollar plus homes? Also, just because people answered what they felt doing well was does not mean they make that salary. Usually people list something above themselves as doing well to feel like they are still in the middle class, even if they realistically are not.
As an aside, we moved to a new area and I asked one of my new friends what is the going rate for Christmas teacher gifts. I nearly fell over, she said she gave $100 per teacher. She volunteered that she got that number from another mutual friend. The other mutual friend is a Vice President for a Fortune 500 corporation and her husband is the same. They likely pull in 400-500,000 a year. I said, I am giving 20. That is what my budget can afford. Of course I would love to give 100 the teachers are worth it, but I know what we can realistically afford. I asked around and most give 20. Some give nothing. I spoke with the friend I asked about giving and told her what others gave and she thanked me because she honestly did not know and felt she would have liked to cut back. So it is all relative.
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| Posted 5/30/15 10:27 AM |
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luvmotherhood
california dreamin'
Member since 2/13 1443 total posts
Name:
love my family!
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What does
Damn I'd give my left arm to be offered a 200k salary!!!! Lol. Guess I'm nowhere near "doing well"... But we do have a house , cars kids student loans and just low salaries I guess!
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| Posted 5/30/15 4:21 PM |
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BlackJack96
LIF Infant
Member since 6/08 245 total posts
Name:
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What does
I think there are 2 ways to look at the question. One is the basics of being happy which I would define has having adequate food, shelter, no unsecured debt, enough money to do some fun things with the family (whether it's Disney or just a trip for frozen yogurt).
The other is looking at material possessions. I think there's a mentality that if you make x income you should have y amount of stuff. Most people overestimate this and get into trouble.
Message edited 5/31/2015 11:37:10 AM.
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| Posted 5/31/15 11:36 AM |
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ElizaRags35
My 2 Girls
Member since 2/09 20494 total posts
Name:
Me
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What does
Right now, to me, if you're not counting down the days til your next paycheck, you're doing well.
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| Posted 5/31/15 12:02 PM |
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by BlackJack96
I think there are 2 ways to look at the question. One is the basics of being happy which I would define has having adequate food, shelter, no unsecured debt, enough money to do some fun things with the family (whether it's Disney or just a trip for frozen yogurt).
The other is looking at material possessions. I think there's a mentality that if you make x income you should have y amount of stuff. Most people overestimate this and get into trouble.
Exactly and many people who make good money are not as careful with it as they knew they have enough.
People who make little money are careful and try to find sales and cut out things that they can make at home or just don't really need. We don't make anywhere near $200,000 and have gone on vacations and go out to eat and get frozen yogurt. We budget our bills and use our spending money that won't interfere with the bills.
I just was talking to a friend and we were talking about paying homeowners taxes and how where she lives, people are mad that they are due in Thanksgiving, close to the holidays. That makes NO sense to me as wouldn't you budget that on the side of your holiday money?
Message edited 5/31/2015 12:31:57 PM.
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| Posted 5/31/15 12:29 PM |
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Mrs213
????????
Member since 2/09 18986 total posts
Name:
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by ElizaRags35
Right now, to me, if you're not counting down the days til your next paycheck, you're doing well.
Me too and I really think I need to get off this thread
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| Posted 5/31/15 12:34 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by afternoondelight828
Posted by BlackJack96
I think there are 2 ways to look at the question. One is the basics of being happy which I would define has having adequate food, shelter, no unsecured debt, enough money to do some fun things with the family (whether it's Disney or just a trip for frozen yogurt).
The other is looking at material possessions. I think there's a mentality that if you make x income you should have y amount of stuff. Most people overestimate this and get into trouble.
Exactly and many people who make good money are not as careful with it as they knew they have enough.
People who make little money are careful and try to find sales and cut out things that they can make at home or just don't really need. We don't make anywhere near $200,000 and have gone on vacations and go out to eat and get frozen yogurt. We budget our bills and use our spending money that won't interfere with the bills.
I just was talking to a friend and we were talking about paying homeowners taxes and how where she lives, people are mad that they are due in Thanksgiving, close to the holidays. That makes NO sense to me as wouldn't you budget that on the side of your holiday money?
to me being happy is 100% different than what your salary is. Statistically, economists say an average American is happy with approximately 70,000 in income and above that the happiness quotient does not move much. So if you have your health, and some income, with no debts, I am sure you could be very happy. I think people get used to a certain level of comfort and if you can maintain that level then you can be happy. He op also asked what doing well means. To me, it means doing better than most people. If you are good where you are, you are doing fine. Don't get hung up on numbers if you are happy and living within your means. I grew up with a friend whose family were millionaires in the 80s. They would have traded it all away so her father could be healthy. He had multiple bouts of cancer.
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| Posted 5/31/15 2:48 PM |
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BlessedMomma
LIF Adult
Member since 12/11 6163 total posts
Name:
Momma Bear
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by EatingMyVeggies
"Doing well" to me no longer translate to a number.
To me, it means free and clear of debt, having some savings, a 401k, no financial stress. Living within ones means.
A high number (like people noted above) means zilch if your in debt and/or have no savings.
Agreed and well said!
Message edited 5/31/2015 8:17:37 PM.
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| Posted 5/31/15 8:15 PM |
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MrsBumbleb
it's me
Member since 5/05 11234 total posts
Name:
Christine
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
To me "doing well" on LI means making at least $300,000 salary.
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| Posted 5/31/15 8:46 PM |
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DiamondGirl
You are my I love you
Member since 7/09 18802 total posts
Name:
DiamondMama
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What does
Income to debt ratio has a lot to do it . For me it isn't so much about a number but a lifestyle. Some people are good w money and can live a great lifestyle on less than others. Some make a lot but spend a lot and have a lot of debt.
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| Posted 5/31/15 8:48 PM |
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TheLorax
LOVE
Member since 2/06 5581 total posts
Name:
Suzanne / SuzBride
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
Posted by jlm2008
$70k-$100K....but my standards are apparently a lot lower than most on LIF.
THIS! I was thinking 6 figures. Make enough to pay bills and get some into savings/trips/etc.
What many of the folks on here are describing (large salaries, paid off houses, huge savings) is what I deem "well off" versus "doing well"
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| Posted 5/31/15 10:03 PM |
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Chatham-Chick
*********************
Member since 5/05 10311 total posts
Name:
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Re: What does "doing well" financially mean to you?
If someone told me "he/she does well financially," I'd probably assume they were making 500k+ annually.
How he/she manages their money is a different story.
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| Posted 5/31/15 10:09 PM |
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