1/3 Of Americans Earning $250K Or More Still Living Paycheck To Paycheck

[Economy 52,838]

https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/06/01/more-than-a-third-of-250k-earners-live-paycheck-to/

 

According to a recent survey & study 36% of Americans making $250,000 a year or more (about 5% of population) still was living paycheck to paycheck

 

Additionally 55% said they found it difficult to save anything at the end of the month

[Economy 52,838]

Ok, I can buy the excuse that it's not bad habits and that it's genuinely just bills if your a single parent/single income family, someone who is low income cuz of disabilities or has high medical bills... Or an average family living in a high cost of housing part of the Country where cost of living sucks up all ur income just on basic necessities

 

If your earning a quarter of a million dollars and you live paycheck to paycheck you need to do some serious soul searching to figure out what is the reason. What are u trying to compensate for in life with spending?

 

My family of 6 (5 before my sister was born which is more relevant) had only my dad working and until his promotion to foreman we were living on a single income of less than $50,000 annually to feed a family of 5. We somehow made it thru and we never starved

 

Some ppls habits I dunno 

[FATCAT 60,886]

I mean, that seems expected? It's only 36% of people in that bracket, and if you're making 15k a month you probably aren't too worried about much so it's easier to overspend when you aren't keeping an eye on it. 

Could also be that they're helping to support the rest of their family too, like putting their parents in an expensive home.

[Economy 52,838]

13 minutes ago, FATCAT said:

I mean, that seems expected? It's only 36% of people in that bracket, and if you're making 15k a month you probably aren't too worried about much so it's easier to overspend when you aren't keeping an eye on it. 

Could also be that they're helping to support the rest of their family too, like putting their parents in an expensive home.

It just seems like a waste (not if it's to genuinely help family but I suspect many of these people just don't know how to budget properly). In that position I'd take advantage to save a good portion in case I lost such a great income

 

I myself just did that (on much less income than this). My last job I just lost I earned an amount I knew I wouldn't easily replace if I lost it so I tried to save as much as possible in case that happened

 

Now that I'm unemployed I'm glad I did and that I didn't live paycheck to paycheck 

[PartySick 172,394]

38 minutes ago, Economy said:

If your earning a quarter of a million dollars and you live paycheck to paycheck you need to do some serious soul searching to figure out what is the reason. What are u trying to compensate for in life with spending?

This though

I'm hovering cutely just above the poverty line and yet I'm still able to save enough for trips, concerts, etc.

If you're struggling at $250k a year with no extreme circumstances (like medical worries in the US) then you are, in fact, doing something wrong and I have no sympathy 

[weed 78,871]

That's crazy

[FATCAT 60,886]

1 hour ago, Economy said:

It just seems like a waste (not if it's to genuinely help family but I suspect many of these people just don't know how to budget properly). In that position I'd take advantage to save a good portion in case I lost such a great income

 

I myself just did that (on much less income than this). My last job I just lost I earned an amount I knew I wouldn't easily replace if I lost it so I tried to save as much as possible in case that happened

 

Now that I'm unemployed I'm glad I did and that I didn't live paycheck to paycheck 

If I had to guess, it's probably people in their later stages of life that are helping to pay for grandkids colleges and such from investments. That or kids of even richer parents that are being paid to exist. If your parents are rich-rich millionaires, you're probably using that money like an allowance. If you don't use it, you lose it.

[shelby loved 384]

They're not really living paycheck to paycheck, they all have investments like a retirement fund, stocks, and other assets they don't want to liquidate like nice homes and apartments, cars, paying for their kids school, etc

[gumzy3000 7,898]

Something is really wrong with your budgeting if your making more than 250k a year but you can’t save or still living “pay cheque to pay cheque.” 

It would be nice if we could define that term better as it could mean different things for different people. 

I’m sure these people are still able to live much easier lives (financially speaking)  than the average person, who makes around 50k a year. 

[Dennis 8,391]

Doesn't surprise me at all. I make a good amount of money but I always feel like nothing is left. When rent alone is 2K$ it's really hard to have big savings.

[SadBoi808 1,120]

[Economy 52,838]

1 hour ago, 666 said:

They're not really living paycheck to paycheck, they all have investments like a retirement fund, stocks, and other assets they don't want to liquidate like nice homes and apartments, cars, paying for their kids school, etc

Paycheck to paycheck doesn't mean u can't have assets of value, it doesn't mean ur net worth is $0

52 minutes ago, Dennis said:

 

 

[samaria 230]

It really is true!

Building wealth in a major city (like LA or NYC) is very difficult, especially in your 20s-30s. There's always some dinner, or bar hangout, or event, plus rent and living costs. Unless you want to go into serious savings mode (kind of defeats living in LA/NYC), it really is that expensive.

[samaria 230]

Just now, samaria said:

It really is true!

 

Sidenote: Not complaining! Just trying to put it into words

[berlinforme 5,385]

Probably a lot of those 36% are from extremely expensive areas like San Francisco / Silicon Valley, where the average wages and costs are much higher.