Income 100k for 35 year old is working poor

[Anonymous]

You are investing $10K in 401k.
You are not broke.
Get rid of your debt and paying interest on that.
Reduce your expenditures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your rent is too high. That’s what we pay for a mortgage in a SFH in moco. Move or get a roommate or something.

I don't agree that $100k is working poor, but this comment is also tone deaf. It is nearly impossible to get a mortgage of $2100 for a SFH in moco anymore. Maybe not even "nearly impossible" but impossible.

My mortgage is $2100 for a SFH in moco, but if I were to buy that same home today my mortgage would be $3500 (and that is including a 20% down payment, which I only put down 5% when I bought 8 years ago).

[Anonymous]

OP is in Virginia, so what's the going rate for a 1-bedroom in Arlington or Reston or Clarendon Courthouse? It doesn't seem like $2100 is unrealistic for a modest apartment in Northern Virginia. Telling him to move further out means higher commuting costs offsetting cheaper rents.

100k is not a lavish salary in DCUMlandia. It's pretty average. OP is middle class living on a budget. That's the reality of the income these days. He can cut back on some of his spending, especially takeaways, and maybe look at why his phone bill is so high, but other than getting a new job paying more there's not much more he can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your rent is too high. That’s what we pay for a mortgage in a SFH in moco. Move or get a roommate or something.

That’s decent rent for a one bedroom now. That’s not the problem.

She needs to share housing. She could rent a room in a shared house for half of what she is spending on rent now.

[Anonymous]

I believe he means that "Internet, TV, Student loans, VA Dominon Power, Cell Phone" are $500/monthly total, and that he uses his credit card to pay for "FOOD, GAS, Metro, Drinks, going out, Door Dash" which totals $2K/month.

What's not clear is whether he's using the credit card to get points or some other rebate, etc and paying it off each month, or if those are actually costs he's carrying month to month on his credit card.

Is that a correct interpretation, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure not spending like the working poor. We're a family of four and don't spend $2000 a month on "FOOD, GAS, Metro, Drinks, going out, Door Dash".

I agree with the need to have an app to automatically track/categorize your expenses. YNAB is fine.

"I will teach you to be rich" has its fans, though I'm not one of them. He does make the excellent point that there is a limit to how much you can improve your finances by reducing expenses. You should do it, for sure, but it's not going to get you there.

The key to wealth is increasing your income. First is your wages/salary. Real wealth comes from building passive income: stocks, real estate, your own IP that generates income and marrying well.

But I'd argue the first step should be "reducing expenses". The OP is spending way too much on frivolous stuff with door dash and having a $2K credit card bill.
Learn to cook at home, and when you get take out, walk/drive to get it yourself. They can likely reduce their spending by $500+ per month without any major impact, just by tracking, being aware and cooking at home more.
Do that then you will have $500-800/month to actually invest and begin building wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe he means that "Internet, TV, Student loans, VA Dominon Power, Cell Phone" are $500/monthly total, and that he uses his credit card to pay for "FOOD, GAS, Metro, Drinks, going out, Door Dash" which totals $2K/month.

What's not clear is whether he's using the credit card to get points or some other rebate, etc and paying it off each month, or if those are actually costs he's carrying month to month on his credit card.

Is that a correct interpretation, OP?

Pretty sure the credit card is for gas, groceries, entertainment etc. Not carrying cost on a balance. I pay for everything by credit to to get the points and pay off the balance every month. I also pay my utilities and phone bills by credit. As a single I easily spend 2,000 a month on the card just for everyday living.

[Anonymous]

Your problem is that you pay $500 a month for your cel phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe he means that "Internet, TV, Student loans, VA Dominon Power, Cell Phone" are $500/monthly total, and that he uses his credit card to pay for "FOOD, GAS, Metro, Drinks, going out, Door Dash" which totals $2K/month.

What's not clear is whether he's using the credit card to get points or some other rebate, etc and paying it off each month, or if those are actually costs he's carrying month to month on his credit card.

Is that a correct interpretation, OP?

Should first focus on reducing expenses---food and dining out is likely a lot of it. Take that savings and agressively get rid of student loans. OP is 35, only making 100K (so not a lawyer or doctor, so they likely have been out of school for close to 10+ years). They need to aggressively get rid of student loans, then use the extra $500-800 they can likely save (by cooking at home, not door dashing, etc) to invest/save for a downpayment. They have a spending problem and should be looking to fix that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe he means that "Internet, TV, Student loans, VA Dominon Power, Cell Phone" are $500/monthly total, and that he uses his credit card to pay for "FOOD, GAS, Metro, Drinks, going out, Door Dash" which totals $2K/month.

What's not clear is whether he's using the credit card to get points or some other rebate, etc and paying it off each month, or if those are actually costs he's carrying month to month on his credit card.

Is that a correct interpretation, OP?

Pretty sure the credit card is for gas, groceries, entertainment etc. Not carrying cost on a balance. I pay for everything by credit to to get the points and pay off the balance every month. I also pay my utilities and phone bills by credit. As a single I easily spend 2,000 a month on the card just for everyday living.

Assuming that , $2K does not include rent/mortgage, that's great for you, but you are a rich spender. It's certainly not essential to having a rewarding middle class life as a single.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe he means that "Internet, TV, Student loans, VA Dominon Power, Cell Phone" are $500/monthly total, and that he uses his credit card to pay for "FOOD, GAS, Metro, Drinks, going out, Door Dash" which totals $2K/month.

What's not clear is whether he's using the credit card to get points or some other rebate, etc and paying it off each month, or if those are actually costs he's carrying month to month on his credit card.

Is that a correct interpretation, OP?

Pretty sure the credit card is for gas, groceries, entertainment etc. Not carrying cost on a balance. I pay for everything by credit to to get the points and pay off the balance every month. I also pay my utilities and phone bills by credit. As a single I easily spend 2,000 a month on the card just for everyday living.

Assuming that , $2K does not include rent/mortgage, that's great for you, but you are a rich spender. It's certainly not essential to having a rewarding middle class life as a single.

+1 OP stated phone/utilities/rent as separate from the CC $2K. So while I too use my CC to pay for anything that doesn't charge a fee, the OP is spending way too much on frivolous things. They have the ability to save, likely $500+/month without any real strain beyond deciding to cook more and/or pick up their takeout themselves. They need a real budget to identify where the money actually goes and then make choices to reduce excess spending

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your problem is that you pay $500 a month for your cel phone.

People seriously can't read, it's obvious OP means $500 after paying for subscriptions, Internet, TV, Student loans, VA Dominion Power and Cell Phone is $500. That may or may not be high or not depending on the student loan. Internet $40, say $40 for subscriptions/TV, $90 for electric, $50 for cell phone and a $280 student loan bill.

I agree with others that the credit card spending could be cut by at least $500. I also think the car insurance is really high. I think we pay like $900 a year and OP is paying $2,160.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is in Virginia, so what's the going rate for a 1-bedroom in Arlington or Reston or Clarendon Courthouse? It doesn't seem like $2100 is unrealistic for a modest apartment in Northern Virginia. Telling him to move further out means higher commuting costs offsetting cheaper rents.

100k is not a lavish salary in DCUMlandia. It's pretty average. OP is middle class living on a budget. That's the reality of the income these days. He can cut back on some of his spending, especially takeaways, and maybe look at why his phone bill is so high, but other than getting a new job paying more there's not much more he can do.

Agreed. Having to budget and spend less on fun stuff so you can save for retirement is pretty classic middle class experience. I don't like the elision of this with "working poor."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your rent is too high. That’s what we pay for a mortgage in a SFH in moco. Move or get a roommate or something.

And you bought your house when dinosaurs were walking this earth. What a ridiculous comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You clearly don't know what being poor is. Poor people don't have retirements accounts and are not saving. So that your finances are less tight, you can:

-Get a cheaper cell phone (I hope the $500 was a typo)
-Get rid of your car (cars don't make us happy, they add stress, they make you walk and bike less, and you are close to a metro)
-Find cheaper housing
-Stop doordashing (especially for someone with a car who doesn't have kids). Cook or pick up your own food.

Yes to all this.

Being poor is so far from your life that I doubt if you've ever been poor.

Being poor is having to choose between eating and paying your utility bill.