Salary s/o when did your hhi hit $300k

[Anonymous]

At 33 my DH (a lobbyist) went from making $160K to more like $250-275K. At that time I was 30 and making $80K as a lawyer. After about a year I quit work. Since then DH's salary has crept back up to a little over $300K. He's 36 and I'm 33.

But really a person's salary has little to do with age. It's a combination of education, experience, hard work, good decisions, and (largely) sheer luck. Your DH is only underpaid if he could go out tomorrow and get a job making more money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in my dreams last night!

lol. me too. My DH moved to Gov job and makes 150. I sah. Maybe when I return to work we will hit 200, enough for me. Home every night, weekends free, no drama. Loving life in the poor lane.

I get that it makes you feel better to think that less money correlates to a better quality of life. But the older I get, the less that seems to be true. We're in our early 40s and by now most of our friends who make high salaries tend to have good flexibility and time off. It depends on the field, of course. My DH makes around $350K and is "home every night, weekends free, no drama." He chaperones field trips, waits home for repairmen, and picks up sick kids from school. My job is much less flexible AND much lower paid. That's just how it goes sometimes.

I see this a lot on DCUM--people have to convince themselves that people with money must be terrible parents, unhappy people, and/or morally bankrupt. (Or even--gasp!--corn checkers!) But the fact is that being fortunate in one area doesn't automatically mean you pay the price in another area. Life just isn't like that. Plenty of people make a lot of money, have tons of family time, a happy marriage, great kids, great friends, etc. etc. On the other side of the coin youv'e got the single mom working 3 jobs to pay for therapy for her special needs child.

In any case PP, at $200K you're doing really well compared to most people in the world. If everything else in your life is good, I'd put you squarely in the "lucky" category.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in my dreams last night!

lol. me too. My DH moved to Gov job and makes 150. I sah. Maybe when I return to work we will hit 200, enough for me. Home every night, weekends free, no drama. Loving life in the poor lane.

I get that it makes you feel better to think that less money correlates to a better quality of life. But the older I get, the less that seems to be true. We're in our early 40s and by now most of our friends who make high salaries tend to have good flexibility and time off. It depends on the field, of course. My DH makes around $350K and is "home every night, weekends free, no drama." He chaperones field trips, waits home for repairmen, and picks up sick kids from school. My job is much less flexible AND much lower paid. That's just how it goes sometimes.

I see this a lot on DCUM--people have to convince themselves that people with money must be terrible parents, unhappy people, and/or morally bankrupt. (Or even--gasp!--corn checkers!) But the fact is that being fortunate in one area doesn't automatically mean you pay the price in another area. Life just isn't like that. Plenty of people make a lot of money, have tons of family time, a happy marriage, great kids, great friends, etc. etc. On the other side of the coin youv'e got the single mom working 3 jobs to pay for therapy for her special needs child.

In any case PP, at $200K you're doing really well compared to most people in the world. If everything else in your life is good, I'd put you squarely in the "lucky" category.

I'm not the poster you are responding too, but it's not the norm to pull in a huge salary like that and work few hours. Look around - plenty of folks in this town live on their blackberry, work long hours, don't get home until 9, travel a lot, and have to attend dinners etc. A lot of my SAHM friends opted to leave the workforce because their husbands have this job and it's tough for both parents to be working.

I'm not doubting your husband has this, but you are very lucky and it's not the norm.

[Anonymous]

the thing that would scare me if i made that much money is that in an economic downturn i'd be one of the first to get cut as companies "trim the fat"

[Anonymous]

PP, I agree. I make $200,000 plus bonus and have incredible flexibility. The salary and flexibility both come from spending 20 years in my field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the thing that would scare me if i made that much money is that in an economic downturn i'd be one of the first to get cut as companies "trim the fat"

It depends on how much your coworkers make. I am one of the lowest paid in my department at $185K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in my dreams last night!

lol. me too. My DH moved to Gov job and makes 150. I sah. Maybe when I return to work we will hit 200, enough for me. Home every night, weekends free, no drama. Loving life in the poor lane.

I get that it makes you feel better to think that less money correlates to a better quality of life. But the older I get, the less that seems to be true. We're in our early 40s and by now most of our friends who make high salaries tend to have good flexibility and time off. It depends on the field, of course. My DH makes around $350K and is "home every night, weekends free, no drama." He chaperones field trips, waits home for repairmen, and picks up sick kids from school. My job is much less flexible AND much lower paid. That's just how it goes sometimes.

I see this a lot on DCUM--people have to convince themselves that people with money must be terrible parents, unhappy people, and/or morally bankrupt. (Or even--gasp!--corn checkers!) But the fact is that being fortunate in one area doesn't automatically mean you pay the price in another area. Life just isn't like that. Plenty of people make a lot of money, have tons of family time, a happy marriage, great kids, great friends, etc. etc. On the other side of the coin youv'e got the single mom working 3 jobs to pay for therapy for her special needs child.

In any case PP, at $200K you're doing really well compared to most people in the world. If everything else in your life is good, I'd put you squarely in the "lucky" category.

I'm not the poster you are responding too, but it's not the norm to pull in a huge salary like that and work few hours. Look around - plenty of folks in this town live on their blackberry, work long hours, don't get home until 9, travel a lot, and have to attend dinners etc. A lot of my SAHM friends opted to leave the workforce because their husbands have this job and it's tough for both parents to be working.

I'm not doubting your husband has this, but you are very lucky and it's not the norm.

I agree. Most people in this town who can pull salaries of $300K +, I'm guessing, are lawyers. They work very long hours, and most BigLaw DHs do not make it home for dinner on weeknights.

[Anonymous]

We hit 300k at 27 both lobbyists. We are now early forties.

[Anonymous]

We will likely never hit 300k. Both 34 years old, nurse and park service employee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in my dreams last night!

lol. me too. My DH moved to Gov job and makes 150. I sah. Maybe when I return to work we will hit 200, enough for me. Home every night, weekends free, no drama. Loving life in the poor lane.

If 150K i poor, then we're destitute. Not even breaking 100K

[Anonymous]

36 (me), 34 dh - lawyer/teacher combo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what age did your HHI hit 300k and what field are you in? DH is in financial services and I feel he might be underpaid. Please no scolding

Not scolding but I am laughing. 99% of households in the US will never come anywhere close to a $300K HHI. This includes DH and I, age 38, and we are thrilled to have reached $150K.

[Anonymous]

I'm 28, DH is 33. I'm at home with our newborn twins and four year old. He's a senior associate at big law. We just hit $300K this year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in my dreams last night!

lol. me too. My DH moved to Gov job and makes 150. I sah. Maybe when I return to work we will hit 200, enough for me. Home every night, weekends free, no drama. Loving life in the poor lane.

I get that it makes you feel better to think that less money correlates to a better quality of life. But the older I get, the less that seems to be true. We're in our early 40s and by now most of our friends who make high salaries tend to have good flexibility and time off. It depends on the field, of course. My DH makes around $350K and is "home every night, weekends free, no drama." He chaperones field trips, waits home for repairmen, and picks up sick kids from school. My job is much less flexible AND much lower paid. That's just how it goes sometimes.

I see this a lot on DCUM--people have to convince themselves that people with money must be terrible parents, unhappy people, and/or morally bankrupt. (Or even--gasp!--corn checkers!) But the fact is that being fortunate in one area doesn't automatically mean you pay the price in another area. Life just isn't like that. Plenty of people make a lot of money, have tons of family time, a happy marriage, great kids, great friends, etc. etc. On the other side of the coin youv'e got the single mom working 3 jobs to pay for therapy for her special needs child.

In any case PP, at $200K you're doing really well compared to most people in the world. If everything else in your life is good, I'd put you squarely in the "lucky" category.

I'm not the poster you are responding too, but it's not the norm to pull in a huge salary like that and work few hours. Look around - plenty of folks in this town live on their blackberry, work long hours, don't get home until 9, travel a lot, and have to attend dinners etc. A lot of my SAHM friends opted to leave the workforce because their husbands have this job and it's tough for both parents to be working.

I'm not doubting your husband has this, but you are very lucky and it's not the norm.

PP here. We are absolutely lucky and I am thankful every day. I know we’re not the norm but based on my experience I don’t think we’re THAT rare. In our 20s and early 30s everyone was paying their dues and the stereotype of big job=long hours seemed to be true, but by now I can literally think of only one person I know who works like that. Yet most everyone seems to have prestigious jobs and do very well. (And no they're not all trust fund babies or living beyond their means.)

DH and I are both former lawyers, so we know plenty of them. It’s a misconception that a big firm is the only way to make a good living. Senior in-house positions at large companies can easily pay $300K. One friend has her own small firm and makes easily that much, and other friends do very well with lobbying or consulting. These are people who have paid their dues and are now cashing in on their experience, contacts, and expertise rather than the number of hours they work. They still work very hard, but with more seniority there seems to be less need for face time.

But really, this wasn’t my point. My point was that there is on DCUM, and perhaps in real life too, a huge amount of bitterness toward people who make more money. A popular component of that is the false assumption that people with money are making huge tradeoffs or are otherwise horrible people. People like the “poor lane” PP use this assumption to justify why their life is better than someone else’s. It’s interesting and also kind of sad.

[Anonymous]

PP, bitterness is sad, but I still don't think what you are posting is reality for most people, and you really are trying to make it sound like it's common. First of all, as another PP said, 99% of folks won't make near $300K, so that in itself is rare. And it's safe to say many people who do make that kind of money are as mentioned, professions like high level business execs, biglaw partners, surgeons etc., and many work long, long hours. Sure there are some exceptions, but I actually don't know any personally.

But l do agree feeling bitterness toward these people is sad. We feel very fortunate that although we don't make $300K, we make great salaries in jobs we love.