Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've seen enough of those "we make $500k but money feels tight" articles to know that most people don't actually know what paycheck to paycheck means

In this case they mean after maxing out all their retirement accounts and setting aside automated brokerage investments, paying private school tuition, paying the mortgage on heir huge house, and setting aside cash for their next big vacation and reno, they feel like they don't have enough left over to spring for guac.

Exactly, we make like 800k and still shop at Aldies because we need to save so much and pay for private college tuition, etc. It's not a glamorous life, everything thinks it is.

Same here.
We make 2.6M and live paycheck to paycheck. We still shop at the dollar store. It’s not a glamorous life. Our yacht and our two vacation homes are expensive to maintain.

I think this is a joke, but if not this would be an example of someone who's not very bright.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay check to pay check literally means there are no savings - no retirement - and no money at the end of the pay period.

So many here just do not understand.

Wrong , pay check to pay check means the way the life is setup you spend everything going into your bank account each pay check. .

Yes. But it has to genuinely mean that. You have to be risk of over drafting. That’s paycheck to paycheck. The day before pay day is stressful. That’s paycheck to paycheck.

+1. If you can pull from savings or sell stock to cover the gap, you aren’t paycheck to paycheck, you’re just overextended or diverting too much to savings/investments. It’s not the same thing. When I was growing up, sometimes we had to drive over to the electric company’s office in person before 5pm to make a payment because we were a couple months behind and if we didn’t our power was being cut the next day. THAT’s paycheck to paycheck.

Wrong if you have to pull from savings you will fall behind on retirement. The under 200k people don't have to save and the govt takes care of them fully

Anonymous wrote:In the $100k to $300k it feels like paycheck to paycheck because they are putting lots in savings so it’s not really available for daily use. There is still real budgeting going on. This is the range where they know not to depend on social security, don’t expect to get lots in aide for college, healthcare cost share is higher, and taxes are higher. So while yes they can afford some nicer things they are still budgeting, still conscious of the higher price of goods, and yet being looked at as if they are really rich.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is how we get communist regimes sending out the "elite" into the fields for re-education. I'm wealthy. Those people are giving wealthy people a bad name. They need to be re-educated.

Is that your worry? That you’ll be given a bad name?

It’s not hard to believe that people start to need every dollar of their paycheck going to monthly expenses. They overextended themselves with a $2 million dollar house and top of the line everything.

If any of their "monthly epenses" include any kind of savings: retirement, 401K contributions, 529, scontributions,-- they are not living paycheck to paycheck. Words have meaning. People can certainly lock themselves into high levels of spending that are difficult to reverse, but that's not the same thing

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've seen enough of those "we make $500k but money feels tight" articles to know that most people don't actually know what paycheck to paycheck means

In this case they mean after maxing out all their retirement accounts and setting aside automated brokerage investments, paying private school tuition, paying the mortgage on heir huge house, and setting aside cash for their next big vacation and reno, they feel like they don't have enough left over to spring for guac.

Exactly, we make like 800k and still shop at Aldies because we need to save so much and pay for private college tuition, etc. It's not a glamorous life, everything thinks it is.

Same here.
We make 2.6M and live paycheck to paycheck. We still shop at the dollar store. It’s not a glamorous life. Our yacht and our two vacation homes are expensive to maintain.

Anonymous wrote:Living paycheck to paycheck means that every dollar of every paycheck goes to pay your living expenses: food, shelter, utilities, transportation. If you can save for a rainy day or a vacation or college or retirement, you are not living paycheck to paycheck.

A survey like the one OP posted is absolutely meaningless because obviously many of the participants have no idea what the question they are answering means. If the surveyors really wanted to know the answer to this question, they should have asked it differently. E.g., are you able to save for retirement and college? How many people making $500k do you really think would say no to that question?

My HHI is $330k and I for one am really tired of well-well-off people (like me) who complain about how little money they have. Honestly, shut up. If you can't figure out how to live a comfortable life making this kind of money (or more), you must not be very bright.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay check to pay check literally means there are no savings - no retirement - and no money at the end of the pay period.

So many here just do not understand.

Wrong , pay check to pay check means the way the life is setup you spend everything going into your bank account each pay check. .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've seen enough of those "we make $500k but money feels tight" articles to know that most people don't actually know what paycheck to paycheck means

In this case they mean after maxing out all their retirement accounts and setting aside automated brokerage investments, paying private school tuition, paying the mortgage on heir huge house, and setting aside cash for their next big vacation and reno, they feel like they don't have enough left over to spring for guac.

Exactly, we make like 800k and still shop at Aldies because we need to save so much and pay for private college tuition, etc. It's not a glamorous life, everything thinks it is.

Same here.
We make 2.6M and live paycheck to paycheck. We still shop at the dollar store. It’s not a glamorous life. Our yacht and our two vacation homes are expensive to maintain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay check to pay check literally means there are no savings - no retirement - and no money at the end of the pay period.

So many here just do not understand.

Wrong , pay check to pay check means the way the life is setup you spend everything going into your bank account each pay check. .

Yes. But it has to genuinely mean that. You have to be risk of over drafting. That’s paycheck to paycheck. The day before pay day is stressful. That’s paycheck to paycheck.

+1. If you can pull from savings or sell stock to cover the gap, you aren’t paycheck to paycheck, you’re just overextended or diverting too much to savings/investments. It’s not the same thing. When I was growing up, sometimes we had to drive over to the electric company’s office in person before 5pm to make a payment because we were a couple months behind and if we didn’t our power was being cut the next day. THAT’s paycheck to paycheck.

Wrong if you have to pull from savings you will fall behind on retirement. The under 200k people don't have to save and the govt takes care of them fully

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've seen enough of those "we make $500k but money feels tight" articles to know that most people don't actually know what paycheck to paycheck means

In this case they mean after maxing out all their retirement accounts and setting aside automated brokerage investments, paying private school tuition, paying the mortgage on heir huge house, and setting aside cash for their next big vacation and reno, they feel like they don't have enough left over to spring for guac.

Exactly, we make like 800k and still shop at Aldies because we need to save so much and pay for private college tuition, etc. It's not a glamorous life, everything thinks it is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay check to pay check literally means there are no savings - no retirement - and no money at the end of the pay period.

So many here just do not understand.

Wrong , pay check to pay check means the way the life is setup you spend everything going into your bank account each pay check. .

Yes. But it has to genuinely mean that. You have to be risk of over drafting. That’s paycheck to paycheck. The day before pay day is stressful. That’s paycheck to paycheck.

+1. If you can pull from savings or sell stock to cover the gap, you aren’t paycheck to paycheck, you’re just overextended or diverting too much to savings/investments. It’s not the same thing. When I was growing up, sometimes we had to drive over to the electric company’s office in person before 5pm to make a payment because we were a couple months behind and if we didn’t our power was being cut the next day. THAT’s paycheck to paycheck.

Wrong if you have to pull from savings you will fall behind on retirement. The under 200k people don't have to save and the govt takes care of them fully

The people who live paycheck to paycheck have no retirement and their SS is small because their income is small and they are probably desperate and have to pull it as soon as they are eligible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay check to pay check literally means there are no savings - no retirement - and no money at the end of the pay period.

So many here just do not understand.

Wrong , pay check to pay check means the way the life is setup you spend everything going into your bank account each pay check. .

Yes. But it has to genuinely mean that. You have to be risk of over drafting. That’s paycheck to paycheck. The day before pay day is stressful. That’s paycheck to paycheck.

+1. If you can pull from savings or sell stock to cover the gap, you aren’t paycheck to paycheck, you’re just overextended or diverting too much to savings/investments. It’s not the same thing. When I was growing up, sometimes we had to drive over to the electric company’s office in person before 5pm to make a payment because we were a couple months behind and if we didn’t our power was being cut the next day. THAT’s paycheck to paycheck.

Wrong if you have to pull from savings you will fall behind on retirement. The under 200k people don't have to save and the govt takes care of them fully

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay check to pay check literally means there are no savings - no retirement - and no money at the end of the pay period.

So many here just do not understand.

Wrong , pay check to pay check means the way the life is setup you spend everything going into your bank account each pay check. .

Yes. But it has to genuinely mean that. You have to be risk of over drafting. That’s paycheck to paycheck. The day before pay day is stressful. That’s paycheck to paycheck.

+1. If you can pull from savings or sell stock to cover the gap, you aren’t paycheck to paycheck, you’re just overextended or diverting too much to savings/investments. It’s not the same thing. When I was growing up, sometimes we had to drive over to the electric company’s office in person before 5pm to make a payment because we were a couple months behind and if we didn’t our power was being cut the next day. THAT’s paycheck to paycheck.