https://neuvoo.com/tax-calculator/?i...egion=Illinois


About $2400/month after taxes. Rent in a lot of places seems to be $900 for a 1 bedroom. -$100 for utilities. -$400 for food. $-50 Cell Bill. You're left with $950. I haven't mentioned a 401k, Healthcare, or Savings.

I haven't mentioned a car. It'd better be a reliable beater as this point with basic coverage. -$150 for Gas and Insurance. And pray nothing breaks.

If we go back to 2002, $40k was $55k. So it's like you have to make $50k these days to be comfortable.

Cable/Internet bill, anything for fun, household necessities (TP, paper towel, shampoo, detergent, etc).

Holiday gifts, going to weddings, etc

Yeah it's over for most people it's disheartening that people have to live like that. I'd be (and was) stressed 24/7.

Tell me about it. My health insurance premiums (married) used to be $666 a month. Now it's $1300 (down from $1600).

Oh crap I forgot about Heath Insurance.

Another reason why US average income is pathetic & not indicative of its middle class at all, as its supposed to be.

Yet it's a record breaking year for new car sales. Go figure op

Even 100k is nothing these days in a lot of cities.

I didn't mention anything about a new car in the op. I specifically said you'd better have a reliable beater.
Don't go there, this is a troll statement. I'm talking the average person.

Depends on location. Peep location, if you're in NY that's enough for you to live in a rat infested apartment in the projects or with roommates that are broke like you.

People are depressed as **** going into debt on a brand new car trying to mask the sadness. Imagine the regret 3-6 months later when they're paying 300-500/mo on a car that already lost its appeal.

Wherever rent is 900/month, please let me know. It's 1200+ here.

I'm in Illinois LMAO. Most apartments are about $900.

Just gotta live within your means, and people lack discipline. It's doable where I live, but you can't spend like crazy.

I made 30k in 2003, my first real job out of college. Was barely scraping by. Couldn't imagine trying to live on 40k now

The "middle class" is the class between the working people - the great masses - and the elite. The median/average guy is always going to be one of the unwashed mob of poors.

If I woke up to even making 60k a year, it'd take everything in me not to jump in front of a bus.

Self inflicted.


If you make 40k don’t live in a place that costs $900 simple. Out of college I was making 55k in a high cost of living city, paid over a grand in rent, and still was saving 1k a month with a decently comfortable but not luxurious lifestyle


You control your own destiny. If you can’t afford to live in Seattle or Chicago that’s your problem. Move somewhere else.

What would be some good areas where rent is cheap that you can think off the top of your head?

Most places near me are $900 though. Hell even rent down south is creeping up from what I hear.

Just lol if you're not 7 figs crew in 2019...

Depends where you live. In my city $50k is like poverty line.

Midwest. Have lived in places like Indy, Columbus, Nashville, KC. For $500-$700 a month you can get a decent place with a community pool, safe area, etc. won’t be downtown but in suburbs. Can’t have everything when on a budged

I live in Coffeyville Kansas. About 2 months ago I read a news article that listed the 10 towns/cities with the lowest average mortgage payment in the country. The average monthly mortgage payment in my town is $205.00, the lowest in the country. Housing is cheap here. The last 5 houses I bought were $9500, $9500, $9500, $13500, $9500. All were 3BR with CH/A. All needed about $1000 of additional work that took 3-5 days.

My main work pays me that, but also married so combined is a little over six figurines for the family. It is more than enough here. We live in povertyville USA

Rent these days amazes me. So many people I know pay almost as much as or more than my mortgage.

That's insane breh. Just goes to show what is possible. When people complain about living paycheck to paycheck making $100K I just lol hard in their face

Nice. What's the job market like there? Plenty of IT and Construction? How's the crime?


Here's a house I found. Coffeyville, KS seems pretty dang cheap. Mirin hard.
https://www.trulia.com/p/ks/coffeyvi...8#lil-mediaTab

Nothing delusional about it. $40k was considered the standard middle class income... back when I was still in elementary school. Even necessities such as food and gas cost 3-5 times what they did 25-30 years ago. It's not hard to do the math.Because generally, the jobs available in those places correspondingly pay even less.

When you budget yourself, rent or house payment needs to be one week's take home pay. You will eventually end up insolvent if it isn't, especially if you need to take on a car payment. If you can't make those numbers work, you either move some place cheaper for the same pay, or else there really is no reason to work at all.

Can confirm. Live in Seattle and get $75k/yr. Practically living paycheck to paycheck.

I live comfortably enough and can afford everything I have but I'll admit I probably shouldn't have some of the things I do (new car payment, 3 bedroom apartment which rent is @ $2000/month when a 2 bedroom for $1300/mo would be plenty, multiple gym memberships, credit cards because now I'm worried about my score when before I never even gave it a thought, etc etc). And I don't even have to pay for health insurance or any of that crap because I get free healthcare at the VA.

I lived for like 5 years on $40/k a year and it wasn't much different. In fact I probably had more money left over because I didn't go all retard and get myself in debt and buy things all frivolously like I do now. Also had ZERO debt and only had what I bought straight with cash.

But damn brahs. It's hard to resist when your income literally almost doubles in one day. Kinda went into fuk it mode and got everything I always wanted. Funny thing is that it, of course, didn't make me inherently happier or improve my life in any real or tangible way. Yeah, it's nice driving a brand new Dodge Challenger and not driving an 03 Mercury Grand Marquis around anymore, but in the end both got the job done.

More money more (self inflicted) problems nomsayin? Gotta find a balance.

There are plenty of low paying jobs here ($9-$12/hour), but the big paying jobs are at the refinery ($30+/hour). Most of the locals can't pass a drug screen to work in the refinery. I know this, my official job is a drug screen collector. Many of the people working short term jobs in the refinery come from south Texas and Louisiana. I rent out those $9500 3BR houses to them, furnished with bills paid for $600/week.

Crime is bad. Mostly drug addicts stealing anything that's not chained up or secure for feeding their habit.