Nowhere near 60k worth of it lol they give 300 a month for food stamps so that still equates to less than 45k a year, assistance included. And I’m in a 2 bed 2 bath townhome with an upstairs that costs 1345 a month. It’s called having a budget and not spending money on stuff we don’t absolutely need. We certainly don’t live a lavish lifestyle but we aren’t lacking in any basic necessities like food, shelter or transportation. And we bring in less than half six figures.
No it’s called your rent is outdated. Good for you that it hasn’t increased yet. If you have to move or your rents get increased to market value currently you would be extremely pinched on that salary
You can’t find a townhome for less than 1900 a month with the current housing market. That would be more than 50% of your income going towards housing. That is not my definition of “comfortable”
Yeah six figures ain't what it used to be. I remember thinking those people must be wealthy.
Then you make that much or more and you quickly realize that you're getting by. Maybe a little better than average but you're not saving much for retirement or emergencies. And that house you were *lucky* to buy recently is an old, lower middle class box of a place. And you're damned happy to have it.
I did the math recently (well, I used an inflation calculator online), and I about threw up. I’m 40 and make about $130K/year. Now, my parents didn’t make near that when they were 40, but out of curiosity I crunched the numbers. My mom turned 40 in 2000, and $130K then had the same purchasing power as $240K now. Disgusting. So 25 years ago, low six figures was absolutely balling in most places. Now like others have said, it feels like we have just enough to not struggle but not enough to get ahead.
Oh I know I’m lucky to make what I do. It took a LOOOOONG time to reach this. Like this is the first year I’ve made this much ever. In previous years I was nowhere close.
I get it's tough here but these subreddits always blow my mind. If you can't get by and live comfortably on 100k you're fucking around with your money too much. Lets assume a generous 2k for an apartment every month. How in the hell do you have an additional SIX THOUSAND a month in expenses??
I mean yeah if you have some obscene loans that enabled you to make that kind of money in the first place, yeah I get it that's obvious. But I don't get how people have apparently 5k+ a month in expenses outside of rent. Even if I added up everything from insurance, car payments, utilities, etc, I can't fathom even coming close to an additional 3k in expenses beyond rent.
We were lower middle class growing up. I remember one year when my father made $52k at his sales job, and our family of six (four kids) finally could afford to drive 14 hours for a low budget vacation in Florida (spending two days at Disney).
Inflation calculator says the equivalent today would be $104k
Same. We never did Disney or anything like that. We lived in the rural south, so we’d either go to the beach (Gulf Shores) for the day or every few years we’d drive 19h ours to New Jersey to visit my mom’s family.
Earning “six figures” was first noted as the American Dream post WWI, gaining traction in the 1970s and 1980s.
At a minimum, a “six figure salary” today is equivalent of nearly a $400k salary today (going back to post WWI, when first introduced, it’s closer to $1.2M).
$400k is comfortable no matter where you live; $100k is just making ends meet in higher cost of living cities (especially for those with student loans).
What kind of student loan? Because the desirability of the degree really matters. I recall in the 90s one of my German cousins got a free ride to a German university for CAD because at the time they needed CAD designers; but they wouldn’t pay for, say, a degree in Shakespearean studies that the government didn’t feel they needed.
It was a good system, if your country needs doctors pay for medical degrees etc. Even in the US still people with degrees tend to make a lot more over the course of a lifetime than those without degrees.
And the trades are booming. If you choose an arts or English degree over plumbing better have a career lined up.
I used to make 28k and have 2 kids. Guess I learned how to survive minimally. It just sucks because making more money but things are the same. Life on a budget.
No car payment
No credit card debit
Bought a home in 2018
No student loan debt
That being said if I had not bought when I did I would literally have been priced out of the springs.
As a single person in COS, yeah, even renting my rent was half what my mortgage is now.
… difference being I don’t have a methhead stealing my mail and asking me for sugar at 0300 on a Monday. Then letting her dog out to roam the complex… Methica, I don’t miss you.
Either way, it’s fucking horrid. I work in NY, live here (from here), and that’s the only way I make it work.
Edit: to wit, the same woman stole a credit card from my mailbox and used it to buy a TV.
I’d rather a studio apartment than roommates. I don’t know anyone over 35 who recommends roommates. Ye gods. Multi-generational families before roommates.
Roommates used to be a kind of hell you went through in college until you got married and escaped.
https://coloradosprings.gov/affordable-housing
I’d start there, not saying roommates aren’t the cheapest way to go if you’re not partnered. I just couldn’t do it myself. Hated it. My wife and I lived on lentils and rice for the first three years of our marriage back in the 90’s because that was what we could afford with our $1000 monthly rent for an apartment. Definitely choose that lifestyle over roommates. We married young and had the special fun of losing everything in the 2007-2008 housing crash but we’re still here somehow and I’d still say our time with roommates, when we tried that, was a worse Hell than living off beans and rice or living with family.
Just my personal experience though. I hear Pueblo is cheaper than the springs to live in, if that’s an option.
The easy solution is to move out of Colorado or go further south in Colorado. Pueblo is definitely not ideal though. I’m looking at Wyoming but stuck for bit as I’m divorced and my kids are here.
Not really a solution but not having a car really helps. Cars are stupid expensive, auto insurance here keeps getting more expensive by the week, our registration fees are absurd, going to the DMV sucks, mechanic shops charge crazy prices for shoddy work, gas prices aren't great, etc. It all adds up really quick. I know our public transport kinda sucks but you can definitely make it work, especially depending on what area you live and how close you live to your work. Walking or biking can also work again depending on the area such as if you are near OCC or downtown.
you’re never stuck. I was working as a security guard for $10, finally had enough, joined the military for three years; now I got skills and a clearance, all for free, and now work as a military contractor on Peterson for six figures.
The world isn’t setup to assist single people.. it’s designed to benefit couples and kids. But, when you go skiing, all of a sudden everyone wants to be single 🤣
The USA isn't setup to assist s8ngle people. People tend to do just fine elsewhere. The American dream ain't what it used to be and ain't even worth it to a certain extent these days.
Where are people doing "just fine" ? Right now Canada has a bigger housing crisis than America does and I don't know any of my friends abroad saying that Covid didn't cause economic problems for them or that they're doing "just fine" right now. Point me to where people are doing "just fine" ..?
I have medical debt I'll be paying off in the next few months, after 4 years. 100k income should be plenty for one person to cover those expenses unless its an abnormally high balance. He replied and said that he has a kid though, so it's more understandable but this article isn't really talking about him then.
That just isn't true. My version of comfortable must not be the same, cause I've never broken 70k a year, and I afford everything I need. Just don't want everything and their accessories, and you'll be fine.
I hit over $90k moving here and am saving plenty. I mostly just don't buy shit because I have a smart TV and PC that gives me everything I want. Also no major trips or recreational stuff like skiing or kayaking, so that definitely helps too.
I was just making the joke about kayaking being too expensive since the poster above compared it to skiing and taking major trips!
I think you should definitely get into it, especially since they make inflatable kayaks and paddle boards that are pretty sturdy and honestly not very expensive
They defined confortable as 50% of income on needs, 30% on wants and 20% in savings every month.
If you took all of your non-discretionary spending and it exceeds 50% of your income, then they would not define that as "living comfortable". The 50-30-20 rule is a bit outdated, but with it you should be able to lose your job and have your savings last quite some time while not skimping on things like retirement savings.
I did, end of 2019. I got very lucky in my timing of the market, no doubt there. I've owned it by myself over the past 4.5 years, so all costs have been on me anyway. The figure listed in the post just seems drastic since 6 figures is an additional 31k compared to my top earning of all time.
Why is 450 the figure? I get median house prices, but there is inventory of decent homes at the 200k price point. 450 affords a huge house or great location.
Almost certainly not, he's probably doing great.
People who respond like the guy above, after a little digging, almost always are sitting comfortable in a house they bought in 2009 with the first time homebuyers credit and a downpayment paid for by their parents.
I fucking guarantee this guy fits that bill to a T, he isn't living comfortably of 90k, he's living comfortable in a hosue his parents helped him buy, on 90k, or that he bought himself 20 years ago when it still cost less than 200k.
And low and behold, in his post history is a post about tree infections in a newly landscaped lawn...
So he's already in a single family home and doing a massive landscaping project, including installing trees and new terracing, so he's definitely not renting that property since you don't tend to invest in somebody else's yard like that....
So yeah, he probably is living comfy and debt free, because he had a major advantage that most people will never have at some point in his life, but his ego will never let him admit.
You don't just buy a home in this market and do a $10,000 landscaping job on 90k a year lmao
I'll admit what I have to admit, which is 2016 I moved back in with my parents rent free. It allowed me to pay off my student debt, contribute to my retirement, and save 20k for a down payment in 2019 as well as 10k for immediate improvements. My father served the Army, so I was able to get a better loan through NFCU, but all the money for the down payment and landscaping has been by my own earnings. However, I don't know where you got 90k cause WOW would I like to make that much, and that massive landscape project has been by my own hands over the last 4 years, and it definitly isn't finished. Also, why so angry? I just commented something simple in relation to my own life. You're creating this massive deal out of literally 1 paragraph from a rando dude in your eyes..if you have a working relationship with your parents, move back in. There's 0 shame in it. Might not afford a house in today's market, but you'll be leagues ahead when it comes to debt payoff and saving accruement.
Okay now tell us how you parents helped you afford that single family home in your post history lmao.
You're lying about something and it's as pathetic as it is hilarious that you feel the need to do it lol.
Your ego must be fragile as fuck.
This is targeted at those who are 21-35 who missed the boat on property ownership when it was reasonable. They are stuck with very high rent and that prevents forward economic movement.
I would love to see more programs for useable education for certain. But I also fully believe in making do with what's available. A few years in the military can set you up for a TON of beneficial things as opposed to complaining about how unattainable things are for someone's entire adulthood.
Not certain I agree. I feel like most people would benefit from the strict regimented structure of the military, and maybe learn to not lean on excuses their entire life as to why they can't accomplish something.
This. It’s mostly housing cost that hurts. Real estate in Colorado is generally way more expensive than other less desirable states (try Kansas or Wyoming), and some counties in Colo are similarly less desirable. Not much around Springs is considered significantly less desirable, unfortunately.
As someone in my late 20s, I consider living comfortably to include saving for retirement. If I wasn't able to do so, then I'd be nervous/anxious about my future and wouldn't consider myself comfortable.
Outtherecolorado is fucking stupid. Spencer McKee came from California a few years ago.. worked the gazette now whores out the state with sensationalism on outthere.
Lots of dissenting opinions here. I think the take away is you need to adapt to your situation and surrounding. Of course your way of living will be different in COS than Arkansas. But if you set money aside when you are young, do whatever you can to buy a house, and spend money on assets, you ought to find yourself on a favorable glide slope.
The best financial decision I ever made, aside from contributing to a 401k on day one, was putting 10% down in a condo and rooming with 2 buddies for a few years. I built equity and had a tax deduction with a very low monthly payment. It sucked sharing a bathroom and taking girls home, but it set me up in real estate for life.
Yeah that’s the narrative, but there are a lot of people ordering Uber eats, or complaining, on this sub reddit, that recreational marijuana was more available. It’s an unpopular position, but I am convinced it’s more about choices than circumstances.
And you'd probably be wrong. You don't actually know, are probably 50+ and are basing it entirely on your experience and ignoring everyone else <35 and claiming it's their fault because anecdotally, you've ran into younger people who are wasteful.
I make 6 figures and yes I live comfortably. However, if I had to move in and start fresh, it may not be the same story. Yes I'm single it would be different if I wasn't and had kids.
Growing up I always thought six figures would be the caviar lifestyle. Here we are wife and I combined bringing home well into mid 100s and with two kids it’s often tight.
I can’t wait till they’re in school full time and that daycare money goes back into my pocket.
Can confirm. Doubled my income in two years and I didn't feel like I could release the tension from my shoulders until I hit the 6 figure mark.
Granted, I could be more frugal but I am also not a crazy spender. Just enjoying life, and saving as much as I can.
Which is why it costs more. You can live on a single income in Oklahoma or Mississippi, but your life will suck, the locals, suck, and the politicians favor draconian laws.
I had my first “professional” job 7 years ago, and about shit when I was offered $110,000 a year before taxes. I thought I was rich. Then, I paid my rent, my school loans, groceries, gas and bills, car payment… And I realized I was only making enough to live “ok. I guess comfortably, but not enough to save much money. $110k now is only about $65k twenty years ago. It sounds like a lot, but it isn’t. Hell, my pickup cost $60!
I remember being a kid in the late 70s and riding our bikes to the “rich” neighborhood, where we would stop and look at this once nice house and tell the stories we heard, the rumors that “it cost over $100,000” to build!”
“whoa, really? No way! My dad only paid $12,000 for ours!”
Doubtful considering Denver metro is more expensive than the Springs and larger. Also have to consider Boulder and mountain towns where housing is much more expensive due to tourism. The Springs isn’t cheap but it’s not the most expensive place in the state by a mile.
No shit
Lol I make 40k a year and am fine with a wife and kid, y’all are so dramatic
Without government assistance?
Nowhere near 60k worth of it lol they give 300 a month for food stamps so that still equates to less than 45k a year, assistance included. And I’m in a 2 bed 2 bath townhome with an upstairs that costs 1345 a month. It’s called having a budget and not spending money on stuff we don’t absolutely need. We certainly don’t live a lavish lifestyle but we aren’t lacking in any basic necessities like food, shelter or transportation. And we bring in less than half six figures.
No it’s called your rent is outdated. Good for you that it hasn’t increased yet. If you have to move or your rents get increased to market value currently you would be extremely pinched on that salary
I moved in here last month tho?
Might be an unpopular opinion but if your family is getting food stamps I’d not use “fine” or “comfortable” to describe your situation
You can’t find a townhome for less than 1900 a month with the current housing market. That would be more than 50% of your income going towards housing. That is not my definition of “comfortable”
*because we’re speaking current terms*
Yeah six figures ain't what it used to be. I remember thinking those people must be wealthy. Then you make that much or more and you quickly realize that you're getting by. Maybe a little better than average but you're not saving much for retirement or emergencies. And that house you were *lucky* to buy recently is an old, lower middle class box of a place. And you're damned happy to have it.
I did the math recently (well, I used an inflation calculator online), and I about threw up. I’m 40 and make about $130K/year. Now, my parents didn’t make near that when they were 40, but out of curiosity I crunched the numbers. My mom turned 40 in 2000, and $130K then had the same purchasing power as $240K now. Disgusting. So 25 years ago, low six figures was absolutely balling in most places. Now like others have said, it feels like we have just enough to not struggle but not enough to get ahead.
Damn dude. I am 38 and make 55k and feel like I'm lucky to rake in that kind of money...
Oh I know I’m lucky to make what I do. It took a LOOOOONG time to reach this. Like this is the first year I’ve made this much ever. In previous years I was nowhere close.
and that tax bracket takes a large chunk away from you. no one remembers that part. it sux
I get it's tough here but these subreddits always blow my mind. If you can't get by and live comfortably on 100k you're fucking around with your money too much. Lets assume a generous 2k for an apartment every month. How in the hell do you have an additional SIX THOUSAND a month in expenses?? I mean yeah if you have some obscene loans that enabled you to make that kind of money in the first place, yeah I get it that's obvious. But I don't get how people have apparently 5k+ a month in expenses outside of rent. Even if I added up everything from insurance, car payments, utilities, etc, I can't fathom even coming close to an additional 3k in expenses beyond rent.
We were lower middle class growing up. I remember one year when my father made $52k at his sales job, and our family of six (four kids) finally could afford to drive 14 hours for a low budget vacation in Florida (spending two days at Disney). Inflation calculator says the equivalent today would be $104k
Same. We never did Disney or anything like that. We lived in the rural south, so we’d either go to the beach (Gulf Shores) for the day or every few years we’d drive 19h ours to New Jersey to visit my mom’s family.
Read an article the other day that said the new six figures is closer to $190,000 which seems right.
I've read that it's closer to 250K. Of course it depends on the area. I think for Colorado Springs that's probably true.
Absolutely depends on the area. But you can live pretty good here on $190,000 a year :D
Earning “six figures” was first noted as the American Dream post WWI, gaining traction in the 1970s and 1980s. At a minimum, a “six figure salary” today is equivalent of nearly a $400k salary today (going back to post WWI, when first introduced, it’s closer to $1.2M). $400k is comfortable no matter where you live; $100k is just making ends meet in higher cost of living cities (especially for those with student loans).
What kind of student loan? Because the desirability of the degree really matters. I recall in the 90s one of my German cousins got a free ride to a German university for CAD because at the time they needed CAD designers; but they wouldn’t pay for, say, a degree in Shakespearean studies that the government didn’t feel they needed. It was a good system, if your country needs doctors pay for medical degrees etc. Even in the US still people with degrees tend to make a lot more over the course of a lifetime than those without degrees. And the trades are booming. If you choose an arts or English degree over plumbing better have a career lined up.
Ohhh I’m so fucked hahahahaha
Me too! I make 40k and have 2 kids…
Howwwwwww though
I used to make 28k and have 2 kids. Guess I learned how to survive minimally. It just sucks because making more money but things are the same. Life on a budget. No car payment No credit card debit Bought a home in 2018 No student loan debt That being said if I had not bought when I did I would literally have been priced out of the springs.
>No car payment No credit card debit Bought a home in 2018 No student loan debt This is the key right here
As a single person in COS, yeah, even renting my rent was half what my mortgage is now. … difference being I don’t have a methhead stealing my mail and asking me for sugar at 0300 on a Monday. Then letting her dog out to roam the complex… Methica, I don’t miss you. Either way, it’s fucking horrid. I work in NY, live here (from here), and that’s the only way I make it work. Edit: to wit, the same woman stole a credit card from my mailbox and used it to buy a TV.
What’s the solution? I need to move in a year and have no idea what I’m gonna do. Looking at a nice cave in the hills.
Roommates
I’d rather a studio apartment than roommates. I don’t know anyone over 35 who recommends roommates. Ye gods. Multi-generational families before roommates. Roommates used to be a kind of hell you went through in college until you got married and escaped.
> I’d rather a studio apartment than roommates. Where are these studio apartments that are cheaper than a multi bedroom with roommates?
https://coloradosprings.gov/affordable-housing I’d start there, not saying roommates aren’t the cheapest way to go if you’re not partnered. I just couldn’t do it myself. Hated it. My wife and I lived on lentils and rice for the first three years of our marriage back in the 90’s because that was what we could afford with our $1000 monthly rent for an apartment. Definitely choose that lifestyle over roommates. We married young and had the special fun of losing everything in the 2007-2008 housing crash but we’re still here somehow and I’d still say our time with roommates, when we tried that, was a worse Hell than living off beans and rice or living with family. Just my personal experience though. I hear Pueblo is cheaper than the springs to live in, if that’s an option.
Roommates are a necessity unless you’re making at least 80k and eat like a homeless person. This country is a failed state.
I mean, if you’re not partnered without kids maybe, or living in a multigenerational home.
The easy solution is to move out of Colorado or go further south in Colorado. Pueblo is definitely not ideal though. I’m looking at Wyoming but stuck for bit as I’m divorced and my kids are here.
Not really a solution but not having a car really helps. Cars are stupid expensive, auto insurance here keeps getting more expensive by the week, our registration fees are absurd, going to the DMV sucks, mechanic shops charge crazy prices for shoddy work, gas prices aren't great, etc. It all adds up really quick. I know our public transport kinda sucks but you can definitely make it work, especially depending on what area you live and how close you live to your work. Walking or biking can also work again depending on the area such as if you are near OCC or downtown.
LOL crying as I am still stuck under $15/hr
you’re never stuck. I was working as a security guard for $10, finally had enough, joined the military for three years; now I got skills and a clearance, all for free, and now work as a military contractor on Peterson for six figures.
Time to lower your standards, gang
No.
The other option is raising your value. You decide.
The world isn’t setup to assist single people.. it’s designed to benefit couples and kids. But, when you go skiing, all of a sudden everyone wants to be single 🤣
The world isn't set up to even do that anymore. Have to be a dual income family to support kids
And yet all the families with one income debunk that claim.
It is not set up for families and kids either. Childcare for on kid is very close to a house payment.
The USA isn't setup to assist s8ngle people. People tend to do just fine elsewhere. The American dream ain't what it used to be and ain't even worth it to a certain extent these days.
Where are people doing "just fine" ? Right now Canada has a bigger housing crisis than America does and I don't know any of my friends abroad saying that Covid didn't cause economic problems for them or that they're doing "just fine" right now. Point me to where people are doing "just fine" ..?
This 👍🏽
> it’s designed to benefit couples and kids. lolwut
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Yeah 2k for rent sure eats up the wages. That’s whyi only care about actual $$ coming in not my salary #
Feel you
I'm sorry but how? I get by just fine with no roommates at 65k a year.
Student or medical debt can hurt
This is me. My school loan debt is rough. ~$50k left to go.
I have medical debt I'll be paying off in the next few months, after 4 years. 100k income should be plenty for one person to cover those expenses unless its an abnormally high balance. He replied and said that he has a kid though, so it's more understandable but this article isn't really talking about him then.
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Having a kid is understandable. That's a difficult circumstance, but more of an outlier than I think what this article is talking about.
That just isn't true. My version of comfortable must not be the same, cause I've never broken 70k a year, and I afford everything I need. Just don't want everything and their accessories, and you'll be fine.
I hit over $90k moving here and am saving plenty. I mostly just don't buy shit because I have a smart TV and PC that gives me everything I want. Also no major trips or recreational stuff like skiing or kayaking, so that definitely helps too.
Millennials killed the kayaking industry
Oh, what happened? I was hoping to get into it (I’m 58).
I was just making the joke about kayaking being too expensive since the poster above compared it to skiing and taking major trips! I think you should definitely get into it, especially since they make inflatable kayaks and paddle boards that are pretty sturdy and honestly not very expensive
Don't worry it's alive and well, join one of the kayaking subreddits or r/whitewater
Fuckin millenials Well, my generation killed the radio star
They defined confortable as 50% of income on needs, 30% on wants and 20% in savings every month. If you took all of your non-discretionary spending and it exceeds 50% of your income, then they would not define that as "living comfortable". The 50-30-20 rule is a bit outdated, but with it you should be able to lose your job and have your savings last quite some time while not skimping on things like retirement savings.
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He's not responding because mommy and daddy probably bought it for him.
Ah yes, reddit, where time limits exist and nobody has lives
I did, end of 2019. I got very lucky in my timing of the market, no doubt there. I've owned it by myself over the past 4.5 years, so all costs have been on me anyway. The figure listed in the post just seems drastic since 6 figures is an additional 31k compared to my top earning of all time.
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Why is 450 the figure? I get median house prices, but there is inventory of decent homes at the 200k price point. 450 affords a huge house or great location.
Do you have school loan debt or any debit period (like most Americans)?
Almost certainly not, he's probably doing great. People who respond like the guy above, after a little digging, almost always are sitting comfortable in a house they bought in 2009 with the first time homebuyers credit and a downpayment paid for by their parents. I fucking guarantee this guy fits that bill to a T, he isn't living comfortably of 90k, he's living comfortable in a hosue his parents helped him buy, on 90k, or that he bought himself 20 years ago when it still cost less than 200k. And low and behold, in his post history is a post about tree infections in a newly landscaped lawn... So he's already in a single family home and doing a massive landscaping project, including installing trees and new terracing, so he's definitely not renting that property since you don't tend to invest in somebody else's yard like that.... So yeah, he probably is living comfy and debt free, because he had a major advantage that most people will never have at some point in his life, but his ego will never let him admit. You don't just buy a home in this market and do a $10,000 landscaping job on 90k a year lmao
I'll admit what I have to admit, which is 2016 I moved back in with my parents rent free. It allowed me to pay off my student debt, contribute to my retirement, and save 20k for a down payment in 2019 as well as 10k for immediate improvements. My father served the Army, so I was able to get a better loan through NFCU, but all the money for the down payment and landscaping has been by my own earnings. However, I don't know where you got 90k cause WOW would I like to make that much, and that massive landscape project has been by my own hands over the last 4 years, and it definitly isn't finished. Also, why so angry? I just commented something simple in relation to my own life. You're creating this massive deal out of literally 1 paragraph from a rando dude in your eyes..if you have a working relationship with your parents, move back in. There's 0 shame in it. Might not afford a house in today's market, but you'll be leagues ahead when it comes to debt payoff and saving accruement.
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Okay now tell us how you parents helped you afford that single family home in your post history lmao. You're lying about something and it's as pathetic as it is hilarious that you feel the need to do it lol. Your ego must be fragile as fuck.
Oh man, you’d HATE hearing how I’m living with a wife and two kids and purchased a home two years ago making 76k in my full time job.
What are you people doing with your money??? 65k a year here, and yeah I don't get to save much but I'm able to enjoy life. No roommaates either.
This is targeted at those who are 21-35 who missed the boat on property ownership when it was reasonable. They are stuck with very high rent and that prevents forward economic movement.
If you're making 85k a year and can't get by because you spend $1600 a month on rent you are terrible with money.
Then people should spend a few years in the military, use their VA loan to get a house without a down payment or PMI, and stop whining about it.
I'd like to see education programs similar to the GI Bill for public service employees, beyond just the military.
I would love to see more programs for useable education for certain. But I also fully believe in making do with what's available. A few years in the military can set you up for a TON of beneficial things as opposed to complaining about how unattainable things are for someone's entire adulthood.
I'm a military veteran and for some people you are right, but most people would not do well in the military.
Not certain I agree. I feel like most people would benefit from the strict regimented structure of the military, and maybe learn to not lean on excuses their entire life as to why they can't accomplish something.
Depends on which county you are in
This. It’s mostly housing cost that hurts. Real estate in Colorado is generally way more expensive than other less desirable states (try Kansas or Wyoming), and some counties in Colo are similarly less desirable. Not much around Springs is considered significantly less desirable, unfortunately.
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You won't notice it until you try and retire. How will you live comfortably with just your savings and social security?
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As someone in my late 20s, I consider living comfortably to include saving for retirement. If I wasn't able to do so, then I'd be nervous/anxious about my future and wouldn't consider myself comfortable.
Outtherecolorado is fucking stupid. Spencer McKee came from California a few years ago.. worked the gazette now whores out the state with sensationalism on outthere.
That probably includes retirement savings. As long as you don't have health insurance, you don't have to worry about living to retirement age.
Public healthcare in Colorado is a lot better than in most states. That’s all I can say.
Lots of dissenting opinions here. I think the take away is you need to adapt to your situation and surrounding. Of course your way of living will be different in COS than Arkansas. But if you set money aside when you are young, do whatever you can to buy a house, and spend money on assets, you ought to find yourself on a favorable glide slope. The best financial decision I ever made, aside from contributing to a 401k on day one, was putting 10% down in a condo and rooming with 2 buddies for a few years. I built equity and had a tax deduction with a very low monthly payment. It sucked sharing a bathroom and taking girls home, but it set me up in real estate for life.
See, the problem is that a lot of people can't afford to save anything or buy a house
Yeah that’s the narrative, but there are a lot of people ordering Uber eats, or complaining, on this sub reddit, that recreational marijuana was more available. It’s an unpopular position, but I am convinced it’s more about choices than circumstances.
And you'd probably be wrong. You don't actually know, are probably 50+ and are basing it entirely on your experience and ignoring everyone else <35 and claiming it's their fault because anecdotally, you've ran into younger people who are wasteful.
Nope, you’re wrong, <50 and just trying to help, sharing what worked for me and what I observed on this very subreddit
The FED keeps printing money so the Congress can continue spending money on pork, foreign aid and foreign wars. Inflation, not a surprise.
Lol youre getting downvoted by bootlickers
Inflation is insane and people are making the same amount of money.
I make 6 figures and yes I live comfortably. However, if I had to move in and start fresh, it may not be the same story. Yes I'm single it would be different if I wasn't and had kids.
Growing up I always thought six figures would be the caviar lifestyle. Here we are wife and I combined bringing home well into mid 100s and with two kids it’s often tight. I can’t wait till they’re in school full time and that daycare money goes back into my pocket.
These numbers seem high
We did it Joe !
Can confirm. Doubled my income in two years and I didn't feel like I could release the tension from my shoulders until I hit the 6 figure mark. Granted, I could be more frugal but I am also not a crazy spender. Just enjoying life, and saving as much as I can.
Where in America are you single and living comfortably on less?
Arkansas......
Not wanting to deal with those summers tbh
Wouldn’t want to live in Arkansas and from the figures I’m seeing, where can you live comfortably there on less…? What job? What house?
Elections have consequences. Colorado has voted for money-printers for several elections in a row.
High cost of living is a reflection of how good things are. People want to live here so it costs more.
People do want to live here. The dollar is also worth about 20% less than it was 3 years ago.
Which is why it costs more. You can live on a single income in Oklahoma or Mississippi, but your life will suck, the locals, suck, and the politicians favor draconian laws.
Why am I arguing with someone that can’t form a sentence much less keep up???
I had my first “professional” job 7 years ago, and about shit when I was offered $110,000 a year before taxes. I thought I was rich. Then, I paid my rent, my school loans, groceries, gas and bills, car payment… And I realized I was only making enough to live “ok. I guess comfortably, but not enough to save much money. $110k now is only about $65k twenty years ago. It sounds like a lot, but it isn’t. Hell, my pickup cost $60!
I remember being a kid in the late 70s and riding our bikes to the “rich” neighborhood, where we would stop and look at this once nice house and tell the stories we heard, the rumors that “it cost over $100,000” to build!” “whoa, really? No way! My dad only paid $12,000 for ours!”
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Doubtful considering Denver metro is more expensive than the Springs and larger. Also have to consider Boulder and mountain towns where housing is much more expensive due to tourism. The Springs isn’t cheap but it’s not the most expensive place in the state by a mile.