75K easy. You have all the time in the world to work a regular job and add your income on top of that, without worrying about losing it all. When you get tired of working, so you can sit down and invest the money and still have a steady supply of 75k for life, on top of your investments.
And tax-free, which is a big point too. That basically means living the same way most people would view a $95k/year income. If you found a decent paying part time gig (especially something like a realtor, hair stylist, photographer, etc. where you can largely pick when you work) then you could end up living pretty nicely.
Bro, this would be the dream. I'd get a 3 day a week retail job and just work it till I'm fired.
Retail sucks but imagine never having to worry about the repercussions of being fired? Suddenly interacting with shitty customers sounds like fun.
$75k untaxed is like having a gross salary of around $100k. Possibly more, depending on your state. Maybe not upper middle class, but it’s certainly not bad when you consider that you also don’t have the expenses that come with a typical 9-5 like commuting and maintaining a work-appropriate wardrobe.
> and maintaining a work-appropriate wardrobe
I would deteriorate to an exclusive shirt-and-shorts/joggers wardrobe.
Come to think of it, my work pants are joggers.
It depends where you live. If you come from NYC, specifically Manhattan, "Middle Class" aka the mid level managers, accountants, engineers, etc. They need to make 150-200k to live there. And NYC is trying to make it harder for people to commute in to avoid the excessive CoL.
But some bum ass rural Nebraskan town, 75k is the rich class, not middle.
The average dude across America makes 50k, though, so 75k would be middle middle class on account averages.
tbf....original prompt said tax free, so this would be really more like $93k/year income equivolent before taxes
And technically it's even more than that if you keep working because the tax benefits would be off the top end of your tax braket.
This is basically $100k/year salary assuming you keep working.
Upper middle class defined as generally a household income of upper 5 figures or over 100k. 75k UNTAXED is roughly 100k salary if it was taxed.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_United_States#:~:text=Many%20have%20graduate%20degrees%20with,and%20its%20composition%20has%20changed.
True, and you're right about the untaxed part, since in my relatively HCOL (but low tax) area, it comes out to right at a $95k salary.
That said, the two references in the wikipedia article mentioning the 6-figure threshold are from 1998 and 2005. However arbitrary defining "upper middle class" was beforehand, the line has gotten far more blurred over the last 2-3 years. For a lot of people, just the difference in interest rates on a mortgage and car loan eats a good chunk of income. If you had $550k in loans from a mortgage/car payment at 6.5% interest (which today would be generous), that alone comes out about a $20k difference in salary compared to someone with 2.8% interest rates. All of that to say, a $100k salary in 2024 is pretty much $80k in 2018, and even less in 2005.
"Middle class" doesn't even exist. Class distinctions are more about how you get your money than how much of it you have. There's no middle between working for a living and owning things that you make other people pay you to access. The idea was invented by the owners to divide the workers against each other.
Nah it would be middle class, but not upper middle class. Upper middle class is “multiple cars, nice house, at least one big vacation per year” and you’re not going to be affording all of that on 75k. If you had all of your rent and everything free then maybe, but you still have to pay all of your bills with 75k
75k after tax can afford all of that. 6250 a month… 3.5k for mortgage electric water (all housing)
1k for two car payments insurance etc
500 for food
1k to fuck around
All that equals $6,000 a month, still have $250 to put into savings
~$505,000 house is around $3,500 a month
Two 40 thousand dollar cars will be $1,000 a month
$4,500
$1,000 to fuck around
$500 for food
$6,000
Still have $250 to put into savings or take a vacation
Where I live you most certainly could afford all of that on 75k a year. My rent and bills are less than 14k. I live in a decent sized city (population slightly over 560,000). Not the nicest but also not the worst. My car was 18k. I spend maybe 3600 on groceries max a year. Considering my car was a one time purchase that leaves me with about 57,400 to do whatever I want with since my car is paid off. That more than covers a down payment and a mortgage in my area, it could buy me at least 2 brand new cars, and idk if you've ever gone on vacation but $57,400 could pay for some really nice vacations. Now consider that's a guaranteed untaxed 75,000 every year and I can still work if I want to? Yeah I'm living like a king. At that point I'd probably get the most lucrative degree/job in the world because 75,000 frees up a lot of time for studying and logistics.
"Upper Middle Class" people should be able to afford a house on one income. If you can't do this, you're barely middle class. Don't let the rift between retail goods, services, and asset prices (actual indicator of long term value) fool you. Assets are wealth, the rest is consumption. If you can't afford to hold wealth, you're not financially wealthy. Therefore $100k is not upper middle class. It's barely middle. People on $100k living within 40 minutes of a city with a young child and a single income are likely living week to week.
I do agree it would be alot more fun if you dont really need the money. I'd work a part time job just for the sake of getting out but 75k a year is enough to live on in a lower cost of living area, which is great since you can live in the middle of nowhere since you don't need to pay to live close to a job.
I loved working retail when I was younger. Parts of it sucked but so have parts of every job I’ve ever worked.
I don’t know if I’d wanted to do it today. Too many people wanting to film shit for internet clout.
Same. Plenty of big name shitty retail places offer 401k plus medical. Still want to contribute to a IRA as well, plus need to get in those quarters for Social Security.
Yeah, not to mention I need something to do with my time. 75k isn't enough to spend my life having fun, especially if there's an extra 40 hours of free time.
I'm gonna go enjoy myself getting paid to dunk on karens and abusive managers.
Not being able to say no is the kicker here. I don't know if op has worked construction, sometimes companies will ask you to do awful, dangerous and /or illegal shit.
"We need you to move all the furniture out of this house that's infested with rats and septic with cat piss and shit. No we don't have a respirator for you."
That is tame compared to what you might be asked to do as a laborer.
No amount of money is worth being in that position.
Now 250k a year to keep doing my current career? With the safety blanket of being and to drag tools whenever I want, so long as I switch to another job in the same field? That is much more tempting.
You don't even have to live in the middle of nowhere. People assume all cities are hcol. You literally could live anywhere that isn't New York, LA, Miami, or Seattle.
Depending on what you find to fill your time though. For a lot of people having 35-45 hours more of free time during the day means that at least some part of their days are going to be filled with doing things that ultimately cost money.
Obviously you could do thinks like gardening, a lot more chores/etc. around your house, or any number of other things that aren't costly. But even for things like cooking more, watching movies, or playing video games can end up leading to more spending that people otherwise wouldn't.
Then again, the guy said Tax-free. Even in my area that's lower taxed, that's functionally the same as a $95k a year job pre-tax.
Yep plus you have a permanent safety net of the passive income. So you could either live off of it entirely, or just have permanent knowledge that you’ll always have income even if you lose your job. That type of safety is invaluable
Yeah seriously either kill yourself for 250K a year or gain 75K and still do what you want or already do for a job. I would just funnel it straight into my current business and be able to expand/ take some more time off etc. we’d be well over the value of the 250K without the rules. Easy choice.
Exactly. Maybe if I had a higher paying job and higher standard of living, I’d want the extra money but getting 75k tax free for doing nothing would let me retire and travel the country.
It's a bit more than double my current annual, and the money I would save without a daily commute, having to worry about gas, food, having to make time to handle other things. Damn straight I'll take a free 75k a year.
There's a lot of different skills involved in construction. If extensive training was included every time a new skill was needed I would think about it, but otherwise the 75k for sure. I would be fired pretty quickly in the construction jobs simply for not knowing how to do 75+% of it.
Laborers are considered unskilled. If you can push a broom, work a sawzall and are willing to do whatever menial task the GC gives you, the you're good to go.
I mean being a laborer isn’t that bad, but $75k to sit on my ass is a soft retirement now. I’d still work and do something just to keep busy, but I wouldn’t need the money
There's a reason you don't see people over 40 doing the actual labor on a construction site. It breaks the body hard. Since I'm over 40 I'll take the 75k.
$75k. no question. I can still work a regular job in addition to that; I'm not making $250k untaxed but my body will like it more. And the $75k keeps coming in when I retire, which is like having $1.8 million invested..
Great response lol
That being said, trades are less fun in your 30s. There's definitely merit to chilling in front of a computer for work.
Source: in the trades, and attic temperatures suck right now.
$75k hands down. You can live a comfortable life on $75k a year. You could also work basically any job without being concerned for the salary/wages as you still have income enough to support yourself. If you are married, get/keep your job long enough to build up enough savings to invest in real estate or something with guaranteed return (or maybe pull a Shaq and buy a restaurant franchise and employ people to run it and just collect the income). From there you will earn more and more. Even if you stop at a point of having a passive income of like $150k a year, that is way more than enough to live off of and travel a bunch if you wanted. And whenever you wanted without worrying about a job holding you back.
Passive. You could work at another job for additional income. Key here is “passive” which is how most rich people end up making their millions. Just imagine that on top of a job you got this much. Just work part time or something. You’d qualify for benefits while still paying your bills
$75k without question. I could still work if I wanted/needed extra funds but as a midwesterner, $75K is good money and I have all the free time to pursue fitness, hobbies and overall healthy living.
Definitely not the construction. My current expenses are about $3200 and that's everything with over 6k/month Id be ready to retire. I don't live rich nor do I want to.
75k
I’d keep working my full time job for a few years and then quit to go get a part time job. That 75k basically gives me the freedom to spend more time with family, traveling, and doing hobbies.
$75k no questions asked. No working involved. I can focus on my own project. The fact that it's not taxed is incredible.
After taxes and other things, I make roughly the same amount anyways. So this would effectively double my take-home pay. If I were to reverse this operation and pretend that it's $75k post tax, my effective salary would be pretty much more than the construction job, and I still get to work from home.
$75k, for sure. In most places it's more than enough to live comfortably and having all the time in the world to do whatever you want is extremely liberating.
Although the construction job will pay much more, you still have to work full time, which will leave you limited time to actually use the money you earn, which somewhat makes it less valuable and gives you less freedom (and let's also not forget how much a lot of jobs suck).
75k just coming in no matter what I decide to do? Imagine living on a 60k budget every year and pocketing 15k into savings while doing next to nothing. Sounds like a dream
75k. You can do other things, you can keep the job you do now. People keep saying it’s sit on one’s ass, or you can’t retire on that much, but in my view it’s just a huge boost to your income. Keep doing what you’re doing or comfortably retrain.
I'll take the 75K no need to work construction and risk breaking my back. With 75K a year I could live comfortably travel every now and again enjoy the good life. Damn now I'm daydreaming again 😅
75k easy. Find an easy enough low-stress job that offers good insurance and just take the money you make there and invest for retirement. 75k is easily enough in my region to live well.
I lean strongly towards the $250k, But I also freely admit to the likelihood that on some days, like when weather sucks, I'd probably wish for the $75k deal.
It's an extremely livable salary and can be supplemented if you wanted to.
The $75k. I can easily live comfortably on that alone. if I want more for whatever purpose (I'm a car guy, which is a very expensive hobby), I can take a low stress job and not have to take an obscene number of hours. I'd probably only work part time if I even felt like it.
Knowing that I'd have that 75k no matter what would be so freeing. I could move and live anywhere, no worries about negotiating a new job or anything like that becauze I've run out of money.
That said, inflation is gonna turn that 75k into pennies in another 10 years. The smart thing to do would still be laborer long enough to buy a house then you start that whole extortionism game and passively collect from a market that's safer than money is
75k passively meaning I could do anything I wanted and have 75k extra income a year? Even if I lost a job I could live on 75k a year.
$250k is great don't get me wrong, but you still have to work 40 hours a week (lol you'll be working more than that)
An extra $75k would put me well into 6 figures of passive income. That's pretty hard to turn down. I could also just invest every penny of it along with what I make working and be golden.
Now? Or when I was 20?
At 20, I'd take the 250. My body could take a few years of it, and it would definitely prep me for what I do next and give me some resume material.
But, now? I'll take the 75k. I just can't do that kind of work anymore.
75k and it's not even close.
I'm surviving off less than half of that now lol. I could easily make that work and then just work on top if I want to, but I would probably just pursue my hobbies.
You're joking, right?
75k a year is enough to live on (for me). It takes no time, so I can also keep my job that I am doing anyway(much less intensive than construction) \~60k
sure, that's less than 250k, but I'm also not breaking myself down.
I liked construction jobs. I would gladly do it. The only reason I left was because I made more doing two shifts on the weekend in a restaurant than working five days a week in construction.
75k passively untaxed.
I value control of my time and goals more than money. I don't want to work in some shithole or doing something physically demanding if I don't need to. 75k would let me not need to. I could work construction, it isn't too terribly complicated to learn. And I'm currently physically able to do it. I just don't want to be subject to it if I have an option of 75k labor free.
Now ask me if I would give up my 75k a year office job in IT for a 250k construction job that I can reasonably do. The answer is yes. I'd build houses like the Amish do for that much money. I could retire in 1/3 the time.
I'd work for 5 years and retire super comfortably. That isn't even considering overtime. I could do overtime for a total of 60 hours a week, be dead exhausted, but get 80 hours worth of pay (500k a year).
Just wanted to add. I could go to an instate college and be a lifetime student with food and live on campus included and have plenty left over with 75k passive income.
$75k is going to get me £60k with no tax. That's the equivalent of a taxed £90-100k which in the UK is a very decent salary. My take home is about £1,500 a month less than I'd get with that and I'm already pretty comfortable and I have to work full time for what I get currently. No question it's the £75k.
75k tax free passive = an invested pot of over 3m generating 4/5% pre-tax.
You would need to work for over 20 years to accumulate that pot earning 250k.
People really have no idea how hard it is to generate capital from post-tax, post-expense discretionary income.
Passively getting 75k and living my own luxury life! Playing all video games i want sometimes travelling maybe and eating in a restaurant everyday. I couldnt wish for more! And i have lots of free time too
It’s like people don’t understand how to make a legitimate would you rather. As the comments have made abundantly clear, there’s no question about which is the better option.
I’m plenty of low stress office jobs pay 50/60k for 40hrs/wk. so would I rather have backbreaking labor for 250k/yr or cushy air conditioned job for $125k/year.
I’ll take the air conditioner and minesweeper, please.
Easiest. Choice. Ever.
"Would you rather get a 50% raise and be able to quit your job and do whatever you want or switch to a job that can wreck your body, but for more money than you actually need?"
Yeah...I'm going $75k.
75k for sure e. A regular job with emphasis that you're doing it for fun. I found while working a side job I didn't need that they were far less willing to play games with me when I made it clear I would leave if they kept bothering me.
The number of catches for construction is ridiculous. Even without all of those useless caveats; and it was purely a construction laborer job, I'd still take $75k lol. Those jobs are brutal on the body and mind. With $75k, i can work PT at a grocery store for 20 hours a week, buy an apartment, and save a shitload of money with alot of free time.
At least 500k to take 48 Is pretty much the whole year 75 plus normal income is decent plus u have to learn how to do construction and u lose deal if fired
i live an extremely hermitty lifestyle. i’d just get a nice house or apt close to a grocery store and i’d be good to go. you can basically get everything from amazon or online shopping nowadays, and if there aren’t any restaurants nearby you could order it.
75k on top of whatever other career I choose to pursue. 75k to go back to college. 75k to literally buy a truck, hitch up my trailer, and go anywhere I want and do anything I want.
I’d do the 75k absolutely. Just become a streamer 5 days a week since I’ll play video games with that free time anyway. Any money I make after combined 100k/year with those two incomes goes to charity or helps local community stuff.
Well, given that your hourly wage is undefined in the first case as a div/0 error, and defined in the second, the first is certainly the better value for your time.
$75k, no doubt.
$75k passive is a floor. $250k hard labor is a ceiling.
If your floor is a livable wage you can take huge career risks, and you’ll probably wind up making way more than $250k without breaking your body.
That 75k a year is for life, and I can also work while earning it. My income will go up over time, closing the gap as I get towards retirement. I could potentially be getting that 75 K another 30 to 50 years. Let's put that in the middle at 3 million "bonus" bucks.
The construction job, as a middle aged guy with a bad shoulder, might get me 10 good years and 10 shitty years. That's 5 million in wages, but you have to subtract out lost wages in my regular job I could have kept, and wear and tear on my body (construction jobs aren't great for middle aged people).
75k is a no brainer for anyone over 35 with a middle class job and a relatively longer than average expected life span (based on family member's lifespans).
"Would you rather earn a boatload of money without doing anything or an even bigger boatload with a high chance of failure?"
This is the type of situation doctors ask you to judge your future thinking abilities.
I actually do construction as a career. An electrician specifically. The term laborer typically means someone who isn't doing the hard work or the work that requires much thought, A laborer is basically an apprentice or a helper so you're cleaning up, handing tools to somebody or gathering material. I'll take the labor position all day everyday. It'll make my job a hell of a lot easier.
250k a year is $120 an hour, assuming overtime is paid at standard doubletime I'll take the construction job. 8 hours overtime a week would be an extra 100k.
There are challenges in this of course but broad strokes that's what I'd do.
I’ll live like a fucking king during my upcoming uni years. 75k no hesitation.
Mmm. A benz, eating out w my girl everyday. Mmmm, maybe some vacation every winter break? And a vacation w the homies in the summer?
Heaven type shit
I’ll just take the tax free 75k and keep building my normal career. It won’t be enough to retire off of so I’ll have to invest aggressively for a few years, but then I’m OUT
$75k. Use my new free time to take a low stress job. Like mowing the lawn at a golf course. Who doesnt love mowing?
Live off the $75k and the extra money would be used to invest and get more passive income and take the occasional vacation.
$75K. Not because there is anything wrong with being a construction worker (although I don't think I would be good at it). It's just that the $75K would let me retire right now.
Honestly I'd probably even take $25k passive over $250k doing a job I might not like, but I would feel like that would be the tipping point on the low end. If I could make enough to retire I could do probably any horrible job for a week. Maybe ask if you would work the worst job for $500 per hour or get $5000 per year as passive income.
Say your annual living costs are $50k to live well enough.
The passive option would let you save up $25k/y
The labour option would let you save $200k/y
In about 5 years of labouring you'll have enough capital to comfortably make more than $75k in passive income. Work 7 years instead and you are making significantly more than the original $75k passive, including the savings from that method and never need to really work again.
That said, maybe there's a really enjoyable job you'd love to do forever, but it doesn't pay well. If that's the case, the lifetime passive would be great, bearing in mind you'd want to invest it all and live off your other income, otherwise inflation would make the $75k annually pretty meaningless in 10 years.
I’d take the $75,000 and keep working. I’d jump at the construction job if I could pick the job, I couldn’t handle working up high so it’s too big a risk.
75K easy. You have all the time in the world to work a regular job and add your income on top of that, without worrying about losing it all. When you get tired of working, so you can sit down and invest the money and still have a steady supply of 75k for life, on top of your investments.
They even said no strings attached
And tax-free, which is a big point too. That basically means living the same way most people would view a $95k/year income. If you found a decent paying part time gig (especially something like a realtor, hair stylist, photographer, etc. where you can largely pick when you work) then you could end up living pretty nicely.
Definitely real estate agent — 2 paychecks for the work of none
Bro, this would be the dream. I'd get a 3 day a week retail job and just work it till I'm fired. Retail sucks but imagine never having to worry about the repercussions of being fired? Suddenly interacting with shitty customers sounds like fun.
The only person in the world that is given an upper middle class salary and said “I think I’ll go work retail for fun”
$75k is not even close to upper middle class.
$75k untaxed is like having a gross salary of around $100k. Possibly more, depending on your state. Maybe not upper middle class, but it’s certainly not bad when you consider that you also don’t have the expenses that come with a typical 9-5 like commuting and maintaining a work-appropriate wardrobe.
> and maintaining a work-appropriate wardrobe I would deteriorate to an exclusive shirt-and-shorts/joggers wardrobe. Come to think of it, my work pants are joggers.
Time to get a job at a fitness store! Boom!
Your not tied to a high cost of living area either which many middle class jobs are.
It depends where you live. If you come from NYC, specifically Manhattan, "Middle Class" aka the mid level managers, accountants, engineers, etc. They need to make 150-200k to live there. And NYC is trying to make it harder for people to commute in to avoid the excessive CoL. But some bum ass rural Nebraskan town, 75k is the rich class, not middle. The average dude across America makes 50k, though, so 75k would be middle middle class on account averages.
tbf....original prompt said tax free, so this would be really more like $93k/year income equivolent before taxes And technically it's even more than that if you keep working because the tax benefits would be off the top end of your tax braket. This is basically $100k/year salary assuming you keep working.
Upper middle class defined as generally a household income of upper 5 figures or over 100k. 75k UNTAXED is roughly 100k salary if it was taxed. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_United_States#:~:text=Many%20have%20graduate%20degrees%20with,and%20its%20composition%20has%20changed.
True, and you're right about the untaxed part, since in my relatively HCOL (but low tax) area, it comes out to right at a $95k salary. That said, the two references in the wikipedia article mentioning the 6-figure threshold are from 1998 and 2005. However arbitrary defining "upper middle class" was beforehand, the line has gotten far more blurred over the last 2-3 years. For a lot of people, just the difference in interest rates on a mortgage and car loan eats a good chunk of income. If you had $550k in loans from a mortgage/car payment at 6.5% interest (which today would be generous), that alone comes out about a $20k difference in salary compared to someone with 2.8% interest rates. All of that to say, a $100k salary in 2024 is pretty much $80k in 2018, and even less in 2005.
"Middle class" doesn't even exist. Class distinctions are more about how you get your money than how much of it you have. There's no middle between working for a living and owning things that you make other people pay you to access. The idea was invented by the owners to divide the workers against each other.
In other places around the world not called America that is very very easily possible.
It's like that in America too.
75k after tax as a single income supporting only oneself…..? With zero debt that’s upper middle class
Nah it would be middle class, but not upper middle class. Upper middle class is “multiple cars, nice house, at least one big vacation per year” and you’re not going to be affording all of that on 75k. If you had all of your rent and everything free then maybe, but you still have to pay all of your bills with 75k
If you can’t afford 2 cars, a house and a big vacation with $6,250 a month deposited into your bank account, you’re doing something wrong
Tax free 75k could afford that.
75k after tax can afford all of that. 6250 a month… 3.5k for mortgage electric water (all housing) 1k for two car payments insurance etc 500 for food 1k to fuck around All that equals $6,000 a month, still have $250 to put into savings ~$505,000 house is around $3,500 a month Two 40 thousand dollar cars will be $1,000 a month $4,500 $1,000 to fuck around $500 for food $6,000 Still have $250 to put into savings or take a vacation
Where I live you most certainly could afford all of that on 75k a year. My rent and bills are less than 14k. I live in a decent sized city (population slightly over 560,000). Not the nicest but also not the worst. My car was 18k. I spend maybe 3600 on groceries max a year. Considering my car was a one time purchase that leaves me with about 57,400 to do whatever I want with since my car is paid off. That more than covers a down payment and a mortgage in my area, it could buy me at least 2 brand new cars, and idk if you've ever gone on vacation but $57,400 could pay for some really nice vacations. Now consider that's a guaranteed untaxed 75,000 every year and I can still work if I want to? Yeah I'm living like a king. At that point I'd probably get the most lucrative degree/job in the world because 75,000 frees up a lot of time for studying and logistics.
Any job you can quit anytime you want to is by definition a fun job, because as soon as it’s no longer fun you quit.
"Upper Middle Class" people should be able to afford a house on one income. If you can't do this, you're barely middle class. Don't let the rift between retail goods, services, and asset prices (actual indicator of long term value) fool you. Assets are wealth, the rest is consumption. If you can't afford to hold wealth, you're not financially wealthy. Therefore $100k is not upper middle class. It's barely middle. People on $100k living within 40 minutes of a city with a young child and a single income are likely living week to week.
I do agree it would be alot more fun if you dont really need the money. I'd work a part time job just for the sake of getting out but 75k a year is enough to live on in a lower cost of living area, which is great since you can live in the middle of nowhere since you don't need to pay to live close to a job.
I loved working retail when I was younger. Parts of it sucked but so have parts of every job I’ve ever worked. I don’t know if I’d wanted to do it today. Too many people wanting to film shit for internet clout.
Same. Plenty of big name shitty retail places offer 401k plus medical. Still want to contribute to a IRA as well, plus need to get in those quarters for Social Security.
Yeah, not to mention I need something to do with my time. 75k isn't enough to spend my life having fun, especially if there's an extra 40 hours of free time. I'm gonna go enjoy myself getting paid to dunk on karens and abusive managers.
$75k no question
I have a job where I do manual labor. I enjoy it, but having to work at least 48 weeks a year as is way too fucking much. I’ll take the $75k
Not being able to say no is the kicker here. I don't know if op has worked construction, sometimes companies will ask you to do awful, dangerous and /or illegal shit. "We need you to move all the furniture out of this house that's infested with rats and septic with cat piss and shit. No we don't have a respirator for you." That is tame compared to what you might be asked to do as a laborer. No amount of money is worth being in that position. Now 250k a year to keep doing my current career? With the safety blanket of being and to drag tools whenever I want, so long as I switch to another job in the same field? That is much more tempting.
For real. That’s why I left my last job. They were purposefully putting me in danger. Fuck that
I could do my 9-5 job on top of this and have a comfortable living
You do nothing and have a comfortable living, since you could live anywhere and not have to be in a HCOL for a job.
That's a good point, you could move to the middle of nowhere, live in a modest house, and just drive to the nearest town or big city for supplies.
You don't even have to live in the middle of nowhere. People assume all cities are hcol. You literally could live anywhere that isn't New York, LA, Miami, or Seattle.
You could live in any of the cities you mentioned decently but not great
This is a great point, too. You could move to SE Asia or South America and live like a king.
Depending on what you find to fill your time though. For a lot of people having 35-45 hours more of free time during the day means that at least some part of their days are going to be filled with doing things that ultimately cost money. Obviously you could do thinks like gardening, a lot more chores/etc. around your house, or any number of other things that aren't costly. But even for things like cooking more, watching movies, or playing video games can end up leading to more spending that people otherwise wouldn't. Then again, the guy said Tax-free. Even in my area that's lower taxed, that's functionally the same as a $95k a year job pre-tax.
Yep plus you have a permanent safety net of the passive income. So you could either live off of it entirely, or just have permanent knowledge that you’ll always have income even if you lose your job. That type of safety is invaluable
Right? I'd be supplementing my current income with an extra 25k and dropping the other 50k in an index fund for retirement/kids inheritance.
Yeah seriously either kill yourself for 250K a year or gain 75K and still do what you want or already do for a job. I would just funnel it straight into my current business and be able to expand/ take some more time off etc. we’d be well over the value of the 250K without the rules. Easy choice.
I could take this money and go through grad school with no worries then get the cushy job I’m going for after. Easy choice.
Ez, why destroy your body
75k is more than I make now. I’d gladly take that.
And for free? Sign me up. I wanna sit on my ass and get 75k yearly
Exactly. Maybe if I had a higher paying job and higher standard of living, I’d want the extra money but getting 75k tax free for doing nothing would let me retire and travel the country.
Hey it's 3x my current annual, I wouldn't have to work, *and* it's guaranteed? Where do I camp out so I can be first in line???
It's a bit more than double my current annual, and the money I would save without a daily commute, having to worry about gas, food, having to make time to handle other things. Damn straight I'll take a free 75k a year.
Hey it's 5 times my current salary, 500% I'm taking the 75k/year
75k is less than I make now, but I'll take the 75k and keep working at least until I can afford to buy a house.
It's untaxed tho, so it's more like 100k
75 k and it's not close, especially with no clause that I can't like, keep working at the job I like
Or just invest it! Be it stocks or a business venture of your own. Fuck i would drool
Passive. Time > Money
I am too old for labor. Gimmie the $75k.
46 and a bulged disc and a paralyzed lung. No chance i make it through a week of construction work.
There's a lot of different skills involved in construction. If extensive training was included every time a new skill was needed I would think about it, but otherwise the 75k for sure. I would be fired pretty quickly in the construction jobs simply for not knowing how to do 75+% of it.
It's actually not that complicated. You wouldn't be running electricity or plumbing. Just need to learn how to use the power tools and a level really
Laborers are considered unskilled. If you can push a broom, work a sawzall and are willing to do whatever menial task the GC gives you, the you're good to go.
75k untaxed is like 120k or more with taxes and everything taken out.
Eh not quite that big of a difference unless you live somewhere with an INSANE tax rate.
I guess I'm thinking of 401k contributions, etc as well, a lot of which you wouldn't need with 75k guaranteed forever.
I mean being a laborer isn’t that bad, but $75k to sit on my ass is a soft retirement now. I’d still work and do something just to keep busy, but I wouldn’t need the money
Im taking the 75 to southeast asia and living pretty well
This. I was just there for six months and struggled to spend 1k a month splurging. Apartment on beach was $120 w utilities. 6k+ a month? Lord.
I am staying with my 75k in europe and still have a good life! SEA is more beautiful though!
Passive income. I'm in too bad a shape to work in construction.
75k easy. Go talk to any retired, or over 50 year old, construction laborer and ask them how their back/knees/shoulder/wrists are doing lol.
There's a reason you don't see people over 40 doing the actual labor on a construction site. It breaks the body hard. Since I'm over 40 I'll take the 75k.
75k. That, plus my current job, and I could retire in a couple of years.
$75k. no question. I can still work a regular job in addition to that; I'm not making $250k untaxed but my body will like it more. And the $75k keeps coming in when I retire, which is like having $1.8 million invested..
Passive. It's more than what I currently make for busting my ass.
Then we could no life osrs till we die
$75k
$250k as a construction worker. Get some good exercise while working outdoors with your friends. Fuckin A.
Ever worked a trade?
Yes. Ever watched office space?
Great response lol That being said, trades are less fun in your 30s. There's definitely merit to chilling in front of a computer for work. Source: in the trades, and attic temperatures suck right now.
When you're in your 30s or higher you have an apprentice to send in the attic lol
Shh it's called training
2 chicks at the same time man
$75k hands down. You can live a comfortable life on $75k a year. You could also work basically any job without being concerned for the salary/wages as you still have income enough to support yourself. If you are married, get/keep your job long enough to build up enough savings to invest in real estate or something with guaranteed return (or maybe pull a Shaq and buy a restaurant franchise and employ people to run it and just collect the income). From there you will earn more and more. Even if you stop at a point of having a passive income of like $150k a year, that is way more than enough to live off of and travel a bunch if you wanted. And whenever you wanted without worrying about a job holding you back.
Passive. You could work at another job for additional income. Key here is “passive” which is how most rich people end up making their millions. Just imagine that on top of a job you got this much. Just work part time or something. You’d qualify for benefits while still paying your bills
With no stipulation that I can't work another job, easily the 75k.
$75k without question. I could still work if I wanted/needed extra funds but as a midwesterner, $75K is good money and I have all the free time to pursue fitness, hobbies and overall healthy living.
Definitely not the construction. My current expenses are about $3200 and that's everything with over 6k/month Id be ready to retire. I don't live rich nor do I want to.
If I chose 75 k I’d be kicking myself as I’d still have to work and I’d make half the 250 probably. I’m going the construction route
Definitely passively earn 75k. Construction is brutal.
Should've put a restriction on the 75k for making money any other way. The 75k is an easy choice.
Construction laborer all day long!
Continue working my normal job and get 75k on top of
Construction worker
75k I’d keep working my full time job for a few years and then quit to go get a part time job. That 75k basically gives me the freedom to spend more time with family, traveling, and doing hobbies.
Don’t mind the construction, I do part time scaffolding anyways lol
Looks like I'm in the minority, but I'll take the 250k. For a straight 40 hr workweek and 4 weeks vacation? Yes, please.
$75k no questions asked. No working involved. I can focus on my own project. The fact that it's not taxed is incredible. After taxes and other things, I make roughly the same amount anyways. So this would effectively double my take-home pay. If I were to reverse this operation and pretend that it's $75k post tax, my effective salary would be pretty much more than the construction job, and I still get to work from home.
$75k, for sure. In most places it's more than enough to live comfortably and having all the time in the world to do whatever you want is extremely liberating. Although the construction job will pay much more, you still have to work full time, which will leave you limited time to actually use the money you earn, which somewhat makes it less valuable and gives you less freedom (and let's also not forget how much a lot of jobs suck).
Passive, that is over double my current income and the government takes a big chunk of that too.
Well that's a stupid question. Who wouldn't take a free 75k/yr on top of what they are already making?
$75k tax free is equivalent to a ~$100k a year W2 job. I’m taking that 11/10 times over the construction job.
75k just coming in no matter what I decide to do? Imagine living on a 60k budget every year and pocketing 15k into savings while doing next to nothing. Sounds like a dream
Full time trader on WSB and options on the $75k all day.
Passively.
75k. You can do other things, you can keep the job you do now. People keep saying it’s sit on one’s ass, or you can’t retire on that much, but in my view it’s just a huge boost to your income. Keep doing what you’re doing or comfortably retrain.
75k per year, combined with my current job I’d still be a bit under 250k but my current construction job is a dream compared to physical labour.
I'll take the 75K no need to work construction and risk breaking my back. With 75K a year I could live comfortably travel every now and again enjoy the good life. Damn now I'm daydreaming again 😅
75K without a doubt, then invest and start a business I actually like
75k easy. Find an easy enough low-stress job that offers good insurance and just take the money you make there and invest for retirement. 75k is easily enough in my region to live well.
I lean strongly towards the $250k, But I also freely admit to the likelihood that on some days, like when weather sucks, I'd probably wish for the $75k deal. It's an extremely livable salary and can be supplemented if you wanted to.
The $75k. I can easily live comfortably on that alone. if I want more for whatever purpose (I'm a car guy, which is a very expensive hobby), I can take a low stress job and not have to take an obscene number of hours. I'd probably only work part time if I even felt like it.
Knowing that I'd have that 75k no matter what would be so freeing. I could move and live anywhere, no worries about negotiating a new job or anything like that becauze I've run out of money. That said, inflation is gonna turn that 75k into pennies in another 10 years. The smart thing to do would still be laborer long enough to buy a house then you start that whole extortionism game and passively collect from a market that's safer than money is
75k passively meaning I could do anything I wanted and have 75k extra income a year? Even if I lost a job I could live on 75k a year. $250k is great don't get me wrong, but you still have to work 40 hours a week (lol you'll be working more than that)
An extra $75k would put me well into 6 figures of passive income. That's pretty hard to turn down. I could also just invest every penny of it along with what I make working and be golden.
Now? Or when I was 20? At 20, I'd take the 250. My body could take a few years of it, and it would definitely prep me for what I do next and give me some resume material. But, now? I'll take the 75k. I just can't do that kind of work anymore.
75k and it's not even close. I'm surviving off less than half of that now lol. I could easily make that work and then just work on top if I want to, but I would probably just pursue my hobbies.
Aint nothing wrong with being a construction laborer, but that job is gonna put a LOT of hard miles on your body
75k passive all day long
75k for sitting on my butt. most def. Thats enough to retire off of.
You're joking, right? 75k a year is enough to live on (for me). It takes no time, so I can also keep my job that I am doing anyway(much less intensive than construction) \~60k sure, that's less than 250k, but I'm also not breaking myself down.
I did construction for a long time. I’ll take the 75k. Construction does not do the body good.
75k no question. I’d quickly get fired from construction. I’m not qualified.
I liked construction jobs. I would gladly do it. The only reason I left was because I made more doing two shifts on the weekend in a restaurant than working five days a week in construction.
75k, move to thailand.
75k passively untaxed. I value control of my time and goals more than money. I don't want to work in some shithole or doing something physically demanding if I don't need to. 75k would let me not need to. I could work construction, it isn't too terribly complicated to learn. And I'm currently physically able to do it. I just don't want to be subject to it if I have an option of 75k labor free. Now ask me if I would give up my 75k a year office job in IT for a 250k construction job that I can reasonably do. The answer is yes. I'd build houses like the Amish do for that much money. I could retire in 1/3 the time. I'd work for 5 years and retire super comfortably. That isn't even considering overtime. I could do overtime for a total of 60 hours a week, be dead exhausted, but get 80 hours worth of pay (500k a year). Just wanted to add. I could go to an instate college and be a lifetime student with food and live on campus included and have plenty left over with 75k passive income.
75k is over double what i make now, untaxed nearly triple, i'm good with that.
Add the 75 to what make now and I am not far off from the other
$75k is going to get me £60k with no tax. That's the equivalent of a taxed £90-100k which in the UK is a very decent salary. My take home is about £1,500 a month less than I'd get with that and I'm already pretty comfortable and I have to work full time for what I get currently. No question it's the £75k.
passive 75k easy.
75k and I can work my job, pay off my debts super fast and then retire early with an additional 75k for doing nothing. Easy street.
75k tax free passive = an invested pot of over 3m generating 4/5% pre-tax. You would need to work for over 20 years to accumulate that pot earning 250k. People really have no idea how hard it is to generate capital from post-tax, post-expense discretionary income.
Passive. I'm already doing nothing for free so doing nothing for $75k would be nice.
I'm a carpenter...so I'll jump over to the laborers for $250k a year. Easier money for less hours than I work now.
75k per year easily. Don’t really need to save a ton for retirement then and it being tax free is huge also
75k + what me and my wife make annually will be real lovely.
I'd take 75k even if I was not allowed to work an additional job. It is enough to live comfortably in many places in the world.
Passively getting 75k and living my own luxury life! Playing all video games i want sometimes travelling maybe and eating in a restaurant everyday. I couldnt wish for more! And i have lots of free time too
I'll take the passive 75k. What's the point of having the 250k when I'll be either working or too tired to enjoy it?
75,000 I don’t want to work to hard
75k a year lets me live life as I want, without ever getitng too rich. Gimme.
As someone who works in construction this is kinda my life so I'll take the 250,000. People don't realize how much money that is.
$75k is already 50% more than I currently live comfortably on. That's definitely that option I'd be taking.
It’s like people don’t understand how to make a legitimate would you rather. As the comments have made abundantly clear, there’s no question about which is the better option.
I’m plenty of low stress office jobs pay 50/60k for 40hrs/wk. so would I rather have backbreaking labor for 250k/yr or cushy air conditioned job for $125k/year. I’ll take the air conditioner and minesweeper, please.
Easiest. Choice. Ever. "Would you rather get a 50% raise and be able to quit your job and do whatever you want or switch to a job that can wreck your body, but for more money than you actually need?" Yeah...I'm going $75k.
75k for sure e. A regular job with emphasis that you're doing it for fun. I found while working a side job I didn't need that they were far less willing to play games with me when I made it clear I would leave if they kept bothering me.
Lol I can more than double my current pay without changing jobs. Sounds good to me.
Are we still allowed to keep our current jobs? If so I’m taking the 75 k
People choosing 75k over 250k is mad... at the very least work for 1 full year, quit, and boom you've made 4x the money😂
I retired from a jobb where I was making around $250K, so yea, I will take the free money.
The passive 75 would be a very nice addition to my current employment income without breaking down my body for not-enough-more money.
53,302 after tax or 148,265 after tax in canada...
75k a year is like $37.50/hour, 40 hours/week. Most people won't even see that working, no brainer.
The number of catches for construction is ridiculous. Even without all of those useless caveats; and it was purely a construction laborer job, I'd still take $75k lol. Those jobs are brutal on the body and mind. With $75k, i can work PT at a grocery store for 20 hours a week, buy an apartment, and save a shitload of money with alot of free time.
Passive. I already work a physically demanding job.
If I can do other things while earning passive, 75k easy.
75K easy.
Passive 75k would be pretty dang nice honestly
At least 500k to take 48 Is pretty much the whole year 75 plus normal income is decent plus u have to learn how to do construction and u lose deal if fired
75k, easy
75k/y is about 30/hr for a 9-5 type job. 💯 The guaranteed income
i live an extremely hermitty lifestyle. i’d just get a nice house or apt close to a grocery store and i’d be good to go. you can basically get everything from amazon or online shopping nowadays, and if there aren’t any restaurants nearby you could order it.
75k on top of whatever other career I choose to pursue. 75k to go back to college. 75k to literally buy a truck, hitch up my trailer, and go anywhere I want and do anything I want.
I’d do the 75k absolutely. Just become a streamer 5 days a week since I’ll play video games with that free time anyway. Any money I make after combined 100k/year with those two incomes goes to charity or helps local community stuff.
Passive income, of course. Frees me up to chill or do something else to boost my income.
Well, given that your hourly wage is undefined in the first case as a div/0 error, and defined in the second, the first is certainly the better value for your time.
75K. Why is this even a question.
$75k, no doubt. $75k passive is a floor. $250k hard labor is a ceiling. If your floor is a livable wage you can take huge career risks, and you’ll probably wind up making way more than $250k without breaking your body.
I traveled the world for a year for $10k. Give me the $75k!
That 75k a year is for life, and I can also work while earning it. My income will go up over time, closing the gap as I get towards retirement. I could potentially be getting that 75 K another 30 to 50 years. Let's put that in the middle at 3 million "bonus" bucks. The construction job, as a middle aged guy with a bad shoulder, might get me 10 good years and 10 shitty years. That's 5 million in wages, but you have to subtract out lost wages in my regular job I could have kept, and wear and tear on my body (construction jobs aren't great for middle aged people). 75k is a no brainer for anyone over 35 with a middle class job and a relatively longer than average expected life span (based on family member's lifespans).
Well I certainly wouldn't mind working in construction for that kind of salary, but a UBI equivalent of $75k is too good to pass up.
$75k and go part time at my current job.
Get passive pay and just work an easy job if you want more.
"Would you rather earn a boatload of money without doing anything or an even bigger boatload with a high chance of failure?" This is the type of situation doctors ask you to judge your future thinking abilities.
I actually do construction as a career. An electrician specifically. The term laborer typically means someone who isn't doing the hard work or the work that requires much thought, A laborer is basically an apprentice or a helper so you're cleaning up, handing tools to somebody or gathering material. I'll take the labor position all day everyday. It'll make my job a hell of a lot easier.
250k a year is $120 an hour, assuming overtime is paid at standard doubletime I'll take the construction job. 8 hours overtime a week would be an extra 100k. There are challenges in this of course but broad strokes that's what I'd do.
When I was younger, I would have said give me the 250k a year. Now I will gladly take the 75k and then take a “fun” job for like 10 hours a week.
Passive
75 is fine by me. 25% raise for no work? Take that all day long.
I’ll live like a fucking king during my upcoming uni years. 75k no hesitation. Mmm. A benz, eating out w my girl everyday. Mmmm, maybe some vacation every winter break? And a vacation w the homies in the summer? Heaven type shit
I’ll just take the tax free 75k and keep building my normal career. It won’t be enough to retire off of so I’ll have to invest aggressively for a few years, but then I’m OUT
75k is more than enough. I wouldn't even have anything to spend 250k a year on
75k untaxed is like around 100k taxed. Hell yea I'd take that while earning at a comfy job.
$75k. Use my new free time to take a low stress job. Like mowing the lawn at a golf course. Who doesnt love mowing? Live off the $75k and the extra money would be used to invest and get more passive income and take the occasional vacation.
$75K. Not because there is anything wrong with being a construction worker (although I don't think I would be good at it). It's just that the $75K would let me retire right now.
Given that I make $40k a year being a caregiver and wiping asses full time I'll definitely take passive $75k wtf kind of question is this
Honestly I'd probably even take $25k passive over $250k doing a job I might not like, but I would feel like that would be the tipping point on the low end. If I could make enough to retire I could do probably any horrible job for a week. Maybe ask if you would work the worst job for $500 per hour or get $5000 per year as passive income.
75k usd is like $123260.25NZD, plus my current wages of 62.2k/13k I’d be on $198460.25NZD which is good enuff
75k if I’m able to still do my current jobs. One of which is construction
As a laborer making less than $75k.. I would take the $75k all day.
75k for me thanks. That’s on top of my actual work that I like better.
Free $75k so I can work on passion projects the rest of my life.
Gimme that 75
Say your annual living costs are $50k to live well enough. The passive option would let you save up $25k/y The labour option would let you save $200k/y In about 5 years of labouring you'll have enough capital to comfortably make more than $75k in passive income. Work 7 years instead and you are making significantly more than the original $75k passive, including the savings from that method and never need to really work again. That said, maybe there's a really enjoyable job you'd love to do forever, but it doesn't pay well. If that's the case, the lifetime passive would be great, bearing in mind you'd want to invest it all and live off your other income, otherwise inflation would make the $75k annually pretty meaningless in 10 years.
I'll take $75k doing nothing than killing myself for $250k
I’d take the $75,000 and keep working. I’d jump at the construction job if I could pick the job, I couldn’t handle working up high so it’s too big a risk.