The household income is $127,894 (is that before or after tax?) but the median is somewhere around $79-85k. Taxes are deducted from one’s paycheck as it’s done in all countries (so the US isn’t any different in that regard). If you live in NYC: how much actually appears in your paycheck when you minus taxes? Consider cost of living on housing, groceries, utilities, council or maintenance fees. Is $80,000 enough to pay those?
Rent is a joke, that’s not the only thing you’re paying. If you’re moving from another state: there’s a deposit too you have to pay on top of utilities (water, electricity, gas), council fees (like garbage collection), maintenance fees (landlord needs to retain upkeep). If you have a car: registration or license renewal (via DMV), gasoline and etc. The internet & phone cost money (LTE from the provider and internet connection from the ISP).
To break them down, is $80,000 per year (after taxes) enough to cover:
- Council fees (i.e. waste & water services from NYC: garbage collection, recycling and water supply)
- Maintenance fees (i.e. apartment needs upkeep, cost landlords money on repairs or renovations)
- Utilities (i.e. using the stove, having a hot shower, turning the lights on: water, gas & electricity)
- Rent (i.e. you pay $5000 a month for a studio apartment but it may cost more due to a deposit)
- Groceries (i.e. are able to fill up the entire refrigerator that can last you weeks without installments)
- Data plans (i.e. Verizon or AT&T charge you money for LTE and internet usage, it’s a subscription)
80k before tax or after? and supporting a family or not? contributing to retirement or not?
the way the govt is going I wouldn’t count on much from social security and Medicare when u retire, so contribute to retirement asap.
but at that level, rent will eat up half your income. if you’re making 80k before tax, it’s going to be tight. parking is also insanely expensive
you may likely be able to move further out and get lower rent