What would you do if you earned $10,000 per month?

Options
1…89101214

Replies

  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
    Options
    I love my happy little house and my 3 kids. I enjoy the simple things...

    With that said, I'd buy a bigger boat. I might do some more landscaping around the house but...meh.

    Oh, and I'd ditch the minivan. and get a truck with an extended cab.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Options
    Don't ever have children...

    Pay $3000 in taxes
    Pay $2000 for a mortgage
    Pay $1000 in utilities and maintenance
    Pay $1000 to feed the family
    Pay $1000 to keep the cars running, insured, and gassed up
    Pay $1000 in tuition and retirement
    Pay $999 in medical expenses
    Spend $1 on myself

    In my case, move the 949 of the medical expensis to baby savings and that's basically my budget now. I don't have children yet =(
  • StarvingDiva
    StarvingDiva Posts: 1,107 Member
    Options

    WOW 1700 on unemployment??!!??!!!!!! what I wouldn't give to see hubs bring that home when he is laid off....we have 3 kids and he only brings home just over 1000 a month on it

    Luckily I live in one state but worked in another, if I had to get unemployment in my own state it would be a heck of a lot less. Also, don't get too excited about my 1700 a month, I'm not paying taxes on that, so come tax time, I'll have to pay the Piper.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    Options

    Two chicks at the same time....I figure if I made that much I could probably hook that up

    Oh ha. ya think?
  • jennifer3998
    jennifer3998 Posts: 144 Member
    Options
    HUH? I live in Singapore, and YES, everyone (but me) has a "helper" (no one has a driver), but my 3 BR apartment costs $10,000 a month (and it's average), and my child's schooling (because we are not locals) costs over $30K a year. I paid $10 for a bunch of tomatoes the other day, and at a minimum, everything is generally twice as much as the US. It's not the same in all of Asia. This country is the 8th most expensive place to live in the world. $120K would get your nowhere fast. And the live-in help issue is a thorn in my side, because even though it's common, I refuse to pay someone $400/month to work all day for me 6 days a week. It disgusts me.

    This whole thread is a joke. You cannot compare apples to oranges. Even where I lived outside of Philadelphia before this, $120K would get you very little.

    And the OP wants to buy an island? Hilarious.


    This is why I said I'd live out of the country (after stacking $$) With that much money, you'd have a driver, personal chef, and nanny if you'd like for 24 hours a day. At least in Asia that would cost you about "$80-$100" a month each.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    Options

    For all the folks expressing how hard it is to live on as little as $10,000 a month, I get that certain areas are quite expensive. I just hope that you remember that most of the people in your expensive place to live do not make as much money as you do. I wonder how they make it if you are "barely able to survive".

    The US Median income declined to about $26K per year in 2011. Sure, one person. So $52K per year for a two-earner family. Half of what is "just getting by" for some.

    Just something to think about.

    This is sort of the way the "99%" schtick goes. You know what? MOST people who make $120k or more a year (and I will reiterate, it is NOT that much --I paid back that much in student loans over 22 years, and DIDN'T get them forgiven, btw), went to school for DANG LONG TIME and took out a lot of loans to do it.

    You're kinda preaching here that they should be grateful, and yes they should. We ALL ought to be grateful for the many blessings we have.

    However, education is an investment, and if someone makes a decision at the age of 18 to invest the next 4-10 years in school pursuing a degree(s) and career path into a high paying field, then pays back their loans and accepts the responsibilities and commitments required in order to succeed in that field, then their investment will likely pay off. They have WORKED for what they got.

    Let them spend their money the way they will without sanctimonious lectures.

    Those who didn't make the same investment in education might decide later to follow Snooki's footsteps and make millions that way. Of course there are some who do NOTHING but collect welfare and/or scam worker's comp to sit around and live, less comfortably, yes, but hey -- they get to hang at home.

    Whatever.

    Bill Gates doesn't owe me a dime, and neither does he owe you.
  • jennifer3998
    jennifer3998 Posts: 144 Member
    Options

    For all the folks expressing how hard it is to live on as little as $10,000 a month, I get that certain areas are quite expensive. I just hope that you remember that most of the people in your expensive place to live do not make as much money as you do. I wonder how they make it if you are "barely able to survive".

    The US Median income declined to about $26K per year in 2011. Sure, one person. So $52K per year for a two-earner family. Half of what is "just getting by" for some.

    Just something to think about.

    Thank you. My husband and I make good money (and like some people think on here, he doesn't work 15 hours a day meaning he is away from his kids all the time) and I still have school loans. I live a wonderful life, but we chose our path and I'm not going to apologize for it. Reading these responses makes people seem like devils who do "okay" or better. $120K is not a lot of money these days, I'm sorry.

    This is sort of the way the "99%" schtick goes. You know what? MOST people who make $120k or more a year (and I will reiterate, it is NOT that much --I paid that much in student loans, and DIDN'T get them forgiven, btw), went to school for DANG LONG TIME and took out a lot of loans to do it.

    You're kinda preaching here that they should be grateful, and yes they should. We ALL ought to be grateful for the many blessings we have.

    However, education is an investment, and if someone makes a decision at the age of 18 to invest the next 4-10 years in school pursuing a degree(s) and career path into a high paying field, then pays back their loans and accepts the responsibilities and commitments required in order to succeed in that field, then their investment will likely pay off. They have WORKED for what they got.

    Let them spend their money the way they will without sanctimonious lectures.

    Those who didn't make the same investment in education might decide later to follow Snooki's footsteps and make millions that way.

    Whatever.

    Bill Gates doesn't owe me a dime, and neither does he owe you.
  • jennifer3998
    jennifer3998 Posts: 144 Member
    Options
    Oops, I posted in the middle of the quoted text.



    Thank you. My husband and I make decent money (and like some people think on here, he doesn't work 15 hours a day meaning he is away from his kids all the time) and I still have school loans. I live a wonderful life, but we chose our path and I'm not going to apologize for it. Reading these responses makes people seem like devils who do "okay" or better. $120K is not a lot of money these days, I'm sorry. For the last eight years I've created my own business, sitting for hours a day at a sewing machine, when I have law school under my belt. All because I wanted to stay home with the kids. Everyone has a story.
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
    Options
    Pay off my damn student loans quicker than I am already.
    Get a nice-ish apartment.
    Switch to humane meat in my diet.
    Be happy that I could live comfortably. I don't need a ton of things, but it would be nice not to live paycheck to paycheck.
  • lisag2007
    lisag2007 Posts: 130
    Options
    Become a stay at home mom. I am missing out on so much with my little boy and he is the only one I will ever have. :( Remodel my mom's house or heck....build her a new one if she wants. Travel. Shop. Get Lasik surgery and pay it with cash. :) Buy my husband a new truck/car or whatever it is he would like. And help out those in need. And finish my building that my husband is working on for my sewing room. :)
  • umachanxo
    umachanxo Posts: 926 Member
    Options
    - Student Loans first and foremost.
    - Student Line of Credit
    - Purchase a house
    - Invest some

    - Visit our sponsored children, Salissou and Sumaiya. I've always wanted to go and see them with my husband and just be able to talk to them face to face, but that kind of travel is expensive.

    - Travel
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
    Options
    It doesn't go as far as you wish it would. Mortgages, car payments, utilities, taxes... Now if my husband and I both took home 10k each/month.. that would be awesome!
  • TXBelle1174
    TXBelle1174 Posts: 615 Member
    Options
    1) Pay off all debt - however many months that took. I wouldnt change my lifestyle at all until it was all gone - cars, student loans, credit - everything
    2) Buy a house and new furniture to go in it (I would have to save enough for a down payment and to pay cash for the things I wanted, but thats ok)
    3) Invest (Take a healthy percentage every month and invest it)
    4) Help out family members - set my mom up with a monthly allotment so that she could retire right now, instead of 5 years from now. Not a lot but $500 a month would help her out tremendously
    5) Save, save, save - I would have a college fund for both of my kids and a rainy day fund for the household. Easily accessible in case of emergencies. Also a retirement fund, which I am sure would be supplemented by my job.
    6) Give some away - I would give to a couple different charities. Giving money away brings it back ten-fold. Not a lot, but something. More than I can afford to give away now, which is pretty much nothing.
    7) Buy myself a new horse trailer - and maybe a fancy show pony to go in it. :)
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    Options
    Become a stay at home mom. I am missing out on so much with my little boy and he is the only one I will ever have. :( Remodel my mom's house or heck....build her a new one if she wants. Travel. Shop. Get Lasik surgery and pay it with cash. :) Buy my husband a new truck/car or whatever it is he would like. And help out those in need. And finish my building that my husband is working on for my sewing room. :)

    When I earned $118k I was a single working mom who did NOT get child support or alimony.
  • Jain
    Jain Posts: 861 Member
    Options
    btdt, at the time I didn't need that much. Socked 20% away in my 401K. Traveled more on a whim. Otherwise, lived pretty much the same as now and before. I still budget and plan. You'd be surprised how ordinary it is... My big lifestyle breakthrough was from bike to car, after college graduation. I still savor driving, warm and comfortable, in the rain.

    Yes. It sounds a lot, but by the time the tax man had taken his pound of flesh (up to 40% in the UK :angry: ) you've paid the ever increasing utilities bills and the morgage, made a payment into your pension fund and paid the CC bill, then there's the petrol to pay for and at £1.49 per LITRE( that £6.77* a gallon!) there's not a huge amount left. And my husband has to drive for work. He has a decent car, but it's a company car as there is no way we could afford to buy it, so he get to pay extra tax on it. I don't drive, so we are a one car family.
    We have enough to live 'comfortably' and have a decent holiday each year (one year in the UK in our caravan to save money, the next year abroad). But we don't have money to throw around, we rarely go out, maybe once a month, and any big purchases we have to save for.
    We are better off than a lot of people and for that we are thankful, but my husband works very long hours and is away from home all week, he's just home at weekends and it's been like that for going on 18 years, so it's no bed of roses.

    * £6.77 = $10.90
  • hikezilla
    hikezilla Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    Well pretty soon that 10K/mo will be worth a few bucks less. In that income range you'll be considered one of the evil wealthy by the IRS so get ready to hand over a few more bucks. About 2500 in fed tax, 800 in social security, about 600 in state income tax, 300 for medicare (and going up up up)...then remember if you invest it, your capital gains tax will amount to about 28% of your profits, plus state income taxes on that too...you'll still have over $5K a month though...after all that.

    A 250K home will run about $2500 a month for payment, taxes, insurance, and interest
    A car payment of $350 a month is modest
    A house that size will run about $500 a month for utilities (water, gas, power)

    Still leaves a couple K a month for groceries, savings, hobbies, and frozen pizza.

    I think I could manage on that.
  • Skinny_Jeans_Soon
    Skinny_Jeans_Soon Posts: 326 Member
    Options
    Your tax rate would be sky high and IRS would take most of your money which stinks; I hate it. We paid 26k this year and will probably owe 10k more, it makes me want to scream. Add 4 kids in daycare and we are on a tight, tight monthly budget just to make ends meet. When the IRS is eating the majority of your income you don't have any fluff left over to play with (I am bitter, can you tell). With that said, if we made 10k after taxes, I would pay off our houses and buy lake properties for investment so we could sell when the kids get in HS to pad their college accounts.
  • hikezilla
    hikezilla Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    I would be hating the tax man

    :)

    Actually you pay a lot less, it's all company dividends, etc, so tax rates are low as hell.

    Sorry!


    Um...no...this is supposed to be your own earnings. Maybe a business or so, but mostly passive earnings.

    Okay, sorry. Maybe I wasnt clear.

    I earn a few times that figure each month as a consultant who undertakes senior roles for global financial orgs. Eg director for one right now. I can continue to do so for as long as I wish to.
    I don't accept offers to join permanently because the tax man screws the full time senior perm employee, so...

    Like most people in my position I set up my own company and pay myself a minimal salary with the remainder coming to me in dividends, etc.

    So I pay way less as a percentage - though obviously a lot more than most people in absolute terms.

    Hope that makes more sense!

    ...and I spend most of my money in property investments, I do give to a couple of charities, and sometimes help out relatives, and I do splash out on dive holidays!

    Dividends in the US are taxed at ridiculous rates. Capital gains here are stupid expensive. I hope all that is about to change though....not holding my breath.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Options
    Jobs that tend to pay that much usually involve working about 80 hours a week, so I wouldn't have time to do much.

    But let's assume I get that money for free, obviously, quit my job, move to Europe for a while and work on writing novels. That's pretty much all I want out of life.

    Oh, and I would donate A LOT to charities that help animals and maybe open my own no-kill shelter or something. That might not be enough to do that, though.
  • candykay0605
    candykay0605 Posts: 1,019 Member
    Options
    considering that i make 1,000 more than that in a YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... i would probably have a stroke

Categories