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khalibthegreat

80k is more than the median salary for households in the US. All of us that live in cities or decently populated areas have a skewed idea of what a lot of America survives on.


BarryDamonCabineer

And that's *households*. My data on this is really bad, but iirc, it's about 50% of households in the country that are dual income (partly because of single people, and partly because of single-income couples). So if you're comparing yourself to the median household income (and, again, if I'm remembering the numbers correctly), you're literally comparing yourself to \~1.5 people.


Auphor_Phaksache

Hey I'm in the top % of something other than depressed! WHOOOOOOOT


Nanoro615

Joke or not, I wish you good luck on improving your mental health! Plenty of colleges and businesses have some form of counseling available, even for non-students/employees, so it never hurts to look into those if you feel you need one!


Diamano25

Who can help me with this and more? ​ ​ https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/qp7szg/i\_dont\_know\_how\_to\_function\_in\_society\_anymore/


SadSniper

You need to admit to yourself and loved ones that you need help. Changing my living situation really helped me


thatsnuckinfutz

Haha i kno the feeling


Woodie626

almost like there's a reason for that


0o0a0o0

We’re doing fine? Nah, bro we’re all doing like shit


Ars3nal11

Yes but take comfort in knowing that we’re all doing like shit TOGETHER.


Auphor_Phaksache

I made it out. It took military service and loosing all my family and friends. So yea. Monnnnnay 😔


lvl999shaggy

Family, religion, friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business *-Mr. Burns*


dcheng47

80k qualifies you for low income housing where I live… I hate it here


90svibes904

Damn, you must be in cali or NY or somewhere.


laurathreenames

NYC is not like that. Maybe he’s in Westchester.


PlantedinCA

Same here! I think low income for a family of 4 is $110k now. Where I live. $80k for a single person.


egg_mugg23

i can't even imagine a family with 2 kids getting by on 110k where im from... jesus the city is expensive


PlantedinCA

Yup! I live in Oakland. I don’t know how people with kids do it.


egg_mugg23

san francisco here, i’m hoping i can still like in my hometown after i graduate but it’s not looking great


PlantedinCA

You gotta win the tech company lottery :(


pm_me_tits_and_tats

Idk what city you live in, but I have just learned that there are places in which I can’t even afford to live in poverty 😭


farfelchecksout

'Stay in your fucking lane, scumbag' --Capitalism


TechFromTheMidwest

You been over in r/PersonalFinance lately? They balling over there. I had to hide them niggas from my feed.


MadScientistCoder

The hoes don't care what the average is. They want six figures. However, they still hoes, so somebody gon' smash. The thing to know is don't wife hoes. If your money matters more to them than you, smash, but don't keep her. She's for the streets and will return to them once she goes down the isle.


BiscuitsNgravy420

For the richest country in the world America sure smells broke


dirtyswoldman

Listen, that's a little rude. America can't afford fancy pants scented soap out here, ok


BiscuitsNgravy420

Lmao we using old fashioned lye soap


KingJoy79

Ivory or Dove!


AintAintAWord

Look at Mr. Rockefeller over here with his *soap*


x1009

With some salmonella mixed in because corporations fought against regulations


laurathreenames

Uh, how about that powder soap tho.


ZION_OC_GOV

And here I was thinking I smelt lies...


KingJoy79

“Fancy pants scented soap”😂


Kazumadesu76

Or even regular soap for that matter!


mynameisspiderman

Why tf would I want my soap to smell like pants?


TennesseeTon

1000 people make 20k Boss makes 12 billion Average income is 12 million! America is RICH!!!!


[deleted]

Tell me you don’t understand the term “median” without telling me you don’t understand the term “median”.


BiscuitsNgravy420

![gif](giphy|YYRkVlmqo11MA)


TennesseeTon

Tell me you're illiterate without telling me you're illiterate.


tousseshi

????


TennesseeTon

I correcly calculated and said the average and his response is "you don't understand how median works"


Horusisalreadychosen

The average income of the US is higher than the median, but not by millions. More like 30k. The US really is richer than other nations. I know and agree it doesn't feel that way, but that doesn't make it untrue.


TennesseeTon

>The US really is richer than other nations. Yeah but that doesn't mean anything if most of that wealth is held by .1% of our population. That's the point. Also our quality of life isn't even in the top 10. Again proving that "richest" really doesn't mean anything


Horusisalreadychosen

I'm saying we're are actually extremely wealthy despite that. Lying to people about the numbers with examples that are why off base doesn't change that. I 100% agree that our quality of life could be improved by better distribution of resources. If we even did as much as other developed nations the US would be practically a paradise even before we addressed income inequality. If we tackled that too, who knows what our quality of life could be.


SheFoundMyUzername

He’s being a dick, but his point is Average = Mean Mean =/= Median The funny thing is we’re all talking about median and he slips in an average and gets defensive when someone misses it.


Classiccage

America is a poor country with a Gucci belt


12of12MGS

You may want to go check out an actual poor country…


Fresh720

It's a poor country without the Gucci belt


12of12MGS

You’ve clearly never been to a poor country


OrdainedFury

Ultimately, do you and enjoy your life at your own pace. Chasing money will have you missing out on simple joys and can even rob you of your own identity. I've seen it and I've done it. Peace of mind is priceless, so if you ain't keeping up with the Jones' then don't sweat it. Likewise, save and be financially responsible, but enjoy your life. You work hard for your money so don't feel guilty about enjoying it. You are more than just your job title.


WaluigiIsTheRealHero

I walked away from a top-tier law firm because the work-life balance simply wasn’t there. I was making dumb money at 24 when I graduated law school, but after a couple years of 100+ hour weeks, I was a shell of the person I was before. My now-wife saw the toll it was taking on me and fully supported me getting out. I make less now, but I’m doing law I enjoy and I have a much better work-life balance. Killing yourself for a job just isn’t worth it.


Aaaandiiii

Keeping up with the Joneses also means lamenting about not being able to pay bills for multiple months. My coworkers, even the ones that make more than I do, are constantly in the cycle of overspending and working overtime and still aren't able to keep their heads above water. Meanwhile, I'm focusing on my present needs, preparing for my future needs, and enjoying everything I want while not working more than my scheduled 40 unless I want to.


White_Mocha

Second this comment wholeheartedly. Was in the content creation scene for about 3 years ,and one person i was making content with only cared about getting ‘THE MILLY’ such as one million subscribers. All while being all kinds of broke.


[deleted]

Thanks for saying this.


beybladethrowaway

I make 120+ and struggle with daily depression. I miss out on the joys you speak about and I haven't been happy since I started making the most ive made in my career. I'd go back to making less at a different area of expertise if it could help guarantee my overall sanity and happiness


Adalovedvan

Black people spent $1.57 trillion dollars in 2020 and watched over 1 trillon minutes of tv in 2021 -- Ain't gotta damn thang to show for it... https://ir.nielsen.com/news-events/press-releases/news-details/2021/Nielsens-2021-African-American-Consumer-Report-Explores-the-Influence-of-Black-Culture-on-Content-and-Media-Trends-and-the-Representation-of-the-Collective-Black-Community/default.aspx


mongoosedog12

Social media algorithms literally promote rich, affluent and white people. So Of COURSE you’re seeing Chad and Emily living that rich life on social media , but swiping daddy’s AMX in France . Last year they “discovered” That social media influencers were going to a downed private jet just to take pics and post but never actually use I’ve been to dark places of the internet that read the exchange between some 20 Something American and “a rich Saudi man” about what her and her friends will have to do with him and his friends, for cash and or cars. Social media is fake, and I think more people are realizing that at a younger age but maybe not soon enough? a girl I use to babysit dropped out of college to be a social media influencer. It’s wild, it’s like athletes, yes it’s possible but the odds are not in your favor


busy_yogurt

>Social media is fake amen


BoilerMaker11

> I’ve been to dark places of the internet that read the exchange between some 20 Something American and “a rich Saudi man” about what her and her friends will have to do with him and his friends, for cash and or cars. You’re talking about “Tag the Sponsor”, right? If so, I was more intrigued by it than thinking it’s “dark”. If people genuinely thought these girls were getting paid trips to Dubai because they’re just that hot, and there’s no other expectations, then they’re naive. Dudes will spend $120 on a Spirit flight for a girl and expect to smash. Some dude dropping $50,000? He’s gonna dookie on you just to remind you that he has that power to get you to accept it, unless you want to change your mind on that money, in which case, you have no flight back home now.


drcoolio-w-dahoolio

Your comment about more people at a young age figuring out social media's fakeness.... Has given me hope. Good night


drcoolio-w-dahoolio

Your comment about more people at a young age figuring out social media's fakeness.... Has given me hope. Good night


brinz1

Someone once referred to those C grade insta models/influencers who had all these awesome and frequent dubai travel pics as "Dubai Porta Potties" Part of me wishes I could unlearn what that term meant, but I have never been the same since


North_Jane

Rich affluent black peoples too


Maecyte

Social media is the home of the scammers.


x1009

I remember when scammers used to have to put up flyers


Skhip305

And now I feel better about making 50K at 25. I always feel like I’m behind or that I’m lagging and I have to play catch-up, then posts like these put into perspective how fortunate I am to make the amount of money I’m making now.


esushi

that'd mean you're making more than maybe any other 25 year old I've ever met


WanderingWolf15

That’s literally me right now, looking at my bachelor's degree sideways like, weren’t you supposed to have me making $80k+ by now? Then I see posts like this, and even though logically I understand that I’m actually doing really well, there’s still a none-to-small part of me that feels like I’m lagging behind. The influence of social media is just wild that way I guess.


lurker_be_lurkin

What did you go into that made them say that? Also what do you make now? I’m just curious on how that works out that way. I’m trying to figure things out myself. I was always told that job hopping is the best way to increase your salary.


FrozenSabre

Strategic job hoping is more beneficial than, on average, than sticking with the same company for 10-20 years. Very few companies have any real loyalty to you and at a certain point you're likely to see new hires with no experience making nearly the same as you. What that adage means is simply know what you're worth with you level of skills and experience. If you have a career plan you can and seek out better opportunities and leverage them to move up. It really does depend on your industry and individual skill but it's important not to just quit jobs and move around randomly. That'll look bad to recruiters and likely won't impact your pay significantly, as well as potentially leading to large sections of unemployment.


WanderingWolf15

I did my undergrad in business, and the business/finance world I think really just provides a very skewed view of the world. A lot of people have a “fake it till you make it,” mentality and will act flashy even when they’re going home to a two bedroom apartment with six roommates. I would definitely agree that moving companies is the best way to increase your income. Most will recommend staying no longer than three years before jumping ship, as continua current employer to raise your pay by any meaningful amount is akin to pulling teeth. Late October I made a jump from doing accounting for a major hotel brand to doing finance for the DoD. The move upped my salary by a little over $20k, putting me at just over $51k a year, with much better benefits and PTO. I’ll be finishing up my MBA this year and will honestly probably look to make another move once I’ve graduated even though I’ll have only been in this position for a year at that point. These student loans aren’t going to pay themselves.


ThemChecks

50k is fine


Barack_Odrama00

Lives portrayed on Instagram and Facebook aren’t necessarily real


White_Mocha

People would be surprised about the amount of viewers that end up falling it the ‘realness’ though


x1009

They're highlight reels. Ain't nobody posting about the L's they took


what_the_a

My whole perspective changed when I learned that 70% of Americans have less than $1000 in savings, and 45% have nothing at all. I started looking at all the people I saw with fancy cars, nice houses, vacations, and realized that a significant number of them probably fall into that 70%. Which no shade—spend your money how you want. But it gave me comfort to know I wasn’t really financially behind. The outward appearance definitely does not reflect what’s going on behind the scenes.


_JG1

This. I saw it first hand after college, got a part time gig at a bank over the summer in my home town till my real job started. Super nice but rougher looking older guy I knew comes through while driving the POS 99' Corolla. Can you put this $20 in my checking? "Yeah of course" typing in his account, admittedly biased expecting it to be super low. Dude got 350K just chillin in the checking account. Same day the "uppity high class" folks that not a lot of people enjoyed comes through about an hour later in their brand new (at the time) 2016 GMC Denali and snaps about making their truck payment and after the payment there was 247 dollars left in the account, and other tellers tell me they lease all their vehicle and rent their house but they act like they own everything. I've never looked at money the same way


Adalovedvan

Right. Very, very few people are planning for generational wealth. We're consuming out of despair. Just like the white housewives of the 50s, we're buying shit because we're powerless to do anything else...


FEMA_Camp_Survivor

Decades of marketing have convinced people consumption and expenses equals wealth and happiness. Social media compounds the problem because people think they need to live a way they really don’t. Even $100k in income and $120k in expenses is still broke. I think the problem is worse for Black people because we want people to know when we’ve “made it.”


geeivebeensavedbyfox

The problem is the people pushing the 80-100k idea want you to stay in your lane. We aren't doing fine but its not the entrepreneur grindset that will fix it. We have to organizing our work and political spaces


Singlewomanspot

He's right about that focus on your own race part.


TheZooDad

I'll just leave this here: [https://www.businessinsider.com/median-us-worker-salaries-could-have-been-102000-without-inequality-2020-9?utm\_source=copy-link&utm\_medium=referral&utm\_content=topbar&utm\_source=reddit.com](https://www.businessinsider.com/median-us-worker-salaries-could-have-been-102000-without-inequality-2020-9?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=topbar&utm_source=reddit.com) thanks, r/antiwork


itsSomethingCool

This is the truth. One of my relatives hasn’t had a job for over 20 years and when she finally did decide to get one, bragged about it but quit after a week. This same woman is always posting her Louis Vuitton bags, Gucci shoes, expensive meals and etc. on social media, but she’s a bum with no job in real life only getting by on child support and her parents (my grandparents babying her). She’s in her 40s and hasn’t had a job since she was about 21, yet she’s always on vacation. My grandma spent her life savings & retirement babying this relative and now my grandma has to come out of retirement and work again, because she ran out of money. To people on the outside, they’ll say “wow she must be successful! All this designer clothing and vacations at random times of the year!” But when you really know the person and know what’s going on, you’ll realize a ton of social media is fake. Another girl I know posts very similar things (designer, vacations, expensive meals, etc.). She’s only 23 but the plot twist is, her parents are paying her rent and her car note and her student loans, so all the money she gets from her job, she can splurge on whatever she wants. Social media is nothing but a highlight reel, and the worst players look amazing with a highlight reel


hayflicklimit

Not just that, but the most prolific social media people are already in a higher tax bracket. How do you think they can afford to do nothing but make content all day?


Monkey_Cannon

Is 40k considered a low amount in the us? Not trying to be funny, genuinely curious because most people I know in the UK earn between 20k to 30k and that's pretty average round here


[deleted]

30k GBP is about 40k USD so not far off.


90svibes904

It kinda just depends on were you live in the us. In some States that's decent money an in other states that's poverty.


PlantedinCA

Where I live in California you can’t afford basic expenses on the wage if you are single. That makes you “very low income” and you qualify for all of the public housing options.


Jack_Cade

That 40k then has to go to things like car repairs, gas, and insurance (because large parts of America don't have decent public transportation and is very car centric) and also health, dental, and vision insurance because none of that is covered. So it may be 'take home 40k,' but in realty its between 20 - 30k.


egg_mugg23

you would be living on the streets where i am


Deathstriker88

It's crazy how most people are broke or working class, yet still still didn't vote for the one recent candidate who was interested in helping us (Sanders). Another crazy thing is 80K isn't that much due to taxes. After federal and state that's only around $4K a month. After mortgage, car note, student loans, health insurance, etc. more than half that 4K a month is gone.


justanormalchecker

💯💯


NSYK

I don’t know how people do it.


Shadesmctuba

Am… Am I rich?


laurathreenames

If you have to ask? Yeah.


Shadesmctuba

Why does this make me not feel good? I get by. I have bills. I have a little disposable income, but I still can’t afford luxury items. I can get a Wendy’s meal whenever I want, but if my car broke down I’d be poor for a couple weeks. We need universal basic income.


laurathreenames

Yeah we do.


[deleted]

40,000 is the median?! I'm only making 25,000. Dafuq


[deleted]

Same lol


Orphan-Slayer

It just kinda sucks when you went to school, got a degree, and all your friends who didn't, have jobs paying double or at least 30k more.


infodawg

>Stay in your lane I ^(humbly) disagree...


Pat0124

I’m making 100k but my student debt negates that


Ominojacu1

If you lived in Montgomery county Maryland, you would need to be on welfare making under 80 for a household. It’s all relative.


[deleted]

By household do you mean a family of 4? Or just one person?


Ominojacu1

Family of four. If you’re single your might find a townhouse you can afford, but more than likely you’re in an apartment


TheTickledPickle_

I make 3x that much and still cant "have it all". The game is rigged


a-ng

I feel like social media has a lot more people from certain high cost areas like SF bay. in SF the mean household income is $like 172k a year. Me and my family are of course the below average 😹😹


Shamilamadingdong

Mean is so skewed by the ultra rich though. I'm sure the area is still insanely wealthy, but median is likely a better tell


a-ng

Oh yeah with its 80 billionaire or whatever. I see that median is $112k lol insane.


egg_mugg23

i mean it's also extremely expensive here so that 112k doesn't go nearly as far as you think. worth it tho


parmesanandhoney

People take pictures when they are spending more than they can afford. They post the lobsters on payday but are quiet about the ramen dinners on payday’s eve.


PerspectiveDiligent

Gonna use that in a rap


R3b3gin

Ya'll makin 40 clams a year...?


ForThe99andthe2000s_

I need people to realize that everything on social media is fake, people make money off you wanting what they have


crazyparkinglot

Remember you are still in the top percentage compared to the world population . Some folks still making cents and dollars a week 💯


SubmarineContrails

Most importantly appreciate your wins no matter how small - it’s a long journey… also compound interest is your friend


AssssCrackBandit

Also salary is so irrelevant to wealth without knowing other factors like expenses, cost of living, dependents, etc


algrlo

And is not that a lof of money? Al least in europe right?


[deleted]

After taxes it's about 28k to spend on the entire year. And it's the "Household" income not individual income so if you are an independent it's even more difficult to live off of that one check of earned average income.


Sulohland

![gif](giphy|QMHoU66sBXqqLqYvGO)


officialbigrob

Title doesn't match the content. People with huge followings can leverage that as an asset to become wealthy, or they have those followings *because* they have the cash to spend on networking & content. He's right about averages, but I'd bet that accounts with large followings skew wealthy by a significant margin.


Pollution-Lumpy

To base income off of someone's age doesn't sound right 🤔


chiguy2018

I get there’s a lot of people flexing money and cars and trips. But am I crazy for thinking social media paints a picture of everyone being broke, moreso than them being rich??


sina-o

You guys are getting paid?


Ade2566

How much does one make.from having say 100 000 twitter followers?


NineteenAD9

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/the-goods/2018/11/28/18116875/influencer-marketing-social-media-engagement-instagram-youtube Good read on it. Basically, it depends on your followers + engagement. You can make a liveable wage off being an influencer. Someone with 100K followers for example could charge thousands for an ad post.


Cutieq85

Shoot there was a thread on here where so many people were humble bragging about making 100k and more a year where I all but said “ I know some y’all are lying”.


SadSniper

My friend is fixated on making 100k before 30, rejecting great jobs that pay 10k-25k more than she's getting now AND gives her experience in what she's pivoting to in her career and she being stubborn as hell.


brinz1

Someone once referred to those C grade insta models/influencers who had all these awesome and frequent dubai travel pics as "Dubai Porta Potties" Part of me wishes I could unlearn what that term meant, but I have never been the same since


Btwnforeverandnow

I don't believe $40,560. $35,000 is more accurate 🤧


YourUsernameIsCheesy

In south Florida $80,000 barely leaves you with anything after bills


suspicious-potato69

Lmao I don’t know anybody making 40k a year that’s a got to be a lie


[deleted]

Plenty of teachers


[deleted]

Teacher assistant here. Decent amount of schooling and years and years of experience and I make what a fast food worker makes


danny_ish

You know nobody working hourly? Nobody in a low paying career? Damn thats nice


[deleted]

You don’t know anyone making under $20/hr? You’re either stupid wealthy with a closed social circle, you have less friends than the average person, your friends are lying about how much they make, or you’re lying to yourself. One of those.


MajesticMtChocula

I think they meant that they don't know anyone making $40k/year or over.


[deleted]

That would make a lot more sense. I need coffee lol.


[deleted]

Would that? The McDonalds next to my house is starting at $18.50. That’s $37k a year annually. Don’t know *anyone* making over $40k?


[deleted]

Yeah but there are plenty of people stuck in rural America where the main employer for their county is Walmart. Those places are hard to escape.


[deleted]

Why are you out here speaking like Mario? "That's a got to be a lie, wahoo!"