Ever calculate how much you earned during your career?

[ovrszd]

Here in mid-Michigan I can fix us a platter of baked Swai and home made fries and we can wash them down with a glass from boxed Sangria for about ten bucks total...no tax or tip on the food as it is home prepared but what do you consider a drink and what can you consider a fair tip? We NEVER, EVER eat out except for occasions where one of us gets a free dinner....a twofer.

i.e., "It's not what you make, it's what you spend".

 

[JDgreen227]

i.e., "It's not what you make, it's what you spend".

And may I remind you that the witty saying for this time of year is "Save like Scrooge, But spend like Santa.....?" :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

MossRoad...inflation has made it so much easier to earn that million dollars. It took me 20 years or until age 38 to begin making over 25 grand a year.

At age 26 I got a "good" full-time job that paid $7.50/hr ($15K per year). That was a tad under double minimum wage at the time. 1987. I've always been happy with a 25 cent/hour annual raise. That's $500 per year additional. Now, some folks think that's kind of insulting. But think about it...
$7.50 = $15,000 per year. + .25 raise.
$7.75 = $15,500 per year. + .25 raise.
$8.00 = $16,000 per year. + .25 raise.
$8.25 = $16,500 per year. + .25 raise.
$8.50 = $17,000 per year. + .25 raise.
$8.75 = $17,500 per year. + .25 raise.
$9.00 = $18,000 per year. + .25 raise.
$9.25 = $18,500 per year. + .25 raise.
$9.50 = $19,000 per year. + .25 raise.
$9.75 = $19,500 per year. + .25 raise.
$10.00 = $20,000 per year. + .25 raise.
$10.25 = $20,500 per year. + .25 raise.
So that's about 12 years. Everyone says you only make $5500 more than when you started. Well, yes and no...
You made:
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
5500

Do that for 25-30 years with two people working and it can add up to a huge amount over time.

Anyhow, we were fortunate to be able to live well under our means and keep our jobs and get those little raises every year. Slow and steady wins the race. :thumbsup:

 

[newbury]

Here in mid-Michigan I can fix us a platter of baked Swai and home made fries and we can wash them down with a glass from boxed Sangria for about ten bucks total...no tax or tip on the food as it is home prepared but what do you consider a drink and what can you consider a fair tip? We NEVER, EVER eat out except for occasions where one of us gets a free dinner....a twofer.

The drink is iced tea - we are in a dry county, and the tip is about $2 and change. The meals are $6 plus tax.
Sometimes SWMBO just likes to go out and spend money

Mid-michigan doesn't translate to a high cost area to me. My point was that if you want to stretch your $$ don't retire where you made your money if it's a high cost area and you are going buy property and/or labor.

 

[Looking4new]

How much have I made over my working career? I have no idea, but my bank manager 23 years ago told me that over the history of my bank account a half a million dollars had gone through my account. That was 9 years into my current job.

IF I was to live where I work, my house and the 5 acres it is sitting on would cost me about $750,000.oo and taxes would be about $3-5,000.oo/year. As it is my house cost me $53,000.oo and was paid off at the 15 year mark on a mortgage that was amortized over 25 years. I am 3.5-4 hours (depending on traffic) North of Toronto. My work place is a half an hour from Toronto and the wages are bigger than average for a truck driver ($25.41/hour). I pull in about $40,000.oo in the six months I do work half-yearly and have done that for the twenty-nine years I have worked there. There were a few years that I worked year round, but not in the past 10 years.

 

[Looking4new]

How much have I made over my working career? I have no idea, but my bank manager 23 years ago told me that over the history of my bank account a half a million dollars had gone through my account. That was 9 years into my current job.

IF I was to live where I work, my house and the 5 acres it is sitting on would cost me about $750,000.oo and taxes would be about $3-5,000.oo/year. As it is my house cost me $53,000.oo and was paid off at the 15 year mark on a mortgage that was amortized over 25 years. I am 3.5-4 hours (depending on traffic) North of Toronto. My work place is a half an hour from Toronto and the wages are bigger than average for a truck driver ($25.41/hour). I pull in about $40,000.oo in the six months I do work half-yearly and have done that for the twenty-nine years I have worked there. There were a few years that I worked year round, but not in the past 10 years.

 

[oldnslo]

enough to live on and support my family what more do we need?

As a retired dairy farmer a lot of money came in and a lot of money went out. A very small percentage could actually be considered income.

 

[ovrszd]

enough to live on and support my family what more do we need?

As a retired dairy farmer a lot of money came in and a lot of money went out. A very small percentage could actually be considered income.

A local saying is "Farmers are asset rich and cash poor".

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I've used quicken since 1988, and have every paystub since I started working. And still have the qucken floppy disks.

 

[tractchores]

Its interesting to think about. I have tracked net worth for years and its been interesting to watch. I'm pretty young, but have been extremely lucky and working since I was 13, put myself through college(s) and have been on a good streak lately. One thing to think about is that your SS statement is only going to show wages you paid SS on, so investment income or money above when you maxed out an annual SS limit isn't counted. I think for folks who own property and have saved a lot you may be surprised at how much your earnings on investments are. In my case investments have paid almost as much as I have earned in salary.