# How to make $500,000 per year and still struggle **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 10, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866 "2019-07-10T21:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Garak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d78d45/32.png) [@Garak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garak)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/1 "2019-07-10T21:59:10Z")
> **[Millennial couple in Kansas needs help making ends meet on $500,000 a year](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-midwestern-millennial-couple-needs-help-making-ends-meet-on-500000-a-year-2019-07-09)** > > In a clear example of extreme American consumerism, one profligate man, using the online handle Slavikfill, claimed to be seeking tips on how to stretch his... it’s sad that people can make so much income and still have trouble making ends meet 😕 ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/2 "2019-07-10T22:16:57Z")
That’s a pretty absurd budget, obviously. I lean towards the belief that it’s fictional. Did I miss car payment(s) in his budget or are they really not there (but $500/month in car insurance). Seems unlikely to me that he’d have paid-off vehicles, given the rest of his lifestyle and choices. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/3 "2019-07-10T22:19:52Z")
Live like an idiot, suffer like one. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/4 "2019-07-10T22:22:33Z")
The article says that they have a ten-year mortgage and that’s why the monthly payment is so high. Normally, I’d think it a good thing to be paying off the mortgage more quickly, but they’re running a monthly deficit of almost $3,000, which they finance by increasing the mortgage amount. So I don’t think it makes sense to pay down the mortgage that aggressively. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/5 "2019-07-10T22:31:40Z")
$2000 a month for clothes, $3000 a month for food! Yikes! That’s a LOT of lifestyle! Hope they’re enjoying it! ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/6 "2019-07-10T22:33:36Z")
$3000 a month for flights? Unless those are business expenses and should be reported before income and taxes, I can’t see it. Too much vacation. $2000 a month clothes??? 10,000 a month mortgage? That’s a $1.4 million 15 year mortgage at 4%. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/7 "2019-07-10T22:37:06Z")
How in the hell are these two going through $ 3000 in food every month? Do they order in from the French Laundry on date night or something? And the wife’s a model, so her portions must be minuscule. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/8 "2019-07-10T22:37:42Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > … 10,000 a month mortgage? That’s a $1.4 million 15 year mortgage at 4%. The article says it’s actually a $1.3M 10-year mortgage. You could probably do the math to figure out the rate, but it doesn’t really matter. They could solve all their problems by refinancing into a 30-year mortgage, or buying a $650,000 Kansas house instead of the $1.3M one. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/9 "2019-07-10T23:33:46Z")
This sounds like trolling/a joke. Some of the individual line items seem like they could be sincere ignorance, but putting them all together seems like a bit much. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/10 "2019-07-11T00:05:49Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > $2000 a month for clothes, $3000 a month for food! …reminds me of one of my favourite twitter jokes ever. The replies are gold. > [@@dril](#): > > Food $200 > Data $150 > Rent $800 > Candles $3,600 > Utility $150 > someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying > ---
**Author:** ![neutro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@neutro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/11 "2019-07-11T00:32:04Z")
> [@](#): > > $3000 a month for flights? $36k per year. Fly back and forth to Europe a couple of times, once to Hawaii and you are already there for a family (assuming you fly at least business). It cost me $12k to the fly the two of us to Aus/NZ earlier this year and that’s a heavily discounted fare for business class. Basically stuff is expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/12 "2019-07-11T00:41:20Z")
> [@neutro](#): > > $36k per year. Fly back and forth to Europe a couple of times, once to Hawaii and you are already there for a family (assuming you fly at least business). > > It cost me $12k to the fly the two of us to Aus/NZ earlier this year and that’s a heavily discounted fare for business class. > > Basically stuff is expensive. Maybe they could try NOT flying a couple of times to Europe every month? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/13 "2019-07-11T01:12:52Z")
I remember reading an article in Toronto Life about “going broke” on $150k - $200k per year. Here’s a link: > **[Almost Rich: an examination of the true cost of city living and why rich is...](https://torontolife.com/city/almost-rich/)** > > An income of $196,000 places you in the country’s top one per cent of earners. But does it make you wealthy? Essay by Jonathan Kay | Interviews by Maggie ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/14 "2019-07-11T01:27:09Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I remember reading an article in Toronto Life about “going broke” on $150k - $200k per year. Here’s a link: > > [Almost Rich: an examination of the true cost of city living and why rich is never rich enough](https://torontolife.com/city/almost-rich/) $500 - $800 a month on wine??? Come on. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/15 "2019-07-11T05:53:41Z")
On the off chance this is real: “As you can see, each year we have a large deficit.” No. They are investing **$66,000 a year** between the 401k and the monthly Vanguard contribution. I’m not saying that should be their first cut, but you do not have a “large deficit” when just the money you’re choosing to sit on could finance an above-average household in Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/16 "2019-07-11T07:59:31Z")
> [@neutro](#): > > $36k per year. Fly back and forth to Europe a couple of times, once to Hawaii and you are already there for a family (assuming you fly at least business). > > It cost me $12k to the fly the two of us to Aus/NZ earlier this year and that’s a heavily discounted fare for business class. > > Basically stuff is expensive. Well, no. Luxury stuff is expensive, sure. Basic but still perfectly serviceable stuff is much cheaper. Coach arrives at the same time business class does, you’re just a little less comfortable. A 30-year mortgage builds equity in the same house that a ten-year mortgage does, it just builds it more slowly. If you can’t afford luxury stuff, you don’t buy luxury stuff. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/17 "2019-07-11T10:05:13Z")
Who the hell needs new clothes every month, let alone $2000 worth? $400 for party supplies, seriously? $1000 for charity is wonderful, but not if it’s putting you in debt. $3000 in flights, every damned month? What’s that about? If it’s a business expense why is it coming out of take home pay? Eliminating just the $4000 Vanguard contribution would take their expenses below their take home pay. Are they really earning enough through their Vanguard account to make it worth adding to their mortgage? I really have to wonder if this is real. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/18 "2019-07-11T13:13:09Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > They could solve all their problems by refinancing into a 30-year mortgage, or buying a $650,000 Kansas house instead of the $1.3M one. Pretty much. Just a cursory glance at the numbers indicate they are spending way too much on the mortgage. AFAIK, the rule of thumb is that your housing costs (rent or mortgage) shouldn’t be more than 25% of your monthly income (20% is even better but not realistic for many). If they love the house so much that they don’t want to give it up, lower the spending on other things. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/19 "2019-07-11T13:18:46Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I really have to wonder if this is real. I don’t for a second believe this is real. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866/20 "2019-07-11T14:28:56Z")
Got to be a troll, anyone who claims to be a CTO should be smart enough to figure out the real problem rather than posting on the internet for help. At my age, every purchase is expressed in terms of how many additional days/weeks/months this expense will push back retirement. Helps focus how much I really want non-essentials. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-500-000-per-year-and-still-struggle/836866.md?page=2)