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How to earn 100,000 and still feel poor: Have a low IQ..
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I see your username may indicate you are from Alabama.
What I'm sick of on these boards when discussing income is that people from low cost livng areas(particularly the south) are always saying someone(usually from high cost areas like my NJ) doesn't know how to manage money because they make a certain amount(with me 100,000 dollars.) No one is living high on the hog in Nj with that salary. An average rent for 2 bedroom is $1200 dollars. In Alabama its 600 dollars.
I'm not even going to get into car insurance,utilities,and food.
No one ever stops to think that cost of living and salaries aren't fluid. Sure,I make $100,000 in Nj,but when I moved to a low cost state my salary dropped to $45,000. Plus,I was living the SAME lifestyle.
I was ignorant at the time I moved of these things.
The feds don't get it either. In Nj I didn't qualify for the EIC and free school lunches. In NC I did. Which is foolish. I think the Gov should adjust taxes based on cost of living in the states. Or simply do the Vat. That would make things fair.
I see your username may indicate you are from Alabama.
What I'm sick of on these boards when discussing income is that people from low cost livng areas(particularly the south) are always saying someone(usually from high cost areas like my NJ) doesn't know how to manage money because they make a certain amount(with me 100,000 dollars.) No one is living high on the hog in Nj with that salary. An average rent for 2 bedroom is $1200 dollars. In Alabama its 600 dollars.
I'm not even going to get into car insurance,utilities,and food.
No one ever stops to think that cost of living and salaries aren't fluid. Sure,I make $100,000 in Nj,but when I moved to a low cost state my salary dropped to $45,000. Plus,I was living the SAME lifestyle.
I was ignorant at the time I moved of these things.
The feds don't get it either. In Nj I didn't qualify for the EIC and free school lunches. In NC I did. Which is foolish. I think the Gov should adjust taxes based on cost of living in the states. Or simply do the Vat. That would make things fair.
Sure the cost of living varies considerably from place to place, and it is good to keep that in mind. However, you are exaggerating its effects. Yes, average rent is double in New Jersey compared to Alabama, but that doesn't mean everything else is double too. Food and clothing, for example, are close to the same. And cars. I live in Los Angeles, which is officially the ninth highest cost of living city in this country (Honolulu and New York City are first and second, respectively) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I know one can live very well on $100,000 here in Los Angeles County, just not in any given chi-chi neighborhood. Sure, if you choose Beverly Hills, Brentwood, San Marino, or the like, $100,000 will be a bit tight. But there are plenty of safe, well-kept neighborhoods that don't carry that snob value price tag. And again, the main difference is the cost of housing.
Quite true that taxes are one element of the cost of living, but of the two, housing varies much more from location to location than taxes. Let's take California, a high tax state, about which I know something because I live here. Relative to other states, in California:
Property taxes = low
State income tax = high
Sales tax = high but not that much higher than many other places
State income tax is tricky to evaluate. If you look at the maximum rate only, that can be misleading. The Calif. max rate of 10.3% is second only to Hawaii, but the Calif. max rate applies only to incomes in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000). If you drop down to the national median family income (somewhere between 40 and 50K - I don't remember the exact figure), then the Calif. income tax rate aligns fairly closely with that of many other states.
It's the total tax picture that matters. I've never quite bought into the idea that the few states which have no income tax, or the other few states which have no sales tax, necessarily represent tax havens. They have to get their money somewhere, so they do just that - other taxes are higher to compensate.
In Florida, it's also really easy to end up paying as much or more in homeowner's insurance than you pay in property taxes. This year, our homeowner's insurance ($2200 for a house not in a flood zone and not particularly close to the beach. If we wanted flood insurance, it would be another $300.) is almost twice what our annual property tax ($1200) is.
Did we forget property taxes? Most people have an impound account for tax and insurance and add it to the loan payments. In my case that's another $500/month.
That's what I was thinking. My condo mortgage was around $176K - payment is around $900 + $79 PMI but tack on insurance and property tax and it's $1425 a month.
In Florida, it's also really easy to end up paying as much or more in homeowner's insurance than you pay in property taxes. This year, our homeowner's insurance ($2200 for a house not in a flood zone and not particularly close to the beach. If we wanted flood insurance, it would be another $300.) is almost twice what our annual property tax ($1200) is.
Wow, beachmouse, why is that? Because of potential weather issues?
I can't believe your property taxes, either--WOW. I would think I'd died and gone to heaven. Or at least that I'd moved out of NJ.
My homeowner's insurance is only $500 a year, but my property tax (on a 952 s.f. condo) is almost $4,000.
I see your username may indicate you are from Alabama.
What I'm sick of on these boards when discussing income is that people from low cost livng areas(particularly the south) are always saying someone(usually from high cost areas like my NJ) doesn't know how to manage money because they make a certain amount(with me 100,000 dollars.) No one is living high on the hog in Nj with that salary. An average rent for 2 bedroom is $1200 dollars. In Alabama its 600 dollars.
I'm not even going to get into car insurance,utilities,and food.
No one ever stops to think that cost of living and salaries aren't fluid. Sure,I make $100,000 in Nj,but when I moved to a low cost state my salary dropped to $45,000. Plus,I was living the SAME lifestyle.
I was ignorant at the time I moved of these things.
The feds don't get it either. In Nj I didn't qualify for the EIC and free school lunches. In NC I did. Which is foolish. I think the Gov should adjust taxes based on cost of living in the states. Or simply do the Vat. That would make things fair.
Great post, jerseygal4u, although the cheapest two bedroom apartments I could find before I bought my condo two years ago were already $1400. I also live in NJ and make just over $100K. I'm not rich by a long shot. I live modestly and I have some debt, including loans to help get my daughter through college because according to the federal guidelines, I'm so damn rich that my kid can't qualify for any aid at a state college.
In order to live somewhere affordable on a single person's income without worrying about getting shot, I have to live almost 90 minutes away from work. And it costs me $300 a month for the train to get to work. And $360 a year to park at the train station.
I also think the government should be adjusting the income tax rates according to where people live. What's taken from me in taxes is a sin. There are things I simply am not allowed to claim as deductions, such as mortgage insurance premiums or tuition for my daughter, because according to some schedule made by someone who has never lived in NJ, I make too much money to deserve those deductions.
And as for the person who is talking about cooking--I rarely eat out. On payday, every two weeks, I often treat myself to a pizza. I cook for myself "from scratch" and I make rice and vegetable concoctions to carry to work most days. A single person living alone can eat very cheaply, especially if they like eggs, which I do.
But I'm very excited. My supermarket has coupons that spit out of the machine for store use, and last night I got one that says $10 off my next order of $100. I'm going shopping to stock up on cat food and me food and pick up a few things for the food pantry basket besides.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 04-28-2012 at 04:22 PM..
In Florida, it's also really easy to end up paying as much or more in homeowner's insurance than you pay in property taxes. This year, our homeowner's insurance ($2200 for a house not in a flood zone and not particularly close to the beach. If we wanted flood insurance, it would be another $300.) is almost twice what our annual property tax ($1200) is.
If you are paying more for your insurance than your property tax... something is seriously wrong...
You say your annual property tax is only $1200.... with homeowners/extra exemptions etc, your house can't be worth that much unless you have some crazy "Save Our Homes" credit.
We just insured a $360K home in Florida with property taxes of $4500.... for only $1200.
If you are paying more for your insurance than your property tax... something is seriously wrong...
You say your annual property tax is only $1200.... with homeowners/extra exemptions etc, your house can't be worth that much unless you have some crazy "Save Our Homes" credit.
We just insured a $360K home in Florida with property taxes of $4500.... for only $1200.
Get a new agent.
All depends on location. Are you in the center of the state?
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