How much money do you need to live comfortably?
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Are you asking about wealth, income, or both?
Do you mean “for me to live comfortably” or “for one to live comfortably?”
The answer is entirely subjective.
In the US it depends what city you live in. Assuming an average city, not the highest and not the least expensive, I would say that an individual with no kids can live comfortably on an income of $50k. You can live on less and still be comfortable, but you will have less ability to save for the future and luxuries like travel would be more limited. Other Americans might disagree, let’s see what people say.
Each person will have a different number I think. Maybe the question should be what’s the minimum to be comfortable?
I can live quite comfortably on $1,500 – $2,000 a month. This is with rent, electric, gas and water totaling about $700 – $800 a month. And I still eat pretty well. Drive a car, visit the doctor when needed and the dentist too (once or twice a year).
I did the math once, and to pay for an average lifestyle (2 bedroom apartment with all electric appliances, food, car insurance [assuming a car owned outright]) with absolutely no bells and whistles, no entertainment, no savings and no health insurance, one needs a full-time job paying $17 per hour, forty hours per week in my area.
Most jobs around here pay about $8—$12.
I lived very well on about 40k a year, until this economy sunk my little Titanic starting in 2010.
I had zero debt, my house payments were reasonable and I had a darling place on 5 acres, nicely furnished and worked 2 part time jobs with plenty of free time. I had travel money, ate well, could buy/do pretty much what I wanted with no debt, within reason of course, meaning eating out a lot, weekend getaways, purchasing fun things for my home and yard.
I lived relatively simply but VERY well.
Oh, the good old days.
To retire comfortably I’d like to have a minimum of $3 to $5 million in investments and a minimum of $30K per year in pensions (not including SS).
@Seek Yep, the land of fucked up reality consumes us.
Right now I make about $1300 a month. If I lived in a 1 bedroom apartment I would be living paycheck to paycheck, because I have loans. When I get my master’s in speech pathology in 2 years, I’ll make more but pay more in loans so it’s hard to settle on an exact number, but probably 50k/year.
If I wasn’t going back to school, I’d need an $200–300 a month to be more comfortable. Right now I’ve saved a good chunk living at home but I’m ready to move on at this point.
I have nearly zero debt, and my house is paid off.
I have designed my retirement income to be about $45,000 a year, but I can adjust that as need changes.
Years ago I lived on the streets of L.A. for a year and a half with no job and just unemployment until it ran out.
I have lived in my car, in a tent at campgrounds and on the beaches.
It was actually a lot of fun, a challenge, and a lesson to me that I could do it if I have to.
What I make right now, which is about what @Judi said in her answer. I am comfy, I can travel. I’m not rich by any means, I’m not wearing Gucci but when I want something (within reason) I get it.
Rent eats one of my bi-weekly paychecks entirely, leaving me just under a grand a month to pay utilities, car insurance, fuel (80 miles/day commuting), medical expenses (even after health insurance, those are substantial, at least for Americans), leaving little for food. But to even have that much after taxes, I need to put in a few hours of overtime at a job that pays >$17/hr.
If you have children, or any debt from having had a rough time getting to where I am now, $40k/yr won’t cut it. You have to have led a charmed life to survive on much less than what I make and still even be able to think about ever retiring.
^ You have an employer that allows overtime.
Drop to your knees and thank God.
Australia70—. 80k per year that is if you want to have one trip a year, have a normal house in a nice neighbourhood, have kids, not worry about eating, food , power bills. Thank god healthcare is free.
^ Programming note:
No healthcare is free.
@SecondHandStoke “Prepaid” might be more accurate considering the tax rates in many foreign nations. And any who object to using other people’s money to pay medical bills the way other nations pass healthcare costs onto all taxpayers would be hypocritical to have ANY form of insurance for any reason since it’s basically the same thing, only substitute “premium” for “tax”; both are ways of pooling money and spreading costs so that no one person winds up with an unbearable financial burden.
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