What's life like with 100K/year or more?

[d]

even before lbym became popular, as Dickens wrote: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery."

 

[dm]

You're retired, but your wife is getting her doctorate? Is she going to work after that?

Yeah, boats and slip fees can be a major cash drain. Only worth it if you use your boat a LOT.

Sounds like you're getting your money's worth out of the country club membership.

Audrey

Its just something she want's to do. We can afford it. We still live below our means. She would like to teach a class or two at the local college and she feels having her doctorate would help.

 

[Spanky]

Its just something she want's to do. We can afford it. We still live below our means. She would like to teach a class or two at the local college and she feels having her doctorate would help.

A ph.D is not needed to teach at the local college level. However, it does not hurt to have it.

 

[CybrMike]

Fortunately I did not necessarily have to work harder, just took more risk (easy when you have nothing to lose) and got luckier than most.

I will say that you'd be surprised how little some of the folks that make $200 - $300K per year actually work. Mostly managerial.

In my experience, the people at the top work a lot less than the people at the bottom, not the reverse.

Michael

To me the question isn't... How great would it be to spend $100k or $500k per year.

The real question is can I meet my needs and then some. If I were to go for the next brass ring what would I give up in my life to get there.

After thinking about this quite a bit it seems like I have enough now and that I just can't see getting on someone else's treadmill to get to the next level.

That extra $100k per year won't make you happy (or much more happy) but getting there will sure take it's toll.

Is it really worth it ? Now that's the more interesting question

 

[CybrMike]

My expenses this year will be in the $300K range. Hat off to you for only spending like 20% of what you make. Guess it depends on how much you have in savings.

What...not many who spend $100K/yr in the LBYM crowd? Surprise, surprise! :

DW and I will end up making about $360K this year, but will spend only the usual $70K plus my daughter's college tuition. We own our home and drive a minivan and small pickup built in the previous century. Our two other kids attend public school, and we eat out only occasionally. I'm afraid that you'll need to go to the early-bankuptcy.org discussion forum to get much insight into what it's like to spend $100K or $200K/yr.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

In my experience, the people at the top work a lot less than the people at the bottom, not the reverse.

Michael

Sorry Michael.........my experience is that the people at the top
(generalizing here) work a lot harder. I will concede that it may not
seem that much of a hardship to them. I know for sure in the small companies I ran; no one worked harder than I did. I was the
"James Brown" of small manufacturing. That's a long time ago now.

JG

 

[kcowan]

Sorry Michael.........my experience is that the people at the top
(generalizing here) work a lot harder. I will concede that it may not
seem that much of a hardship to them. I know for sure in the small companies I ran; no one worked harder than I did. I was the "James Brown" of small manufacturing. That's a long time ago now.
JG

I think CyberMike was referring to larger companies in middle management (Dilbert territory), a declining breed no doubt but they are still around. There have been books written about them (Danger in the Comfort Zone).

 

[scrinch]

Hat off to you for only spending like 20% of what you make.

You just made me realize that taxes will be considerably higher than (non-tax) expenses this year.

Guess it depends on how much you have in savings.

No, it's just a matter of becoming accustomed to a certain lifestyle. We spend as much as we want to, and don't really have time to spend much more right now. Like Sam (the OP) we would have to figure out how to spend double what we spend now. Our current habits just don't call for that kind of money.

 

[donheff]

I think CyberMike was referring to larger companies in middle management (Dilbert territory), a declining breed no doubt but they are still around. There have been books written about them (Danger in the Comfort Zone).

In my experience in Dilbert territory (Federal Government) senior executives worked as hard or harder than line and mid-management employees. They were not all effective (the Peter Principle does have some validity) but they tended to get selected for a combination of hard work, intelligence, and playing well with others (in some cases the later amounted to sucking up and/or getting along by going along). But regardless of their effectivenes or ineffectiveness most worked hard and tried to do a good job.

 

[astromeria]

In my work experience, people with people skills usually end up in management. They were not the smartest, but usually above average in smarts, even more usually among the hard working and very organized, and always excellent at managing upward--and occasionally, downward

 

[Sam]

I agree. I too have no idea where CybrMike got that idea. The higher up you go, the harder you work (not neccessarily more productive). I envy the money they make, but not their position and effort.

 

[Meadbh]

I will say that you'd be surprised how little some of the folks that make $200 - $300K per year actually work. Mostly managerial.

In my experience, the people at the top work a lot less than the people at the bottom, not the reverse.

Michael

CyberMike,

In my experience that is absolute garbage. I travel a lot and deal with many CEOs and senior execs and they earn every penny they get. They are on call 24/7 and they take the heat when there is a problem. Even at my (middle management) level, you have to WORK.

Meadbh

 

[donheff]

In my work experience, people with people skills usually end up in management. They were not the smartest, but usually above average in smarts, even more usually among the hard working and very organized, and always excellent at managing upward--and occasionally, downward

Yeah, I think that describes it well. I always prided myself in managing well downward - at least as well as I managed upward. But most were upward oriented.

I think the fact that senior managers are above average in smarts but not brilliant is probably good. Better selection for managers that handle the downward side well would be a definite plus for most organizations.

 

[Cb]

I retired from GE, and I can assure you that the upper mgmt there is a hard-working bunch as they have a lot to lose, and every one of them are subject to the bottom 10% deal. If they manage to hang on they can get out of there with a few million or more in options & bennies, but damn do they (and their families) pay a price.

Cb

 

[Spanky]

I retired from GE, and I can assure you that the upper mgmt there is a hard-working bunch as they have a lot to lose, and every one of them are subject to the bottom 10% deal. If they manage to hang on they can get out of there with a few million or more in options & bennies, but damn do they (and their families) pay a price.

Cb

The price has a nice reward: "GE CEO Jack Welsh will get a pension valued at more than $8.4 million a year. Members of GE's board of directors receive a pension benefit of $6,250 a month."

 

[Mr._johngalt]

The price has a nice reward: "GE CEO Jack Welsh will get a pension valued at more than $8.4 million a year. Members of GE's board of directors receive a pension benefit of $6,250 a month."

They deserve every penny IMHO. Always prefer the $ to go to real people
(no matter how high on the food chain) than into government coffers
where you know it will be wasted or worse.

JG

 

[SteveR]

Several years ago, after my divorce, I made a decision to get off the corporate fast track and stop going after promotions and all that comes with that kind of life. It cost me lots of $$$$ in future pay, options etc. but my personal and family quality of life went up.......priceless! Not having to work 24/7 even while on vacation is a pleasant relief. Could I have retired earlier? Yes, but the cost to my family would have been far too high.

Those who believe upper management does not work has never spent much time with them. Even in upper middle management, where I was most of my career, your time is not yours...it belongs to the company and you are expected to be available at anytime and go anywhere at their whim. Weekends, vacations, middle of the night, etc. are all "work" hours if your management wants you for something. The stress and hours away from family is huge. Even when you are with your family, your mind is usually on work so you are not really all there even then.

I left that life for a very good set of reasons and I don't regret the delay in FI becasue of it. I have managed to "smell the roses" along my daily life much more than I would have otherwise. My health is also much better and the heart attack that was coming straight at me has been averted or delayed.

Back to the OP's question....what is it like to spend $100K+/year.....
In our case it has allowed us to save more, invest a bit more aggressively, travel more, buy more expensive toys (TVs, motorhomes, nice cars, nice house, gifts of $$ to needy family members, and a hundred other things that most folks have to struggle in their budgets to find the cash to do or have to go into debt doing so. To us work is a means to making enough $$$ to fund our lifestyle while still adding to our stash which will allow us to FIRE next year.

We are also frugal in many ways. We shop Walmart, Sam's Club and Costco. We don't fly first class despite having tons of FF miles (justed used some for a trip next week), we stay at nice hotels but not luxury ones. We eat out when we want but are careful about how much we spend. We shop for low prices on every major item over $100 we buy. We give to charities in many ways including time, house hold items, and cash. We share our good fortune with our family when a need is there. We support kids in college and have created 4 college 529 accounts for our grandkids. We spend but we don't waste it on poor quality goods or on things we will not use. Each major purchase is researched and well considered before it is made. I would rather spend my time getting a good deal than spending my money give too much profit to someone because I did not do my homework.

How does it feel? It feels like freedom. We do not consider ourselves rich. Our kids might think so but we know the value of what we have and what it will buy. We choose to spend it wisely and it will keep us well funded for the rest of our lives. That is a very liberating feeling. Taxes are the worst of it but one learns to keep taxes in mind most of the time when making financial choices. The most lucrative choice might actually be the most expensive one when taxes are thrown into the mix.

It's not the money itself, it is what you can do with it that makes the difference.

 

[FinanceDude]

It's not the money itself, it is what you can do with it that makes the difference.

I think this pretty much sums it up on here.............

 

[Mach1]

Great post, these threads are really informative. It confirms that you don't need 100K in disposable income to RE. So for those (including myself) that are still comptemplating wether you have enough to RE or not, think again.

My expenses this year will be in the $300K range.

CybrMike, Not to challenge your statement here but how do you manage to spend that much? We got a big house on the lake, one kid in college and one teenager, we fly FC for long trips, we drive lexus and vette, we take cruises, we own vintage cars, we do just about whatever we want to do, we don't have a monthly budget but we do LBYM because we spend less than what we make but our annual expenses is no where in the 100K mark.

Mach1

 

[youbet]

Great post, these threads are really informative. It confirms that you don't need 100K in disposable income to RE. So for those (including myself) that are still comptemplating wether you have enough to RE or not, think again.

CybrMike, Not to challenge your statement here but how do you manage to spend that much? We got a big house on the lake, one kid in college and one teenager, we fly FC for long trips, we drive lexus and vette, we take cruises, we own vintage cars, we do just about whatever we want to do, we don't have a monthly budget but we do LBYM because we spend less than what we make but our annual expenses is no where in the 100K mark.

Mach1

Perhaps, Mach1, it's time for you to consider the most wonderful purchase for yourself and your family that you could ever make...... buy yourself RE!

 

[youbet]

Taxes are the worst of it but one learns to keep taxes in mind most of the time when making financial choices. The most lucrative choice might actually be the most expensive one when taxes are thrown into the mix.

SteveR....... I agree 100% and I'm surprised that taxes haven't been mentioned more.

We're RE but still in the stage where all spending is derived from sources that are fully taxable as ordinary income. By a wide margin, income and real estate taxes are our largest budgeted line items.

No whining or complaining here, I'd rather pay taxes than not have the money/property that's causing them. But taxes are the annual expense that require the most planning.

 

[Mach1]

Perhaps, Mach1, it's time for you to consider the most wonderful purchase for yourself and your family that you could ever make...... buy yourself RE!

Youbet, Thanks for the advice. I am almost there, I am already slowing up on my w*rk and planning to hang it up in 2010.

Mach1

 

[youbet]

Youbet, Thanks for the advice. I am almost there, I am already slowing up on my w*rk and planning to hang it up in 2010.

Mach1

Good for you! You will love it!

I didn't mean it as "advise." but as recent RE's, DW and I are very pleased so far and always ready to give testimonials.

 

[Cb]

The price has a nice reward: "GE CEO Jack Welsh will get a pension valued at more than $8.4 million a year. Members of GE's board of directors receive a pension benefit of $6,250 a month."

Jack and the folks on the BOD do pretty well, no doubt. The top 75 or so execs in the company do very well also. The next several hundred are kickin' it pretty hard for $150K-$250K and semi-regular stock options - moving their families on short notice repeatedly, working long hours with intense scrutiny, and there's always the possibility of winding up on the street if they have a few rough quarters...

I passed $100K/yr as an individual contributor then put it on cruise control until I hit FI rather than "reaching for the brass ring". It's a pretty competitive company, especially at the plant manager and higher levels.

Different strokes...

 

[Sam]

Back to the OP's question....what is it like to spend $100K+/year.....
In our case it has allowed us to save more, invest a bit more aggressively, travel more, buy more expensive toys (TVs, motorhomes, nice cars, nice house, gifts of $$ to needy family members, and a hundred other things that most folks have to struggle in their budgets to find the cash to do or have to go into debt doing so. To us work is a means to making enough $$$ to fund our lifestyle while still adding to our stash which will allow us to FIRE next year.

We are also frugal in many ways. We shop Walmart, Sam's Club and Costco. We don't fly first class despite having tons of FF miles (justed used some for a trip next week), we stay at nice hotels but not luxury ones. We eat out when we want but are careful about how much we spend. We shop for low prices on every major item over $100 we buy. We give to charities in many ways including time, house hold items, and cash. We share our good fortune with our family when a need is there. We support kids in college and have created 4 college 529 accounts for our grandkids. We spend but we don't waste it on poor quality goods or on things we will not use. Each major purchase is researched and well considered before it is made. I would rather spend my time getting a good deal than spending my money give too much profit to someone because I did not do my homework.

How does it feel? It feels like freedom. We do not consider ourselves rich. Our kids might think so but we know the value of what we have and what it will buy. We choose to spend it wisely and it will keep us well funded for the rest of our lives. That is a very liberating feeling. Taxes are the worst of it but one learns to keep taxes in mind most of the time when making financial choices. The most lucrative choice might actually be the most expensive one when taxes are thrown into the mix.

It's not the money itself, it is what you can do with it that makes the difference.

Thank you SteveR. I like the "helping the needy family members" part the most. In your opinion, is that the most satisfying act one can do with their extra money?