The Unable to Scrape By post is about a law professor and his wife (doctor) who claim they can barely get by on over $250K in income.
To me "Rich" is what you own not what you earn. There are plenty of examples (on this board especially) of people who save and invest large amounts on modest incomes. The biggest issues with the law professor seems to be his large mortgage and outrageous student loans.
Recently I had a conversation with a coworker that gave me some insight into his financial strain. We were discussing our pending raises (the standard 3% annual COLA we're guessing) and he asked me about my student loans. It seems he's struggling under his student loans. I've been working longer and earn more than him now but I can look back to the same period in my career and make a comparison.
Me: attended public university on scholarship, graduated owing less than $25K and paid an insignificant amount each month (20 year amortization). I was single and entered the workforce with nothing to my name. After 2 or 3 years of work I got sick of paying interest and paid off my student loan.
Coworker: attended ivy league with some financial assistance, married with kids. His wife didn't work during his grad school. Today he's paying $1,000 per month for his loans on a 20 year amortization.
We both ended up at the same company earning the same thing but I get the impression that my coworker is just getting by.
To me "Rich" is what you own not what you earn. There are plenty of examples (on this board especially) of people who save and invest large amounts on modest incomes. The biggest issues with the law professor seems to be his large mortgage and outrageous student loans.
Recently I had a conversation with a coworker that gave me some insight into his financial strain. We were discussing our pending raises (the standard 3% annual COLA we're guessing) and he asked me about my student loans. It seems he's struggling under his student loans. I've been working longer and earn more than him now but I can look back to the same period in my career and make a comparison.
Me: attended public university on scholarship, graduated owing less than $25K and paid an insignificant amount each month (20 year amortization). I was single and entered the workforce with nothing to my name. After 2 or 3 years of work I got sick of paying interest and paid off my student loan.
Coworker: attended ivy league with some financial assistance, married with kids. His wife didn't work during his grad school. Today he's paying $1,000 per month for his loans on a 20 year amortization.
We both ended up at the same company earning the same thing but I get the impression that my coworker is just getting by.
