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I have $15k liquid savings and another $50k I could pull from my Roth IRA in a dire emergency. It's not as much as I'd like, but I'd be ok if I lost my job. I live in a HCOL area so it doesn't last as long as you'd think.
I make a good wage, but I work my ass off for it. I credit my financial success largely to luck, my work ethic, and the great state of California. 10 years ago I was making $20k a year, now it's close to $200k. The main difference was I moved to California. No college degree, blue collar job. Skilled labor. I took jobs with companies that would train me, took promotions, and job hopped a lot.
I pay a ton of taxes and I'm happy to. I'm giving back to the community that enabled my success. If anything, I should be paying more taxes. I do donate about $80 a month to various causes, mostly carbon capture to eliminate my personal carbon footprint, because the environment is very important to me and I like to feel I'm not part of the problem.
I still have $20k in debt, on credit cards but at a promo 2% interest. I hope to pay it off in 2 years.
My philosophy with money is honesty not very healthy in some respects. I've been chasing dollars for years, to the complete atrophy of my social life. I've been pouring money into my retirement and have about $300k saved up in 401ks and IRAs. I also send a ton of money to my parents who are still stuck in the poor Southern state I grew up in.
In my next phase of my career I hope to transition to a job that will keep the same wage but give me a better work/life balance. I work 60 hours a week, add commute time and it's 75 hours a week.
I'm also fucking sick of working with all dudes. The trades are overwhelmingly male. I can go weeks without even talking to a woman.
I'm in my mid 30s. I came to California homeless in a beat up '92 coupe with $30 in my pocket. I'm the poster child for pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, so listen to me when I say I would not be where I am without the support of a pro-worker government and a huge dose of luck. Taxes are good. Unions are good. Worker protections are good. Even with all that, I am an outlier. We (the fortunate) need to do more to help others.
Wow, you make $200k/yr and only have $15k in savings? Not that $15k is a bad amount to have for the average person, but it just sounds so unbelievably low for your very high income. I mean, I knew the cost of living in California was wild but I didn't realize it was that out of control.
I only made $160k last year, this is my first $200k year. About $120k the year before. And I spent $18k on replacing my moms sewer system this year after hers failed.
It's a balancing act. I'm sending about $60k to mine and my parents' retirement accounts. Most people would recommend padding out my emergency fund before that, but I play things with a bit more risk.
But also yes, cost of living. Box of cereal, $8. Even if you're frugal, it's a lot.