Is $79,500 a good salary for a 23 year old?

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

I'm cheap as hell

My credit card bills are usually like $100/month. That's just gas for the BMW.

I hardly eat out. Oh I pay my parents $200/month since I live with them.

Forgot I my half of the phone bill and car insurance.

Basically, I don't spend my money on things I don't need.

Sounds like you don't have a girlfriend/wife yet. Ha!

[upstatedoc]

OP, Move out of your folks place. Your chances of getting laid will rise exponentially. Plus you'll experience a taste of real life.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by dtox9

THIS X1000
(if I only knew then what I know now)

+1

[aliiin]

Man, that's horrible. At 23, I was making $750,000 a year. What are you doing with your life OP? (insert sarcasm)

Is that what you wanted to hear?

Every situation is different. My motto is as long as I'm happy/self-sustainable and my mental health is good... then I'm good. I'd rather make $100,000 loving my job, loving my co-workers, loving my boss and be stress free than make $120,000 hating my job, hating my co-workers, hating my boss, and be stressed out all the time.

[Humdizzle]

there are alot of variables here. especially with your job and how much you take in per month. i know some guys that work at dealerships... its alot of stress as your salary can vary month to month. some can handle it some can't. i've seen a friend do well selling cars, buy an M3, live it up, hang out with the richer crowd... and then have bad months, stressed, can't pay bills or keep up the lifestyle, copes with alcohol.. shows up late for work... gets fired.

you have a safety net right now so its not in your head as much as say someone in your position that has expenses, mortgage, wife, kids, daycare, property taxes, groceries, etc.

if you like it and can eventually work your way up to GM or maybe open up your own dealership that would be awesome. not sure how long that takes. but i'd imagine its longer than grad school.

my personal take: if you have parent's support and are making good money. use it to invest in yourself and get a higher level education. get a stable job with benefits and vacation time. a job where you aren't easily replaceable. but thats just me... i like stability and living stress free.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

Don't necessarily have to be a degree, get some certs in a trade or something. If you like your current job, what would allow you to advance in the ranks to say a management position?

Gaining more experience in the sales field. Then gain experience in finance. After that, I'm a sales manager

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Ok. Hold on. You live with your parents and grossing over $6,600/mo and say it's not enough money? Dude, come on. What are you doing with all that money? I hope you're saving and investing nearly all of it.

I was making $80K/yr in a very nice area of Kansas City back in 2011. I was a 37 y/o white collar, college educated professional with 17 years of work experience. I was married and had two kids (9 and 3 at the time). My wife didn't work at the time. We had a mortgage, insurance on cars/house, food and common living expenses, home improvement/repairs, vacations, etc. etc. and still was putting away 10% to my investments and 401K. Financially, wife and I were very happy where we were at and money wasn't an issue for us.

Point being, you've got it pretty damn good bringing in that kind of cash with hardly any living expenses. You're in for a world of hurt once you move out as expenses go through the roof. So many things you're not thinking of now will chomp at the income.

I'm thinking about down the road when I'm alone

[JP10]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

I live with my family right now.

Thinking about rental properties ones the market cools down.

I am still thinking about going to school.

But I hate school. Love what I do right now...

Lol you don't have to pay rent and already complaining about what you make? Come on man, once you live on your own you'll get a taste of the real world. And yeah taxes are a thing that they don't prepare you for in high school. Keep working hard and be smart about your money. You'll figure it out from there. I'm just a couple years older than you FYSA.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Gaining more experience in the sales field. Then gain experience in finance. After that, I'm a sales manager

I know people that have gone this route and done well for themselves. At your age, I had worked my way from the bottom to a management position. Youngest inductee into said companies management training program. Life was grand. One year into a 4 year program and the company filed bankruptcy, then closed it's doors. I never made it to be a site manager, with that company.

"Everyone has a plan...until they get punched in the mouth."

- Mike Tyson

Now in my 40's, I am no longer in sales or management and I couldn't be happier. Be fluid and always have a contingency.

[nicked8]

$80k a year as a 23 year old is great and I think you know that. Aside from the swings in sales based income like others have previously mentioned, that's a great place to start out. Many people with families and significant expenses live on much less.

If you're having a hard time making that level of income work you don't have a money problem, you have a spending problem. Learning to properly budget and manage monthly cash flow is almost as important as increasing income.

Lastly, it's easy to chase the money but I've learned how important it is to surround yourself with people you enjoy working with and hopefully a job you enjoy as well. There comes a point where a job that pays more money might no longer be worth it if you hate the people / day-to-day.

For example, I recently transitioned into a new job. I did get a nice bump in income, but the first thing I think about at the end of the day and the first thing I mention to people when they ask is how much I enjoy working with my new coworkers. Not that my old coworkers were bad, but the general culture and personalities at my new job just make me happier. That's the biggest difference maker for me - surrounding yourself with the right people will go so much further than the money will.

Btw, I'm 24 years old with a Finance degree

[Tommy-G]

I never had an apartment. My first place I bought at 23. I closed November 28th and my first heating bill arrived in January, $357. Ill never forget it, I was ready to sell the place on the spot.
I cried the blues to my dad, come to find out the only problem was I had an old style thermostat that kicked the heat on every time it dropped a degree. We put a programmable one in and my bill dropped to $150/month.
Moral is these guys are right, there is no book to tell you what to expect....you have to fall down to get up. You have to land on your head to learn....if you can, get out there buy a duplex/condo and experience life on your own. Then you'll know real quick when you make "enough" money

[JP10]

Originally Posted by Tommy-G

I never had an apartment. My first place I bought at 23. I closed November 28th and my first heating bill arrived in January, $357. Ill never forget it, I was ready to sell the place on the spot.
I cried the blues to my dad, come to find out the only problem was I had an old style thermostat that kicked the heat on every time it dropped a degree. We put a programmable one in and my bill dropped to $150/month.
Moral is these guys are right, there is no book to tell you what to expect....you have to fall down to get up. You have to land on your head to learn....if you can, get out there buy a duplex/condo and experience life on your own. Then you'll know real quick when you make "enough" money

I feel this.

At 21 my monthly bills were as follows:
Rent - $1200
Cell - $65
Cable/wifi - $85
Car - $400
Utilities - $150
Gas - $150

Talk about painful. Not to mention the student loans and no help from the parents throughout my life - living with the parents after school wasn't an option - my dad is a sink or swim kind of guy. So I paid for everything. Bottom line is pain stimulates growth. All it did was make me work harder as struggling isn't the most fun thing in life.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by aliiin

Man, that's horrible. At 23, I was making $750,000 a year. What are you doing with your life OP? (insert sarcasm)

Is that what you wanted to hear?

Every situation is different. My motto is as long as I'm happy/self-sustainable and my mental health is good... then I'm good. I'd rather make $100,000 loving my job, loving my co-workers, loving my boss and be stress free than make $120,000 hating my job, hating my co-workers, hating my boss, and be stressed out all the time.

I did this. Took a $20k/year pay cut hit on my base pay as I'm an IT sales engineer to leave a toxic environment that had me stressed out to no end. Yes, the money was good and I've made the most money ever in my career between the base pay and the commissions. So factoring in commissions, I've probably taken anywhere from a $50k to $100k hit in my overall pay. But it wasn't worth the stress and the additional affect it was having on my health.

I still make a decent living with the pay cut. But because I didn't piss all the money away when times were good, allowed me to be able to make the decision to pick quality of life over having to stay in a job I was miserable in.

[Savoir]

Everything is relative. If you're able to live with your family, and there is no hurry to get out... then you have a wonderful opportunity to save money right now (assuming you're able to keep up that level of income over the year). If you can get 10-30k into a good index fund in the next year or so, you can really get a head start on retirement funds.. investing in your early 20s vs 30s can make a huge difference. You wont have this opportunity once you get out on your own as most of your income will be consumed by bills and other necessary expenses at that income level.

[HFW003]

I’ve got a 12 inch long dick and the average is only 8.

Am I doing ok?

Fuck me

[TiMSport]

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of people tend to overlook the importance of joy in the job. In addition to that, time outside of work to actually LIVE life. I know the OP is very young and inexperienced but will eventually find out the hard way that real life can be tough and it ain't just about money.

People in school often times have things all figured out until they graduate and realize shit is not the same in the real world. I can't help but think it's even more exacerbated with today's youth and society. You're not going to be treated with kid gloves in life so you best prepare yourself for that reality.

[M5Rick]

Too much for a 23 yo.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by nicked8

$80k a year as a 23 year old is great and I think you know that. Aside from the swings in sales based income like others have previously mentioned, that's a great place to start out. Many people with families and significant expenses live on much less.

If you're having a hard time making that level of income work you don't have a money problem, you have a spending problem. Learning to properly budget and manage monthly cash flow is almost as important as increasing income.

Lastly, it's easy to chase the money but I've learned how important it is to surround yourself with people you enjoy working with and hopefully a job you enjoy as well. There comes a point where a job that pays more money might no longer be worth it if you hate the people / day-to-day.

For example, I recently transitioned into a new job. I did get a nice bump in income, but the first thing I think about at the end of the day and the first thing I mention to people when they ask is how much I enjoy working with my new coworkers. Not that my old coworkers were bad, but the general culture and personalities at my new job just make me happier. That's the biggest difference maker for me - surrounding yourself with the right people will go so much further than the money will.

Btw, I'm 24 years old with a Finance degree

I'm not worried about the money per say. I love what I do and the people I work with.

I thought about what others have said and in the sales industry one month you can make $10k the other month you'll make $3k. It all depends on the market. Not really a stable job.

I love what I do like I said. But idk if in the long run It'll be beneficial or not.

I loved macroeconomics and microeconomics.

I got my associate's degree this year in may. I either have the option of staying in sales and seeing how far I can get or pay out of pocket for 2 years to get my bachelor's degree.

In the end with my degree, I'll make around $70k/year roughly.

But my goal is to become a sales manager or General Manager. The degree wont help me reach that goal. Expirence will.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of people tend to overlook the importance of joy in the job. In addition to that, time outside of work to actually LIVE life. I know the OP is very young and inexperienced but will eventually find out the hard way that real life can be tough and it ain't just about money.

People in school often times have things all figured out until they graduate and realize shit is not the same in the real world. I can't help but think it's even more exacerbated with today's youth and society. You're not going to be treated with kid gloves in life so you best prepare yourself for that reality.

I love what I do and the people I work with.

That's not a problem.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

I did this. Took a $20k/year pay cut hit on my base pay as I'm an IT sales engineer to leave a toxic environment that had me stressed out to no end. Yes, the money was good and I've made the most money ever in my career between the base pay and the commissions. So factoring in commissions, I've probably taken anywhere from a $50k to $100k hit in my overall pay. But it wasn't worth the stress and the additional affect it was having on my health.

I still make a decent living with the pay cut. But because I didn't piss all the money away when times were good, allowed me to be able to make the decision to pick quality of life over having to stay in a job I was miserable in.

So much to be said about not being miserable at work. I love my job and I love my crew. They have upped performance and brought all of our incomes up but still lower than the job I hated to wake up to everyday regardless of how much more $$$$$$

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by JP10

Lol you don't have to pay rent and already complaining about what you make? Come on man, once you live on your own you'll get a taste of the real world. And yeah taxes are a thing that they don't prepare you for in high school. Keep working hard and be smart about your money. You'll figure it out from there. I'm just a couple years older than you FYSA.

I pay rent. I mean it's not much but

I know taxes are a thing. But in IL they're much higher

I'm not really worried about pay. It's just more of "is this job going to be good for me when I have a family and larger bills".

Like, if I decide not to go to school and just build my way up at the dealership, is that going to be a bright choice or will I regret it.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by Tommy-G

I never had an apartment. My first place I bought at 23. I closed November 28th and my first heating bill arrived in January, $357. Ill never forget it, I was ready to sell the place on the spot.
I cried the blues to my dad, come to find out the only problem was I had an old style thermostat that kicked the heat on every time it dropped a degree. We put a programmable one in and my bill dropped to $150/month.
Moral is these guys are right, there is no book to tell you what to expect....you have to fall down to get up. You have to land on your head to learn....if you can, get out there buy a duplex/condo and experience life on your own. Then you'll know real quick when you make "enough" money

Man, I tried to move out.

My folks are like "you're not moving out until you don't get your degree and get married"

I'm like well then :

They WANT me to go to school. I'm iffy on it