Most people spend what they earn. I see it every day. Whether you earn $1,000 per month or $10,000.
At the end of the month... they’re broke.
On the other hand, I’ve seen families do quite well on “minimum wage”.
Its all about priorities.
Personal finance success has never been about what you make. It’s what you keep that counts.
About three years ago....I had this guy telling me about his neighbors. The husband and wife were pulling in around $170k per year between them. The house was a $700k house, with $2,400 payments due each month. Both had new cars. Credit cards were maxed to $70k between them. One had student loans in the $40k range still left to go. While they did put money into their 401k, they were mostly broke after that point. If either ever got unemployed....they’d probably go under within six months....because there was no extra cash around except the 401k that they could utilize. Twenty years ago....I wouldn’t have believed a story like that. Today? There are thousands of couples around America in such lousy economic shape.
There's no excuse for that. That's a dream income for some of us.
“On the other hand, I’ve seen families do quite well on “minimum wage”. Its all about priorities.”
I don’t know about Texas, but people doing well in NJ on minimum wage are having their rent, groceries, cell phones, and college paid for by me.