Annual Income

[Star Wolf]

I'm going to refrain from publishing that information on the internet.

I vote None of Your Damn Business. Why would any sane person publish such information online? I value my privacy and the OP should, as well. May I start a thread titled "What is your bank account number?" or "What is your Social Security Number?"? Where does it end...?

"I'm not crazy" I am only Star Wolf here.

Well the salary portion I'm a government employee and as soon as I tell my occupation if you want to know you can look it up, the public has the right to know even in my specific case of being quasi-governmental . As a US Postal worker I am among the few Feds who does not get an area based adjustment so our base salary is higher in order to have a workforce in high cost of living areas who don't qualify for food stamps and Section 8 housing assistance.

A top pay step city letter carrier, it takes about 12 years, base pay is $55,530/year. A little less then a UPS Driver or FedEx Courier who hit their max in about 4 years last I heard. It is more then the national average for a teacher or police officer. However technology and less advertising and first class mail means also that overtime opportunities are much less then they were three years ago so most postal workers are earning less money, then they did in the past

 

[SicOne]

I am a locomotive engineer for Union Pacific Railroad, and a union member. I'm not going to say exactly what I'll earn this year as we're not supposed to disclose such things, but my pay varies depending upon what runs I get (longer runs = larger trip rates), and I don't have enough seniority to steadily work the long pool, so my job as an extra board engineer is to fill in the gap if a man is off on vacation, sick, taking personal leave, what-have-you.

I will tell you my best year, about four years back, was nearly $120k, but there were a lot of mitigating factors there that have not duplicated themselves. However, I pay a fair amount in union dues as well as pay a lot into railroad retirement, so don't think that's all take-home net pay. I'm on-call 24/7, 365 (366 on a leap year), and the only days I can be assured that the phone won't ring are on my vacation weeks. I haven't known what a weekend is since 1995 (oh, wait...that's what non-railroaders get, isn't it?). And Mrs. SicOne came from a railroad family, so I am blessed that she bears with the schedule (or, more specifically, lack thereof).

Before any of you hit me up for a loan, the answer is no...I have one in college, two out of the house that still use me as an ATM, an expensive house and hobbies, and a wife that loves to shop. If you look at the number of hours spent each year on the train, or at the far-terminal waiting for the call to return home, my per-hour pay isn't very good. The benefits, however, are top-notch.

Tell you what's astounding...we had a discussion over in TrekLit about how much the Trek authors make. While I strongly suspected that they weren't paid like, say, Tom Clancy or Stephen King, I still thought they pulled down some fairly good coin. They don't get paid worth jack shit. I don't even know how some of the Trek authors keep the lights on so they can pound out the manuscripts without candles.

 

[JarodRussell]

Tell you what's astounding...we had a discussion over in TrekLit about how much the Trek authors make. While I strongly suspected that they weren't paid like, say, Tom Clancy or Stephen King, I still thought they pulled down some fairly good coin. They don't get paid worth jack shit. I don't even know how some of the Trek authors keep the lights on so they can pound out the manuscripts without candles.

And the craziest thing is that these sheep even think it's fair and justified!!!

 

[SmoothieX]

My wife and I both make professional wages and are pretty comfortable with minimal amounts of debt, but the cost of living in the Boston area is really high, so that inflates our salaries and reduces disposable income to a degree.

Sadly, this year we got bumped up into the next tax bracket, so I've had to have extra withholdings taken from my paycheck. We don't own a house and have no dependents so we get boned by Uncle Sam.

 

[backstept]

I live in the most affordable city in the USA and I work 2 part time jobs. I'm managing to get by, but I have zero savings

 

[SicOne]

Tell you what's astounding...we had a discussion over in TrekLit about how much the Trek authors make. While I strongly suspected that they weren't paid like, say, Tom Clancy or Stephen King, I still thought they pulled down some fairly good coin. They don't get paid worth jack shit. I don't even know how some of the Trek authors keep the lights on so they can pound out the manuscripts without candles.

And the craziest thing is that these sheep even think it's fair and justified!!!

It's more like they accept the cost of admission to playing in the Trek Lit sandbox. They'd love more dough, but they'll take what they can get just to get their name in print and their stories out there.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Collectively, my wife and I make $140k annually. I make a little more than her, but that might change soon as my business is hurting.

However, we have two kids, a nanny for our baby (so we can both work), a mortgage, two car payments (however, my Explorer will be paid off in 11 months, so that'll be nice), six more years of student loan repayment under my current payment plan, and we put a pretty sizable amount away into investments and savings every month. So it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room at the moment.

 

[Holdfast]

...we put a pretty sizable amount away into investments and savings every month...

Earlier this year, I went through what was getting automatically deducted and put a line through a good chunk of mine that was still funding various insurance and savings schemes that I no longer felt were useful. Freed up quite a bit of cashflow that has since been diverted elsewhere. If you haven't reviewed it for a couple of years or so, it's worth taking a glance at where all the money's actually ending up. Don't assume it's still generating the returns you expected.

 

[JarodRussell]

Tell you what's astounding...we had a discussion over in TrekLit about how much the Trek authors make. While I strongly suspected that they weren't paid like, say, Tom Clancy or Stephen King, I still thought they pulled down some fairly good coin. They don't get paid worth jack shit. I don't even know how some of the Trek authors keep the lights on so they can pound out the manuscripts without candles.

And the craziest thing is that these sheep even think it's fair and justified!!!

It's more like they accept the cost of admission to playing in the Trek Lit sandbox. They'd love more dough, but they'll take what they can get just to get their name in print and their stories out there.

Well that's their choice and problem.

 

[nevermore]

Living in a college town is really expensive.

$225 rent
$50 power bill
$30 water/sewage/garbage
$15 internet
$40 car insurance
$100+ gas

What part of that is expensive?

 

[Timby]

Living in a college town is really expensive.

$225 rent
$50 power bill
$30 water/sewage/garbage
$15 internet
$40 car insurance
$100+ gas

What part of that is expensive?

No shit. My wife and I live in an apartment with 801 square feet, two bedrooms, and we're paying $715 for rent. Monthly electric is around $50 (heat is covered). Television and Internet is about $90 a month. Auto insurance is $73 for one car for the both of us.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I live on a pension and I pay the following

$410 rent a month (but that is for two people, if my son left my rent would be half of that because I live in government housing)
an average of about $120 for electricity
$0 water/sewage/garbage
$100 a month for internet and phone (includes 'free' local calls)
$0 car insurance
$0 gas (I have an all electricity home)

 

[T'Bonz]

I've been in every socioeconomic class up through upper-middle-class.

Being poor blows. If I can help it, I will never go there again.

Because I was poor in the past, I appreciate every red cent now and I always try to look to the future and prepare for it.

I hammered home the value of education to my kids. They all got their degrees. Bad luck though, as they came out of college to this shitty economy. I hope things improve.

 

[JarodRussell]

Living in a college town is really expensive.

$225 rent
$50 power bill
$30 water/sewage/garbage
$15 internet
$40 car insurance
$100+ gas

What part of that is expensive?

No shit. My wife and I live in an apartment with 801 square feet, two bedrooms, and we're paying $715 for rent. Monthly electric is around $50 (heat is covered). Television and Internet is about $90 a month. Auto insurance is $73 for one car for the both of us.

Ha, you couldn't find a doghouse in Europe for that rent.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Living in a college town is really expensive.

$225 rent

What part of that is expensive?

No shit. My wife and I live in an apartment with 801 square feet, two bedrooms, and we're paying $715 for rent.

Ha, you couldn't find a doghouse in Europe for that rent.

I would have worded it somehow differently, but I have to agree. I pay €550 ($730) for a 500 sq. feet apartment with one bedroom. Plus expenses (heating, electricity, etc.). In the suburbs. And it's considered cheap. So, yeah.

 

[Small White Car]

Y'all's housing costs make me cry a little.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Living in a college town is really expensive.

$225 rent
$50 power bill
$30 water/sewage/garbage
$15 internet
$40 car insurance
$100+ gas

What part of that is expensive?

It's not, except in context: he said he makes only $10,000.

Starbreaker, am I correct in assuming that $225 is just your portion of rent on a place that you share w/ others? Or is it really still possible to rent a house or apt for that little in the 21st century?!

 

[Bears Discover Fire]

Starbreaker's full list of expenses add up to less than 1/3 the rent on my 500 sq ft apartment in LA. I don't even want to admit what percentage of my income goes to rent.

 

[Starbreaker]

Those are just my parts of the bills, and it's expensive for me on practically minimum wage. I realize it's nothing to people making $100,000 in a household.

I live in a poor state in a small town with few jobs and a pointless degree.

 

[Holdfast]

Y'all's housing costs make me cry a little.

TBBS is doing its job right when the sweet, sweet tears flow.