A longtime aspirational income in the US, $100,000 is just above what many families earn these days. The median income for families (including single parents) was $91,000 in 2021, according to the Census Bureau, and about 45% of families earned $100,000 or more last year.
BuzzFeed News spoke to multiple people about what life on a household income of $100,000 looks like in 2022. Many shared a sense that while earning $100,000 was a relative privilege they’re grateful for, it was not living up to their expectations of what making six figures would be like. Some still found getting ahead — for instance, buying a home, saving for retirement, or maintaining an emergency fund — surprisingly hard at this income level.
“If someone would have told me 10 years ago that I’d be making $95,000 base salary with commission, I would have thought, Well, this is it. We did it,” Greg, a parent in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told BuzzFeed News. “But no — this is the cost of living. I thought I’d be able to afford a house, but that $150,000 to $180,000 house is now costing $400,000 to $500,000.”
Others don’t understand how to make our systems for saving and growing money work for them.
“When you step back, we’re actually very fortunate. I’ve never made this amount of money, and we don’t know how to manage it,” said Alison, a 32-year-old raising her family in Birmingham, Alabama. “I wish there had just been a time in life where you were taught that, because I was not taught great money habits growing up.”
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexalee1/arizona-midterms-senate-cost-of-living-winter-blues