Just curious to get some feedback here. My wife and I have a combined income of about $200k before taxes and have one child with another due in the Fall. Up until this year we’ve maintained decent savings but as of Jan 2025 we’ve really begun to feel a squeeze on our financials. We’ll be fine I think as I have a decent stack of physical silver (and by eliminating non-essential spending we’ll recoup some monthly funds) but I genuinely hope we’ll be feeling some relief soon.
How is everyone else here doing? After paying in $6k in taxes this month I’m really hoping for an end to the IRS soon :/
Still unable to find a job sadly. Not homeless (yet) but man it feels like I'm teetering on the edge.
Praying
Curious, are you finding it difficult to find a job in your career field? or is it basically the entire job market in your area?
When I went to college for a degree in network infrastructure / IT, we were all told it would have great job security.
So much for that job security.
I've been applying everywhere, and I'm lucky to even get a rejection letter at this rate.
I'm sorry.
The barriers to entry in IT are extremely low.
H1B flooding doesn't help. Paging Musk et al.
If you are willing to move to Alaska, state govt is always hiring.
Depending on city, security officer jobs pay relatively well and lots of OT. Also the duties are pretty light on nightshift. you can actually do something online that earns you money at the same time. Better than ending up homeless...
We are blessed. Broke and with a giant mountain of medical bills as we fight insurance companies to pay their portion BUT we always have what we need when we need it and enough to give when we can. Do I miss when we had retirement and investments and liquid assets- yep absolutely. However I have learned to stop being afraid of where we are. I was poor as kid worked very hard made some wise moves and was doing very well not wealthy but definitely not concerned with finance at one point. Was on track to reach our goals. Between Covid Plandemic and pediatric cancer it all gone. At first I was afraid and mostly angry. When you do all the right things work hard live within your means and save and get the rug yanked it’s frustrating. However overtime I began to feel peace in knowing God really does care for his children. We have each other and hopefully continued work and no more hiccups and we might claw out of this hole one day but until then we always seem to have just what we need when we need it.
How's your kid doing?
Better. He is out of bed more than in and that is amazing honestly working on rebuilding muscle from bedrest. The naturopathic doctor and parasite protocol seems to be working. Although I think the prayer is the biggest help. We still have bad days but we also have good days so that is wonderful. We go to the oncologist soon and we will have an update on the cancer. To be honest I am not sure I care what they say. They had pretty much shuffled us off to die so I don’t have much trust in them but we do actually need to more medicine( not chemo he was the test for an off label). Every day is a gift and a miracle. Thank you so much for asking
Glad to hear he's doing better. We lost our youngest to leukemia and money was the least of our concerns at the time of his illness - I couldn't have cared if I wound up sleeping under a bridge if he had survived. It wiped out our retirement savings but at least we still had a roof over our heads and reliable transportation. We would have lost those too if not for generous family, friends, and co-workers. We also got a LOT of financial assistance from a couple of charities associated with the children's hospital he was treated at. We were $2.3 million over our insurance coverage max and wound up not paying any of it because the charities covered what our insurance had not. These things have one of two outcomes - thye either break you or they make you focus on what's important. Sounds like you've found the focus path.
I hope so. I do feel like we have broken and mended and broken again but I am extremely grateful for what we have even on the days I want to cry my eyes out. Deepest heartfelt condolences on your loss. I truly can’t imagine. I can’t even consider it without feeling like I can’t breathe. Biggest hugs and thank you for sharing your pediatric cancer journey with me. We understand that journey and I genuinely wish no other parent ever understands. I think for me if there is one thing I wish I had known before that this has taught me is letting go of my expectations of who he would become and just enjoying who he is instead. Actually I think that can be said of our lives in general. I was so concerned before about things that honestly didn’t matter and I realized through this that it’s because I was trying to hard to give him my desired future for him. Now all I want is A future. Grades and sports and opportunities were WAY more important before. Now I just want him to love himself and God and have a life that brings him joy and peace. When I let go of what I thought a successful parenting job should look like- THAT was when I began to discover what an incredible person he is. He is so much stronger bravery and better than t deserve. It’s been a long fight for us but I pray everyday for the strength to run this race and be the mother my children deserve. ( for that and also for unlimited coffee) because they are WAY WAY more than my sad mommy musings ever dreamed. I wish it hadn’t taken this for me to see that.
Thank you for sharing this. It helps more than you know.
I do not know what you and you family needs in this moment, but God does, and I am praying for His provision for you and yours.
If it gave uplifted you then I am grateful that God could use me to do so. Thank you so much for including us in your prayers we are big believer in prayer and have seen God do amazing things through them. I believe it is the most it is a beautiful gift -sincere prayer for another. May the Lord continue to bless your family and pour out provision. Living by faith on the thin line is scary but also beautiful in how God can provide. We have had more than a few of those times where just in nick of time God will provide an opportunity.
200k a year is a pipedream for my home.
$200 a year is a pipedream for my home. I've dropped out.
I appreciate the input, fren. I should add that we live in Nashville, TN where the cost of living is quite high and cost of childcare is absolutely absurd. Regardless I am blessed to have a loving family and support in means other than finances, which is equally if not more important.
In Nashville as well. Yes it is expensive here. We have no kids, but manage well on 125k, but both working OT to earn that much, and I have my SS in that total. Our saving grace is we don't drive and we rent an older 2/2 for 1600, we downsized...
Have a shitty paying job with benefits. No real savings but during Covid I was able to pay off all debt including my mortgage, so I got that going for me which is nice.
Judging by comments and comparisons my estimate is that most Americans are near actual poverty level income. Falling through the cracks as always. Too much income to get assistance and too little for any feeling of security. Folks with 200k a year income? If you feel an economic pinch maybe you need to downsize? imagine being a family today, living on less than 30k a year, and one 20 yr old vehicle. The forgotten people.
I'm doing very well, thank you. Totally poor and broke, but also completely inflation proof. 😁
Elaborate on your inflation proofing, it might help others.
Bought calls last week on silver companies.
Sold today
Hahaha, you should try to live on one income and support a family. Debt, it's all debt. Every year my property taxes go up. I basically have to buy everything used. Used cars, used equipment, used or cheep chinese junk. My dream to send my children to catholic schools was never going to happen. Why, I make too much money but can't afford their schooling It was 8,000 per child. Every year. I have to sit and listen to fucking retarded liberals wave their rainbow flags in the classroom. It sucks.
We chose online school when we couldn’t afford private anymore but truthfully it didn’t help as much as we had hoped the whole system is saturated and it is exhausting on top of the extra teaching hours. I am debating going traditional homeschooling but truth I am already burning the candle at all ends. Hugs fren we can only do our best right?
Pre-Covid (2019) had plans in the works for a $1.5M expansion of our bar/restaurant. Business was booming prior to 2019. Business had been in a free fall since they took away our dining room. Sales down over $500k in 2024 alone.
Over the last few years, sold cars, home, tore thru all savings. Closed biz permanently last month. 30 years of savings and hard work gone. Now living in a shitty studio apt with spouse and 3 animals. No car, no healthcare, little savings and just landed a 40 hr job for $17 per hour. Sucks. Especially when you’re in your mid 50s and staring at no safety net left, all investments sold off and very little left in savings. But What ya gonna do. Just keep swimming. Right. Currently working on a new recipe to make lemonade out of the lemons the Byden admin gave me.
I feel the suffering as so many do. I am driving my daughter’s car that I bought her when she turned 16. 20 years old, but I don’t want to put premium gas in my “newer” 13 year old vehicle. I make a decent living but am still living paycheck to paycheck. My property taxes went up $1200 this year. My paychecks go to necessities to live. No savings. I sold my GME stock for repairs on my septic system.
I used to think getting my hair done was a necessity. Now it’s a luxury. I have $200 a month for groceries and $200 for gas. Luckily I am a good cook, and can make good meals with few ingredients.
It feels like we are living in a shadowland. There is a malaise which has permeated the earth.
Down huge on DJT with 2 down vehicles and a mountain of taxes.
Earning less than 30k/year waiting for things in the ag industry to get better. Family farm is near going under. Our farm is worth $10mil on paper but good luck earning anything with it. And too stubborn to sell
Just a thought but is there any chance of leasing plots to city folk for gardens. Like any fields you are aren’t planting. Just an outage box thought
Probably not, there's no city close by. I'm doing fine tho. Living on about $10k/ and saving the other $20k in silver for the past 9 years. I couldn't imagine making $200k and complaining about money
Not good. Very vulnerable. The ice is thin.
Will pray things go better for you.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!
I'm a 74 year old vet living in a 22-year-old travel trailer on a friend's property. I live on 1700 a month. I thank God that I'm in good health and have a roof over my head. It's been challenging at times but the Lord continues to provide for my needs not necessarily my wants but my needs. I'm pretty sure things are going to get a bit tough before they get better with this tariff deal but I have faith that the Lord will get us through it
My fiance is a teacher at the top of the pay scale making about 90,000 a year, we just moved out to The country almost a year ago and we are trying to get on our feet financially. I'm a student working on getting my prerequisites to declare for mechanical engineering and informatics, which I will be able to after this term is up. Pretty much all I get is financial aid for going to classes gross to the tune of about 28,000 a year but my tuition is like 15,000 a year. So it's like $1,500 a class and then I have to pay generally about $100 to $300 per term for textbooks. I don't go out. We don't go out. We basically hunker down here in the cabin and we are working on stacking our cash and getting her through her bankruptcy so that we can build our house. The dream is to build with cob, straw, and timber frame using materials that we get locally. We are actually coming out of the hole Believe it or not. She lost her teaching job back in 2020 and then lost her house and all of her retirement because of complications from the covid shot. I've been struggling on my own ever since I was a kid and honestly the help she's been providing is about the only reason I've been able to go to college, we've managed to kind of pull it together and we got a house rented, a small one you know only like 6 or 700 ft² but we're making it work.
Reach out when you’re ready to build if the kiddo is doing well and we can afford to take off I will offer labor. I have always wanted to build a cob and I will gladly swing a shovel to learn.
I feel so blessed, ok health, some money in the bank, and own our house free and clear. Except property taxes went up to 8 k this year, and home insurance is over 200 a month now! I wish everyone a better year this year.
Prayers for all of those who are struggling financially. If there is a lesson in it for you, I pray that you are a quick learner.
Hope to see the economy recover soon for all those underemployed and unemployed.
We are a retired couple. A small pension plus social security is working well for us, as we own our home and vehicles.
We are retired. We are debt free so our income of just under $50,000 meets our needs.
I'm sorry, but if you're paying 100k in taxes, then you just have a really healthy income and have no reason to complain.
Don’t include 1964 and earlier quarters, dimes and nickels in those rolls, as they’re 90% silver, and worth more than face value.
I sold a pile of pre-1965 quarters to an online bullion retailer a couple years ago, and was paid $4.25 per quarter. It’s probably a little more than that today, as silver’s price has increased about 20% since then.
Retired, no debt, pension and social security cover all our needs and we are able to contribute to charity. Yes I know how fortunate and blessed we are. Boomers were born at a good time.