I always hear them bitching and moaning online about how they can BARELY live on a 60k-100k income, that is about 5k-8.3k a MONTH, thats what senior highly experienced doctors earn here and they seem to be living the life. Is it really that expensive to live in the usa? I heard rent is like 2k in big cities and insurance around 600-800 bucks (lets round it up to 1k because of gas & groceries and whatnot) leaving them to 2k to do whatever else they need. That seems more than enough.

America is expensive to the point that some Americans will never be able to afford to go from one time zone to another within their own fucking country.

>>212181703
I am genuinely curious though, I just can't wrap my head around how they spend that roughly 2k money per month. I just let my money sit around in my savings because I have no actual use for it.

>>212181784
So do you not have any hobbies or investments?

>>212181574 (OP)
>Is it really that expensive to live in the usa?
Yes. And what hurts most is that our politicians didn't even blow this money on something wise and that would pay for itself like college tuition forgiveness (While I don't think a lot of these fags deserve, especially a degree in retard studies, it would've have eventually paid for itself) or massive investments on the reshoring of American manufacturing.

But blew it all on retarded shit like stimulus checks under Biden

>>212181574 (OP)
step one: lease a giant car that you totally don’t compensate with like a Ford F150 or an Escalade. Make sure the interest is like 15% minimum.
step two: drive like an absolute moron so that your car insurance is like 6k/year
step three: mortgage a giant mcmansion in a gated community. Make sure the interest is like 15% minimum.
step four: buy a fuckton of expensive John Deere equipment to collect dust in your garage because those neighbors need to hear that lawn mower combustion engine at 6am
step five: buy a window AC to cool your paper mcmansion because efficiency is for poorfags
step six: buy a fuckton of kitchen equipment that collects dust because you totally needed that avocado peeler
step seven: spend a fortune on uncanny white teeth because your health insurance doesn’t cover dental
step eight: buy the newest Apple products every year. Make sure you don’t actually give the money upfront, but get a loan with interest. You don’t want Stacy to know you’re poor, right?
step nine: spend a fortune on your kids out-of-state tuition because University of Nebraska just ain’t cutting it and UC Berkeley sounds better on a resume
step ten: sign up for ten thousand subscription services that you forget about because piracy is communism o algo
step eleven: mortgage a new mcmansion just because you want to get in on that renting game thinking you can outsmart your bank

>>212181784
The people bitching are the ones who are financial idiots. Nobody is poor here who either doesn't want to be or is an absolute mong

Many people "living paycheck to paycheck" are financially irresponsible, yes. They waste money on trinkets, drugs and alcohol, eating out.

>>212181574 (OP)
Mostly a bunch of shit they don't need.
There are legitimate complains about how expensive our health care is, same with rent and transportation, but its largely things people don't need. Our groceries are very cheap as percentage income. Car dependency can hurt, but its also people buying expensive cars they don't need rather than practical cars.
>I heard rent is like 2k in big cities
In HCOL areas yes, which big cities often times are. Though Chicago and Philadelphia are not HCOL, and some suburban areas in Northeast and California are, so it just depends.
>insurance around 600-800 bucks
I spend about $150 on health insurance. Though this doesn't include the employer contribution.
>lets round it up to 1k because of gas & groceries and whatnot
If you're spending 2k on rent you should be able to do without a car.

is common is usa to buy company stocks they are working in it?

>>212181982

>>212182019
You mean stock options? Yes that's common

>>212181901
My hobbies barely cost me any money at all, I like running alone, playing video games and reading. It costs me like 30 bucks to find good running shoes that will last me a year, 5 dollars for a vpn and books are free online. About investments I don't really see the point, I am more than happy with the amount I have, if I invest my money in some defensive investments that would give me a yearly yield of 3-ish % I wouldn't really get life changing amounts of money even after 10 years. Im happy with where I am today.

>>212181982
Oh

>>212181574 (OP)
The average american is financially retarded. Americans think it's normal to go into lifelong debt for brand new cars or other unnecessary expenses. If they don't doordash every other meal, they're at least eating out. They pay for every tv and movie subscription service

>>212181784
Economy was genuinely 100% better in 2019 than now. In retrospect, we had no idea how good we had it. I mean, it wasn't pre-2008 good obviously, but hot damn..

You just have to live here and experience the actual extent of how bad inflation is in this country to really relate. Everything's expensive, housing, food, whatever. Still, our suffering is fucking Weenie Hut Jr's compared to what the leafs are going through

>>212181982
I hate how accurate this is for some of my retarded countrymen. Fuck you Hans (I love you Hans)

>>212181574 (OP)
I make 75,000 a year, so about $6200 a month.
20% goes the government (most of which gets distributed to boomers). 10% goes to retirement investments. That leaves me with about $4300 going into my bank account each month. Now $1500 goes to rent, which means I'm left with only $2800 on spending money, which I can use on vacations, eating out, alcohol or whatever.

I don't pay anything for car because I just drive an old car and I don't drive often enough for gasoline to be a significant expense. I also don't have any student loans or anything since my parents paid for my college.

>>212182300
You're not counting car maintenance, especially with an older vehicle.

>>212181574 (OP)
they tink paying 1000 to 2000 $ a month is ok for a truck, they think paying that for monthly rent is ok,

>>212181982
>step five: buy a window AC to cool your paper mcmansion because efficiency is for poorfags
So close! But we all have central cooling here.

>>212182380
its not really that much money. I'd call $300 a year.

But I don't really drive that much, so I would probably spend more on maintenance if I did. The AC is broken and I haven't bothered to fix it and don't plan on doing so.

>>212182422
nigga please

It’s really brain warping when you find out how fucking cheap everything in the US is.

>>212182221
Okay smart guy, how do you handle getting your hands on a car in our very car-centric country?

>>212181574 (OP)
>How do Americans spend their money?
I'd imagine they spend most of it getting treatments to gunshot wounds?

>>212182613
buy an old car or move to the city center where you don't need a car?

You don't need an F150 to go to the grocery store.

>>212182598
Nothing is cheap you are delusional fuck

>>212182613
Just don't buy a brand new car that you have to make payments on
And if you absolutely have to make payments, get a cheap used car that you can pay off quick

>>212182686
compared to poorope gas (aka petrol) and utilities are insanely cheap

Reminder: that old "x% of americans are living paycheck to paycheck meme" was entirely self-reported and not based on any actual financial data

Americans are retarded with their money

>>212182687
If you buy a cheap used car you'll have to do maintenance on it which racks up. It's better to buy new and maintain it in the long run.

>>212182744
A lot of people confuse having a budget with living paycheck to paycheck.

they buy gaming pc every month and post on youtube

>>212182759
That's just not true. There are more options than just a brand new car and a jalopie that barely makes it off the lot

>>212182686
Lmao everything is cheaper in the US, people load up on electronics and shit when they travel over because at times it’s like half the price

>>212182885
Consumer goods and groceries are cheap.

Anything labor intensive (especially if it requires construction) is expensive. Or anything that has been regulatory captured (health care).

>>212182885
NTA but I guess it depends on the region within America.
I live in flyover country where everything is extremely cheap. A lot of my friends bought their own houses on good bits of land by their early 20s

>>212182979
How old are you?

>>212183044
25

>>212183054
wtf. You must live in the Dakotas or something.

The biggest pitfall Americans fall into is being absolutely pants-on-head retarded with credit cards.

>>212183092
I live within 50 miles of a major midwestern city with a population of almost 500k

I think if I made a concerted effort to cut back I would be able to buy a house within a few years but if I had a child it would be impossible

gf and I make around 100k household income in a low cost of living state. rent is $1200

>>212183186

>>212181982
The fact that you have this saved in a text document on your computer is comically sad

>>212183321
I just came up with it on the fly. Cope.

>>212183345
I thought your post was lovely, fren.