You wake up tomorrow and your salary is now $50,000 USD (or converted to your currency) annually. How is your life affected?

[kyo2004]

Huge upgrade... I'll take it gladly... xD...

Basically, I could travel around the world in my own terms, instead of die trying to save the required $$$ to afford one trip... xD...

 

[CatAssTrophy]

No change. Maybe even slightly less.

I was making $24/hr as a contractor for the last few years and was living paycheck to paycheck because of divorce related debt, then had emergency surgery and now have even more debt piled on. I got a better paying (full-time) job in December but it's barely keeping me ahead of payments and rent.

If I was making $32/hr like I did a while ago I could really get my life back and get things on track again.

 

[Piston]

That is ~3600/month after taxes, so my current budget probably wouldn't work. I would have to move to a cheaper area/apartment. I would probably sell my current car and pick up one with cheaper monthly payments. I would definitely need to keep my food costs down and limit going out.

I am single without kids or a house, so I can be fairly flexible. This would still hurt and it would change my lifestyle considerably.

 

[Dog of Bork]

I'd have to quit and find a new job.

 

[Adam_Roman]

That's double what I make now. I could pay off my student loan debt in a year or two if I kept my current budgeting.

 

[Pelicano]

My salary would be halved essentially. I'd be sad I guess. I wouldn't be nearly as frivolous with my money.

 

[rhindle]

I'd be homeless. Unless I can get one of those $40 bunk beds.

 

[Rizific]

That's a pay cut. I'd have to change some things around, but I can make it work

 

[Cheshire_Buddha]

That's more than double what I make. I'd kill for $3,600 a month. I could afford a better diet and afford a better place to live. I could fix my broken partial denture that has been bugging me for six months. I could feel alive again.

 

[Dyle]

Hell yeah, that'd be somewhere around a 40% pay raise. I don't think my life would be any different though and all that extra money would just go to work for my future self

 

[Mest08]

It would be a roughly 20k a year cut, but at this time last year I was making 55k a year and survived. Not like a incurred any new debt in the last year. And most of that more money a year I make now gets spent on stupid shit anyway. So I just wouldn't buy stupid shit.

 

[bionic77]

Sell my house, probably downsize on the cars, stop buying expensive shit and taking nice vacations, would never eat out unless someone was getting married or it was my kids birthday.

I would hope with the reduction in salary I would have a nice 9-5 job and could make up for the reduction in income with a shitload more free time. If my salary was reduced and I still worked crazy hours then that would really suck.

 

[callamp]

A more than 50% pay cut would take some adjusting too. I'd basically end up saving nothing given the mortgage and child.

 

[Deleted member 8257]

Filing for bankruptcy lol

 

[R2RD]

That's almost 10 times what I was making at my last job. Basically I will be rich making that kind of money where I live.

 

[Scrub Jay]

Im making half my income now and sads

 

[Doom]

I really want to know which fantasy world all you people live in who are saying "3600/3700$ a month would be awesome". There's no situation where 50k works out to 3600 a month after taxes and deductions. Even in states with no income tax.

On topic, I'd be devastated mentally (73% paycut), but it would ultimately be about where I was 3 years ago and that's okay. I would either work hard to get back to where I am, or I'd take it as a sign that I should dial back my spendings and live more minimally than I do today. I don't have much debt, so it'd by no means "ruin" me.

 

[Cosmo Kramer]

I'm a self employed photographer/videographer in México, i made almost double that last year and i'll probable beat that number again this year, being self employed comes with the stress of chasing the money daily, looking for clients, investing in gear, getting better constantly, i do wonder sometimes if i could ever go back to a 9-5 job working for someone else, i honestly don't think i could do it even of they offered to pay more than i currently make, what i have learned tho it's that more money = more expenses, i have not felt much diference from 5 years ago when i was making like 15k a year to last year, it has been gradually.

I don't know where i was going with this

 

[Instro]

Well that would roughly be a 20k cut for me, so not great. I could certainly survive and maintain my current lifestyle though.

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Depends a whole lot on how this overnight income manifests. Same job, same place? It's a moderate paycut, and since I'm working out of town and in a hotel week by week, will hurt quite a bit. But if it just comes in no matter what I do? Well that's suddenly looking pretty good with me not having to spend 4 nights a week in a shitty hotel, so I say bring it on, that paycut probably comes out to a net positive

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

Since I'm not on my own yet I would put it in the bank.

 

[cmalex23]

Fucked because I live in the Bay Area and have a 1 year old.

 

[N.Domixis]

Sad because I just lost 40000

 

[never]

I already feel like living in SoCal is too expensive and this would be cutting my salary in more than half, so I'd probably move to another state with a lower cost of living.

 

[MrMephistoX]

I'd have to move.

 

[ToddBonzalez]

That'd be about 20k less than I'm making now...so not ideal to say the least.

 

[Spork4000]

That would be a pretty huge pay cut. Not sure how I'd deal.

 

[mhayes86]

First I'd start looking for a new job. That would be a significant paycut, and less than I was making out of college nearly five years ago. If I was stuck there, I'd have to go back to an apartment, I guess.

 

[Zulith]

50K would be a big pay cut to a lot of people, sure, but there is a massive, massive swath of Americans trying desperately to survive on ~20K... 50K would be life-altering, absolutely.

If the top 10 or so percent were suddenly cut down to 50K so we could bring the bottom 30 percent up to 50K, that's something I would like to see. Eat the rich, baby. I don't give a flying fuck about capitalism. I want to see the largest amount of people living happy lives and not struggling, by whatever means necessary.

Spoiler

And no I didn't do any math on that, just speaking from the heart here, lol

 

[Rotkehle]

Is this 50k per household or working person in a household? So it could be a cut or a win for us.

 

[Deleted member 4482]

I'd get one extra scoop of porridge for my single daily meal

 

[ffgameman]

My salary would be doubled, so yay me!

 

[Douche McBaggins The 4th]

Think i got healed and be at what i made before my injuries. Cool?

 

[Deleted member 4034]

I pay my debt faster and probably get insurance.

 

[Tortahegesztő]

That's 4-5 times my wage.
I could actually afford to take a loan and buy my own flat. Also I'd have the means to proper healthcare which would mean I'd start saving up for my retirement that I currently have slim chances to reach at all.

 

[TheModestGun]

Literally exactly as it is now haha. Still paying college loans, my car and being broke on rent week. I do save money at a slow but relatively steady rate though. So I can't complain really tbh. I'm stable at the very least. Would be nice to get closer to a down payment before I'm in my mid 30's though with my current trajectory. I'd need to be more at like 60k though for that.

 

[Bitch Pudding]

Inspired by a Reddit thread I came across a while back. How would this income change affect you wherever you are living in the world and at your point in life? Negatively? Positively?

Click to shrink...

Depends, are we talking annually or monthly?

 

[Pet]

I would quit and find a better job.

 

[G59]

That salary would cover my rent... so... it would be a shitty spot for me.

 

[regenhuber]

before or after income taxes?

50k$ = 45k€ as net income would be pretty, pretty good here in Germany.
45k€ minus income tax (38%) equals 28k€.... ca. 2k€ a months.... not so good.

 

[bananas]

My base pay is only around $34,000, but with extra entitlements it goes up to around $65,000.

 

[Aranjah]

I'd have to move to a smaller place and cut back on some nonessential spending. I could get by where I currently live for sure, but I wouldn't like it.

 

[TheModestGun]

wtf that's like a goddamned 40% reduction in pay. foh.

Click to shrink...

lol you braggart.

 

[Raysoul]

About 7 times my current pay. So I'm technically rich here. I can afford a good house, maybe a car, and no problems with vacation.

 

[Zok310]

Negative impact.

I would have to move back in with my parents and most likely file for bankruptcy.

 

[BreakyBoy]

If I cut down to bare essentials (i.e. ramen 24x7, bus everywhere), I would be just barely staying afloat on the ~$3500/month after taxes. I've lived paycheck-to-paycheck (and worse than that) before, so I'm sure I could do it if I had to. It's just kind of ridiculous to be barely scratching by at the median household income level, but I guess I chose to live here.

Fortunately, I have enough in savings to keep me afloat for six months at minimum in a catastrophe scenario, so that'll give me quite a bit of wiggle room. I'm also single, childless, and have zero debt outside of my mortgage.

Realistically though, in the city I live in, with the career/resume I have... I'd find another job in my field within a few weeks. If I'm patient and bust my ass in interview prep, I could potentially make significantly more than I already do. But if I just started answering cold calls from recruiters and grabbed the first decent thing, I'd be fine.

Five years ago? 50k would have been a nice pay raise.

 

[direct_quote]

I'd be making a lot less, but if i had 50k and no debt I'd be ok... I need the income to pay off some of my debt, so without it I could make less....

 

[Kalem]

I would be making more than my mom does and could buy a house and a car within a year of working

 

[Robin]

This would be a game changer for me for the better. I live in Connecticut where the cost of living is very high, I only make about 30k a year currently which isn't enough to be financially independent here without a roommate or partner.

If my pay was increased to 50k I would at least be able to pay the rent of a small apartment on my own.

 

[Nacho]

Being as I just went freelance this year, that's pretty nice in the fact that i'd have a guaranteed income lol.