Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days continues today with discounts exclusively for Prime members.
But you don’t have to be on the hunt for every deal, because frankly, who has time? Our Nerds did the research for you by talking to experts and tracking prices on 12 popular products at four major retailers.
Whether you’re shopping for household staples or holiday gifts, consult this Nerdy list of what to buy (and skip) on Prime Big Deal Days.
Best things to buy (or skip) on Prime Big Deal Days
Buy: Past-purchase staples
Don’t let Amazon’s homepage algorithm dictate what you buy. One strategy to cut through clutter: Let your order history lead the way.
Save money by finding deals on the things you already use and know are worth your money. Open your order history and review items you’ve repurchased over the past 30 days, three months or even a year. If you spot a discount on something you need, take advantage and stock up.
Here’s how to “buy again.”
Amazon app: Go to your cart in the mobile app and select the “buy again” tab near the top of the screen.
Desktop: Click on “Returns & Orders” on the top right side of your screen. Then click “Buy Again” to add frequent purchases to your cart.
We’ve seen the “Prime Big Deals” label on trash bags, dog food, dishwasher pods, mouthwash, Clorox cleaner, the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, vitamins and baby bottles. You can also shop for items that regularly wear out, such as the water filter in your refrigerator or the electric toothbrush heads you’ve been using for too long.
Skip: Lightning deals
Look away from pressure-driven lightning deals that are only available for a limited time or until a certain number of units are sold. These promotions are meant to make you feel panicked and push you toward impulsive purchases.
“Consumers are easily swayed by the deals and promotion messages, and their ‘fear of missing out (FOMO)’ mentality often tricks them into jumping on these flash deals,” Savannah Wei Shi, associate professor of marketing at Santa Clara University, said in an email interview.
Take a breath and know that if you miss the deal, you’re not missing out. The item will probably be discounted in the coming months, which could give you time to realize you don’t even want it anymore.
Buy: Toys
If you need gift ideas for the kids in your life, Andrea Woroch, a personal finance writer and consumer savings expert who has appeared on “Good Morning America” and other TV news shows, recommends looking for deals on crafting kits, dolls and action figures, Lego sets and even video game consoles and gaming bundles.
Woroch warns, however, that not all toy deals will be worth it this early in the holiday shopping season, and suggests going in knowing what you want. How do you know when to add that toy to your cart?
“If you’re getting 30% off, buy it. That’s a good deal,” she says.
Amazon highlighted Lego deals in its Prime Big Deal Days announcement and Target is advertising up to 30% off select sets during its Circle Week sale, which runs all week.
Skip: Small home appliances
You might be better off waiting until Black Friday or Cyber Monday to buy small home appliances. Based on our price tracking data, the Instant Vortex 6-quart 4-in-1 air fryer is on sale for $107.95 today, but if you wait, you could score a bigger deal. The air fryer was $59.49 during Amazon’s Cyber Monday sale last November.
Coffee lovers also might want to hold out for another sale. The Keurig K-Classic single-serve coffee maker we tracked was $109.99 at Amazon during July’s Prime Day Sale and is $139 now. Last year, the price dropped to $76.49 on Cyber Monday, so you’re probably better off waiting. That, or buy it directly from Keurig.com, where it’s $99.99 today.
Buy: Personal electronics
Our advice is nuanced in this category. Discounts on headphones and smart speakers are a given during Amazon’s major sales. The price of the high-end set of Sony headphones we’re tracking is down to $298 at Amazon ($297 at Walmart) — about $100 off list price — which matches the Prime Day in July price.
Many Alexa-enabled devices and Amazon-branded e-readers are also on sale today. Tablets, fitness trackers, streaming sticks, laptops, cameras and TVs are fair game, too. The 65-inch LG C3 TV we’ve been watching dropped to a low of $1,296.99 at Amazon and Walmart for this week’s sales. That’s $300 less than it was on Black Friday 2023.
But the product release cycle impacts gadget prices. For example, if you were hoping to pick up an Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS + Cellular) with a 41mm sport band at a discount after the series 10 was released, you might be out of luck.
With the new version now out, Amazon was only selling a used version of the previous model for $462.56, and it was unavailable at Target in the weeks leading up to Prime Big Deal Days. If you’re not picky about the color or style you purchase, you might be able to score a deal.
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Skip: Fast fashion on Amazon
Fashion can be hit or miss on Amazon, Woroch says. If you hold off on clothing purchases today, you can save your money for when there are more sales from a wider selection of storefronts about a month from now.
“I would wait for Black Friday weekend,” she says.
More stores participate, and you’ll have the chance to get great deals from brands known for better clothes, she says.
Are Prime Big Deal Days the best time to buy?
Not always. Amazon has created two sale holidays — Prime Day in July and Prime Big Deal Days in October — that have forced other retailers to follow suit.
Our data shows some deals are worth a look. Discounts from Amazon and its competitors during Prime Big Deal Days make it the best time to buy five of the 12 products on our list. Prime Day in July delivered the lowest price for four items on our list.
So, for nine out of the 12 items we tracked, Prime Day in July or October brought the lowest prices. Last Black Friday had the lowest price for only one of the items on our list and tied with Cyber Monday for another.
Here’s a tidbit that sums up shopping online in 2024: Prices can be just as good, or better, during non-sale days. That was the case for the aforementioned Sony headphones.
If you were shopping on a random Tuesday (Sept. 24 to be exact), you could have nabbed them for $285 from a third-party seller on Walmart.com, $12 less than today. But good prices during off-sale periods are tough to time. Waiting for the big sale is easier.
Check competitors and your budget
The Prime Big Deal Days sale isn’t the only one happening this week. Amazon is probably the play for Prime members (most deals require a Prime membership), but online shopping makes it easy to compare prices at competitors. Target Circle week (Oct. 6-12) and Walmart’s first Holiday Deals Event (Oct. 8-13) are both happening now, and our research shows prices are competitive.
Like with Amazon, Target’s sale is for Circle members only (free to join), while Walmart’s sale is open to everyone (although paid Walmart+ members get early access to special deals). Don’t overlook Best Buy, especially when it comes to electronics.
If you have a holiday shopping budget, now’s the time to revisit it. If money is tight and shopping would put you into debt or cause bills to go unpaid, skip the sale. There will be plenty of chances to buy things you want or need in the future. Some distance will give you a chance to research, reevaluate and save.
How we tracked prices
NerdWallet tracked online prices on 12 products at four nationwide retailers — Amazon, Target, Walmart and Best Buy — focusing on Black Friday 2023, Cyber Monday 2023, Prime Day 2024 and Prime Big Deal Days 2024. We selected a range of items, including electronics and home goods, that are popular with shoppers year after year.
Some caveats:
Some products have upgrades or a new model introduced in a given year. In these cases, we continued to track the original item and not the newest generation.
Pricing can vary based on color. When possible, the most basic and/or universal color was selected. If this color or model wasn’t available, we tracked another color.
In-store and online prices sometimes vary. We used online prices to reflect the current retail landscape, which is defined by dynamic pricing, and to ensure we got the most up-to-date prices available.
Get more financial clarity with NerdWallet
Monitor your credit, track your spending and see all of your finances together in a single place.
Inside: These are the absolute best life hacks to saving money. This list of frugal living tips with a big impact with greatly improve your budget and finances.
There are many ways to save money. Today, we are going to focus on frugal living tips with a big impact.
Those money saving tips that will save you the most money in the shortest amount of time.
These are the big impact ones of the all of the frugal living tips out there.
If you are a frugal living beginner or desire to save money, this is what you need to start with.
For many households, you are busy and want to find the life hacks that will make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time. Saving money is important to you. You have bigger and better aspirations in life.
For us personally, we choose to implement these frugal living tips with a big impact because we want to increase our savings percentage each and every year. We have financial independence – all thanks to the Money Bliss Steps to Financial Freedom.
You should check them out. You might be surprised how your perspective will change.
For now, we are going to stick with the frugal living tips that will save you the most money with the least amount of work. Does that sound like a good deal? You want real life hacks – not just clickbait titles. Right?
I thought so… Let’s dig in to the frugal living tips with a BIG impact!
How to Stay Frugal
The better question is why do you want to stay frugal? What are your personal reasons for being frugal?
In this particular case, we are talking about saving money.
In all honesty, staying frugal means that you are constantly wanting to save more money. You have bigger plans in your life and don’t want to be a slave to your money. You desire to make a plan for your money and that is of utmost importance for your household.
Learning how to stay frugal will turn into a frugal lifestyle. Then, for many, it will morph into a thrifty lifestyle.
It is easy to learn how to stay frugal when you have dreams and plans in your life.
In order to fund those dreams, you need to stop living paycheck to paycheck and begin to give purpose to how you spend and save your money.
If you don’t believe me, then check out this case on why being frugal leads to a millionaire’s success story.
Top 10 Frugal Living Tips with a Big Impact
Like it was stated before, there are hundreds of frugal living tips that you can implement right now to start saving money.
However, for too many people, the list is too long and they want to see immediate progress right now.
These are the TOP 10 frugal living tips that will change how you think about money, spend money, and ultimately save money.
If you want to enjoy life and money (and maybe one day reach financial freedom), this is where you want to start. With this list. Right now. Make these easy lifestyle changes and begin a new relationship with money.
1. Wait 24 Hours to Buy
This is the simplest tip to help improve your money management.
Wait at least 24 hours before you buy something.
During that time, you will figure out whether or not you actually want or need the item. If you still want it, then you can purchase it. However, many times you realize that you didn’t need it or it wasn’t exactly what you wanted. So, you end up saving some money.
Obviously, the wait 24-hour rule applies to anything outside the realms of housing, food, gas, and utilities.
One of the smallest wins is to save $50 a week using this rule because over a year, you will save $2600!
Say what!?!?
That is a big chunk of cash that you probably even didn’t realize you were spending. Now, you are one step closer to reaching financial independence.
2. Make a Plan for Your Money
How do you want to spend your money? Have you ever considered where you want to spend your money before you spend it? Don’t worry if you said no. Most people don’t make a plan for their money.
What does it look like to make a plan for your money?
Before you are paid, you decide how and where you plan to save and spend your money. Did you catch the first part? It is the biggest hint I have for you – decide where you plan to save money first. Then second, how you plan to spend the rest.
Many people call this a budget.
The key is knowing where your priorities lie before putting in all of your variable expenses. You must plan to reach your money goals first. Then, figure out how to live on the rest.
That is called making a plan for your money.
3. Say No to Debt
There is nothing frugal about taking out debt.
Around here, we call debt – the cash flow killer.
It is extremely hard to move forward when debt (specifically the debt payment) is holding you back. It is like taking two steps forward only to be taken back a step now and three steps back in the future.
How to get around not going into debt?
You save up for big purchases, and then, you can pay in cash.
Side note… For this discussion, we are not talking about mortgage debt. In many cases, mortgage debt can be considered a “better” debt because purchasing a home may have a lower mortgage payment than current rents in the area.
4. Understand Where You want to Spend Money
Spending money isn’t a bad thing… IF you are spending money in areas that are important to you.
However, too many times we are blindly spending money and not realizing where our money went at the end of the month.
Is that what you set off to do?
Probably not, but for now, you feel like you are a slave to your bills and not being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. The time is now to figure out where your priorities lie and the area you want to spend money.
To make this process simpler, it is easier to decide where you don’t want to spend money. For us, a no spend challenge helped us visually see where we wanted to spend money and where we actually spent money. The experience was eye-opening and very valuable.
Now, we know where we want to spend money and that has made a big impact for our finances. What could it do for you?
Just to Note… There are times where you want to spend money isn’t possible because you are barely managing to pay your basic bills. This frugal living tips with a big impact is to help you understand where your goals to spend money lie and what is unnecessary spending.
5. Know Your Reason to Live Frugally
Let’s be honest… living frugally doesn’t come with a lot of materialistic perks. You are sacrificing spending money in order to save money. It is hard to watch people mismanage their money only to get bailed out again and again.
To stick with frugal living and a desire to implement saving money hacks, then you must know your reason to live frugally.
Your answer will vary from everyone else’s answer. That is okay because we all have different money goals.
Have you thought about your reason for living frugally?
Our reason to live frugally is to travel. We don’t want to wait until we retire and the kids are grown to travel. We want to travel now and explore as much as possible while we can. Over time, that has morphed into our desire to reach financial freedom and not be a slave to our jobs. (Don’t worry… I love what I do here and don’t plan to change anything.)
What is your reason to live frugally?
6. Keep your Grocery Budget Trim
This is one of the biggest frugal living areas that will have the most immense impact – how you eat food.
Food is one of the basic expenses that you need to survive. However, how you choose to fuel your body will make a difference in your budget as well as how you choose to shop.
By becoming cognizant of grocery spending, you will learn to save money on groceries, which will make a huge impact over time.
Let’s take this example… You can save $200 a month on your grocery spending. That equates to $2,400 in one year. Almost $5000 in two years. At the end of 10 years, you saved $24,000!!
That is no small chunk of change. While spending an extra $200 a month doesn’t seem like much, over time it adds up to a greater amount. That is when you realize that implementing grocery money saving tips will have a bigger impact than you realized.
Overcoming your grocery budget is a learned trait; here are the best items on your grocery budget list.
7. DIY First
I’ll be the first to admit that making something yourself can be overwhelming when you don’t have a clue where to start.
Thankfully, there are plenty of tutorials to get you started with a simple Google search.
Frugal living tips with a big impact is knowing how to do it yourself first.
Here is one that has saved us over $10,000 in the past 10 years… I learned how to cut everyone’s hair in the house. The reason we started cutting our hair was because we were looking for ways to get out of debt faster.
The worst case scenario with DIY… if it doesn’t work out how you expected then you can always call for professional help. The best case is you just saved yourself a lot of money.
Especially if you own a home, you must learn to DIY first. Many of the skills that you would hire a handyman to do used to be taught by the generation before. Too bad that this isn’t still the case. However, thanks to YouTube, you have plenty of opportunities to learn how to do it yourself.
Another option is to trade services with a friend.
8. Find a Cheaper Alternative
One of the traits of a frugal person is searching for cheaper alternatives. This is a simple money saving hack.
This could be as simple as searching for a better price online and price matching. Or even waiting for a sale or clearance.
Finding cheaper alternatives is a great way to save money. Some options include:
Buying in bulk
Buying generic
Buy less items
Finding items that have dual purposes over single use. (like instant pot / air fryer combo)
You need to open up your eyes to finding cheaper versions or figuring out how to buy what you need at a lower price.
Another alternative is to buy used. This especially holds true for new cars since they lose most of their value within the first 5 years.
Just to Note: A cheaper alternative doesn’t always mean the quality is the same. A thrifty person would want an item that will last longer than the knockoffs.
9. Choose FREE First
Oh my! This hack is one of the best frugal living tips with a big impact.
Why choose FREE first?
Then, you don’t have to spend your hard-earned income on something that is used for a short period of time.
This could be for everything you spend money on.
Find free things to do with no money.
Source items you need in Buy Nothing Facebook groups or Nextdoor.
Choose the library over buying the actual books.
Ultimately, you’re looking at how to get things and do things for free first. This doesn’t make you cheap at all. It makes you frugal. Plus it gives you the chance to spend that money on something else that aligns with your reason to be frugal.
10. Think Long Term
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Too many times, we are so focused on living paycheck to paycheck that we don’t stop to make plans on what we want the next year to be like. Or the next 3 years? 5 years? Even 20 years away?
If you are ready to make a big impact in your life today, start by dreaming and thinking long term financial goals for all of your spending and saving.
Frugal Family Tips
Really quick, we are going to spend a little time discussing frugal family tips for your household.
Why?
Well, kids are expensive and it can be hard not to want the best for your family. And it can be easy to spend money to make that happen.
But first, why should you implement frugal family tips for your household?
Hint: so you can raise financially savvy children who make smart and wise decisions with money as adults. More is caught than today.
Kids learn by example.
So, why not be the best example for your kids with money?
The above list of the top frugal living tips with a big impact is solid money management tips that will build a solid foundation of success.
There isn’t a specific list of frugal family tips. It is taking the above life hacks and talking with your family about why you are making these money decisions. Have conversations about spending money and saving money.
In the long term, teaching frugal family tips will open the door to many opportunities.
That right there, my dear friend, is the gift that will keep on giving.
Tips for Living with Very Little Money
Typically, there are two types of people who are living with very little money and they are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
First of all, don’t compare yourself to others. That slippery slope of comparison is a trap; one which will cause you great harm, stress, and financial strain.
You are looking for tips for living with very little money.
If you are struggling living paycheck to paycheck, then you are in a tough spot right now. Remember, I said right now. You can always change your financial situation. It starts with your money mindset first.
The other person is that extremely frugal person who is consciously choosing to live with very little money. That means you are prioritizing the saving percentage you save each month.
In addition to all of the tips above, you must become EXTREMELY cognizant of your plans to spend money.
You know how and where you plan to spend every single penny that you earn before the money is in your hands.
Consistently, you are finding ways to spend less money and save more money.
A no spend challenge becomes a normal way of living for you. The key is you can’t hold a grudge on your choice of extreme frugality.
Just remember, you can lead a fabulous life with very little money. Money won’t buy your happiness. Finding contentment with your life is the target.
Which Frugal Living Tips with a Big Impact will You Try First?
Okay, so in all honesty, most of these frugal living tips are great money management tips that will completely turn your life in a completely different direction.
You are here because you want to save money with simple life hacks.
This list of the top 10 frugal living tips with a big impact will flip your life upside down for the better.
You need to make a big impact on your finances. Now, you need to embrace these saving money tips and have them become natural habits.
Regardless of income, you are capable of saving your first $10k, then saving $100,000 and ultimately being a millionaire. All it takes is thinking long-term and deciding what is most important for your family and your household.
You hold the keys to a brighter financial future. Grab them and begin to open up doors to more opportunities.
In case you want more frugality in your household, in this post, we outline over 175 + of the best frugal living tips, which are great once you master the money saving tips that will have a longer lasting impact.
For now, what frugal living tips with a big impact will you try first? Comment below and let us know!
You can become the next millionaire with no money!
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Did the post resonate with you?
More importantly, did I answer the questions you have about this topic? Let me know in the comments if I can help in some other way!
Your comments are not just welcomed; they’re an integral part of our community. Let’s continue the conversation and explore how these ideas align with your journey towards Money Bliss.
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You want to learn how to be frugal but not cheap… then, you are in the right place.
Simply put… frugal living is saving money at it finest.
To be honest, though, learning how to be frugal can come with spending more money than you planned in the name of frugality. The truth can hurt. But, in order to be frugal, you must save what you would normally spend.
That means you are economical with money.
The list of 175+ frugal living tips seems like a great place to start when you are learning how to be frugal, right?
Wrong!
You need to focus on a few basic habits first. Set yourself up for success. And then, slowly incorporate more frugal ways to save money.
In this post, that is exactly what you will learn.
The frugal habits you need to be successful along with the best frugal life hacks to guarantee success.
Let’s dig in…
Can being Frugal make you Rich?
Absolutely yes!
The key is to save money from your frugal hacks.
Remember the age-old saying, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
Every penny will slowly add up to the next money milestone.
If you don’t believe me, then check out this millionaire’s story of being frugal.
How Being Frugal can Cost You?
It can IF you are not careful.
Being frugal is about saving money. However, it is possible to spend more money in the name of frugality.
The first example would be being more than you need just because it is a good sale, deal, or clearance price that you don’t want to miss out on.
Next, in your search to find the cheapest option, you actually spend more over time replacing it because the quality isn’t quite the same.
There is a fine line between frugality, being cheap, and simply overspending on deals.
Just be weary of overspending money in the hunt of saving money.
How to be Frugal with Money
These are the habits you want to embrace to become a frugal person.
Personally, I like to think being frugal is being picky with my money.
I loathe my investment accounts going down, so why would I want to buy things that we don’t need or don’t matter in the long wrong. That is why I choose to be frugal with money.
Specifically, I choose to be economical with how we spend money.
Now, let’s dig in to understand how to be frugal with money.
1. Know Your Goals
First, you must know your goals. If you don’t have a goal, then you aren’t going to make any progress. Period.
In today’s society, it is SO easy to spend money without even realizing it. That is the point of business – they are out to market for your money (and they are good at it, too).
You must prioritize you first.
This is something we hear over and over. Prioritize your self-care before taking care of others. The same holds true for your money.
Action Step #1 – Sit down and write out your financial goals.
If this is something you haven’t done before, then check out our helpful guide to rocking your financial goals.
2. Understand your Spending Habits & Triggers
This one is HUGE!!
If you don’t know how and where you spend money without thinking, then you will never be able to stop the spending. You can’t slow the bleed.
First of all, I will admit that uncovering your spending habits is hard. It is introspective. It can be painful. Maybe even demoralizing.
But, until you let go of your previous financial failures, you won’t be able to move on.
This is an important step to make serious progress in your life. You may be amazed how this seemingly simple things will hold you back.
Action Step #2 – Review bank statements or credit card transactions. Look for things you bought without planning for them.
This will highlight your spending habits.
As for your triggers, watch your emotions and think what you automatically do when you are happy, sad, mad, and celebrating.
3. Save First
Oh my, pay yourself first.
This is something I focus on a lot at Money Bliss and for good reason. Saving money is the backbone to financial success.
If you don’t save money, then you are left scrambling when you need cash or stuck going into debt. This is a vicious hamster wheel that debt will overtake you.
Start by saving $10 a day. Many times you can find that money by uncovering your spending habits.
From there, look at increasing your saving percentage each month.
Action Step #3 – Figure out how much you save each week, each month, and your saving percentage. Brainstorm ways to increase how much you save.
To help our readers, you will find many spreadsheets and printables to help you figure out how much you save and track your savings progress. Once signed up on our email list, you will receive the password.
4. Spend Less Than You Make
Your expenses must be lower than your income. Period.
If you are currently spending more than you make, then you must look at ways to drastically cut expenses. Stop hoping that your situation will change and actually do something about it.
This seems like a very easy math concept. Yet, most people struggle with basic money management.
If you don’t believe that saving an extra $5 day, then think about having $1825 in your pocket.
Now, let’s flip it the other way, if you are overspending by $75 a week, then by the end of the year, you are in the hole $3900 plus interest if you took out debt.
Action Step #4 – Figure out your bare bones budget. Then, decide what fun spending items to keep to make sure you spend less than you make.
Here is a guide to help you figure out your bare bones budget. Also, you will find bare bones budget printable in our free library area.
5. Patience
Lastly, you must have patience.
Changing your money management won’t happen overnight. While you can have quick wins and successes, this is the race won by the turtle.
Patience comes with planning and that is one thrifty habit you should pick up.
When you become frugal with money, you plan how you spend your money and save your money. Many times, that means waiting for a sale to buy an item you need or accumulating money for another date.
Action Step #5 – Show self-restraint and try a no spend week or month.
By holding a no spend challenge, it will help you reshape your finances as well as help you prioritize what is important. As a reader, you have access to our no spend printables, too!
Frugal Life Hacks
These are the specific frugal hacks to save money.
These are the key areas you need to focus your energy on. Over time, they will become habits.
1. Pay Yourself First
Yep, this one again.
If you are frugal, then you pay yourself first.
You are focused on two things – how to save more money and how to make more money.
This pay yourself first concept will have you winning at money management – guaranteed!
2. Budget
A frugal person always has a plan on how they plan to spend their hard-earned money.
This makes sure that spending is always below income.
While many people hate the term “budget,” it doesn’t have to be constricting. We like to call it a “Cents Plan.” You make a plan for your money.
Just like you make a plan for your time on the weekend. Same concept.
The more you save now, the greater freedom you will have later.
3. Cook Meals at Home
Cooking food at home costs at least 25% of eating out. While the convenience of eating out is nice, it comes at a monetary and wellness cost.
You can make healthy meals under $10 for six servings. And not be a slave in the kitchen.
Shop the outer area of the grocery store. The expensive stuff is in the middle.
Hint: Try to incorporate a meatless meal 1-2 times per week. Plant based meals are cheaper to make.
4. Shop Less Often
This goes for general shopping, buying groceries, and adding items to your Amazon cart. The more often you go, the more likely you are to spend more money.
Decide ahead of time when you plan to shop (remember that patience concept from earlier).
For example, to get groceries for our house. I plan two pickups per month at the local grocery store and then have organic produce delivered on odd weeks with Misfits Market. Then, Costco run every month to 6 weeks. (Mind you… I have two children that are hitting the pre-teen phase.)
For me, I have shaved 30% off my grocery budget by implementing the strategy to shop less often.
5. Use Cash for Key Categories
If you are tempted to spend more than you should in certain areas, then you need to look at using cash.
When cash has been spent, you must wait until you full up that envelope again.
This helps so much with overspending.
You can do this with the cashless envelope system as well.
6. Own Less Stuff
The more items you have, the more it cost to buy and maintain.
So, by owning less stuff, you are accomplishing one of the most frugal life hacks to save money.
You don’t even need to become a minimalist. You just need to own what you need and that is it.
If you don’t believe me, look around and pack up anything you haven’t touched in the past 30 days.
7. Don’t Buy New
Buying new can be expensive. The best example of buying new is cars, trucks, and SUVs. The price instantly goes down the second you leave the dealership.
If at all possible, always look for used items that you can get at a discount or even for free.
With online forums and groups, it is much easier to find used items.
Of course, there is a caveat to this life hack; there are some things that are worth the investment and should be bought new. Just watch for sales or discounts.
8. Check your Receipts
It absolutely amazes me how many times I can be charged inccorectly. You would think with technology that this wouldn’t happen, but it does.
It takes a quick thirty seconds to scan your receipts and check for errors.
Sometimes, it may be the warranty you declined or double charged for apples. Other times, the sales price not have been rung up correctly.
Don’t hesitate to ask for the correct price!
9. Review Insurance and Ongoing Subscriptions
This may seem like a mundane task to do, but you could save yourself money.
This past summer, our homeowner’s and auto insurance went up again. We shopped around and ended up saving $1800. The same is true for cell phone and cable service.
You have to call and ask for discounts.
More often than not, these companies want you to continue as a customer and will lower your rate.
Insurance Options:
Automated Options to Save Money:
10. Switch to Reusable Products
When you throw something out, you have to buy new again.
This can fall into many categories. However, here are the main things you can reuse and ditch the waste.
This is what you want to look for:
11. Drink Water
Nothing is more frugal than drinking water.
The costs of various drinks can be a drain to any budget.
If you don’t like your tap water, then you can invest in a cheap filtration pitcher or even an under-mount filtration system. This is the one we installed and have been very happy with!
12. Watch Out for Fees
There are so many little pesky fees that can add up. Some examples include shipping, account maintenance, service fees, banking fees, etc.
While $2-8 may not seem like much, they will balloon over time. Look for promo codes or alternative ways to skip the fees.
13. Cut Cable or Unused Subscriptions
If you don’t use, then don’t spend money on it.
You can’t save money if you spend on things that don’t matter to you.
This is hard for many of us to do because we like conveniences and we don’t want to be seen as different.
Ways to Cut Cable:
The key when cutting cable is not to replace it with more subscriptions that end up costing more.
14. Collect Your Pennies
A true life hack to get you ahead financially is to know your money.
You know where you money goes. You know when you spend it. When you save it.
Also, you will never leave money on the table. If you see a penny, you pick it up and save spare change. If you lose a dollar, you want to get it back.
This means you are actively looking for ways to make more money. You want more pennies to collect that will add to your net worth over time.
15. Free Things to Do
The last frugal life hack is to always look for free things to do.
Here is a little secret… having fun doesn’t need to cost money!! We have been trained that having fun costs money. But, it is so not true!
Some of the best things in life are free.
For all of you, here is a guide of over 101 things to do without money.
Which Frugal Life Hack Will Save Money for You?
Being frugal is a lifelong habit. Yes, there are quick wins you can have here and there. But, in the long run, these frugal life hacks will have the biggest bank for your time.
Learning how to live frugally and be happy is about understanding your priorities and how you want to spend your money.
If you are serious about learning how to be frugal with money, then plan a time to examine your finances. In less than 30 minutes, you will uncover things to change the trajectory of your spending and saving habits.
Just remember… pennies do add up. So, watch your pennies and watch your net worth grow.
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Did the post resonate with you?
More importantly, did I answer the questions you have about this topic? Let me know in the comments if I can help in some other way!
Your comments are not just welcomed; they’re an integral part of our community. Let’s continue the conversation and explore how these ideas align with your journey towards Money Bliss.
Inside: Learn how much your 60k salary is hourly. Plus find tips to make more money and live the lifestyle you want.
You want to know to look into this… 60k salary is a good hourly wage when you think about it.
When you get your first job and you are making just above minimum wage like $15 an hour, making over $60,000 a year seems like it would provide amazing opportunities for you. Right?
The median household income was $70,084 in 2021 not much different from the previous year (source). Think of it as a bell curve with $70 at the top; the median means half of the population makes less than that and half makes more money.
The average income in the U.S. is $55,350 for a 40-hour workweek; that is an increase of 1.1% from the previous year (source). That means if you take everyone’s income and divide the money out evenly between all of the people.
But, the question remains… Can you truly live off 60,000 per year in today’s society? The question you want to ask all of your friends is $60000 per year a good salary.
In this post, we are going to dive into everything that you need to know about a $60000 salary including hourly pay and a sample budget on how to spend and save your money.
These key facts will help you with money management and learn how much per hour $60k is as well as what you make per month, weekly, and biweekly.
Just like with any paycheck, it seems like money quickly goes out of your account to cover all of your bills and expenses, and you are left with a very small amount remaining. You may be disappointed that you were not able to reach your financial goals and you are left wondering…
Can I make a living on this salary?
$60000 a year is How Much an Hour?
When jumping from an hourly job to a salary for this first time, it is helpful to know how much is 60k a year hourly. That way you can decide whether or not the job is worthwhile for you.
For our calculations to figure out how much is 60K salary hourly, we used the average five working days of 40 hours a week.
60000 salary / 2080 hours = $28.85 per hour
$60000 a year is $28.85 per hour
Let’s breakdown how that 60000 salary to hourly number is calculated
Typically, the average work week is 40 hours and you can work 52 weeks a year. Take 40 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 2,080 working hours. Then, divide the yearly salary of $60000 by 2,080 working hours and the result is $28.85 per hour.
That number is the gross hourly income before taxes, insurance, 401K, or anything else is taken out. Net income is how much you deposit into your bank account.
You must check with your employer on how they plan to pay you. For those on salary, typically companies pay on a monthly, semi-monthly, biweekly, or weekly basis.
What If I Increased My Salary?
Just an interesting note… if you were to increase your annual salary by $3K to 63000 a year, it would increase your hourly wage by $1.44 per hour.
To break it down – 63k a year is how much an hour = $30.29
That isn’t a huge amount of money, but every dollar adds up to $30 an hour.
How Much is $60K salary Per Month?
On average, the monthly amount would be $5,000.
Annual Salary of $60,000 ÷ 12 months = $5,000 per month
This is how much you make a month if you get paid 60000 a year is 5000 a month.
$60k a year is how much a week?
This is a great number to know! How much do I make each week? When I roll out of bed and do my job of $60k salary a year, how much can I expect to make at the end of the week for my effort?
Once again, the assumption is 40 hours worked.
Annual Salary of$60000/52 weeks = $1,154 per week.
$60000 a year is how much biweekly?
For this calculation, take the average weekly pay of $1,154 and double it.
This depends on how many hours you work in a day. For this example, we are going to use an eight hour work day.
8 hours x 52 weeks = 260 working days
Annual Salary of$60000 / 260 working days = $231 per day
If you work a 10 hour day on 208 days throughout the year, you make $288 per day.
$60000 Salary is…
$60000 – Full Time
Total Income
Yearly Salary (52 weeks)
$60,000
Monthly Salary
$5,000
Weekly Wage(40 Hours)
$1,154
Bi-Weekly Wage (80 Hours)
$2,308
Daily Wage (8 Hours)
$231
Daily Wage (10 Hours)
$288
Hourly Wage
$28.85
Net Estimated Monthly Income
$3,817.50
Net Estimated Hourly Income
$22.02
**These are assumptions based on simple scenarios.
60k a year is how much an hour after taxes
Income taxes is one of the biggest culprits of reducing your take-home pay as well as FICA and Social Security. This is a true fact across the board with a salary range of up to $160,200.
When you start getting into a higher salary range, the more you make, the more money that you have to pay in taxes.
Every single tax situation is different.
On the basic level, let’s assume a 12% federal tax rate and a 4% state rate. Plus a percentage is taken out for Social Security and Medicare (FICA) of 7.65%.
So, how much an hour is 60000 a year after taxes?
Gross Annual Salary: $60,000
Federal Taxes of 12%: $7,200
State Taxes of 4%: $2,400
Social Security and Medicare of 7.65%: $4,590
$60k Per Year After Taxes is $45,810.
This would be your net annual salary after taxes.
Hourly Wage after Taxes
To turn that back into an hourly wage, the assumption is working 2,080 hours.
$45,810 ÷ 2,080 hours = $22.02 per hour
After estimated taxes and FICA, you are netting $45,810 per year, which is $14,190 per year less than what you expect.
Plus budgeting on $22 an hour is much different!
***This is a very high-level example and can vary greatly depending on your personal situation and potential deductions. Therefore, use a tax calculator to help you figure out how much your net paycheck would be.***
Taxes Based On Your State
In addition, if you live in a heavily taxed state like California or New York, then you have to pay way more money than somebody who lives in a no tax state like Texas or Florida. This is the debate of HCOL vs LCOL.
Thus, your yearly gross $60000 income can range from $41,010 to $48,210 depending on your state income taxes.
That is why it is important to realize the impact income taxes can have on your take home pay. It is one of those things that you should acknowledge and obviously, you need to pay taxes.
But, it can also put a huge dent in your ability to live the lifestyle you want on a $60,000 income.
My 60000 Salary to Hourly
More than likely, your salary is not a flat 60k, here is a tool to convert your salary to hourly calculator.
Many teachers are hovering in this range, which may make you wonder do teachers get paid in the summer.
If you are looking to change industries, you need to check out the freight broker salary.
60k salary lifestyle
Every person reading this post has a different upbringing and a different belief system about money. Therefore, what would be a lavish lifestyle to one person, maybe a frugal lifestyle to another person?
And there’s no wrong or right, it is what works best for you.
One of the biggest factors to consider is your cost of living.
In another post, we detailed the differences between living in an HCOL vs LCOL vs MCOL area. When you live in big cities, trying to maintain your lifestyle of $60,000 a year is going to be much more difficult because your basic expenses, housing, transportation, food, and clothing are going to be much more expensive than you would find in a lower cost area.
To stretch your dollar further in the high cost of living area, you would have to probably live a very frugal lifestyle and prioritize where you want to spend money and where you do not. Whereas, if you live in a low cost of living area, you can live a much more lavish lifestyle because the cost of living is less. Thus, you have more fun spending left in your account each month.
As we noted earlier in the post, $60,000 a year is just below the median income that you would find in the United States. Thus, you can live a modest lifestyle here in America.
What a $60,000 lifestyle will buy you:
If you are debt-free and utilize smart money management skills, then you are able to enjoy the lifestyle you want.
When A $60,000 Salary Will Hold You Back:
However, if you are riddled with debt or unable to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, then living off of 60k a year is going to be pretty darn difficult.
Two factors will keep holding you back:
You must pay off debt and cut all fun spending until that happens.
Break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.
It is possible to get ahead with money!
It just comes with proper money management skills and a desire to have less stress around money. That is a winning combination regardless of your income level.
$60K a year Budget – Example
As always, here at Money Bliss, we focus on covering our basic expenses plus saving and giving first, and then our goal is to eliminate debt. The rest of the money is left for fun spending.
If you want to know how to manage 60k salary the best, then this is a prime example for you to compare your spending.
You can compare your budget to the ideal household budget percentages.
recommended budget percentages based on $60000 a year salary:
Category
Ideal Percentages
Sample Monthly Budget
Giving
10%
$250
Savings
15-25%
$1000
Housing
20-30%
$1200
Utilities
4-7%
$200
Groceries
5-12%
$350
Clothing
1-4%
$50
Transportation
4-10%
$200
Medical
5-12%
$250
Life Insurance
1%
$25
Education
1-4%
$50
Personal
2-7%
$93
Recreation / Entertainment
3-8%
$150
Debts
0% – Goal
$0
Government Tax (including Income Taxes, Social Security & Medicare)
15-25%
$1183
Total Gross Income
$5,000
**In this budget, prioritization was given to basic expenses and no debt.
Is $60000 a year a Good Salary?
The short answer is “yes.” However, there are several factors that go into determining the appropriate salary for you and your field.
As we stated earlier if you are able to make $60,000 a year, that is a good salary. You are making more money than the average American and slightly less on the bell curve on the median income.
You shouldn’t be questioning yourself if is 60000 a good salary.
However, too many times people get stuck in the lifestyle trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses, and their lifestyle desires get out of hand compared to their salary. And what they thought used to be a great salary actually is not making ends meet at this time.
This $60k salary would be considered a middle class salary. This salary is something that you can live on very comfortably.
Check: Are you in the middle class?
In fact, this income level in the United States has enough buying power to put you in the top 91 percentile globally for per person income (source).
The question you need to ask yourself with your 60k salary is:
Am I maxed at the top of my career?
Is there more income potential?
What obstacles do I face if I want to try to increase my income?
In the future years and with possible inflation, in some expensive cities, 60,000 a year is not a good salary because the cost of living is so high, whereas these are some of the cities where you can make a comfortable living at 60,000 per year.
If you are looking for a career change, you want to find jobs paying at least a $70000 salary.
Is 60k a good salary for a Single Person?
Simply put, yes.
You can stretch your salary much further because you are only worried about your own expenses. A single person will spend much less than if you need to provide for someone else.
Your living expenses and ideal budget are much less. Thus, you can live extremely comfortably on $60000 per year.
And… most of us probably regret how much money was wasted when we were single. Oh well, lesson learned.
Deep Dive: What Is A Good Salary For A Single Person in Today’s Society?
Is 60k a good salary for a family?
Many of the same principles apply above on whether $60000 is a good salary. The main difference with a family, you have more people to provide for than when you are single or have just one other person in your household.
The costs of raising children are high and will steeply cut into your income. As you can tell this is a huge dent in your income, specifically $12,980 annually per child. Plus this does not include college.
That means that amount of money is coming out of the income that you earned.
So, the question really remains… Can you provide a good life for your family making $60,000 a year? This is the hardest part because each family has different choices, priorities, and values.
More or less, it comes down to two things:
The location where you live in.
Your lifestyle choices.
You can live comfortably as a family on this salary, but you will not be able to afford everything you want.
Many times when raising a family, it is helpful to have a dual-income household. That way you can provide the necessary expenses if both parties were making 60,000 per year, then the combined income for the household would be $120,000. Thus making your combined salary a very good income.
Learn how much money a family of 4 needs in each state.
Can you Live on $60000 Per Year?
As we outlined earlier in the post, $60,000 a year:
$28.85 Per Hour
$231-288 Per Day (depending on length of day worked)
$1154 Per Week
$2308 Per Biweekly
$5000 Per Month
Next up is making $65,000 a year.
Like anything else in life, you get to decide how to spend, save and give your money.
That is the difference for each person on whether or not you can live a middle-class lifestyle depends on many potential factors. If you live in California or New Jersey you are gonna have a tougher time than Oklahoma or even Texas.
In addition, if you are early in your career, starting out around 39,000 a year, that is a great place to be getting your career. However, if you have been in your career for over 20 years and making $60K, then you probably need to look at asking for pay increases, pick up a second job, or find a different career path.
Regardless of the wage that you make, if you are not able to live the lifestyle that you want, then you have to find ways to make it work for you. Everybody has choices to make.
But one of the things that can help you the most is to stick to our ideal household budget percentages to make sure you stay on track.
Learn exactly how much do I make per year…
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Did the post resonate with you?
More importantly, did I answer the questions you have about this topic? Let me know in the comments if I can help in some other way!
Your comments are not just welcomed; they’re an integral part of our community. Let’s continue the conversation and explore how these ideas align with your journey towards Money Bliss.
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
This is definitely a tough topic to tackle. And the reason why is money is a very highly contested and debated issue, but on the same flip of the coin, it is a taboo subject and nobody talks about money. So the question remains is money everything in life.
I am going to be brutally honest in this post and highlight both sides of the coin. The hard part with money is money provides opportunities. Yet, money can also be the root of all evil.
Thus, is life all about making money?
In this post, we are going to outline everything that you would want to know about this topic – is everything about money. The reasons that you should care about money and the reasons that you need to forget about money.
Too many times, you want desperately to care about money. Yet, you are afraid of taking the right steps to get where you want financially. You are trapped in the vicious cycle of making poor decisions.
Everything is About Money
Everything is about money seems appropriate, right?
You roll out of bed each morning to go out and make money. You think about how you should save your money while you’re out buying a coffee or picking up groceries. Then, you began to think… all I do each and every day is go to work, make money, spend my money, rinse, and repeat. Or maybe you are sticking your head into the sand to ignore your financial situation.
Subsequently, you stress about money because there was not enough left over each and every week. Or maybe there’s a tiny bit leftover, but you are still not happy.
It seems like everything is about money. Life revolves around money. Every decision you make involves money.
That right there is the reason that managing money is so difficult for so many different people because you do not understand why money is good and why money is bad.
So, in your head, you must define good and bad.
Then, how money correlates to your belief system about finances, how you interact with money on a daily basis, and your definition of good / bad. This needs to happen to be able to move forward.
If you want to change how you feel about money and interact with it, then you must decide what steps you’re going to take.
Why is Money Everything?
Let’s go back a few 100 years.
In the times, people had to barter to be able to survive. They exchanged goods and services in order to get the things that they needed. They were able to help others with their services and in exchange get the supplies or services they needed in exchange. It was a basic system that worked for survival.
That is how the first marketplace was developed; it was a bartering system. You had to barter to buy and sell things.
As society became more advanced and industrialized, the concept of money came around. Instead of having to barter for goods and services, you were exchanging money for a good or service. That is how you made money and spent money.
Consequentially, at the basic form, money is almost everything because that is the basis of how we are able to survive and do the things that we need to do on a daily basis.
There is no possible way to go through life without money. Period.
Is Money the Only Important Thing in Life?
Honestly, the answer is no.
If you truly believe that money is the only important thing in life, then you need to think about your priorities. Even in the Bible, it states that money can be the root of evil, but that money itself is not bad.
Money can help others that are in need. It can help provide housing for your family and keeps you fed. It can provide a security blanket, aka an emergency fund in times of need.
So money is needed, but it is not the most important thing in life.
There are plenty of other things that are more important. Look around you and count your blessings.
But, you have to remember the bottom line is that money opens up the door for opportunities.
You Should Care About Money & What Money Can Buy
Is life only about money?
In this section, we are going to outline the exact reasons you should care about money.
Money can buy everything! Specifically a whole lot of things; it can buy you a new house, a new car, take you on that vacation, buy the organic food that you want.
Money can buy you absolutely anything!
The problem with money for the general population is that it is finite. You do not have unlimited access to do everything you want with the money. And that can be a very frustrating situation to find yourself in.
That is why you get caught up in this belief system, that nowadays money is everything.
You have to have money to be able to do anything, to go anywhere, or to buy anything.
But the difference and the key you must learn from this post is while money is important, money management is the critical lesson.
You Should Not Care About Money & What Money Cannot Buy
Why it is said that money is not everything in life?
In this section, let’s discuss the exact reasons why you should not care about money.
Money cannot buy you happiness.
Let me repeat that again, money does not equate to being happy.
Money will not change your depression; money will not make your relationships better. There are many things that money can do, but money cannot cover up the deeply hidden wounds and poor decisions that you made previously.
Those are things that money absolutely cannot buy. And that is the reason that most people say money is not everything.
You have to find happiness in other ways that do not involve your finances. You have to find joy in the simple things. You must find gratitude for what you have.
These are all things that a $100,000 check cannot buy you. Only your heart can buy you these things and that takes some deep soul searching in time and investment.
Can you find the things that make you happy? But money cannot be one of them. And that, my friend, is the reason that money is not everything.
Five Steps to Make Money Work For You (Without Controlling You)
As stated earlier, the critical lesson you must walk away from is proper money management.
You must know how to manage your money. So that money can do everything that you want it to do.
Money can provide you with those opportunities.
With poor money management skills, you are absolutely unable to make progress. You won’t be able to take any steps further.
1. Learn about Money
One thing that is not taught in our education system is how to manage money, why it is important to save, and how to stay out of debt. Our society is living paycheck to paycheck because we are not taught anything better.
You must take the time to learn how money works.
That right there is the reason most people fail with money.
Learning how to save or how to pay off your debt will not happen overnight. Most people quit quickly because they want instant success, instant gratification. And with money, it is a long-term game.
The choices that you make starting today will affect your future. The choices you made one year ago, three years ago, or ten years ago are affecting where you are at financially today.
2. Understand the Purpose Of Money
Money is a tool. Money is not an object.
Hence, let me define that a little bit deeper.
Money is a tool to help you accomplish what you want in life, and where you want to go by utilizing money correctly. You are able to reach your financial goals.
Whereas, money is not an object. That means when flashing your cash when out with friends, flashing that brand new car, or buying that house in a dream neighborhood just because you have something to show off.
That is an object. That is not what money is about; you are just showing off. That is when money is everything, specifically your ego. But, it doesn’t have the right meaning of money success.
3. Consequences of Poor Decisions
This is the reason people feel like money is everything. The past decisions that you have made might have cost you money, you may have lost money and you are still paying for those financial hits today.
Consequently, you feel like money is everything to be able to get out of your current situation.
You need more money to be able to advance your financial freedom. You need more money to be able to pay off the debt that you bought into your life.
The desire for more money and everything circles back to the concept of everything is about money.
There are no ways to move forward because your finances are holding you back. If you are stuck in this trap of past poor financial decisions, you have to recognize those mistakes and learn from them.
Write down your past mistakes, and list exactly what you have learned from them. Once you’ve done that, you have to let it go and let it be a lesson learned.
Focus on positive ways to change your habits.
Find a different community or a new group of friends that have the same values around money that you are striving towards. Then, the temptation of poor money decisions slips away with the bad influences.
Dedicate time to make your goals and values a priority.
4. Talk About Money
Money is a taboo subject in our society.
Because of that, wealth is not passed down from generation to generation. The older generation was taught that you don’t talk about money, so they’re not going to share the lessons that they learned over time. Yet, how many recipes are family favorites that everyone knows how to make because they’ve been passed down from generation to generation.
That needs to change.
You need to learn to talk about money. And that will help you set you up for money success, because like I said…
Money is a tool that can be talked about money. Objects are just showing off.
Kristy@ Money Bliss
While it can be hard to talk about money for the first time, set up a dedicated time with your spouse, significant other or a friend to just ask some questions and learn their money tips.
Maybe even reach out to your parents and ask, “what was your biggest financial failure? What was your biggest financial success?” Learn from their answers. If that is not an option, find a mentor that you believe has done well financially and ask them about making smart financial decisions in their life.
Ask them what they did to get there.
Ask what do they see that you are doing wrong, so that you can change today.
By talking about money, you will learn from other’s mistakes without making those same mistakes.
5. Prioritizing Money Is Not Greedy
If you have money, that does not mean you are greedy.
Unfortunately, money and greed are tied together in many ways.
The difference comes into play with how you view money. Is it a tool or an object?
Greedy with money is when money becomes all about you and your wants. You hold onto your money so tight and cannot use money to help others. It is all about money upholding your flashy lifestyle.
When you prioritize money as a tool in order to buy the things that you need in life. That prioritization leads to money success and you are able to open up doors of opportunity.
And that right there can lead to so many wonderful life choices for you.
That does not mean you are greedy about your money, it means you actively choose to prioritize what money can do for you as a tool.
Is It All About Money?
In this post, we discussed so many variables that can impact your money.
Overall, money is a belief system.
You can believe that it is a tool to help you succeed.
You can believe that it is an object to show off.
And that lies the difference of your perception of money.
Do you perceive whether life is going to be all about money, or are you going to use money as a tool to do things that there is no possible way you could do without that money?
You have to learn to not let money control you and to start controlling your money.
Is money everything or not? I will leave you to come to your personal conclusion.
In this post, we listed why money is a good thing. But, we also listed reasons why money can be evil.
You just have to remember the key to success is money management. In order to do the things that you want in life, you must decide how the income and cash assets will work in your favor.
Now for you, is everything about money or not?
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Did the post resonate with you?
More importantly, did I answer the questions you have about this topic? Let me know in the comments if I can help in some other way!
Your comments are not just welcomed; they’re an integral part of our community. Let’s continue the conversation and explore how these ideas align with your journey towards Money Bliss.
Inside: The exact habits you need to learn how to be financially stable. Financial stability is when you are in control of your finances. Make sure you have these money habits!
Are you ready to move from financially sound to financially stable?
Well, the good news is this is something you can easily accomplish and we are going to show you exactly how to do it in this post. Learn over thirty simple traits to prove to yourself that you are financially stable.
One of the great things about being money financially stable is it means that you are less worried about money. You are established with your finances and you are consistent on how you spend and save your money.
It is a great feeling to be financially stable because you know that your bills are taken care of and everything that you want to spend money on that you actually can!
The Money Bliss Steps for Financial Freedom is a guide to help you become financially independent. Along your path, you will go through many different journeys and many different seasons, but it is a great feeling to know that you are in a good place financially.
Becoming financially stable is something that anybody is capable of doing.
It just takes determination, a growth mindset, and a desire to be wise with your money.
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What does Financial Stability Mean?
Financial stability is when you are confident in your personal financial situation. You have money to pay monthly bills, set aside for big purchases, invest in your future, and be able to sleep at night.
When you can do these above things, that is when we can say that a person is financially stable.
When you define financial stability, the definition should motivate you to improve your money situation because the more you work towards becoming financially stable, the better the opportunities present themselves.
It is one step up from being financially sound and moving closer to financial security.
Another way of saying financially stable is of good financial standing.
Overall, the financially stable meaning is you have made wise decisions that will ultimately let you live the life you want. One step closer to financial freedom.
How to Be Financially Stable
The good news is you only need to do three steps to become financially stable plus they are not complicated.
This is exactly how do you become financially stable…
It is just a habit that you need to start doing.
If you have bad habits with money, then you are not going to have the success with money that you need. If you have good habits with money, then you will end up becoming financially stable.
Just a side note, If you need a good book on changing bad habits into good habits. I highly recommend Atomic Habits by James Clear. It is a great book to help you change the habits that need to change, and start to live the life that you want.
Now, back to the three steps to becoming financially stable.
If you want to learn how to become financially stable, then this is what you need to do.
1. Pay Yourself First
This is the most important habit that you can do to become financially stable.
Many times, I feel like I sound like a broken record about the importance of how you need to pay yourself first. It doesn’t matter if it is your very first job in high school, starting out at 21, or quickly approaching your 50s, you need to pay yourself first today.
Take your paycheck and automatically save a certain percentage.
If you have never saved before start with 10%.
If you know that your spending is out of control plus you have the income to save a higher percentage, then plan to save 20-25% ot your income.
When you first begin to save, the goal is not the amount you save; it is about the first time that you begin to save.
It is about proving to yourself that you are capable of saving and seeing that account, increase over time will continue to motivate you.
So, if you want to be financially stable, then you must pay yourself first. Set up a separate savings account or an investment account where you will put that money.
2. No Debt
Second, no debt. Period.
If you cannot buy something in cash, then wait until you have the cash available to make the purchase. Do not use debt just because you have access to credit.
If you want to be financially stable over the long term, that means you must eliminate consumer debts.
Now, before you freak out and say, “I can’t be financially stable because I have so much debt that is dragging behind me and holding me back.” Don’t freak out. You can make a plan to get out of debt.
By getting out of debt, you are proving that you are on the path to becoming financially stable.
In the meantime, you just don’t go into any more debt.
If you are in your 20s, steer clear from debt and do not get into the debt trap.
The Trickly Mortgage Debt Conversation….
Because owning a house comes with a price and it comes with a premium since there is a cost to upgrade it, pay property taxes, and so much more. Plus this varies greatly in an HCOL vs LCOL area.
Do your research and figure out is it more cost-effective for you to purchase a home and pay the mortgage payment or is it better to rent and not have the responsibilities of being a homeowner. This is a personal situation that you must determine what works best for you and it is very location and market driven.
For example, we bought in a high cost of living area before the prices skyrocketed. Thus, our mortgage is way less than the cost of rent. So for us, we are still financially stable because we have a mortgage because it is cheaper than rent (and by a lot).
On the flip side, if you are just starting out and trying to purchase a home, it may be more cost-effective for you to keep renting to stay out of debt and become financially stable quicker. Then you will be able to reach financial independence faster.
3. Invest Your Money
The last piece to becoming financially stable is you must invest your money.
This is not the time or place just to be stuffing money under the couch or in a savings account that is earning .02%. You need to invest your money in the stock market.
The best way to invest is on a consistent basis. Every paycheck you invest a certain amount consistently. It does not matter if the market is up or the market is down.
The returns from investing will be greater than doing nothing with your money.
Doing nothing with your money means that you are actually losing money when you account for the cost of inflation.
So, you must invest your money.
One of the types of income is passive income, and you can earn passive income through investing.
A huge step to becoming financially stable is to diversify your income. This may not be as important to you today, but if you are in that category of “I don’t want to work anymore” or retirement is on the horizon.
Your financial future can be secured through investing in your portfolio.
Recap – How to be Financially Stable at any Age
You can become financially stable at any age – 20, 25, 30s, without college, or even in your teens at 17 or 19. You can even be financially stable with a low income.
The formula is still the same for everyone.
These are the three things you must do for financial stability:
Pay Yourself First
No Debt
Invest
If you are serious about wanting to be financially stable, these are the three steps that you need to take. It is not rocket science.
It is very simple, clear steps to make sure that you are successful in the long term with money.
Now, let’s dig into the habits and traits of someone who is financially stable.
Learn:
Traits of someone who is financially stable
This is when we can say that a person is financially stable.
In this section, we are going to dive into the qualities, traits, and habits of people that are financially secure.
These are things that you can start working on today. Over time you will begin to make better solid money choices going forward.
These are solid money habits that will transform your financial future.
These are simple and easy ways for you to become financially secure.
1. Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is the backbone of financial security – there is absolutely no way around it.
The goal is for you to never use your emergency fund. But let’s be real, there will be a time or a place that you will have to dig into your emergency fund because an actual true emergency exists.
A financially stable person has an emergency fund to fall back on when times get tough.
Here is more information on how to build an emergency fund and the steps that you need to build one fast:
2. Plan to Be Debt Free
Like we said earlier, one of the basic steps of how to become financially free is to have no debt.
However, for too many people that would automatically say that is not in the cards for me. Paying off my debt is way too difficult. But, not for the financially stable person!
I am here to tell you that you can become financially stable by creating a plan to becoming debt free and actually stick to it.
That means your debt balance is going down each and every month. Plus you know your debt payoff date because that paying off debt is one of the best decisions that we ever personally made.
Also, it does not matter if good debt and bad debt – the concept promoted by many financial gurus. Debt is debt.
Debt means that you owe somebody else and you are going to have to pay it back at some point for a premium. So, the sooner you pay off your debt, the better of you will be.
3. Save 20% of Income
Do you save at least 20% of your paycheck? If so, then you know what financial stability means.
When you are financially stable, you are not living paycheck to paycheck and you automatically save money at the beginning of the month when your paycheck comes in.
The best place to start is to start saving at least 20% of your income.
If you are not quite there (yet), then look at one of our main money saving challenges. They are plenty of savings numbers to start small and then work on the bigger challenges. Prove to yourself that you save money.
Since saving money is easy for them, they work on increasing their savings percentage each year. Personally, I find it a better challenge to increase that savings percentage more than anything else.
4. Spend Less Than You Make
In order to make progress, your expenses are less than the money that is coming in.
That does not mean the amount of money coming in is the same amount that you can be spending. The reason why is you have to account for the money saved adn invested.
You learn how to live below your means.
This may mean giving up a coffee, a trip to the salon, happy hour, or something you do out of habit in order to start saving money.
Remember, the goal for this type of person who is financially stable is they spend less than they make. They may spend on the little luxuries here and there because they are able to do since they have set money aside and they are not overspending.
5. Mastering Money management Skills
The best trait of somebody that is financially stable is they understand the basics of money management.
This does not necessary mean the person is in love with spreadsheets, budgets, numbers, and reads money management books every single second. This means they understand the basics.
You earn, you save, you spend.
You save more, spend less, and you prioritize your money goals to make sure you are making the progress on your financial journey that you want to do.
Many times financially stable people start to enjoy learning about money management and tend to dive into their finances even further. Once they get started, they want to learn more about their money situation, and how they can improve their finances quicker by making a few more changes.
6. Their Finances are Exciting
You don’t have to be an Excel spreadsheet nerd to find that your finances are exciting.
This type of person enjoys waking up checking their balances and seeing a positive increase in their net worth.
They find it exciting, they find it motivating. It makes them realize all of their sacrifices is making a difference in the long term. They look at the greater picture and saying I’m not going to work till I am 65; I may look at retiring when I am 50.
They are working hard today and enjoy finding ways to improve their money situation; which they find exciting and fun. You love quoting these money mantras daily.
7. Month or More Ahead on Bills
A financially stable person uses their income from this month to pay for the next month. They are not living behind where the income coming in is going is paying for the current expenses.
They are actually a full month, maybe even two, maybe even three months ahead of their bills.
For example, their paycheck from July will be their August spending. For some that want an even bigger cushion, their money earned in July is actually going to be for their September spending.
That is a sign that somebody is financially stable and has the ability to avoid temptation and not to spend the extra money.
8. Sinking Funds are a Priority
A financially stable person sets aside money regularly for expenses in the future. These are called sinking funds.
These buckets of money is money allocated for a certain purpose.
One of the most popular sinking funds that most people have is for vacations, kids activities, home repair, or car repair. Those are probably the most common.
You can have as many sinking funds as you want as a financially stable person. Another option is just to have one big sinking fund that will cover whatever is needed in case something be happens. A wise person knows how much money they need to cover these expenses.
A financially stable person utilizes sinking funds to make sure they are able to meet unexpected expenses when they happen.
9. Invest in Stock Market Consistently
In the last two years, the stock market on average typically earns 13.9% each year (source).
The reason that this is important is your money can make you money without you doing anything.
Once you have your investment account set up and automatically contribute a slice of your paycheck, then you select a fund or a few stocks of companies you believe in. Starting your investing system is not as bad as you would think.
By investing in the stock market consistently, you are more likely to have higher returns than somebody who invest once a year, twice a year, or three times a year.
By investing either every week or every month, the likelihood that your account size will increase is greater than when you try and time the market.
I’ll be very honest…the average person has no idea how the stock market is going to react and even most experts. However, you can take an investing course, like Trade and Travel with Teri Ijeoma, and learn about buyers zones and seller zones. This is the best financial knowledge someone can have and you probably will not lose money by attempting to figure it out yourself.
This investing course is a great resource and something I highly recommend all of my readers to take. Read my Trade and Travel review.
Because the amount of the course is eye-opening, I can pretty much guarantee it will be less than the amount that you can lose in the stock market by yourself.
That is what a savvy person would do – invest in the course and then invest in the stock market.
10. Focused on Next Money Goal
A financially stable person knows exactly what they have done to get where they are today. Plus they know exactly where they are headed to in the future.
They don’t waver on their next money goal.
They have short term financial goals that they are determined to make happen. That is their number one or two priority in their life because they know that by reaching their money goals, they will have more time freedom in life.
At the end of the day, having money equates to freedom.
This is not the same as having money does not equate to success. There will always be the age-old debt on whether is money everything.
The answer may surprise you, but at the end of the day… money does equal freedom.
11. Saving for Retirement
If I don’t save for my retirement, then who else will help me in my older golden years? That is exactly what a financially stable person would ask.
They know that social security and all the government programs might run out of funding, so they are focused on saving for their retirement and most financial state. They are in control of what they are able to control. You cannot control future government programs or tax rates.
In addition, they are using a Roth IRA to get the maximum contributions that they can have each year for retirement. They are savvy enough to get the maximum contribution from their employer’s 401K match.
This type of person won’t be wondering… What Happens If you Don’t Save for Retirement?
12. Able to Vacation When They want
These are the people that you probably envy the most because they paid cash for the vacation that you financed.
A financially stable person is not worried about having to pay for the trip on the way home. They are savvy and use a vacation fund that they contribute to on a regular basis.
That right there helps them to go on vacation each and every year.
Don’t be jealous! Join the bandwagon and start traveling the world today.
13. Money Set Aside for a Rainy Day
As much as we like to think we can predict the future, in reality, we do not know what the next day, week, month, or even year can bring. And in many circumstances, you may be caught off guard when difficulties come.
If you have a loss of income and still have bills to pay today, that is where having a rainy day fund set aside will help you be prepared.
This is a step to becoming financially secure and a long-term habit to embrace.
A person who has a rainy day fund that will cover at least six months of living expenses is somebody that is financially secure.
They know that hopefully, they will not have to use that money, but in case they do, the money is available to them.
14. Don’t Cry When Something Breaks
When you’re financially secure, you know things that are going to break.
And as much as it sucks, you are not going to be in tears, trying to figure out how to pay to replace that item. You understand the concept of… It is what it is you move on.
Replace the item and you go on with your day.
Since you know you have money set aside for various purposes, there is no reason to cry. It may not be how you feel like spending money, but that is just part of life.
When you are financially insecure and a light comes on in your car, that is a red flag that something is wrong. Many people freak out because they don’t have the money set aside for a $500 or $1,000 repair.
So you know when you are financially secure when you can laugh it off, shake it off and move on with your day.
15. Fun Spending Can Happen
This is one of the best reasons for being financially secure…you can spend money!
When you decrease your other expenses, you can increase the amount of fun spending. There are great benefits to becoming aware of your financial situation.
Too many times, people give up to their money situation. Instead of saying, no, no, no all the time, you will get to a position where you can say yes yes yes! I want to do this and this!
You do not feel guilty about spending extra money!
At this point, you know you have earned whatever it is you want to spend money on.
16. You Can Sleep at Night
This is one of the best traits of a financially secure person! Their finances are NOT waking them up in the middle of the night wondering “oh my gosh, how am I gonna pay my bills, how am I going to pay my rent, how am I going to pay my car payment, I am sick of my job, etc.”
You quit worrying about do I have enough money to make it to the end of the month. That is financially security right there.
When you can sleep at night knowing all of your bills, expenses, and saving are taken care of. You know deep down that you are on track of your financial future.
That is financial security at its best.
If you are in a situation right now where you can’t sleep at night, then you need to learn how to drastically cut expenses. You must get a hold of your situation before it spirals any further out of control.
17. No Frivolous Spending
Financially, even though a financially secure person can spend money when they want. They have the money to be able to spend, right?
Most choose not to be frivolous with their money.
(Hint: that is why they stay financially stable.)
They tend to be a thrifty person knowing a good price to purchase an item. They know when something is overrated or overpriced.
Even if they can afford it, they are just not willing to spend money on it. That is okay because they are in the situation of being financially secure because of the solid money decisions they have made.
Spending frivolous money here and there can up quickly. Even something as low as $10 or $20 here or there may not impact your financial picture in one day. If you add it up over the course of a year, it can become $3,650 or $7,300. Just by frivolously spending a small amount each day.
18. Know Your FI Number
Your FI number will help you to make the jump to financial freedom.
You know what it will take for you to become financially independent – specifically, the dollar amount needed.
In the FIRE community, it is typically known as your FI number, which is your financial independence number. The number is the amount of your net worth and the amount saved up, so you can start living off of your investment income.
This number will vary from person to person.
It is based on your personal situation. The variables that impact your FI number include:
Your income today
How much you plan to spend today
The amount you save today
How much you plan to spend in the future
Your age now
Age you want to quit working (aka retire)
Typically, most couples with kids can start looking at FI number in the $1.5 million range. The first reaction is that the number is either WAY LOWER than they thought it would be. Yes, because we have been taught by “financial professionals” that you need so much more in assets in your retirement accounts than you actually do.
The time is now to become a financially secure person and learn your fi number today. Here’s a great resource to help you.
19. Diversify Your Income
Just as with as above and knowing your FI number, financial independence becomes more likely to happen once you start diversifying your income.
A financially stable person earns all three types of income.
Most people rely on earned income only. If you only rely on earned income, then you reach a max threshold of what you are able to earn.
So a financially secure person has multiple buckets of income; they are diversified in investments, real estate, or side hustle. The key to long term success is finding ways to make passive income.
20. Budget isn’t AS Important
A trait of a financially secure person is they know how much they are able to spend, how much they need to save, and the amount of money that they come in every single month.
They do not need to budget down to the very last line item. (thank goodness for many of you reading this!)
A financially secure person has an overall sense that income exceeds their spending and saving goals.
That is financial security.
While a budget may help them stay focused and a more detailed budget may help them reach their longer term goals.
It does not mean that a budget is necessary. You can still have a loose budget and know that you are still making ends meet because they have a system set up and a system set in place.
Budgeting is not as important as it was previously.
21. Splurging is Okay
This is one of the best feelings as a financially secure person is knowing that it is okay to splurge. It is okay to spend extra money. It is okay to stop cutting corners at every single turn.
You remember back to the days when each month was a struggle to make ends meet. That is not the life that you live anymore; you live a completely different life. And now, it is okay to splurge.
And to be very honest, for most people, once they become financially secure, it is actually really, really hard for them to loosen that tight fist on their money and start spending it.
22. Same Page with Finances with Spouse or Significant Other
They share the same money vision and together they set smart financial goals. All of their decisions are made together.
Did you get that keyword??? Together. Meaning with the other person.
While they may not agree on every single line item of their budget or how they spend money individually, they still set aside money for each of them to spend as they please. Around here at Money Bliss, we call this money a slush fund.
Because at the end of the day, as a couple, they know they are still making progress in the right direction for the long term. So, these couples do not worry about the short term of how you spend your $100 each month if you are reaching your goals and that happens once financial security sets in.
23. Net Worth Grows Significantly Each Year
If your net worth does not grow significantly each year, then you got a problem.
A financially secure person knows their net worth and has systems in place to keep it growing significantly each and every year.
It’s not just one or two percentage points typically, you can expect a much higher rate of growth of 8-10%. Once your net worth increases, the bigger the bucket for the percentage of growth.
24. Credit Cards are Paid in Full
Financial security means you were able to pay your credit card bill in full each and every month without blinking. This is a mantra of a financially secure person.
They chose to use their credit cards wisely so they can get points, cash back, and travel benefits.
But, they are also cognizant that each and every month that credit card is paid off in full; this type of person will not carry a credit card balance for any reason. Period.
25. Prepared for Large Purchases
Nothing states financial security more than being able to go out and replace $5000- $10,000 worth of appliances or home repairs or something similar.
A financially secure person realizes that they have to be prepared for large purchases since they are going to happen.
It is only a matter of when a big purchase will happen.
This person is consistently setting money aside in a sinking fund for those large purposes. In our house, we like to call it the big murph fund.
We know that it may be a small remodel project, an appliance that needs to get fixed or looking at replacing a car. Many items can fall under this big murph fund umbrella. For us, we do not set aside money for each of those purposes in their own sinking funds because then we would not able to maximize our investments.
Instead, we estimate how much money is likely needed and set aside for large purchases that are likely to happen in the next one to two years.
Ways to Save $5000:
26. Your Health Matters
Financial stability means that you are able to spend money on your health and it is a priority for you and your household.
You start realizing the benefits of taking care of your body, eating properly, and managing your health in better ways.
The light bulb starts going off and says slaving at my work for 60 to 80 hours a week may not be worth it. While the income may be great, a financially stable person may feel like they are killing themselves inside for the benefit of others.
A financially secure person knows that their health matters more than money does.
You are more likely to spend money on organic produce because you know it is better for your body. You consistently review to see if you are spending your time in ways that benefit your overall health.
27. Bad Money Habits Are a Thing of the Past
We have all had them.
We have all made stupid money mistakes.
And the best part is a financially secure person has learned from their bad money habits and made changes so they never happen again.
All of the things that they used to do, they don’t do anymore. Bad habits are something that happened in the past. While they may regret it, which is absolutely okay and part of working through the process to make further progress.
Their past mistakes are not going to hold them back from their future self and build solid money habits.
28. Giving Money is Generous
When you are able to give 10% of your income and not be panicked about making ends meet, that is when you know that you have reached a higher level of financial security.
Giving money is generous.
It is something that helps society come together and as a community making the world a better place.
By you being able to give money will help somebody else become a better version of themselves. We have all had others that have helped us.
By giving money, you can pay it forward. It can be something as simple as paying for the people behind you. It could be something grand like having a building named after you because you made a massive donation.
The size of the giving does not matter. It is the fact that you decided and made the conscious decision to start giving your money.
29. People Ask You about Money Questions
When others start looking towards what you have accomplished in your financial journey, that is when you know you have created an environment of solid money management skills.
People will start coming to you asking questions on how they can improve their money situation. And that is fabulous!
That means that others view you as being financially secure and stable in your personal finances. You deserve a pat on the back and motivation to keep up the hard work.
30. Happy With Your Financial Path
Remember that saying, “If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands.” Well, as a financially secure person, it is when you wake up and look at your overall financial picture and say, “You know what, I’ve got this, I’m on the right path,” and you put a big grin on your face. And you pat yourself on the back.
As a financially stable person, you are proud of what you have overcome, the difficult challenges you faced, and now you are excited about where the next step is going to take you and your future.
It is not roses and happiness the entire way; there are ups and downs along your path that got you to a financially stable place.
But deep down you know that you are on a stable future with a solid path.
31. You Know You are In Control of Your Money
This type of person knows exactly where their money goes.
They are in control of their money; their money doesn’t control them.
They make the decisions on how, when, why, and where they spend money.
They are not told by outsiders how to manage their money. A financially stable person has control over their money and in the long run, it opens up the doors of opportunity.
This is a sign of financial independence.
How Much Money is Financially Stable?
How much money do you need to be financially stable?
This will depend on everybody’s personal situation.
If you are single and only providing for your one household, the amount of money that you need is much less than a family of six to eight people. In view of that fact, the more people that you’re responsible for, the more money that you need to become financially secure.
Let’s put some number on the question of how much money is financially stable.
3-6 months of expenses
Positive net worth
No debt (or a solid plan to get out of debt)
Able to give 5% of your income
Saving at least 20% of your income
$100k of F-you money (read JL Collins book for terminology)
Increasing saving percentage each year
At a bare minimum, you could estimate to need at least $25,000 for a single person or $100,000 for a family of four.
These assumptions include you continuing to live below your means and not regressing from the progress you made.
However, most people feel more financially secure when their net worth hits $250,000 or $500,000. Once you hit millionaire status, you are financially secure.
Are you Ready to Move from Not Financially Stable to Financial Stability?
You are in charge of your destiny.
You are able to go from one place to another, but you have to be willing to take the jump, take the risks, and seize opportunities.
So if you are not sure that you are ready to move on to financially stable, you need to be financially sound first. For now, save this post and come back once you are ready to move to the next step of becoming financially stable.
If you are ready to move to financial stability, then you need to start today and make all of these habits of somebody who is financially stable a part of your life.
There is no “Oh, I’m gonna wait till tomorrow.” Because then you are just going to keep putting it off. Tomorrow needs to become today.
The sooner that you can become financially stable, the better off that you will be.
Procrastination is just like having a plan, but not setting it into motion. You actually need to take action and start today. Enough planning, enough procrastination.
Start slow with easy habits. A good habit here and there. Keep building on those habits and you will slowly step-by-step learn how to become a financially stable person.
It does not take a huge monumental stream of income to achieve financial stability. All it takes is perseverance to make better yourself.
You can become the next millionaire with no money!
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Did the post resonate with you?
More importantly, did I answer the questions you have about this topic? Let me know in the comments if I can help in some other way!
Your comments are not just welcomed; they’re an integral part of our community. Let’s continue the conversation and explore how these ideas align with your journey towards Money Bliss.
Inside: Learn $40000 a year is how much an hour. Plus find a 40k salary budget to live the lifestyle you want.
You want to know if a 40k salary is a solid hourly wage? At first glance, you may think so.
When you get your first job and you are making just above minimum wage making over $40,000 a year seems like it would provide amazing opportunities for you. Right?
The median household income was $70,084 in 2021 not much different from the previous year (source). Think of it as a bell curve with $70 at the top; the median means half of the population makes less than that and half makes more money.
The average income in the U.S. is $55,350 for a 40-hour workweek; that is an increase of 1.1% from the previous year (source). That means if you take everyone’s income and divide the money out evenly between all of the people.
But, the question remains can you truly live off 40,000 per year in today’s society since it is below both the average and median household incomes. The question you want to ask all of your friends is $40000 per year a good salary.
In this post, we are going to dive into everything that you need to know about a $40000 salary including hourly pay and a sample budget on how to spend and save your money.
These key facts will help you with money management and learn how much per hour $40k is as well as what you make per month, weekly, and biweekly.
Just like with any paycheck, it seems like money quickly goes out of your account to cover all of your bills and expenses, and you are left with a very small amount remaining. You may be disappointed that you were not able to reach your financial goals and you are left wondering…
Can I make a living on this salary?
$40000 a year is How Much an Hour?
When jumping from an hourly job to a salary for the first time, it is helpful to know how much is 40k a year hourly. That way you can decide whether or not the job is worthwhile for you.
For our calculations to figure out how much is 40K salary hourly, we used the average five working days of 40 hours a week.
40000 salary / 2080 hours = $19.23 per hour
$40000 a year is $19.23 per hour
Let’s breakdown how that 40000 salary to hourly number is calculated.
Typically, the average workweek is 40 hours and you can work 52 weeks a year. Take 40 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 2,080 working hours. Then, divide the yearly salary of $40000 by 2,080 working hours and the result is $19.23 per hour.
Just above $19 an hour.
That number is the gross hourly income before taxes, insurance, 401K, or anything else is taken out. Net income is how much you deposit into your bank account.
You must check with your employer on how they plan to pay you. For those on salary, typically companies pay on a monthly, semi-monthly, biweekly, or weekly basis.
What if I Increased my Salary?
Just an interesting note… if you were to increase your annual salary by $5K, it would increase your hourly wage to over $21 an hour – a difference of $2.40 per hour.
To break it down – 45k a year is how much an hour = $21.63
That difference will help you fund your savings account; just remember every dollar adds up.
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
This is the perfect side hustle if you don’t have much time, experience, or money.
Many earn over $10,000 in a year selling printables on Etsy. Learn how to get started by watching this free workshop.
If you’ve ever wanted to make a full-time income while working from home, you’re in the right place!
This intensive training combines thousands of hours of research, years of experience in growing a virtual assistant business, and the power of a coach who has helped thousands of students launch and grow their own business from scratch.
How Much is $40K salary Per Month?
On average, the monthly amount would be $3,333.
Annual Salary of $40,000 ÷ 12 months = $3,333 per month
This is how much you make a month if you get paid 40000 a year.
$40k a year is how much a week?
This is a great number to know! How much do I make each week? When I roll out of bed and do my job of $40k salary a year, how much can I expect to make at the end of the week for my effort?
Once again, the assumption is 40 hours worked.
Annual Salary of$40000/52 weeks = $769 per week.
Find jobs that pay weekly.
$40000 a year is how much biweekly?
For this calculation, take the average weekly pay of $769 and double it.
This depends on how many hours you work in a day. For this example, we are going to use an eight-hour workday.
8 hours x 52 weeks = 260 working days
Annual Salary of$40000 / 260 working days = $154 per day
If you work a 10 hour day on 208 days throughout the year, you make $192 per day.
$40000 Salary is…
$40000 – Full Time
Total Income
Yearly Salary(52 weeks)
$40,000
Monthly Wage
$3,333
Weekly Salary(40 Hours)
$769
Bi-Weekly Wage (80 Hours)
$1,538
Daily Wage (8 Hours)
$154
Daily Wage (10 Hours)
$192
Hourly Wage
$19.23
Net Estimated Monthly Income
$2545
Net Estimated Hourly Income
$14.68
**These are assumptions based on simple scenarios.
40k a year is how much an hour after taxes
Income taxes is one of the biggest culprits of reducing your take-home pay as well as FICA and Social Security. This is a true fact across the board with an all salary range up to $142,800.
When you make below the average household income, the amount of taxes taken out hurts your hourly wage.
Every single tax situation is different.
On the basic level, let’s assume a 12% federal tax rate and 4% state rate. Plus a percentage is taken out for Social Security and Medicare (FICA) of 7.65%.
So, how much an hour is 40000 a year after taxes?
Gross Annual Salary: $40,000
Federal Taxes of 12%: $4,800
State Taxes of 4%: $1,600
Social Security and Medicare of 7.65%: $3,060
$40k Per Year After Taxes is $30,540.
This would be your net annual salary after taxes.
Hourly Rate After Taxes
To turn that back into an hourly wage, the assumption is working 2,080 hours.
$30,540 ÷ 2,080 hours = $14.68 per hour
After estimated taxes and FICA, you are netting $30,540 per year, which is $9,460 per year less than what you expect.
***This is a very high-level example and can vary greatly depending on your personal situation and potential deductions. Therefore, here is a great tool to help you figure out how much your net paycheck would be.***
In addition, if you live in a heavily taxed state like California or New York, then you have to pay way more money than somebody who lives in a no-tax state like Texas or Florida. This is the debate of HCOL vs LCOL.
Thus, your yearly gross $40000 income can range from $27,840 to $32,140 depending on your state income taxes.
That is why it is important to realize the impact income taxes can have on your take home pay. It is one of those things that you should acknowledge and obviously, you need to pay taxes. But, it can also put a huge dent in your ability to live the lifestyle you want on a $40,000 income.
how much is 40k a year hourly Salary Calculator
More than likely, your salary is not a flat 40k, here is a tool to convert your salary to hourly calculator.
Many teachers start at this range, which may make you wonder do teachers get paid in the summer? And the best summer jobs for teachers!
Every person reading this post has a different upbringing and a different belief system about money. Therefore, what would be a lavish lifestyle to one person, maybe a frugal lifestyle to another person? And there’s no wrong or right, it is what works best for you.
One of the biggest factors to consider is your cost of living.
In another post, we detailed the differences between living in an HCOL vs LCOL vs MCOL area. When you live in big cities, trying to maintain your lifestyle of $40,000 a year is going to be much more difficult because your basic expenses, housing, transportation, food, and clothing are going to be much more expensive than you would find in a lower cost area.
To stretch your dollar further in the high cost of living area, you would have to probably live a very frugal lifestyle and prioritize where you want to spend money and where you do not. Whereas, if you live in a low cost of living area, you can live a much more lavish lifestyle because the cost of living is less. Thus, you have more fun spending left in your account each month.
As we noted earlier in the post, $40,000 a year is below the average income that you would find in the United States. Thus, you have to be wise with how you spend your money.
What a $40,000 lifestyle will buy you:
If you are debt free and utilize smart money management skills, then you are able to enjoy the lifestyle you want.
You are able to rent in a decent neighborhood in LCOL and maybe even MCOL city.
Focus on becoming financially sound.
You should be able to meet your expenses each and every month.
Ability to make sure that saving money is a priority, and very possibly save $3000 in 52 weeks.
When A $40,000 Salary Will Hold you Back:
However, if you are riddled with debt or unable to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, then living off of 40k a year is going to be pretty darn difficult.
There are two factors that will keep holding you back:
You must pay off debt and cut all fun spending and extra expenses.
Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
It is possible to get ahead with money!
It just comes with proper money management skills and a desire to have less stress around money. That is a winning combination regardless of your income level.
$40K a year Budget – Example
As always, here at Money Bliss, we focus on covering our basic expenses plus saving and giving first, and then our goal is to eliminate debt. The rest of the money is left for fun spending.
This is how zero based budgeting works.
If you want to know how to manage 40k salary the best, then this is a prime example for you to compare your spending.
You can compare your budget to the ideal household budget percentages.
recommended budget percentages based on $40000 a year salary:
Category
Ideal Percentages
Sample Monthly Budget
Giving
10%
$200
Savings
15-25%
$600
Housing
20-30%
$800
Utilities
4-7%
$133
Groceries
5-12%
$233
Clothing
1-4%
$33
Transportation
4-10%
$167
Medical
5-12%
$167
Life Insurance
1%
$17
Education
1-4%
$33
Personal
2-7%
$62
Recreation / Entertainment
3-8%
$100
Debts
0% – Goal
$0
Government Tax (including Income Taxes, Social Security & Medicare)
15-25%
$788
Total Gross Monthly Income
$3,333
**In this budget, prioritization was given to basic expenses and no debt.
Is $40,000 a year a Good Salary?
As we stated earlier if you are able to make $40,000 a year, that is a decent salary. You are making more money than the minimum wage and close to double in many cities.
While 40000 is a good salary starting out in your working years. It is a salary that you want to increase before your expenses go up or the people you provide for increase.
However, too many times people get stuck in the lifestyle trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses, and their lifestyle desires get out of hand compared to their salary. And what they thought used to be a great salary actually is not making ends meet at this time.
This $40k salary would be considered a lower middle class salary. This salary is something that you can live on if you are wise with money.
Check: Are you in the middle class?
In fact, this income level in the United States has enough buying power to put you in the top 95 percentile globally for per person income (source).
The question you need to ask yourself with your 40k salary is:
Am I maxed at the top of my career?
Is there more income potential?
What obstacles do I face if I want to try to increase my income?
In the future years and with possible inflation, in many modest cities, 40000 a year will not be a good salary because the cost of living is so high, whereas these are some of the cities where you can make a comfortable living at 40,000 per year.
If you are looking for a career change, you want to find jobs paying at least $55000 a year.
Is 40k a good salary for a Single Person?
Simply put, yes.
You can stretch your salary much further because you are only worried about your own expenses. A single person will spend much less than if you need to provide for someone else.
Your living expenses and ideal budget are much less. Thus, you can live extremely comfortably on $40000 per year.
And… most of us probably regret how much money wasted when we were single. Oh well, lesson learned.
Is 40k a good salary for a family?
Many of the same principles apply above on whether $40000 is a good salary. The main difference with a family, you have more people to provide for than when you are single or have just one other person in your household.
The costs of raising children are high and will steeply cut into your income. As you can tell this is a huge dent in your income, specifically $12,980 annually per child.
That means that amount of money is coming out of the income that you earned.
So, the question really remains… Can you provide a good life for your family making $50,000 a year? This is the hardest part because each family has different choices, priorities, and values.
More or less, it comes down to two things:
The location where you live in.
Your lifestyle choices.
You can live comfortably as a family on this salary, but you will not be able to afford everything.
Many times when raising a family, it is helpful to have a dual-income household. That way you are able to provide the necessary expenses if both parties were making 40,000 per year, then the combined income for the household would be $80,000. Thus making your combined salary a very good income.
Learn how much money a family of 4 needs in each state.
Can you Live on $40000 Per Year?
As we outlined earlier in the post, $40,000 a year:
$19.23 Per Hour
$154-192 Per Day (depending on the length of day worked)
$769 Per Week
$1,538 Per Biweekly
$3,333 Per Month
Next up is making $43000 a year.
Like anything else in life, you get to decide how to spend, save and give your money.
That is the difference for each person on whether or not you can live a middle-class lifestyle depends on many potential factors. If you live in California or New Jersey you are gonna have a tougher time than Oklahoma or even Texas.
In addition, if you are early in your career, starting out around 39,000 a year, that is a great place to be getting your career. However, if you have been in your career for over 20 years and still making $40K, then you probably need to look at asking for pay increases, picking up a second job, or finding a different career path.
Regardless of the wage that you make, if you are not able to live the lifestyle that you want, then you have to find ways to make it work for you. Everybody has choices to make.
But one of the things that can help you the most is to stick to learning to budget by paycheckto make sure you stay on track.
Learn exactly how much do I make per year…
One of the best ways to improve your personal finance situation is to increase your income. Here are a variety of side hustles that are very lucrative. With time and effort, you can start enjoying the lifestyle you want.
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This is the perfect side hustle if you don’t have much time, experience, or money.
Many earn over $10,000 in a year selling printables on Etsy. Learn how to get started by watching this free workshop.
Are you passionate about words and reading?
If so, proofreading could be a perfect fit for you, just like it’s been for countless of readers! Learn how you can create a freelance business as a proofreader.
Check out this free workshop!
If you’ve ever wanted to make a full-time income while working from home, you’re in the right place!
This intensive training combines thousands of hours of research, years of experience in growing a virtual assistant business, and the power of a coach who has helped thousands of students launch and grow their own business from scratch.
Bookkeeping is the most stable, reliable & simple business to own. This is how to make a realistic income -either part-time or full-time.
Find out TODAY if this is THE business you’ve been looking for.
You can make money as a freelance writer. Learn techniques to find those jobs and earn the kind of money you deserve! Plus get tips to land your first freelance writing gig!
Learn how to buy and resell items from flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales. They will teach you how to create a profitable reselling business quickly
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This course is designed for freight brokers in any setting, regardless of their employment status.
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After taking a second job as a driver for Amazon to make ends meet, this former teacher pivoted to be a successful stock trader.
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Did the post resonate with you?
More importantly, did I answer the questions you have about this topic? Let me know in the comments if I can help in some other way!
Your comments are not just welcomed; they’re an integral part of our community. Let’s continue the conversation and explore how these ideas align with your journey towards Money Bliss.
Inside: Learn how much your 50k salary is hourly. Plus find tips to make more money and live the lifestyle you want.
You are thinking that 50k salary is a solid hourly wage, but you want to know the true answer.
When you get your first job and you are making just above minimum wage making over $50,000 a year seems like it would provide amazing opportunities for you. Right?
The median household income was $70,084 in 2021 not much different from the previous year (source). Think of it as a bell curve with $70 at the top; the median means half of the population makes less than that and half makes more money.
The average income in the U.S. is $55,350 for a 40-hour workweek; that is an increase of 1.1% from the previous year (source). That means if you take everyone’s income and divide the money out evenly between all of the people.
But, the question remains…can you truly live off 50,000 per year in today’s society since it is barely above the average income and yet still below household incomes? The question you want to ask all of your friends is $50000 per year a good salary.
In this post, we are going to dive into everything that you need to know about a $50000 salary including hourly pay and a sample budget on how to spend and save your money.
These key facts will help you with money management and learn how much per hour $50k is as well as what you make per month, weekly, and biweekly.
Just like with any paycheck, it seems like money quickly goes out of your account to cover all of your bills and expenses, and you are left with a very small amount remaining. You may be disappointed that you were not able to reach your financial goals and you are left wondering…
Can I make a living on this salary?
$50000 a year is How Much an Hour?
When jumping from an hourly job to a salary for the first time, it is helpful to know how much is 50k a year hourly. That way you can decide whether or not the job is worthwhile for you.
For our calculations to figure out how much is 50K salary hourly, we used the average five working days of 40 hours a week.
50000 salary / 2080 hours = $24.04 per hour
$50000 a year is $24.04 per hour
Let’s breakdown how that 50000 salary to hourly number is calculated.
Typically, the average workweek is 40 hours and you can work 52 weeks a year. Take 40 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 2,080 working hours. Then, divide the yearly salary of $50000 by 2,080 working hours and the result is $24.04 per hour.
Just above $24 an hour.
That number is the gross hourly income before taxes, insurance, 401K, or anything else is taken out. Net income is how much you deposit into your bank account.
You must check with your employer on how they plan to pay you. For those on salary, typically companies pay on a monthly, semi-monthly, biweekly, or weekly basis.
What If I Increased My Salary?
Just an interesting note… if you were to increase your annual salary by $5K, it would increase your hourly wage to over $26 an hour – a difference of $2.40 per hour.
To break it down – 55k a year is how much an hour = $26.44
That difference will help you fund your savings account; just remember every dollar adds up.
How Much is $50K salary Per Month?
On average, the monthly amount would be $4,167.
Annual Salary of $50,000 ÷ 12 months = $4,166.67 per month
This is how much you make a month if you get paid 50000 a year.
$50k a year is how much a week?
This is a great number to know! How much do I make each week? When I roll out of bed and do my job of $50k salary a year, how much can I expect to make at the end of the week for my effort?
Once again, the assumption is 40 hours worked.
Annual Salary of$50000/52 weeks = $961.54 per week.
$50000 a year is how much biweekly?
For this calculation, take the average weekly pay of $961.54 and double it.
This depends on how many hours you work in a day. For this example, we are going to use an eight-hour workday.
8 hours x 52 weeks = 260 working days
Annual Salary of$50000 / 260 working days = $192 per day
If you work a 10 hour day on 208 days throughout the year, you make $240 per day.
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
Are you passionate about words and reading?
If so, proofreading could be a perfect fit for you, just like it’s been for countless of readers! Learn how you can create a freelance business as a proofreader.
Check out this free workshop!
Bookkeeping is the most stable, reliable & simple business to own. This is how to make a realistic income -either part-time or full-time.
Find out TODAY if this is THE business you’ve been looking for.
$50000 Salary is…
$50000 – Full Time
Total Income
Yearly Salary (52 weeks)
$50,000
Monthly Wage
$4,167
Weekly Salary(40 Hours)
$961
Bi-Weekly Wage (80 Hours)
$1,923
Daily Wage (8 Hours)
$192
Daily Wage (10 Hours)
$204
Hourly Wage
$24.04
Net Estimated Monthly Income
$3,181
Net Estimated Hourly Income
$18.35
**These are assumptions based on simple scenarios.
50k a year is how much an hour after taxes
Income taxes is one of the biggest culprits of reducing your take-home pay as well as FICA and Social Security. This is a true fact across the board with a salary range of up to $160,200.
When you make below the average household income, the amount of taxes taken out hurts your hourly wage.
Every single tax situation is different.
On the basic level, let’s assume a 12% federal tax rate and a 4% state rate. Plus a percentage is taken out for Social Security and Medicare (FICA) of 7.65%.
So, how much an hour is 50000 a year after taxes?
Gross Annual Salary: $50,000
Federal Taxes of 12%: $6,000
State Taxes of 4%: $2,000
Social Security and Medicare of 7.65%: $3,825
$50k Per Year After Taxes is $38,175.
This would be your net annual salary after taxes.
To turn that back into an hourly wage, the assumption is working 2,080 hours.
$38,175 ÷ 2,080 hours = $18.35 per hour
After estimated taxes and FICA, you are netting $38,175 per year, which is $11,825 per year less than what you expect.
***This is a very high-level example and can vary greatly depending on your personal situation and potential deductions. Therefore, here is a great tool to help you figure out how much your net paycheck would be.***
Taxes Based on Your State
In addition, if you live in a heavily taxed state like California or New York, then you have to pay way more money than somebody who lives in a no tax state like Texas or Florida. This is the debate of HCOL vs LCOL.
Thus, your yearly gross $50000 income can range from $34,175 to $40,175 depending on your state income taxes.
That is why it is important to realize the impact income taxes can have on your take-home pay. It is one of those things that you should acknowledge and obviously, you need to pay taxes. But, it can also put a huge dent in your ability to live the lifestyle you want on a $50,000 income.
My 50k Salary Hourly Calculator
More than likely, your salary is not a flat 50k, here is a tool to convert your salary to hourly calculator.
Many of the starting freight broker salaries are in this range (and before commission)!
Many teachers are hovering in this range, which may make you wonder do teachers get paid in the summer?
Every person reading this post has a different upbringing and a different belief system about money. Therefore, what would be a lavish lifestyle to one person, maybe a frugal lifestyle to another person?
And there’s no wrong or right, it is what works best for you.
One of the biggest factors to consider is your cost of living.
In another post, we detailed the differences between living in an HCOL vs LCOL vs MCOL area. When you live in big cities, trying to maintain your lifestyle of $50,000 a year is going to be much more difficult because your basic expenses, housing, transportation, food, and clothing are going to be much more expensive than you would find in a lower-cost area.
To stretch your dollar further in the high cost of living area, you would have to probably live a very frugal lifestyle and prioritize where you want to spend money and where you do not. Whereas, if you live in a low cost of living area, you can live a much more lavish lifestyle because the cost of living is less. Thus, you have more fun spending left in your account each month.
For many, this is when they are looking at upgrading their car to something nicer, but you must be aware of is a car an asset or liability.
As we noted earlier in the post, $50,000 a year is slightly below the average income that you would find in the United States. Thus, you still have to be wise with how you spend your money.
What a $50,000 lifestyle will buy you:
If you are debt-free and utilize smart money management skills, then you are able to enjoy the lifestyle you want.
You are able to rent in a decent neighborhood in LCOL and even MCOL city.
You should be able to meet your expenses each and every month.
Ability to make sure that saving money is a priority, and very possibly save $5000 in 52 weeks.
Learn how much money should I have saved by 30 since the average salary is $50k.
When A $50,000 Salary Will Hold you Back:
However, if you are riddled with debt or unable to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, then living off of 50k a year is going to be pretty darn difficult.
There are two factors that will keep holding you back:
You must pay off debt and cut all fun spending and extra expenses.
Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
Not using one of the millionaire quotes for motivation.
It is possible to get ahead with money!
It just comes with proper money management skills and a desire to have less stress around money. That is a winning combination regardless of your income level.
$50K a year Budget – Example
As always, here at Money Bliss, we focus on covering our basic expenses plus saving and giving first, and then our goal is to eliminate debt. The rest of the money left is for fun spending.
This is how zero based budgeting works.
If you want to know how to manage 50k salary the best, then this is a prime example for you to compare your spending.
You can compare your budget to the ideal household budget percentages.
recommended budget percentages based on $50000 a year salary:
Category
Ideal Percentages
Sample Monthly Budget
Giving
10%
$250
Savings
15-25%
$750
Housing
20-30%
$1,000
Utilities
4-7%
$167
Groceries
5-12%
$375
Clothing
1-4%
$52
Transportation
4-10%
$146
Medical
5-12%
$188
Life Insurance
1%
$21
Education
1-4%
$42
Personal
2-7%
$77
Recreation / Entertainment
3-8%
$125
Debts
0% – Goal
$0
Government Tax (including Income Taxes, Social Security & Medicare)
15-25%
$985
Total Gross Monthly Income
$4,167
**In this budget, prioritization was given to basic expenses and no debt.
Is $50k a year a Good Salary?
As we stated earlier if you are able to make $50,000 a year, that is a decent salary. You are making more money than the minimum wage and almost double in many cities.
While 50000 is a good salary starting out in your working years. It is a salary that you want to increase before your expenses go up or the people you provide for increase.
However, too many times people get stuck in the lifestyle trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses, and their lifestyle desires get out of hand compared to their salary. And what they thought used to be a great salary actually is not making ends meet at this time.
This $50k salary would be considered a lower middle class salary. This salary is something that you can live on if you are wise with money.
Check: Are you in the middle class?
In fact, this income level in the United States has enough buying power to put you in the top 95 percentile globally for per person income (source).
The question you need to ask yourself with your 50k salary is:
Am I maxed at the top of my career?
Is there more income potential?
What obstacles do I face if I want to try to increase my income?
In the future years and with possible inflation, in many modest cities, 50,000 a year will not be a good salary because the cost of living is so high, whereas these are some of the cities where you can make a comfortable living at 50,000 per year.
If you are looking for a career change, you want to find jobs paying at least $60000 a year.
Is 50k a good salary for a Single Person?
Simply put, yes.
You can stretch your salary much further because you are only worried about your own expenses. A single person will spend much less than if you need to provide for someone else.
Your living expenses and ideal budget are much less. Thus, you can live extremely comfortably on $50000 per year.
And… most of us probably regret how much money wasted when we were single. Oh well, lesson learned.
Deep Dive: What Is A Good Salary For A Single Person in Today’s Society?
Is 50k a good salary for a family?
Many of the same principles apply above on whether $50000 is a good salary. The main difference with a family, you have more people to provide for than when you are single or have just one other person in your household.
The costs of raising children are high and will steeply cut into your income. As you can tell this is a huge dent in your income, specifically $12,980 annually per child.
That means that amount of money is coming out of the income that you earned.
So, the question really remains can you provide a good life for your family making $50,000 a year? This is the hardest part because each family has different choices, priorities, and values.
More or less, it comes down to two things:
The location where you live in.
Your lifestyle choices.
You can live comfortably as a family on this salary, but you will not be able to afford everything.
Many times when raising a family, it is helpful to have a dual-income household. That way you are able to provide the necessary expenses if both parties were making 50,000 per year, then the combined income for the household would be $100,000. Thus making your combined salary a very good income.
Learn how much money a family of 4 needs in each state.
Can you Live on $50000 Per Year?
As we outlined earlier in the post, $50,000 a year:
$24.04 Per Hour
$192-240 Per Day (depending on length of day worked)
$961 Per Week
$1,923 Per Biweekly
$4,167 Per Month
Next up is making $52000 a year.
Like anything else in life, you get to decide how to spend, save and give your money.
That is the difference for each person on whether or not you can live a middle-class lifestyle depends on many potential factors. If you live in California or New Jersey you are gonna have a tougher time than Oklahoma or even Texas.
In addition, if you are early in your career, starting out around 43,000 a year, that is a great place to be getting your career. However, if you have been in your career for over 20 years and still making under $45K, then you probably need to look at asking for pay increases, picking up a second job, or finding a different career path.
In fact, this might be a good time to learn how to trade stocks with the best Travel and Travel course.
Regardless of the wage that you make, if you are not able to live the lifestyle that you want, then you have to find ways to make it work for you. Everybody has choices to make.
But one of the things that can help you the most is to stick to our ideal household budget percentages to make sure you stay on track.
Learn exactly how much do I make per year…
One of the best ways to improve your personal finance situation is to increase your income. Here are a variety of side hustles that are very lucrative. With time and effort, you can start enjoying the lifestyle you want.
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This is the perfect side hustle if you don’t have much time, experience, or money.
Many earn over $10,000 in a year selling printables on Etsy. Learn how to get started by watching this free workshop.
Are you passionate about words and reading?
If so, proofreading could be a perfect fit for you, just like it’s been for countless of readers! Learn how you can create a freelance business as a proofreader.
Check out this free workshop!
If you’ve ever wanted to make a full-time income while working from home, you’re in the right place!
This intensive training combines thousands of hours of research, years of experience in growing a virtual assistant business, and the power of a coach who has helped thousands of students launch and grow their own business from scratch.
Bookkeeping is the most stable, reliable & simple business to own. This is how to make a realistic income -either part-time or full-time.
Find out TODAY if this is THE business you’ve been looking for.
You can make money as a freelance writer. Learn techniques to find those jobs and earn the kind of money you deserve! Plus get tips to land your first freelance writing gig!
Learn how to buy and resell items from flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales. They will teach you how to create a profitable reselling business quickly
…no matter how much or how little experience you have.
Learn how to supplement your daily, weekly, or monthly income with trading so that you can live your best life! This is a lifestyle trading style you need to learn.
Honestly, this course is a must for anyone who invests. You will lose more in the market than you will spend this quality education – guaranteed.
Read my Invest with Teri Review.
Designed as a 101-level course on freight brokerage, you’ll learn the basics of freight brokering in this online course.
This course is designed for freight brokers in any setting, regardless of their employment status.
If you want to start your brokerage, we’ll show you exactly how to do it. If you are an agent or employee of a brokerage, we’ll take you through sales and operations modules designed to help you source more leads and move more freight.
The Empowered Business Lab teaches you how to sell your digital products naturally with strategies that just make sense.
Monica helps thousands find momentum and create revenue streams in their businesses.
After taking a second job as a driver for Amazon to make ends meet, this former teacher pivoted to be a successful stock trader.
Leaving behind the stress of teaching, now he sets his own schedule and makes more money than he ever imagined. He grew his account from $500 to $38000 in 8 months.
Check out this interview.
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Did the post resonate with you?
More importantly, did I answer the questions you have about this topic? Let me know in the comments if I can help in some other way!
Your comments are not just welcomed; they’re an integral part of our community. Let’s continue the conversation and explore how these ideas align with your journey towards Money Bliss.
Inside: Learn how much your 45k salary is hourly. Plus find tips to make more money and live the lifestyle you want.
You want to know to look into this… Is 45k salary a solid hourly wage in today’s society?
45k salary is a solid hourly wage.
For most people, a solid entry-level job with a degree or certification would be paying just over $45,000 a year. The question that remains is can you make a living off $45k a year.
The median household income was $70,084 in 2021 not much different from the previous year (source). Think of it as a bell curve with $70 at the top; the median means half of the population makes less than that and half makes more money.
The average income in the U.S. is $55,350 for a 40-hour workweek; that is an increase of 1.1% from the previous year (source). That means if you take everyone’s income and divide the money out evenly between all of the people.
But, the question remains… can you truly live off 45,000 per year in today’s society since it is well below both the average and median household incomes? The question you want to ask all of your friends is $45000 per year a good salary.
In this post, we are going to dive into everything that you need to know about a $45000 salary including hourly pay and a sample budget on how to spend and save your money.
These key facts will help you with money management and learn how much per hour $45k is as well as what you make per month, weekly, and biweekly.
Just like with any paycheck, it seems like money quickly goes out of your account to cover all of your bills and expenses, and you are left with a very small amount remaining. You may be disappointed that you were not able to reach your financial goals and you are left wondering…
Can I make a living on this $45k salary?
$45000 a year is How Much an Hour?
When jumping from an hourly job to a salary for the first time, it is helpful to know how much is 45k a year hourly. That way you can decide whether or not the job is worthwhile for you. The same is true when getting your first job out of college.
For our calculations to figure out how much is 45K salary hourly, we used the average five working days of 40 hours a week.
45000 salary / 2080 hours = $21.63 per hour
$45000 a year is $21.63 per hour
Let’s breakdown how that 45000 salary to hourly number is calculated.
Typically, the average workweek is 40 hours and you can work 52 weeks a year. Take 40 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 2,080 working hours. Then, divide the yearly salary of $45000 by 2,080 working hours and the result is $21.63 per hour.
Just above $21 an hour.
That number is the gross hourly income before taxes, insurance, 401K, or anything else is taken out. Net income is how much you deposit into your bank account.
You must check with your employer on how they plan to pay you. For those on salary, typically companies pay on a monthly, semi-monthly, biweekly, or weekly basis.
What If I Increased My Salary?
Just an interesting note… if you were to increase your annual salary by $5K, it would increase your hourly wage to just under $25 an hour – a difference of $2.41 per hour.
To break it down – 45k a year is how much an hour = $21.63
That difference will help you fund your savings account; just remember every dollar adds up.
How Much is $45K salary Per Month?
On average, the monthly amount would be $3,750.
Annual Salary of $45,000 ÷ 12 months = $3,750 per month
This is how much you make a month if you get paid 45000 a year.
$45k a year is how much a week?
This is a great number to know! How much do I make each week? When I roll out of bed and do my job of $45k salary a year, how much can I expect to make at the end of the week for my effort?
Once again, the assumption is 40 hours worked.
Annual Salary of$45000/52 weeks = $865 per week.
$45000 a year is how much biweekly?
For this calculation, take the average weekly pay of $865 and double it.
This depends on how many hours you work in a day. For this example, we are going to use an eight-hour workday.
8 hours x 52 weeks = 260 working days
Annual Salary of$45000 / 260 working days = $173 per day
If you work a 10 hour day on 208 days throughout the year, you make $216 per day.
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
This is the perfect side hustle if you don’t have much time, experience, or money.
Many earn over $10,000 in a year selling printables on Etsy. Learn how to get started by watching this free workshop.
If you’ve ever wanted to make a full-time income while working from home, you’re in the right place!
This intensive training combines thousands of hours of research, years of experience in growing a virtual assistant business, and the power of a coach who has helped thousands of students launch and grow their own business from scratch.
$45000 Salary is…
$45000 – Full Time
Total Income
Yearly Salary (52 weeks)
$45,000
Monthly Wage
$3,750
Weekly Salary (40 Hours)
$865
Bi-Weekly Wage (80 Hours)
$1,730
Daily Wage (8 Hours)
$173
Daily Wage (10 Hours)
$216
Hourly Wage
$21.63
Net Estimated Monthly Income
$2,863
Net Estimated Hourly Income
$16.52
**These are assumptions based on simple scenarios.
45k a year is how much an hour after taxes
Income taxes is one of the biggest culprits of reducing your take-home pay as well as FICA and Social Security. This is a true fact across the board with an all salary range up to $142,800.
When you make below the average household income, the amount of taxes taken out hurts your hourly wage.
Every single tax situation is different.
On the basic level, let’s assume a 12% federal tax rate and a 4% state rate. Plus a percentage is taken out for Social Security and Medicare (FICA) of 7.65%.
So, how much an hour is 45000 a year after taxes?
Gross Annual Salary: $45,000
Federal Taxes of 12%: $5,400
State Taxes of 4%: $1,900
Social Security and Medicare of 7.65%: $3,442.50
$45k Per Year After Taxes is $34,357.50
This would be your net annual salary after taxes.
Hourly Wage After Taxes
To turn that back into an hourly wage, the assumption is working 2,080 hours.
$34,357.50 ÷ 2,080 hours = $16.52 per hour
After estimated taxes and FICA, you are netting $34,357.50 per year, which is $10,642.50 per year less than what you expected. That is significant!
Budgeting on $16 an hour is much different!
Taxes Based on Your State
***This is a very high-level example and can vary greatly depending on your personal situation and potential deductions. Therefore, here is a great tool to help you figure out how much your net paycheck would be.***
In addition, if you live in a heavily taxed state like California or New York, then you have to pay way more money than somebody who lives in a no-tax state like Texas or Florida. This is the debate of HCOL vs LCOL.
Thus, your yearly gross $45000 income can range from $30,757 to $36,157 depending on your state income taxes.
That is why it is important to realize the impact income taxes can have on your take home pay. It is one of those things that you should acknowledge and obviously, you need to pay taxes. But, it can also put a huge dent in your ability to live the lifestyle you want on a $45,000 income.
How Much is 45K a year Hourly Salary Calculator
More than likely, your salary is not a flat 45k, here is a tool to convert salary to hourly calculator.
Many entry-level jobs start at this range, which may make you believe that a business degree is worth it.
Every person reading this post has a different upbringing and a different belief system about money. Therefore, what would be a lavish lifestyle to one person, maybe a frugal lifestyle to another person? And there’s no wrong or right, it is what works best for you.
One of the biggest factors to consider is your cost of living.
In another post, we detailed the differences between living in an HCOL vs LCOL vs MCOL area. When you live in big cities, trying to maintain your lifestyle of $45,000 a year is going to be much more difficult because your basic expenses, housing, transportation, food, and clothing are going to be much more expensive than you would find in a lower cost area.
To stretch your dollar further in the high cost of living area, you would have to probably live a very frugal lifestyle and prioritize where you want to spend money and where you do not. Whereas, if you live in a low cost of living area, you can live a much more lavish lifestyle because the cost of living is less. Thus, you have more fun spending left in your account each month.
As we noted earlier in the post, $45,000 a year is slightly below the average income that you would find in the United States. Thus, you have to be wise with how you spend your money.
What a $45,000 lifestyle will buy you:
If you are debt free and utilize smart money management skills, then you are able to enjoy the lifestyle you want.
You are able to rent in a decent neighborhood in LCOL and maybe an MCOL city.
Looking for ways to invest 100 to make 1000 a day.
Foucs on being financially stable.
You should be able to meet your expenses each and every month.
Ability to make sure that saving money is a priority, and very possibly save $3000 in 52 weeks.
When A $45,000 Salary Will Hold you Back:
However, if you are riddled with debt or unable to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, then living off of 45k a year is going to be pretty darn difficult.
There are two factors that will keep holding you back:
You must pay off debt and cut all fun spending and extra expenses.
Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
It is possible to get ahead with money!
It just comes with proper money management skills and a desire to have less stress around money. That is a winning combination regardless of your income level.
Find low-stress jobs that pay well without a degree now.
$45K a year Budget – Example
As always, here at Money Bliss, we focus on covering our basic expenses plus saving and giving first, and then our goal is to eliminate debt. The rest of the money is left for fun spending.
This is how zero based budgeting works.
If you want to know how to manage 45k salary the best, then this is a prime example for you to compare your spending.
You can compare your budget to the ideal household budget percentages.
recommended budget percentages based on $45000 a year salary:
Category
Ideal Percentages
Sample Monthly Budget
Giving
10%
$206
Savings
15-25%
$563
Housing
20-30%
$1069
Utilities
4-7%
$150
Groceries
5-12%
$313
Clothing
1-4%
$38
Transportation
4-10%
$131
Medical
5-12%
$225
Life Insurance
1%
$19
Education
1-4%
$38
Personal
2-7%
$38
Recreation / Entertainment
3-8%
$75
Debts
0% – Goal
$0
Government Tax (including Income Taxes, Social Security & Medicare)
15-25%
$887
Total Gross Monthly Income
$3,750
**In this budget, prioritization was given to basic expenses and no debt.
Is $45,000 a year a Good Salary?
As we stated earlier if you are able to make $45,000 a year, that is a decent salary. You are making way more money than the minimum wage and close to double in many cities.
While 45000 is a good salary starting out in your working years. It is a salary that you want to increase before your expenses go up or the people you provide for increase.
However, too many times people get stuck in the lifestyle trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses, and their lifestyle desires get out of hand compared to their salary. And what they thought used to be a great salary actually is not making ends meet at this time.
This $45k salary would be considered a lower middle class salary. This salary is something that you can live on if you are wise with money.
Check: Are you in the middle class?
In fact, this income level in the United States has enough buying power to put you in the top 95 percentile globally for per person income (source).
The question you need to ask yourself with your 45k salary is:
Am I maxed at the top of my career?
Is there more income potential?
What obstacles do I face if I want to try to increase my income?
In the future years and with possible inflation, in many modest cities, 45,000 a year will not be a good salary because the cost of living is so high, whereas these are some of the cities where you can make a comfortable living at 45,000 per year.
If you are looking for a career change, you want to find jobs paying at least $60000 a year.
Is 45k a good salary for a Single Person?
Simply put, yes.
You can stretch your salary much further because you are only worried about your own expenses. A single person will spend much less than if you need to provide for someone else.
Your living expenses and ideal budget are much less. Thus, you can live extremely comfortably on $45000 per year.
And… most of us probably regret how much money wasted when we were single. Oh well, lesson learned.
Is 45k a good salary for a family?
Many of the same principles apply above on whether $45000 is a good salary. The main difference with a family, you have more people to provide for than when you are single or have just one other person in your household.
The costs of raising children are high and will steeply cut into your income. As you can tell this is a huge dent in your income, specifically $12,980 annually per child.
That means that amount of money is coming out of the income that you earned.
So, the question really remains… Can you provide a good life for your family making $45,000 a year? This is the hardest part because each family has different choices, priorities, and values.
More or less, it comes down to two things:
The location where you live in.
Your lifestyle choices.
You can live comfortably as a family on this salary, but you will not be able to afford everything.
Many times when raising a family, it is helpful to have a dual-income household. That way you are able to provide the necessary expenses if both parties were making 45,000 per year, then the combined income for the household would be $90,000. Thus making your combined salary a very good income.
Learn how much money a family of 4 needs in each state.
Can you Live on $45000 Per Year?
As we outlined earlier in the post, $45,000 a year:
$21.63 Per Hour
$173-216 Per Day (depending on length of day worked)
$865 Per Week
$1,730 Per Biweekly
$3,750 Per Month
Next up is making $50,000 a year.
Like anything else in life, you get to decide how to spend, save and give your money.
That is the difference for each person on whether or not you can live a middle-class lifestyle depends on many potential factors. If you live in California or New Jersey you are gonna have a tougher time than in Oklahoma or even Texas.
In addition, if you are early in your career, starting out around 41,000 a year, that is a great place to be getting your career. However, if you have been in your career for over 20 years and still making $45K, then you probably need to look at asking for pay increases, pick up a second job, or find a different career path.
Regardless of the wage that you make, if you are not able to live the lifestyle that you want, then you have to find ways to make it work for you. Everybody has choices to make.
But one of the things that can help you the most is to stick to our ideal household budget percentages to make sure you stay on track.
Learn exactly how much do I make per year…
One of the best ways to improve your personal finance situation is to increase your income. Here are a variety of side hustles that are very lucrative. With time and effort, you can start enjoying the lifestyle you want.
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This is the perfect side hustle if you don’t have much time, experience, or money.
Many earn over $10,000 in a year selling printables on Etsy. Learn how to get started by watching this free workshop.
Are you passionate about words and reading?
If so, proofreading could be a perfect fit for you, just like it’s been for countless of readers! Learn how you can create a freelance business as a proofreader.
Check out this free workshop!
If you’ve ever wanted to make a full-time income while working from home, you’re in the right place!
This intensive training combines thousands of hours of research, years of experience in growing a virtual assistant business, and the power of a coach who has helped thousands of students launch and grow their own business from scratch.
Bookkeeping is the most stable, reliable & simple business to own. This is how to make a realistic income -either part-time or full-time.
Find out TODAY if this is THE business you’ve been looking for.
You can make money as a freelance writer. Learn techniques to find those jobs and earn the kind of money you deserve! Plus get tips to land your first freelance writing gig!
Learn how to buy and resell items from flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales. They will teach you how to create a profitable reselling business quickly
…no matter how much or how little experience you have.
Learn how to supplement your daily, weekly, or monthly income with trading so that you can live your best life! This is a lifestyle trading style you need to learn.
Honestly, this course is a must for anyone who invests. You will lose more in the market than you will spend this quality education – guaranteed.
Read my Invest with Teri Review.
Designed as a 101-level course on freight brokerage, you’ll learn the basics of freight brokering in this online course.
This course is designed for freight brokers in any setting, regardless of their employment status.
If you want to start your brokerage, we’ll show you exactly how to do it. If you are an agent or employee of a brokerage, we’ll take you through sales and operations modules designed to help you source more leads and move more freight.
The Empowered Business Lab teaches you how to sell your digital products naturally with strategies that just make sense.
Monica helps thousands find momentum and create revenue streams in their businesses.
After taking a second job as a driver for Amazon to make ends meet, this former teacher pivoted to be a successful stock trader.
Leaving behind the stress of teaching, now he sets his own schedule and makes more money than he ever imagined. He grew his account from $500 to $38000 in 8 months.
Check out this interview.
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Did the post resonate with you?
More importantly, did I answer the questions you have about this topic? Let me know in the comments if I can help in some other way!
Your comments are not just welcomed; they’re an integral part of our community. Let’s continue the conversation and explore how these ideas align with your journey towards Money Bliss.
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
30k salary is a solid hourly wage; above most minimum hourly wage jobs.
For most people, an entry-level job would be paying just over $30,000 a year. The question that remains is can you make a living off $30k a year.
The median household income is $70,784 in 2021 and increased with hot inflation over the past couple of years (source). Think of it as a bell curve with $71K at the top; the median means half of the population makes less than that and half makes more money.
The average income in the U.S. is $55,640 for a 40-hour workweek; that is an increase of 6.9% from the previous year (source). That means if you take everyone’s income and divided the money evenly between all of the people.
But, the question remains can you truly live off 30,000 per year in today’s society since it is well below both the average and median household incomes. The question you want to ask all of your friends is $30000 per year a good salary.
In this post, we are going to dive into everything that you need to know about a $30000 salary including hourly pay and a sample budget on how to spend and save your money.
These key facts will help you with money management and learn how much per hour $30k is as well as what you make per month, weekly, and biweekly.
Just like with any paycheck, it seems like money quickly goes out of your account to cover all of your bills and expenses, and you are left with a very small amount remaining. You may be disappointed that you were not able to reach your financial goals and you are left wondering…
Can I make a living on this salary?
$30000 a year is How Much an Hour?
When jumping from an hourly job to a salary for the first time, it is helpful to know how much is 30k a year hourly. That way you can decide whether or not the job is worthwhile for you.
30000 salary / 2080 hours = $14.42 per hour
$30000 a year is $14.42 per hour
Let’s breakdown how that 30000 salary to hourly number is calculated.
For our calculations to figure out how much is 30K salary hourly, we used the average five working days of 40 hours a week.
Typically, the average workweek is 40 hours and you can work 52 weeks a year. Take 40 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 2,080 working hours. Then, divide the yearly salary of $30000 by 2,080 working hours and the result is $14.42 per hour.
Between $14 an hour and $15 an hour.
That number is the gross hourly income before taxes, insurance, 401K, or anything else is taken out. Net income is how much you deposit into your bank account.
You must check with your employer on how they plan to pay you. For those on salary, typically companies pay on a monthly, semi-monthly, biweekly, or weekly basis.
What If I Increased My Salary?
Just an interesting note… if you were to increase your annual salary by $5K to $35K per year, it would increase your hourly wage to almost $17 an hour – a difference of $2.41 per hour.
To break it down – 35k a year is how much an hour = $16.83
That difference will help you fund your savings account; just remember every dollar adds up.
How Much is $30K salary Per Month?
On average, the monthly amount would be $2,500.
Annual Salary of $30,000 ÷ 12 months = $2,500 per month
This is how much you make a month if you get paid 30000 a year.
$30k a year is how much a week?
This is a great number to know! How much do I make each week? When I roll out of bed and do my job of a $30k salary a year, how much can I expect to make at the end of the week for my effort?
Once again, the assumption is 40 hours worked.
Annual Salary of$30000/52 weeks = $577 per week.
$30000 a year is how much biweekly?
For this calculation, take the average weekly pay of $577 and double it.
This depends on how many hours you work in a day. For this example, we are going to use an eight-hour workday.
8 hours x 52 weeks = 260 working days
Annual Salary of$30000 / 260 working days = $115 per day
If you work a 10 hour day on 208 days throughout the year, you make $144 per day.
$30000 Salary is…
$30000 – Full Time
Total Income
Yearly Salary (52 weeks)
$30,000
Monthly Salary
$2,500
Weekly Wage (40 Hours)
$577
Bi-Weekly Salary (80 Hours)
$1,154
Daily Wage (8 Hours)
$115
Daily Wage (10 Hours)
$144
Hourly Wage
$14.42
Net Estimated Monthly Income
$1,909
Net Estimated Hourly Income
$11.01
**These are assumptions based on simple scenarios.
30k a year is how much an hour after taxes
Income taxes is one of the biggest culprits of reducing your take-home pay as well as FICA and Social Security. This is a true fact across the board with an all salary range up to $160,200.
When you make below the average household income, the amount of taxes taken out hurts your hourly wage.
Every single tax situation is different.
On the basic level, let’s assume a 12% federal tax rate and a 4% state rate. Plus a percentage is taken out for Social Security and Medicare (FICA) of 7.65%.
So, how much an hour is 30000 a year after taxes?
Gross Annual Salary: $30,000
Federal Taxes of 12%: $3,600
State Taxes of 4%: $1,200
Social Security and Medicare of 7.65%: $2,395
$30k Per Year After Taxes is $22,905.
This would be your net annual salary after taxes.
To turn that back into an hourly wage, the assumption is working 2,080 hours.
$22,905 ÷ 2,080 hours = $11.01 per hour
After estimated taxes and FICA, you are netting $22,905 per year, which is $7,095 per year less than what you expect.
***This is a very high-level example and can vary greatly depending on your personal situation and potential deductions. Therefore, here is a great tool to help you figure out how much your net paycheck would be.***
Taxes Based On Your State
In addition, if you live in a heavily taxed state like California or New York, then you have to pay way more money than somebody that lives in a no tax state like Texas or Florida. This is the debate of HCOL vs LCOL.
Thus, your yearly gross $30000 income can range from $20,505 to $24,105 depending on your state income taxes.
That is why it is important to realize the impact income taxes can have on your take home pay. It is one of those things that you should acknowledge and obviously you need to pay taxes. But, it can also put a huge dent in your ability to live the lifestyle you want on a $30,000 income.
How Much Is 30K A Year Hourly Salary Calculator
More than likely, your salary is not a flat 30k, here is a tool to convert salary to hourly calculator.
You can find many early morning jobs in this salary range and some pay this part time!
Every person reading this post has a different upbringing and a different belief system about money. Therefore, what would be a lavish lifestyle to one person, maybe a frugal lifestyle to another person. And there’s no wrong or right, it is what works best for you.
One of the biggest factors to consider is your cost of living.
In another post, we detailed the differences between living in an HCOL vs LCOL vs MCOL area. When you live in big cities, trying to maintain your lifestyle of $30,000 a year is going to be extremely difficult because your basic expenses, housing, transportation, food, and clothing are going to be much more expensive than you would find in a lower cost area.
To stretch your dollar further in the high cost of living area, you would have to probably live a very frugal lifestyle and prioritize where you want to spend money and where you do not. Whereas, if you live in a low cost of living area, you can afford the cost of living and maybe save more money. Thus, you have more fun spending left in your account each month.
As we noted earlier in the post, $30,000 a year is well below the average income that you would find in the United States. Thus, you have to be wise with how you spend your money.
What a $30,000 lifestyle will buy you:
If you are debt free and utilize smart money management skills, then you are able to enjoy the lifestyle you want.
You are able to rent in a decent neighborhood in LCOL.
You should be able to meet your basic expenses each and every month.
Save money with the 50 envelope challenge.
Not be able to afford many of the fun spending luxuries.
Ability to make sure that saving money is a priority, and very possibly save $1000 in 52 weeks.
When A $30,000 Salary Will Hold you Back:
However, if you are riddled with debt or unable to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, then living off of 30k a year is going to be pretty darn difficult.
There are two factors that will keep holding you back:
You must pay off debt and cut all fun spending and extra expenses.
Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
It is possible to get ahead with money!
It just comes with proper money management skills and a desire to have less stress around money. That is a winning combination regardless of your income level.
$30K a year Budget – Example
As always, here at Money Bliss, we focus on covering our basic expenses plus saving and giving first, and then our goal is to eliminate debt. The rest of the money leftover is left for fun spending.
If you want to know how to manage 30k salary the best, then this is a prime example for you to compare your spending.
You can compare your budget to the ideal household budget percentages.
recommended budget percentages based on $30000 a year salary:
Category
Ideal Percentages
Sample Monthly Budget
Giving
10%
$125
Savings
15-25%
$375
Housing
20-30%
$725
Utilities
4-7%
$100
Groceries
5-12%
$209
Clothing
1-4%
$25
Transportation
4-10%
$88
Medical
5-12%
$150
Life Insurance
1%
$13
Education
1-4%
$25
Personal
2-7%
$25
Recreation / Entertainment
3-8%
$50
Debts
0% – Goal
$0
Government Tax (including Income Taxes, Social Security & Medicare)
15-25%
$591
Total Gross Monthly Income
$2,250
**In this budget, prioritization was given to basic expenses and no debt.
Is $30,000 a year a Good Salary?
As we stated earlier if you are able to make $30,000 a year, that is a low salary. You are making around or just above minimum wage.
While 30000 is a decent salary just starting out in your working years, it is a salary that you want to rapidly increase before your expenses go up or the people you provide for increase. If not, you will be left working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
However, too many times people get stuck in the lifestyle trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses, and their lifestyle desires get out of hand compared to their salary. And what they thought used to be a great salary actually is not making ends meet at this time.
This $30k salary would be considered a lower class salary. You must make each dollar count in your budget.
Check: Are you in the middle class?
In fact, this income level in the United States has enough buying power to put you in the top 95 percentile globally for per person income (source).
The question you need to ask yourself with your 30k salary is:
Am I maxed at the top of my career?
Is there more income potential?
What obstacles do I face if I want to try to increase my income?
In the future years and with possible inflation, in many modest cities a 30,000 a year is not a good salary because the cost of living is so high, whereas these are some of the cities where you can make a decent living at 30,000 per year.
If you are looking for a career change, you want to find jobs paying at least 38000 a year.
Is 30k a good salary for a Single Person?
Simply put, you can make it work.
You can stretch your salary much further because you are only worried about your own expenses. A single person will spend much less than if you need to provide for someone else.
Your living expenses and ideal budget are much less. Thus, you can live comfortably on $30000 per year.
And… most of us probably regret how much money wasted when we were single. Oh well, lesson learned.
Is 30k a good salary for a family?
Many of the same principles apply above on whether $30000 is a good salary. The main difference with a family, you have more people to provide for than when you are single or have just one other person in your household.
At the 30K salary with a family, you would need more than one income stream to make this possible without government help.
The cost of raising a child is expensive! Any of us can relate to that!
Did you know raising a child born in 2015 is $233,610 (source). That is from birth to the age of 17 and this does not include college.
Each child can put a dent in your income, specifically $12,980 annually per child.
That means that amount of money is coming out of the income that you earned.
So, the question really remains is can you provide a good life for your family making $30,000 a year? This is the hardest part because each family has different choices, priorities, and values.
More or less, it comes down to two things:
The location where you live in.
Desire to improve your career and make more money.
Your lifestyle choices.
You will not be able to afford everything on this salary.
Many times when raising a family, it is helpful to have a dual-income household. That way you are able to provide the necessary expenses if both parties were making 30,000 per year, then the combined income for the household would be $60,000. Thus making your combined salary a very good income.
Learn how much money a family of 4 needs in each state.
Can you Live on 30000 Per Year?
As we outlined earlier in the post, $30000 a year:
$14.42 Per Hour
$115-144 Per Day (depending on length of day worked)
$577 Per Week
$1,154 Per Biweekly
$2,500 Per Month
Next up is making $32000 a year!
Like anything else in life, you get to decide how to spend, save and give your money.
That is the difference for each person on whether or not you can live a lower-class lifestyle depends on many potential factors. If you live in California or New Jersey you are gonna have a tougher time than Oklahoma or even Texas.
In addition, if you are early in your career, starting out around 29,000 a year, that is an okay place to be getting your career. However, if you have been in your career for over 20 years and still making $30K, then you probably need to look at asking for pay increases, picking up a second job, or finding a different career path.
Regardless of the wage that you make, if you are not able to live the lifestyle that you want, then you have to find ways to make it work for you. Everybody has choices to make.
But one of the things that can help you the most is to stick to our ideal household budget percentages to make sure you stay on track.
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