Why Top Earners Are Completely Broke

[@cruiseshipforme4546]

I remember when my wife and I first hit $100k income. Our household budget allowed us $10/month. One of the kids caught a cold and we couldn’t afford to buy the medicine! It was terrifying. Thank goodness we found Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace. I now have a $2500 auto repair bill and it is simply an annoyance. I hate to hit my emergency fund for the cash but can easily replenish it because we don’t have any DEBT. Thanks Dave and team!

[@AllThingsMoneyandTech]

I have a sinking fund in addition to the emergency fund to cover these expenses that come up that aren’t huge emergencies but are unexpected

[@neuralismgamingtv4511]

Imagine if you knew about the one world government and the Illuminati in the 80s and still thought it was a good idea to have kids, then your entire life would just be one long pathetic mental breakdown. The government made sure to find a way to 'prove' that people really are pathetic and fragile.

[@cruiseshipforme4546]

I have a friend whose son went to tech school for welding. 1 year of school. He came out and got a job with a starting salary of $86k! We are a trucking and distribution hub and the welders that make or repair the trailers are in high demand. I have 5 college degrees. If I had it to do over I would have chosen a trade over a health degree.

[@AO-nr7kl]

Downsize your consumption...otherwise known as 'Stop buying sh*t.

[@ConstructionHoney]

100%

[@9liveslisa]

Live below your means and sock money away like a squirrel. Rainy days happen............and frequently.

[@hansmoleman9720]

Earning even close to 54k after high school is nearly impossible as a mechanic. It takes years to be able to diagnose and repair cars. At best they will be doing oil changes and tire installations with the occasional brake job here and there. Those jobs pay slightly better than minimum wage, not the Book time a professional mechanic makes. Another common mistake parents make is they send their sons into the profession thinking it's 1975 because they aren't going to college. These cars aren't your grandpa's Oldsmobile, you can't fix them with a hammer. We need motivated young people with a passion for cars and the desire to learn and get their hands dirty. Nearly all mechanics nowadays have an education post HS graduation in addition to thousands of dollars in tools and equipment. Just a former ASE Master Tech's two cents.

[@baileymaloney1961]

The reason most people making six figures are living paycheck to paycheck is because most of them live in big cities where cost of living makes their net profit less than those who make half of that in smaller cities. It’s not poor decisions, it’s poor options. & in smaller cities it is hard to make enough to have extra income. But I’d guess 80% of people living paycheck to paycheck has nothing to do with spending habits & everything to do with lack of income that makes saving feasible. You can’t save your way out of poverty. The answer is simply to earn more & that is much easier said than done.

[@farmermarshall]

Some people definitely over-value their worth as an employee. I remember being a retail manager. I had one employee who asked for a pay raise after about 2-3 weeks. He mentioned this was I was bringing him into the backroom...to fire him.

[@Bob-yh7ir]

We don't even look at education on resumes. Only work experience and then we pull in candidates and sit them down, set up real world scenarios and ask them what they would do to fix the issue or troubleshoot the issue. Most we find cannot do what they say they can do on their resumes. Out of 10 people that walk through the door, only 1 has actually done 75% of what they say they can do. Just terrible trying to hire people today.

[@midishh]

This $1000 and cutting my 6 credit cards back in 2005 was a game changer for me. Now I get anxiety at the thought of signing up for a cc...nope! No I don't want a 10% discount on my purchase...no thank you... that's how it starts.

[@kimdelaney9775]

I agree with winning with people. If you have good people skills, it makes everything so much better. BTW, Ken - ON WISCONSIN! ♥

[@joeyf6103]

Those automotive tech people actually need a good amount of schooling due to the alight of new technology implemented in new cars

[@AllThingsMoneyandTech]

There are now bachelors degrees for auto techs because of all the computer technology they need to understand

[@JTDyer21]

I have yet to understand why people work so hard for their money but spend like a drunken sailor.

[@JamesSmith-cm7sg]

When some people earn a large salary they think "I'm rich" and turn a blind eye to the real numbers. $150k salary after taxes, bills, debt and monthly living expenses is what 2-3k. Obviously to some that's a huge number but when you're in "I'm rich" mode it's easy to plough through 2-3k on fancy dinners, unnecessary home purchases, holidays etc

[@PowerfulMoneyHabits]

Stop looking like you’re wealthy and actually BE wealthy! I save and invest almost 50% of my income. It’s not difficult to do!

[@chaselesser3191]

We spend $2900 a month on Child care and Insurance That’s over $34,000 of Post tax income. $1500 mortgage $400 utilities- Texas $200 cell and internet $500 gas - 2 cars in Metro area $250 car loans $200 insurance $800 food/toiletries/pets That’s about 81,000 So I would need to make $162,000 Post tax Or about $215,000 Pre tax with 25% in taxes. Taxes might be much higher.

[@jonathanclark2160]

When it comes to winning with people, I would say yes and no. You Ken are a type A personality. You are an extrovert. So here's an analogy for you, to a hammer everything is a nail. To a wrench everything is a bolt. You are heavily biased to believe people skills are most important thing because it's in your DNA, you're a coach (and a fantastic one!). People skills are important but as a Software Engineer, my employer doesn't care that I have certain social failings. I am able to communicate technical concepts effectively to anyone and that's all that matters in that realm. For my role, its far more important that I can create solid software.

[@PatriceM14]

When people say "fake it 'til you make it," I don't think they mean lie about your experience and credentials. 🤭

[@richsamuel2922]

I worked with a member of Mensa and he wasn't very useful in the office in my opinion. So IQ doesn't seem to be that big of a deal...

[@julial1450]

Ken thanks for a good laugh 😂 😂

[@TheImperfectReader]

Love this.

[@trevorb5557]

Can you accumulate wealth and have debt at the same time? There are people that lease their cars and have a mortgage all while still maxing out their 401(k) contributions. I would assume the bigger the shovel you have (i.e. income) the more you can do. Just a thought. Now, if they had no debt they would accumulate wealth faster, but none the less I believe year over year their net worth is increasing.

[@georgewelker853]

It does increase their net worth but it’s a dangerous way to do it. It can go down a rabbit hole pretty quick. A ton of people that I know are great earners but they want to keep a car note and never see the possibility of a paid off world. They get some level of comfort in their debt

[@BlowitAllUp]

They deserve to be broke. There are plenty of poor people who are great at managing money and expenses. The problem with society is that you need people skills to make any meaningful amount of money. Only people skills matter.

[@gregallen1381]

Yes sir ! Sales (people skills) combined with the hard skills = 💰

[@KittyClark4433]

U can help somebody else obtain wealth ORRRR U can help YOURSELF obtain wealth. So either "donate" to the credit card company CEO ORRRRR donate to the company of YOU. All up to you🤔

[@jaehwan123]

Take a great physicist with no people skills vs. a terrible physicist with great people skills. The guy with no people skills wins because the terrible physicist pulls the lab down with his incompetence. The second guy can't "win with people" because people can't stand his incompetence.

[@NotMuchHere]

Most people dont understand cutting expenses ... but I need cable ... no you dont have any money ... but I need to eat out ... no you get a 50 cent box of macaroni ... but I need to forgive student debt ... no you dont have any money ... sorry what was I thinking I have a printer

[@blessings4life]

Lol😅😂

[@WeBeatMedicare6969]

One word: cocaine