Why You'll (Probably) Never Make Enough Money

[@VincentChan]

💵 Get my free Savings Goal Tracker + Checklist → vincentchan.co/savings-tracker/

[@mexikainz]

link is not working for me (I do get the page bur just can't download)

[@VincentChan]

check your email - you recieve the download link there @@mexikainz

[@carlcrawford161]

@@VincentChan no link, no where to put my email

[@VincentChan]

do you have any javascript or ad blockers on? youll need to turn those off to see the submit box @@carlcrawford161

[@gvabbie]

@@mexikainz😊

[@barbarar5869]

We need to normalize a simple lifestyle and stop normalizing debt. Huge SUVs, huge houses and private universities are simply not necessary. I live within my budget and I sleep better at night knowing that if I lose my job tomorrow, I'll be fine. I didn't buy the biggest house. I bought the one I could comfortably repay

[@jasonfigueroa6890]

wow this is the best comment i’ve read ever

[@timwidner8751]

Yeah can being frugal be sexy please? recently mentioned that I'm frugal to a young woman and she gave me the weirdest look... Being financially responsible is looked down on

[@27blanx]

@@timwidner8751leave her. Find a women who’s sexy and smart. It’s difficult but she’s out there!

[@jargooey]

I wish I could find it, but I remember reading a study once that claimed financially insolvent men had 1.5-2x more sexual partners than their financially solvent counterparts.

[@Madchris8828]

I think people should also seriously look into investing of some kind. Something that brings money back to your pocket, real estate, stocks, whatever can bring back value to their bank account rather than draining it. Obviously investing has its risks but so does just having money in depreciating assets or straight up liabilities.

[@TwiztedHarlequin]

Man, these numbers are wild. I'm German and I live in a 50m²= 538.1955ft² apartment and I'm paying 390€ = 420.17 USD for the whole thing, auxiliarity costs like heating / trash / wastewater etc included. To get a reference : If you work a minimum wage job here in a regular 40 hour 5 day standart work week you'll earn somewhere just about 1500€ after taxes.

[@AnnaAtl]

Yep I'm in the wrong country.

[@jeziahchevalier9012]

😢 that's amazing in the USA I work 63 hours a week and barely can house and feed my family of 4 driving a tractor trailer and delivering food too day in day out 5 days a week at 13 hours a day or more

[@IL_Bgentyl]

Don’t let us Americans fool you. Most of us have a spending issue. The acceptation is the big cities in places like Cali or New York.

[@bunnyboo6295]

Dang time to move to Germany. and I believe you all get equal treatment in health care another issue in America.

[@hugohabicht9957]

Where in Germany? On Munich that apartment will cost 1,100 USD

[@JohnMorris-ob9rz]

Great video! Not sure if you mentioned it but there are also a heck of a lot more dual income households our there than there were back in the day. So while a working man could support a whole family back in the 60s, now a majority of households are dual income and still not quite making it.

[@peternyc]

Viewers should learn economics from Michael Hudson. He wrote the book, Super Imperialism, in 1972. America's economy is centered around economic rent and speculation, not around productivity. In short, what Americans make in income is instantly absorbed by finance, insurance, and real estate, plus high taxes that have very little to show for. The entire country is just a pass through; a money laundering vehicle.

[@milt0n290]

Our taxes aren’t high 🙄 this is such an annoying misconception. We get nothing for our taxes because it all goes to the military and corporations along with the wealthy don’t pay their share. Billionaires pay less than 10% on the money they make through loopholes they lobbied. They want you poor so you work more and harder

[@tredegar4163]

So basically Neo Feudalism 🤔

[@peternyc]

@@tredegar4163 Exactly. Capitalism is a word that people think means something, but it isn't. Private property has ruled civilization since its inception. The only thing capitalism has brought is it has separated blood lines of landed aristocracy from wealth creation. Since the liberal revolution of the enlightenment, urban manufacturers have become the dominant class, overcoming the landed aristocracy. But that's it. The social evolution stopped there. We need more. It's 2023, not 1823.

[@Courtney-Alice-Gargani]

That's crazy how our salaries are going down and housing is going up. It's too bad we couldn't have salary increases and housing was more affordable. 😂.

[@VincentChan]

Yeah it's wild :( How are you doing financially speaking? Do you feel the cost of living increase?

[@Courtney-Alice-Gargani]

@@VincentChan I am doing well financially. I made good money in stocks during Covid and used that money to buy myself a house. I wish there could be something someone can do for cost of living. Everything has gone up. And me buying a house vs renting an apartment I have to maintain the house and repairs I've already put into it. 😂

[@smartphysicalfitness444]

Google told me Americans average annual salary is $59,428, and I bet you everything it's lower than that.

[@TioMogi]

Careful about average vs median. Average can be very "inflated" due to the Elon musks out there. Median is more "accurate" if trying to get a picture of the exact middle salary if you lined them all up smallest to largest (which will be a bell curve)

[@mackiej]

@@TioMogi Excellent comment about average vs median. Average salary is indeed skewed up by those at the top. Old quip -- When Bill Gates walks in a bar the average guy is a multi-millionaire.

[@bunnyboo6295]

@@mackiej But don't most average adults make at least that much money majority a bet more.

[@hugohabicht9957]

Hence the median is more realistic

[@mackiej]

@@bunnyboo6295 Two janitors and Bill Gates are standing in a room. The "average" guy in the room is a multi-billionaire: ($1 +$1 + $100 billion)/3. The median (middle) guy is still a $1 janitor. See how this works?

[@danielduncan576]

I love pineapple on pizza and I don't care what anyone says about it. I really appreciate all the research you do and your insight and explanations are really top tier. Keep up the good work.

[@VincentChan]

I also love pineapple pizza!!

[@ShayKMBR]

I've been saying no owner of any company should make more than double their lowest paid employee. 300x is just too much. We have GOT to curb GREED!

[@yhckelly]

There's an easy button to all of this, but it requires swallowing your pride and skipping college. Spend the 4 years after HS living at home working FT+, investing at least 25k per yr. At the end of 4 years you'll have about 120k in any index fund you choose and 4 years experience working FT. Take your foot off the gas at about 22 yrs old and start a normal life. Never touch the fund, let it grow. It's likely you'll have a mil+ in cash producing assests by mid/late 40's. For the life of me, I can't figure out why more people don't do this.

[@NE0Nwhip]

investing w/ what low wage money?

[@MattGarcyaDC]

why more people won't invest 25,000 per year?

[@yhckelly]

​@@MattGarcyaDCsure- instead of full time college, work FT with a little OT for those years and live at home. You can easily hit 40k annually right out of high school- invest 25k per year for 4 years instead of college- then start your life at 22 yrs old with 120k worth of interest bearing assets, a job, and no debt- instead of a degree. The fund will hit a million bucks at middle age. The index fund will be worth more than any degree you could have gotten in those four years.

[@douglaskeen873]

​@@NE0NwhipInvesting doesn't require a lot of money. It just requires financial discipline, long-term perspective, and unwavering consistency. Even low-wage folks could invest something each month if they have financial discipline and little to no debt.

[@LayZeeChill]

*if you’re privileged enough to even have a family to live at home with

[@happylife7542]

When a stay at home mom brags about her and her oldest son both bought a Tesla. Dad works for the city and makes 130k. Not bad salary right. However they have another 3 young boys range from 8-12. No college savings. And owns a big house with FHA loan with a down payment of only 8k. True story of my neighbor. I guess folks cared more of what they can brag on social media than what they really have . 😢

[@Iamthenextmultimillionaire4400]

yikes. they're in deep debt

[@thumpr1]

My problem with the geographical payment thing is why should I work equally as hard as someone living in a large city, but get paid a lot less.. I understand that their living expenses are higher, but why does it feel like someone is penalized because of where they live... I had a job where I was traveling all the time and doing double duty, but was getting paid less then someone at the same job description who was living in 1 spot, not traveling and got paid more because they lived in Boston.. At the time it didn't seem fair - especially when I was barely making ends meet and was exhausted..

[@bunnyboo6295]

dude they are in the same boat with not being able to afford things and are exhausted just because the numbers are higher on their check so too are the price of everything around them.

[@tonysilke]

Putting well-earned money into the stock market can’t be over emphasized for first - time investors, unlike a bank where interest is sure thing! Well, basically times are uncertain, the market is out of control, and banks are gradually failing. I am working on a ballpark estimate of $5M for retirement, and I have a good 6-figure loaded up for this, could there be any opportunity for a boomer like me? I'm nearly 60.

[@PatrickLloyd-]

Sincerely, unless you're a cunning person yourself, it's better to seek advice at this time. We're in a severe recession, and people are running out of money, as I can attest from my experience as an eBay reseller of all product categories and a business owner in the service sector.

[@PhilipDunk]

I wholeheartedly concur, which is why I appreciate giving an investment coach the power of decision-making. Given their specialized expertise and education, as well as the fact that each and every one of their skills is centered on harnessing risk for its asymmetrical potential and controlling it as a buffer against certain unfavorable developments, it is practically impossible for them to underperform. I have made over 1.5 million dollars working with an investment coach for more than two years.

[@Nernst96]

Do you mind sharing info on the adviser who assisted you? been saving for pension since age 18 - company scheme. along the way I hit higher tax, so I added to my company pension with a SIPP (tax benefits) I'm 50 now and would love to grow my finance more aggressively, there are a few cars I still wish to drive, a few mega holidays.

[@PhilipDunk]

Her name is “Vivian Carol Gioia” can't divulge much. Most likely, the internet should have her basic info, you can research if you like

[@Nernst96]

Thanks, I just googled her and I'm really impressed with her credentials. I reached out to her since I need all the assistance I can get.

[@user-if9up7rp6p]

Isn't the number in the study for how much the study says you need after taxes? $68k after taxes is closer to $80-85k pretax, which is higher than the median income

[@schuylergeery-zink1923]

Most of our expenses are just to cover living costs with what’s considered an average salary ~$5,000 per month take home pay in the Midwest. My income fluctuates so sometimes it’s more but that’s the conservative amount we budget around. We bought a small house 1,200 sq ft in the country and our housing cost is less now than renting in the city. I’d also dispute the rent cost thing - our rent went up $100 per month every year (due to property tax increases and inflation) and we paid $60,000 to the apartment in 4 years. At least with our mortgage it’s locked in so the only increase we see is slight property tax and insurance increases. The apartment would squeeze everyone for property tax, insurance, and inflation through rent hikes (increase of $1,200 per year!) It’s so much better to pay yourself first even for a small house. Medical debt is insidious - we owe almost $2,000! It’s hit and miss what insurance will even cover. But the market price for these things would be much more affordable if we didn’t have subsidized monopolies that can fix the price. I’m thankful my husband has the opportunity to work overtime rn bc the company is behind on projects 😮‍💨 and I pick up gigs (play music with my band) where I can! Every little bit helps us pay off debt faster so we focus on investing again. Every time we get a salary increase it’s just keeping up with our expenses and holding our heads above water. But at least we ARE treading water. I’m just very meticulous about our budget, grocery shopping at ALDIs and meal prep, and we have virtually no entertainment budget - we usually find free things or watch movies off Plex that our friend downloads 🙃 yah we don’t even pay for streaming! We are stable and appreciate what we have, it’s just not SECURE. Driving 2 older vehicles to save there but they have a higher repair cost, too. There’s always a balance…

[@joncena168]

Stockholders should fire any CEO whose not compensating fairly to their employees (adjusted by inflation)

[@SyphonGaming]

A huge problem is payments. I see people who drive the same distance and work the same job making the same amount of money where one person drives a $15k car they got used at $500 a month and the other drives a brand new $70k vehicle with a payment of $600. They difference of $100 doesnt mean anything its the amount of months you are paying for on the vehicle. The person with the more expensive car will think they can afford better or do better then the other person as they have something more expensive but they both drive exactly the same

[@bunnyboo6295]

hey everyone has a different idea of what's more important to them the person that feels the need for the more expensive cars might have other factors in their life that make it more a necessity things like family size big family means you need more seating. Also the person that wants to invest in a more comfortable care maybe buys cheaper food then the other perhaps the other person values health foods or choose to put their money in something else that they feel is of more value to them. the person with the car might feel outward appearance is of top importance where the other guy might prefer their hobby's and inward needs

[@misterbanshee7992]

Instead of a 70k car I’d put that into a house lol

[@j10001]

4:55 FYI I believe down payment and credit worthiness standards and underwriting standards for mortgages were significantly different back in the 1970s and definitely were before that. I understand that in the early part of the 1900s for example, a 50% down payment was typically required. Mortgages were not packaged and sold on the secondary market and instead were made and held by local banks. Bankers didn’t have electronic credit bureau records and would judge credit worthiness by interviewing you, talking to people who know you, and literally looking at if you were well groomed with polished shoes. It was very different. I know my parents were together at that time with high school educations and most definitely were nowhere close to being able to buy a house; quite the opposite. I’d love someone to put together a great video on this. Too many people today are butter that it was so easy back then, but there weren’t such smooth mass market systems for access to credit then (like we have now for student loans, credit cards, mortgages). Food and clothing costs were relatively higher back then. And there were far fewer government safety nets in society. Large numbers of people did not have health insurance; in fact many did not have phones (or electricity in parts of the country). Phones were fairly expensive and you still paid by the minute for long distance calls, which could be a couple counties away. Houses were less safe and had lead paint everywhere. In short, things were financially different in good and bad ways. Every generation has had to sacrifice and work to get ahead!

[@ozemg32_ozem_goldwire]

In case you may not know, Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919 and he wasn't alive anymore in 1929. Just giving you heads up on history. Thank you so very much for such valuable information concerning this matter we all need to know. Take good care. 😊

[@VincentChan]

You're right! I meant to say in August 1912 :) Thanks

[@LowkeyNeo]

I was going to comment on this, but I found that you already did this

[@angelasoWA]

Cars, the cost of owning a car, insurance, gas is extremely high. The best thing to buy a Honda Civic and drive it for 10 years. A gen Xer spends the most because they need a larger home for their 2-3 kids!

[@Martyr217]

I earn only $32600 (in Scotland) and I'm very comfortable. This time last year I had only $900 in the bank, and now this year I have $14000 and it's growing quick. I just invest, work and live in my lane (for now) 😜

[@VincentChan]

That's amazing! curious what's the average salary in scotland?

[@tg530]

The median is around $35k ~ and average close to $41.5k~ @@VincentChan

[@Madchris8828]

That's bada$$. Good job 👏

[@druid5561]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@VincentChan£35,518 or $44,935 USD. Average cost of living in Scotland is $1,897. If 32,600 was his gross, his average take home would be £26,444 or $33,454. $2,787 monthly net income. After all necessary expenses he’s left with 36% of his income.

[@gstar876]

Is the $74k median household income after or before taxes. If it's before taxes which I suspect it is, then it is less than the after tax $68k needed for the 20 major cities.

[@christosemper8715]

You don’t mention that massive amounts of immigration are increasing competition for jobs driving down pay and driving up costs.

[@fizzle123]

Everybody please get the word out about this. This is actually a very profound and important discovery!

[@foodlover8151]

Your video is one of the most thorough explanation of the economic landscape. All of us should use your video as talking points to push legislative change. I was not happy when our leaders passed unlimited H1B visas. It allowed companies to massively layoff and suppress America's wages. We need to make our politicians work for us.

[@4-SeasonNature]

H1B visas have always been limited. Where did you get the information?

[@foodlover8151]

@4-SeasonNature H1B visas for India were passed under Trump to be unlimited. The bill was written by Kamala and Mike Lee (?).

[@MarketingHarry]

Personally fascinated by your insightful financial analysis! Thanks for the extensive research you've put in! Your videos continue to be a go-to source for valuable information!

[@fabioarias4846]

Crazy that so many Americans can’t cover 1000$ in an emergency. If you own a home that’s it’s impossible to live like that. Roof needs to be replaced? 12,000$, heater goes out? 1500$, need an ambulance? 4000$. So many people are one accident away from financial ruin.

[@lloydwaters1888]

Vincent my mother was able to buy 3 cans of Campbell's tomatoe soup for $1.00 in the 70's. One can today cost $3.00. Wow !

[@ligbzd837]

Frankly, not alot...if you share housing with family. But if you want to have all the latest gadgets and luxury and live alone, then yeah, you need a lot of money to do it alone.

[@chrisballUKtoNZ]

I earn 72k NZD or 44k USD. I rent in Central, nice apartment. I travel for holidays. I save 55% of my income. Americans waste so much money it's unbelievable.

[@cameronwoods7891]

Good video. However couldn't help but notice you're using inconsistent statistics. Comparing median salary to average expenses isn't a true apples to apples comparison. Same reason why ppl don't use average salary - the average is frequently pulled up by the highest earners. Same probably happening with average expenses and making this look worse than it really is

[@albongo3949]

The average American not having $1000 in case of emergency should be a sounding alarm everywhere.

[@Andysfishing]

"It's not your fault", ha ha, that's why "you" can't get on top of it. Take responsibility for your actions. Be the creator of your own future.

[@riverat7558]

As far as I can tell your biggest expense are taxes.

[@Steven-xf8mz]

I got married about 10 years ago where our income is about $100K a year pretax and our annual spending housing was $55K-$60K excluding car. I had a new car, so car hasn't been a part of the expense other than insurance and variable costs. Fast forward 10 years, I just bought a new car for about $22K after trading in the car I was referring to earlier, because I don't know enough about cars to do my own repairs and i don't want to deal with headache of dealing with broken car, i have more important things like dealing with work instead of dealing with a broken car. Now our household annual pretax income is in the $250K - $300K range, but our annual spending is in the $65K-$70K excluding car. Based on the 2 cars i have had so far, I would say a car outside of repair and stuff can be depreciated over 15 years or so, which is about another $1.5K annually. The point I am trying to make is that it's not about how much do Americans need, it's about how much Americans can budget and learn to live within their means. My Year to Date personal spending is through end of November is exactly $1288.19 (i track every penny of our spending), this includes personal computer, shoes, both personal and work clothes, games, etc.. So tell me why do people need to budget $300 a month on personal care? I am sure everyone want to be more comfortable, and frankly I think people should live a good life. I think my problem with what I just said right now is that i do not believe that's a right, it's more a privilege we have to earn before we can use it. At every stage of comfortability, there is always a step up to the next comfortable level. I can choose to fly basic economy forever and think to myself that premium economy with 2 more inches would be great to have on this 10 hour flight, vs I'm sitting in premium economy thinking the business class would be a great experience. The point is greed has no boundary, best to live within our mean to keep ourself from regretting it. In case people are curious and think that my example aren't realistic, I have only lived in NJ, NYC, and Boston. These are very high cost living places, so it's not like I have some sort of geographical advantage.

[@TioMogi]

I totally agree with your sentiment, however I think it also comes down to people's priorities. If you prioritize "self care" more and allocate a larger sum of your budget towards that, then you can't budget as much for subscriptions or need to be more frugal with food costs etc. There has to be a give and take when you have a fixed income coming in. It can't be all "take"... The problem is people feel like they "deserve" everything now at the detriment of their investments/savings/future.

[@jchikes247]

You realize your rich right? You don’t have a normal American income…

[@TioMogi]

@@jchikes247 1) whoosh you totally missed the point of ops comment. 2) wahhh crying about it won't don't anything to change your situation

[@Seelingfahne]

Amazing that the Living Wage Calculator is obviously not representative of anything besides “not starving and being sheltered”, yet forms the basis for so much policy and business strategy. There’s only so much ignorance can explain here.

[@Distortic]

So much of this is built on pre pandemic cost, before the recent explosion in housing cost, before rate hikes made things even worse.

[@joefunk76]

Technology-based productivity gains, by definition, are gains made without additional human labor. Corporate databases in the 70’s, PCs in the 80’s, cell phones in the 90’s, Internet in the 00’s, smartphones in the 10’s, and now AI in the 20’s all served to create increasingly outsized profits for corporations. Given that the C-suite and BOD decide where all of that extra profit goes, why would they give any of it to the worker, who didn’t work any more or harder to generate all that additional profit? Well, they wouldn’t - and they didn’t.💀

[@cliftonodom3059]

Why would anybody work at a field where they can't buy a house at 25? And then complain that they can't buy a house.

[@tranger4579]

Im a financial coach. First thing I do set people that are struggling with financial matters and I mean people that have low paying jobs with minimal expenses not some soccer mom driving around in a large truck or Cadillac bus is that 98 percent of the stuff out there for sale is non essential. Yes 98 percent of the junk people buy is non essential. The major screw over is where they start inflating the essentials.

[@apelle92]

Isn't median (household) income based on a pre-tax figure? The 68k figure that was quoted to live comfortably is after-tax, closer to 95k ish pre-tax income. That's why it's not adding up.

[@pc-ft9dy]

make 75k, spend 76k. make 1million, spend 1.1M lol. doesnt matter how much you make, if you don't have the right mindset

[@JOESUBA122]

I am so happy I am debt free and live under my means! I have a cash car, a cash motorcycle and I have emergency money just incase and I save my money and invest in stocks! And when I was younger I blew so much money! SMH

[@Desiree_Rose]

Videos like this make me wonder how my family of 4 even survives. Our highest take home is less than $3k a month (40hr work week btw) (1 income, I'm a homemaker). We're 4 years from a paid off mortgage, we have all our needs and most of our wants. My kids are totally content (14 and 19). None of us feel poor. We live in Western Oregon. I genuinely feel sorry for people who feel poor and make more than we do. If we made that average $74k, our home would be paid off by now. And yes, we have a 6 month emergency fund and are debt free other than the mortgage. Maybe you guys should follow Dave Ramseys plan? It really helped us in the beginning...

[@DucklengUgly]

@@Desiree_Rosedepends on when you bought your home it doesnt sound like you face the same issues as young first time home buyers today facing record high home prices coupled with a deadly interest rate that will eat up more than 33% of their take home

[@Desiree_Rose]

We bought our home in 2017. Prices were definitely lower, interest rates were mediocre (we didn't refinance during the lows of the pandemic). However, I will say even though our home was cheaper, it took up more than 50% of our take home pay JUST to pay the mortgage, due to our low income. 30ish% would've been a dream.

[@Desiree_Rose]

Also, we were early-mid 30s when we bought a home. I wouldn't call that old. No one is forcing young people to buy a home right now. It's a horrible time to buy with these crazy interest rates.

[@OmegaVideoGameGod]

There’s always a way to make money you just have to learn a skill and advertise to everybody you’ll be shocked how much more money you can make

[@KevinEF]

What are the major expenses based on? Living in an expensive city? None of the expenses made sense and I live in a city. I'm also budgeting for 2 people. My housing + utilities is $1500, transportation is closer to $250, food for 2 is $400, healthcare is $300, student loan payment is $300(this one was close), and credit card bills only appear if you had no emergency fund or wasted money. Rest of the video makes sense

[@hyperberry739]

The question is not how much I earn compared to my parents, it's how much do I make relative to the cost of... Potatos, Gold, or Wood compared to my parents.

[@StrategikMedia]

Such a good and current video I thought i was trippin. Yea the economy is all bad. People weren't even at the bars on Football Sunday yesterday! People are struggling

[@YTWine29]

Yea I agree with people here, in this day in age people want to look rich buying things that they damn well they cannot afford but continue to be financially stupid, what do you guys think?

[@evilds3261]

I wish more people lived beneath their means - pretending they did not have the money they did when budgeting. Pretending to be poor to get rich.

[@TheSushiandme]

... I did over $150k+ this year... im poor asf 😢😢😢

[@iamme7664]

How sway?

[@philsmith7398]

Would you be able to re-jig the living wage calculator so it actually reflects the real world? It could take off and be a real force for change.

[@sylvialb9823]

Does the 233k refer to household income or is it for each working adult? (I tracked down the source but didn't find a clue there either; maybe they didn't differentiate this is the survey, which wouldn't be great survey design.) I have to say, that number is wild. I could see that being true as a household income for a family in an urban area on the west coast to live comfortably. But how on earth is this a national average?

[@Tm-bj2sq]

Household

[@RebeccaEvans]

It's the Mr. Magic Lamp breakdown for me

[@322dawgg]

It's hard to predict the future until we see this month’s inflation results. However, historical data consistently show that stocks tend to outperform bonds in the long term. Therefore, I'm staying in the market and focusing on selecting high-quality stocks. The challenge lies in identifying these stocks.

[@user-3456rtu]

Staying in touch with a financial advisor was my effective tactics. During the pandemic, I outperformed the market, earning about $200k in four months. Its been a remarkable few years for me with my advisor .

[@Marthas-r4c]

A colleague once proposed the idea of diversification to me, hopefully for positive results to offset any negative performance. At once, I backed it up using an advisor in order to avoid any fiasco. As of today, my portfolio has yielded over $450k in profits, from an initial $180k this year alone... maybe you should do the same.

[@loud9090]

impressive gains! how can I get your advisor please, if you dont mind me asking? I could really use a help as of now

[@Marthas-r4c]

My advisor is Nicole Desiree Simon You can easily look her up, she has years of financial market experience.

[@loud9090]

I just googled her and I'm really impressed with her credentials; I reached out to her since I need all the assistance I can get. I just scheduled a caII.

[@user-tb7rn1il3q]

If a roof leaks or the taxes go up the landlord will increase the rent to pay for it.

[@coryascott]

I live in one of those alternate universes where I save a couple hundred thousand dollars by buying a townhouse instead of a single family home and living closer to places I need to be so I don’t need to use a car for transportation. Nothing you said wasn’t true, but is entirely centered around a typical American’s lifestyle which is based on extreme levels of consumption and waste.

[@mwin86]

You said "$68,499 after taxes to live comfortably, but $74,580 median household is gross before taxes. So yeah, you need median household of about $90,000 gross to live at $68,580

[@mmmd3429]

This is why unions are important.

[@evilds3261]

However, unions are stigmatized due to cultural preconceptions. What we need is a cultural revolution where workers collectively demand higher wages and salaries or else withhold labour from corporations and businesses as individuals rather than as a collective entity that can not stop businesses from closing locations or making living conditions worse for those who join said union. We need to make it so that there is nowhere for them to run. The majority should dictate what the de-facto minimum wage should be without the input of policymakers who are bought and sold by lobbyists and interest groups.

[@maquijaam5083]

I think it's safe to say that the "trickle-down theory" does NOT work

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

We already are super frugal and poor and homeless but we can’t afford to pay our medical bills still.

[@fredfinger7092]

7:43 I object to this way of dividing "generations". Both I and my FATHER are boomers but my slightly younger BROTHER is Gen-X. Really? How's that work?

[@Captain_Jack711]

The main reason for things becoming more expensive is because of government interference

[@Bob-cd5pp]

This CEO wage gap is really sick in Japan it is MUCH different.

[@rnt45t1]

This year I spent $17,613 on my living expenses. That includes housing, insurance, utilities, gas, food, everything. Averaged out to a little under $1,500 a month. In 2023. I am single, no kids, I don't date, and I don't drink. I live alone, work from home, and lead a very minimalist life. I work out, work, work on my house, that's it. All the money I made beyond taxes and living expenses was spent on my home renovations I'm doing myself. You absolutely can live on very little.

[@Wewereneveryoung]

Yeah you can do that but ill be damned if I don't splurge on myself with food.

[@robbro3589]

You can live in your car, or better yet under a park bench.

[@rnt45t1]

@@robbro3589 I own my house outright.

[@rnt45t1]

@@Wewereneveryoung You don't need to eat a lot. I refuse to eat out, it's all crap food anyway. I eat a pound of beef a day and a ton of eggs.

[@alwayzsmarter]

Same but it's miserable and I want a gf, house, fam, friends, etc. I choose a miserable life cause I can't justify taking on the "fun" expenditures

[@unpopularopinion9831]

Depends where you live, I just looked at a 3k sqft house in Parsons, KS for 30k, nice house could use updates, but completely fine as is. WFH job at 20/hour, a paid off older Honda Civic and a paid off house and you don't need to make much at all...

[@Manx123]

wtf is paying $1500 a months from education? That sounds like bullshit.

[@Kimsunmaher]

How much does everyone make

[@maryrekar2150]

What an awesome job on living wage. Very eye opening! Thank you

[@VincentChan]

thank you! what are your thoughts on the living wage now?

[@00deadmoney41]

@@VincentChan get over it

[@Hornygirl2726]

Lol in Germany you belong to the richest 10percentage If you make 70k /year. Germany has very high taxes Like health,free Education and high cost for the social system that means that there is not much left at the end.

[@VincentChan]

interesting! what's the average salary in germany?

[@Hornygirl2726]

@@VincentChan 45k/year.. which is like 2,3k after taxes depending If you are married or have children etc

[@silferbuu86]

​@@Hornygirl2726if the taxes are so high, how are the living standards? Proportionate to the after taxxed income?

[@Nickalaich]

"In a perfect market this would lead to proportional increase in labor income" Capitalist: 🤨

[@tramhuynh7883]

Awesome video! I'm not certain if you touched upon this, but there's a significant increase in dual-income households compared to the past. In the 1960s, a single working individual could sustain an entire family. However, nowadays, the majority of households have two incomes and are still struggling to make ends meet.

[@EllaisSwift11]

I actually stubbed my toe a bit hard two weeks ago, whenever it bumps something it ends in immense pain😂😂

[@geigertec5921]

Me need more money, I only make $122k, not even enough to buy one Lambo per year.

[@ballergame1017]

Lamborghini are waste of money unless you getting paid to drive them.

[@fortgrove3166]

Moral of story - become a CEO lol

[@JessMN1974]

You lost me when you tried to complain that a living wage doent include vacations and eating out. No shit, it's a living wage not a comfortable wage

[@mrajoris]

one note: $68499 needed in NYC is AFTER TAX. So family of two must make $89,499 then take all possible deductions to get those $68K. So nothing is weird, $89K is more than real median household income of $74K. To be real - with only $68499 after tax income it would very tough to survive in NYC.

[@donhansen1175]

International trade brought competition from foreign workers. Don Hansen

[@marshallsheets2]

Wow what an incredible video. Thank your for putting your time into this.

[@I_Was_Chrispy_Kreme]

I wondered who sponsored the MIT survey…..this is the problem with the US too many shadowy vested interests

[@albongo3949]

6 days a week 2 jobs and still feels like it’s not enough

[@JHT99]

Great video, but I think you got the year wrong with Theodore Roosevelt. In 1929, Theodore Roosevelt had already been dead and it was his relative Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was active in the political arena.

[@LiamRappaport]

Maybe someone should petition MIT to change the name to MIT's Barely Scraping By Calculator?

[@karlstrauss2330]

If you live in Cali or NY then over 200K is absolutely necessary

[@ellenatran4674]

deeply appreciating the thorough research!!

[@bigwildonion]

Always appreciate your analysis!

[@Donkeyearsa]

The reason that rent and mortgage payments are so different is that most renters rent a two bedroom apartment where most home owners own a single family house. If you actually compared apples to apples and oranges to oranges then you would find owning is actually far cheaper. As for wages when a peon goes to his boss and says "I demand a rase or I will quit" his boss will laugh in his face and tell him to get back to work or he will be fired. If the CEO demands a rase or he will quit the board of directors are shitting them selfs hopping that they can comes up with enough money to pay him off. It's a matter of can the company easily replace the person that decides what they are paid.

[@patriciamay6396]

Americans pay a lot of money for things they do not need. Really need. Most of us have wY too much stuff. A lower income can work well if you are smart about your purchases but few people can budget and stick to it

[@ax78360]

Why comparing mean spending with median income ? Two different units, in the mean spending, rich people’s spending are counted making everything wrong

[@Goldman_Bernstein]

The title says "Need", but I'm seeing a whole lot of "wants!"

[@DanDan-ow7nl]

Food cost is massively influenced by cooking home and making coffee at home instead of eating out -save the $5 per day at Starbucks and you have$1,250 more dollars to save-presto-emergency fund-save for years and you have a vacation fund-if two college graduates are only earning $80k/year -you wasted your money on a degree

[@Dave-yw2wc]

Per capita if you adjust for inflation millennials weren't doing any worse than boomers. For our age were doing about the same as boomers were. Essentially Millennials and Boomers wealth is in-line for our age group. Boomers controlled a bigger percentage of the wealth but that's because there's more of them, if you go by wealth per person that changes. One reason housing is so much more expensive is because houses averaged about 800-1000 square feet during the boomers youth. Now the average house is over 2000 square foot so of course it will cost much more.

[@night0merchant]

1:42 I'm an adult, and I fantasize not having to drive a car to go literally ANYWHERE, but can just hop on a metro that's CONSISTENT, FREQUENT, and where I don't have to worry about getting stabbed/shot by a crazed druggie or endure the smell of feces and urine, so I don't have to spend 10 min+ looking for parking. you know, like any other developed country has

[@Liam-iv7wk]

I'm noticing more baby boomers starting to struggle into their retirement. The second half of the decade os going to be insane. Also you haven't mentioned taxes at all which easily is a quarter to half of everyone's expenses.

[@jose_carpenter87]

50% para mi no es negociable.

[@Witcheridoo]

Did you reuse the intro?

[@Mind_Breach]

The word comfortable is subjective so it’s not concrete as far as metrics to define what is comfortable standard of living.

[@bernardlynch5226]

It is always good to have a financial plan. I work with a professional planner and fixed-income strategist in NY. The fixed income portion of your portfolio won't simply serve as a buffer to the volatility of the equity portion of your portfolio, but will provide legitimate income.

[@epicbluerat9999]

Bruh a dunkin coffee and big Mac isn't 100.00 come on. Other than that, sounds legit.

[@paulpasman9341]

We need A new living wage....and Americans need to live simply

[@veryexperiencedcamel]

Unionize every company over 20 employees