4 ms·

I had a coworker at my first programming job complaining how hard it was to make it on a $175,000 a year salary in the Midwest. It was nearly three times what

I had a coworker at my first programming job complaining how hard it was to make it on a $175,000 a year salary in the Midwest. It was nearly three times what I was making and I thought "I can manage with so much less, wtf is this person’s problem?"

IggleSniggle 5y ago
If they were struggling to make it on $175000, maybe they had a $200000 a year in medical bills! This is America we’re talking about after all.
- serf 5y ago
  I get that it's a tongue-in-cheek comment, but most coding positions i've ran into in the United States offer pretty comprehensive health and dental plans. If someone years ago making 175k a year coding doesn't have healthcare insurance then it's likely of their own doing either through contract renegotiation or taking a pretty damn bad benefits package for the sake of a fairly high salary for such a position.
  - jjav 5y ago
    > I get that it's a tongue-in-cheek comment, but most coding positions i've ran into in the United States offer pretty comprehensive health and dental plans. It's not that simple, given the health care mess in the US. I have a friend with top-shelf insurance and salary at bay area FAANG company who still has >$50K out of pocket medical costs every year.
- missedthecue 5y ago
  Their out of pocket maximum was likely no more than $10k, if that.
  - jjav 5y ago
    > Their out of pocket maximum was likely no more than $10k, if that. In the US, medical insurance out of pocket maximums don't mean it's the most you can pay. I've had years where according to the insurance company accounting my out of pocket has been less than $1000, but according to bills I actually had to pay my out of pocket was close to $10K.
ta988 5y ago
Same thing I was on a job at $30k (for a familly of two, in a big city) and one of the bosses came and started to complain to a few of us with the same salary (some with kids) how hard it is to live with only his salary of $180k and his wife salary of $100k. Many wealthy people have absolutely no clue. Another person in that same job was complaining he was not able to make it with a $70k salary. Turns out after talking, he was taking Uber to go to work (1mile away directly on a line of public transport), always ordered food on stuff like grubhub amd was maxing out credit card all the time... I kept seeing people with >$70k salaries that were absolutely unable to save. Another one worked there for 20 years, with his $180k salary (started above $100k) he told me that he had 0 saving, no health expenses besides tiny stuff and no home ownership. Some people are just really bad at managing their money. Or maybe they are good at managing their immediate comfort and don't plan ahead... not sure.
mbrodersen 5y ago
The problem is that people (in general) always want more than they can afford. Which is why some people making (say) $1million a year struggle because they take on too much debt and have trouble paying down the interest. Millionaires go bankrupt all the time.

IggleSniggle 5y ago

If they were struggling to make it on $175000, maybe they had a $200000 a year in medical bills! This is America we’re talking about after all.

serf 5y ago
I get that it's a tongue-in-cheek comment, but most coding positions i've ran into in the United States offer pretty comprehensive health and dental plans. If someone years ago making 175k a year coding doesn't have healthcare insurance then it's likely of their own doing either through contract renegotiation or taking a pretty damn bad benefits package for the sake of a fairly high salary for such a position.
- jjav 5y ago
  > I get that it's a tongue-in-cheek comment, but most coding positions i've ran into in the United States offer pretty comprehensive health and dental plans. It's not that simple, given the health care mess in the US. I have a friend with top-shelf insurance and salary at bay area FAANG company who still has >$50K out of pocket medical costs every year.
missedthecue 5y ago
Their out of pocket maximum was likely no more than $10k, if that.
- jjav 5y ago
  > Their out of pocket maximum was likely no more than $10k, if that. In the US, medical insurance out of pocket maximums don't mean it's the most you can pay. I've had years where according to the insurance company accounting my out of pocket has been less than $1000, but according to bills I actually had to pay my out of pocket was close to $10K.

ta988 5y ago

Same thing I was on a job at $30k (for a familly of two, in a big city) and one of the bosses came and started to complain to a few of us with the same salary (some with kids) how hard it is to live with only his salary of $180k and his wife salary of $100k. Many wealthy people have absolutely no clue. Another person in that same job was complaining he was not able to make it with a $70k salary. Turns out after talking, he was taking Uber to go to work (1mile away directly on a line of public transport), always ordered food on stuff like grubhub amd was maxing out credit card all the time... I kept seeing people with >$70k salaries that were absolutely unable to save. Another one worked there for 20 years, with his $180k salary (started above $100k) he told me that he had 0 saving, no health expenses besides tiny stuff and no home ownership. Some people are just really bad at managing their money. Or maybe they are good at managing their immediate comfort and don't plan ahead... not sure.

mbrodersen 5y ago

The problem is that people (in general) always want more than they can afford. Which is why some people making (say) $1million a year struggle because they take on too much debt and have trouble paying down the interest. Millionaires go bankrupt all the time.