3 ms·

Maybe in the US. Maybe. Here in the UK, after tax, $50K/yr doesn't even cover my mortgage, and I live in a house that over 100 years ago, according to the 1911

by nly 3y ago

Maybe in the US. Maybe. Here in the UK, after tax, $50K/yr doesn't even cover my mortgage, and I live in a house that over 100 years ago, according to the 1911 census, supported a family of 5 on a carriage drivers single income. I earn a top 1% salary as a dev and retirement will still be 20-25 years away for me under ideal conditions - i.e. a 40% savings rate.

badpun 3y ago
I'm guessing a bus driver in 1911 was kind of a high skill job, sort of like software development is now. How many people could drive a car back then, let alone a bus?
- nly 3y ago
  Omnibus (i.e. carriage) driver.
- TylerE 3y ago
  Carriage as in the horse drawn variety
Jach 3y ago
My condolences, outside the US is definitely harder. At least you can still invest in the S&P 500.
ZephyrBlu 3y ago
What's a top 1% salary in the UK?
- nly 3y ago
  This will give you an idea. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/percentile-points-from-1-to-99-for-total-income-before-and-after-tax https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/percentile-points-f... In US terms somewhere around $240K USD, before tax.
  - ZephyrBlu 3y ago
    Sounds like you have a really expensive lifestyle man. Even most US devs don’t make $240k USD.
    - tuscen 3y ago
      He said he's in the UK. So his net income is somewhere around 120k USD. It's big money, but not that much.
      - ZephyrBlu 3y ago
        When I calculate the post-tax income for $240k USD in SF it comes out to $155k: https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#SLKSXKDmnm https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#SLKSX.... $120k is also an underestimate given that the top tax bracket in the UK is only 45%. If you apply that, you get $132k (Still an underestimate). $132k is roughly in the same ballpark as $155k. It's not like the difference between the same income in the US and UK is 50%, and even if you were on $120k USD net that's the same as the median gross income of a SWE in the US. I don't understand where "not that much" is coming from.
        tuscen 3y ago
        It's coming from housing prices in London and SF. Also energy prices in the UK the last few years grew considerably. I agree it's a lot of money, but given how much it costs to buy a house or an apartment in London and SF I'd say it's not that much if you want to retire early. I used London and SF in these examples because it's hard to find jobs with that much compensation outside them. And this is all without considering kids. You'll probably want them to have a good education and not struggle all their life from student loan debt so you better save some of your income for them.
        ZephyrBlu 3y ago
        All I hear is "I earn a 1% income and want to live a 1% lifestyle". Yes, if that is what you do with your income of course it's "not that much". Nice house in London/SF = $$$ Kids = $$$ "good education" (I.e. nice schools) = $$$ No student debt for your kids = $$$ Retire early = $$$ This seems like a classic "3 options, pick 2" kind of scenario. You can never have it all at the max level (Except maybe if you're a billionaire).

by nly 3y ago

badpun 3y ago

I'm guessing a bus driver in 1911 was kind of a high skill job, sort of like software development is now. How many people could drive a car back then, let alone a bus?

nly 3y ago
Omnibus (i.e. carriage) driver.
TylerE 3y ago
Carriage as in the horse drawn variety

Jach 3y ago

My condolences, outside the US is definitely harder. At least you can still invest in the S&P 500.

ZephyrBlu 3y ago

What's a top 1% salary in the UK?

nly 3y ago
This will give you an idea. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/percentile-points-from-1-to-99-for-total-income-before-and-after-tax https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/percentile-points-f... In US terms somewhere around $240K USD, before tax.
- ZephyrBlu 3y ago
  Sounds like you have a really expensive lifestyle man. Even most US devs don’t make $240k USD.
  - tuscen 3y ago
    He said he's in the UK. So his net income is somewhere around 120k USD. It's big money, but not that much.
    - ZephyrBlu 3y ago
      When I calculate the post-tax income for $240k USD in SF it comes out to $155k: https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#SLKSXKDmnm https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#SLKSX.... $120k is also an underestimate given that the top tax bracket in the UK is only 45%. If you apply that, you get $132k (Still an underestimate). $132k is roughly in the same ballpark as $155k. It's not like the difference between the same income in the US and UK is 50%, and even if you were on $120k USD net that's the same as the median gross income of a SWE in the US. I don't understand where "not that much" is coming from.
      - tuscen 3y ago
        It's coming from housing prices in London and SF. Also energy prices in the UK the last few years grew considerably. I agree it's a lot of money, but given how much it costs to buy a house or an apartment in London and SF I'd say it's not that much if you want to retire early. I used London and SF in these examples because it's hard to find jobs with that much compensation outside them. And this is all without considering kids. You'll probably want them to have a good education and not struggle all their life from student loan debt so you better save some of your income for them.
        ZephyrBlu 3y ago
        All I hear is "I earn a 1% income and want to live a 1% lifestyle". Yes, if that is what you do with your income of course it's "not that much". Nice house in London/SF = $$$ Kids = $$$ "good education" (I.e. nice schools) = $$$ No student debt for your kids = $$$ Retire early = $$$ This seems like a classic "3 options, pick 2" kind of scenario. You can never have it all at the max level (Except maybe if you're a billionaire).