Ask the Readers: Would People Be Shocked By What You Earn?

As a school speech therapist, I am paid on the teacher's salary, which is notoriously low. However, many speech therapists in private settings or medical settings are paid significantly more. So, maybe it is a little shocking that I am a speech therapist on a teacher's schedule.

However, I am fairly content with my teacher's salary, but I live in a wealthy county in Virginia with good benefits. So I am shocked that people complain so much about the little money teachers make, at least in my county. (I was just talking with a school aid who makes about 1/3 my salary, and she puts up with A LOT!)

I live in a 700-something sq foot bedroom apartment in a ritzy area, about 5 minutes downtown from Houston, Texas.

I am often seen toting around a Coach or Kate Spade bag, Stuart Weitzman shoes, and D&G sunglasses.

I am 26 years old and I make 45k a year.

The merchandise in which I am seen sporting is the reason I am in a $1300 of debt, the reason why I am reading your blog now, the reason I no longer use credit cards, and the reason why I obsessively watch every penny that leaves my checking account.

Seeing that so many people live in a crecit card centered universe, I don't think that people would be surprised that by my income; they would think I just finance everything else. And they used to be right.

But the thing I think they'd be VERY surprised now is the fact that I contribute 18% of my paycheck to 401k, 10% automatically to my high yield savings account, and $200 systematic investment to a fairly aggressive mutual fund.

I think a better question would be to ask, would people be surprised by the amount of debt that you are in? Or would people guess that you are in debt? Because I constantly find myself surprised by the amount of debt people are hiding these days.

People are almost always shocked when they learn how much my husband and I make.

To start, for an executive assistant, I make a pretty hefty salary, which most people do not expect. Combine that with the fact that we live very modestly despite our 6-figure plus income, the majority of our friends and acquaintances are usually surprised to hear how much we actually make.

I think people wouldn't be too surprised. We have a mortgage, car loans and student debt, but all in reasonable proportions to our income.

I don't think that they would be shocked by my salary but I am often shocked by other people's salaries.

I think people would be surprised more not by how much we make, but by how much we put into our 401(k). I think our friends know we both have good paying jobs, but we also carry student loans/mortgage/and a little bit of credit card debt (of course we're working on paying that down!). We make it pretty obvious that we try to puchase items with cash only - we've lived in our house for three years and our living room furniture is still lacking, but hey, that's okay.

We do live fairly modestly for our income. Our mortgage payment is about 1/6 of our monthly income, and we live well within our means. But I think people would be shocked to know our income because they don't realize how much I make as a freelance writer. We don't spread the information around, and just try to live mostly incognito.

At age 20-23 made 35k after taxes/retirement, I spent recklessly at the mall. I was a shopaholic but my credit card debts never amounted to more than 800 which I always paid on time and in full. I had about 1000 in savings but it never amounted to more than that. I also lived at my parent's house. I easily blew 100.00 on an outfit 3x a week. I still never had debt. I'm now 28 years old, make around 45k after taxes/retirement. I have no savings. I live pay check to paycheck and have nothing to show for it. My live in boyfriend and I rent a rancher in a ghetto neighborhood for 800 a month so we split it 50/50. I constantly find myself in a rut: Dad loses his job it's been 2 yrs now still no job, I had to supplement, his 20 yr old AC unit had to be completely replaced, guess who had to supplement that, then my car tires blew up, car repairs cost over 1200 then finally I had to buy a new car. Insurance went up because I'm off my parent's insurance. I no longer buy new clothes instead we eat out more than I am used to. I still have less than 1000 in savings. That is why I'm always reading blogs about finances and frugality. I feel like my situation now is worse than it was when I made less. Atleast back then I had clothes to show for it. I wish I could be a kid and lived at home sometimes. It sucks being an adult. We're trying to sock away money to buy a foreclosure property so we can stop wasting money on rent.
I love this blog

Yes, people would be shocked. :) We've found that it's easier to live a "poor" life and let people make their assumptions than to explain why we don't have cable TV or cell phones. Our values don't really line up with our generation's values - and so a lot of people assume we're struggling. In reality, we're saving 20-30% of our income each month and hope to semi-retire at 45 or 50.

I really enjoy studying personal finance and talk about it religiously. Given that, I'd assume people would expect me to be extremely frugal. I drive a nicer car and live in a larger house than I would if I were single and without a child (safe, reliable car). I am a sucker for spoiling my daughter while she's still little (playset, toys, activities, etc.). Personally, I'm very frugal, but when you add in the adjustments I've made to accomodate my wife and daughter, I'm pretty middle of the road and could do a lot more to save a lot more.

I think others would be surprised by how little I make. I have a career that sounds prestigious and work for a large, well thought of company, but the pay is less than many of my peers at similar companies. Given that, others may be surprised at how little I have in the bank as a nominal sum, although it represents a steady 20% of my income since I began my career 10 years ago.

over the last few years we have owned our own profitable business, sold that, been unemployed, and now both have good jobs....so i'm sure we've been keeping people guessing!
but, like my dad used to tell me as a kid, "You wouldn't care what people thought about you if you knew how seldom they did" :) Good advice

I think some of my friends would be shocked (those in debt) but not the friends who are in similar career paths to myself and my husband, who are also frugally minded.

They might be shocked by how little I make though. I'm not shocked, just wish it was more. That's what you get for doing non-profit work though.

I think it would be interesting to take an anonymous poll to see what people do think we make.

We certainly do just fine.. but have incomes FAR less then our immediate peer group.

But what we do have, we choose carefully and frugally. Our retirements are maxed yearly.. but we don't have a big fancy TV.
We do go out to dinner.. but we always have a coupon or a gift card.

Our friends just know this about us.. but to other people it appears we are very much struggling.

But that's okay.. Our paid for cars and little non-house debt go a long way to freeing our cash flow up.. so we always have plenty of money and still can contribute to savings.

I don't think people are shocked at how much my hubby and I make since they know what we do for a living and there is a pretty set salary range for our jobs and age.  I think a lot of people overestimate, though, but we are definitely not flashy with our stuff at all. 

I don't think people would be surprised by what we make, which is a six figure + income in the middle of rural America, but they can never figure out why we always buy second-hand and drive the vehicles we do (3 paid for vehicles that all run really well...Toyota has 250,000+ miles and I've had it for over 13 years and still love driving it). We also do not have a cell phone plan which is very shocking to most people because my husband and I are both in the technology field. We make such decisions because we don't want to have any monthly payments going towards "stuff" that offers no return. On the other hand, we have a beautiful home on 40+ acres and have traveled extensively. By prioritizing what's most important to us, it makes saving so much more rewarding.

Since my husband is in the military, his income is public record and pretty easily google-able. I would love to know what the median is in our community because, as others have mentioned, it is all relative to the cost-of-living in your location. I feel like we do pretty well with what we have but I know that we haven't saved as much as we should.

What an interesting question.

I'm pretty sure that many people would be surprised as to how much I make. Some people would probably think I make a good bit less than I do as I live pretty frugally (very frugally some would say). But there are others who are convinced that engineers are rolling in bucks and would be confused if they heard my actual salary figure.

Some people would be surprised I would think but very little amount of people ask at all. My boyfriend and I make perhaps a combined 18k a year living around the Milwaukee metro. We have a beautiful spacious apartment surrounded by trees but plunked a block away from a busy intersection. We eat out for at least 5 of the meals per week, see a movie at least once if not twice a week (and then rent a few movies from blockbuster too), attend shows (Broadway, plays, dances, operas, festivals) about every other month usually out of town whether it's a train ride to Chicago or side trip to Madison. We fly to places like Boston, Seattle, Washington DC, Toronto just because we can and just for a weekend to sightsee. We celebrated Xmas last year three weekends in a row with different presents each time and spent even more on books from Barnes and Nobles throughout the year.

This is an awesome thing-- leading a full experience lifestyle that is. I still manage to pay off all accumulated charges on my cc every month and even put money towards savings.

The folks I work with (govt employee) would be shocked at how much we make. The folks my husband works (law firm) with would be shocked at how little we make. My co-workers are aware of my frequent trips and my nice, although aging, car. My husband's co-workers all live in WAY more expensive houses, drive new and expensive cars, and spend $20k on stuff that we do ourselves for a 10th of that price.

We constantly are shocked by how much people say they spend, how much debt people have and sometimes how much they make - even though they tell us they don't make enough and are always broke.

On the flipside, we definitely have much smaller incomes, smaller expenses and smaller amounts of debt than most of our friends (and some family members). But we are a frugal family. Even when we made twice what we make now, we spent the same amount and just saved the rest. We don't watch the same movie in the movie theater multiple times, buy a daily cup of coffee, buy random trinkets or do a lot of impulse buying - something we hear our extended family does on occasion. We also don't go out to eat a lot, buy much clothes or have any fancy (or new) cars. Some of those things just don't fit our personalities (or spending habits) and others we think would just be useless drains on our financial resources. What we do have though is have 6-8 months worth of emergency savings, no collectors calling us, a small repayment for school loans and more piece of mind than most people we know.

I think people would be shocked to know how much I'm worth... not how much I make. It's not a conversation that ever come up though.

Since I'm still in my mid-20s most people assume I still have high student loan debts and a car loan for my recent purchase. However, I'm debt free and choose to live frugally so I can spend my money on more important things. It works out nicely though since they think I'm poor we tend to go to more reasonably priced restaurants or do potlucks.

A new neighbor in the new condo development where I live recently shared with me that he was laid off from his job of $80,000 a year just a week after he closed on the condo and is now making half that amount driving a truck and just can't pay all of his bills (mortgage payment, car payment, etc.) without his old paycheck. I told him that I make about $40,000 a year, and I manage to pay my mortgage and car payments without too much pain (and I'm paying for grad school tuition now besides). It seems like people have a lot of expensive expectations about what it takes to be middle class these days, but I'm quite happy.

They might be surprised how much I make for who I am working for. I am making a modest amount that a family of three or four could live off of and I only just started and live on my own(no family).

Probably. I'm honestly surprised I am able to pay my bills each month with how bad everything has been. Though I may be forced to move as the cost of living is going up exponentially where I live. It's gotten so expensive that my electric bill literally doubled, and now progress energy wants to almost double it again. Making it so that the electricity in a one bedroom apartment would total a whopping $200+ dollars. Unfortunately, I'm a bit stuck with hardly any savings and a boyfriend who's in school for another year. I know I need to get out of where I'm at and I'm trying to find ways to save money and not be terribly miserable. I'm just praying that I'm given a door to a better place.

I work a white-collar job at an elite college. However, my wife stays home with our children which means that in the end, I'm probably the poorest person in our office (including the receptionist, whose husband works). It produces some internal tension, but I wouldn't trade my life for anything -- it's worth it to live according to our values and we find a lot of joy in it!

We are perceived as having a lot of money even though we don’t.

We’ve literally had family come knocking on our door for “loans” and are then surprised and even visibly upset when we tell them we don’t have the money to spare. Problem is they look around our house (nice house in good neighborhood, nicely kept and appointed) and it doesn’t help. Finances are definitely a topic that is now completely off-limits with everyone and family are no longer allowed in our home (money is literally the only reason they come knocking, even long lost cousins and uncles show up at the door).

One topic that I would like discussed is how to determine when and with whom to disclose your financial habits and lifestyle. We’ve sat down with both family and friends to get the word out on frugality and good financial health and how we work to death the little money we have (we have no qualms letting people know we scour the thrift nearly daily to score that great find, or that 90% of the items decorating our house are thrift finds under $10 or $15, Setting up an emergency fund, how to look for high interest savings to stash cash, etc.) but all they see is money they think we have that they don’t and they want.

None of our friends would be surprised because we tell people - what we make, what we save. I feel like secrets about salary are part of what drives people to make bad decisions - they see other people spending and they think 'well, i'm the same kind of person that person is!' Also I like to counteract the idea that everyone has debt, that it's inevitable.

But other people would be shocked, I think. My son's friends families are generally quite a bit poorer because we live in a working-class neighborhood. An ex-con who worked in the cafeteria at my old job used to offer me a ride home because he felt bad for me waiting for the bus. Also I know our neighbor can't quite wrap his head around what kind of work you could possibly do from home sitting in an office chair - every year he asks at least once if I'm working these days.

I'm shocked, in turn, when I find out that a family that clearly struggles with debt and always complaining about not having enough money has the same income my family does - and that happens pretty often. Suze Ormond says people have a margin of safety they feel comfortable in regardless of how much they make, and more and more I think that's true.

Some of my coworkers are shocked at how much I make relative to them. A couple strategic moves and a Master's degree before leaving school has left me making at least 10k more than many of my peers. That said, I rent a cheap apartment, have an old, beat-up car and barely spend my money. My friends in similar fields make a little less than I do, but all live in much more expensive areas. I think they'd be shocked to learn how cheap it is to live in a dying state.

We recently updated our wills/trust/etc and the attorney asked in the course of the interview how much money we thought we needed to live on. We responded to him and he looked at us like we were crazy. No way he said. We responded that it was only that much because we had paid for our house and kept our monthly needs way low. No way was that possible according to him. But we just smiled...

Some friends would be shocked because it is so low, others because it is so high.

In talking with family and friends in other states, I've noticed that what is considered a "normal salary" can vary widely depending on the cost of living. In the DC area (where I live), a $30,000/year salary for an entry-level job on the Hill is shockingly low given the cost of living (and given what an entry-level job earns in the private sector in this area, which is closer to $50k). In contrast, that same salary in other, more low-cost states would be shockingly high, especially for the entry-level.

So yes, people would be shocked to hear what I make!

I was an interesting case. I earned big money, yet you would not have thought it. My entire income (and that of my wife) was sucked up in debt repayments. We lived like we were unemployed virtually. Always scrimping here and there to make ends meet. I tried my best to keep the outward appearance of wealth but I'm sure the cracks showed towards the end.

Now, I still earn the same money, and you still wouldn't think it! But it's now a GOOD thing. I'm all but debt free, 80% of my income gets put to one side and I still live like I'm unemployed. It's just that now I call it being frugal!

I am always shocked by how much my friends make, so I’m sure they’re shocked by how much I make. My friends are mostly smart, interesting people who have gone into programming and work way too many hours and make 2 – 3 times as much as I do OR MORE.

I have a 40-hour work week in a stable government job and I make the same salary as a first-year teacher in my area. I assume it’s just as difficult for them as for anyone to imagine living on 1/2 or even 1/3 as much money as they earn, but then all you have to do is look at my car, look at my house, notice that I always have roommates, etc., and then it all makes sense.

Fortunately, most of their social gatherings are parties at their houses or occasionally at a restaurant, and all of the expensive things they talk me into (like visiting them while they live in Europe) are things I really want to do and can totally afford.

My family knows I'm wealthier than I look but since most of their incomes are higher, they are too embarrassed to ask me for money. Heh.

I think most people who don't know us and just look at our jobs titles and where live (CA) would be surprised, but with friends and family we're pretty open about what we make b/c I think it's a bit ridiculous that $ is such a taboo in out country. I lived in several other parts of the world when I was growing up, and oftentimes in those places one of the first things a new friend would ask is how much you make. It was rather shocking at first, and as a westerner in an very poor country, it was somewhat embarrassing, but I learned to appreciate the assumptions I didn't have to make by knowing.

My hubby and I make significantly less than his side of the family and on par with or more than my family extended family. The thing that would probably surprise people most is that, though I am self-employed, I make more than he does (though self-employment taxes make my usable income is significantly less than my pre-tax income). Hubby works 1/2 time at a public university and makes about $25,000--much less than he would in a similar position in the private sector. I am a private tutor, and, while many of my (extremely wealthy) clients assume I "do VERY well for" myself, I think they'd be surprised at how little I actually make. Everyone else I know, on the other hand, thinks that tutoring is about one step up from minimum wage and consider it temporary side-work rather than a career. My pre-tax income is about $60,000. I only work during the school year and less than 40 hrs. a week at that. In addition to working 1/2 time, hubby also has 1 month off (also unpaid) in the summer. When we were first married about 7 yrs. ago, we got into about $30,000 of debt over 2 yrs. (I had some health problems, was just starting to build my business, and hubby wasn't working)...after paying that off over the next 18 mo. we started saving and have since purchased a small home and that is and has been our only debt. We have several expensive hobbies, and although we're saving some $ each yr., we're not yet saving enough for retirement, so that is where our attention is now turned.

I have been backpacking around the world for a year-ish now and people are all very incredulous when I tell them not only what I've already seen - but that I plan to keep on traveling for a couple of years from my internet-based work!

It's all about trade-offs I tell them - I make enough to either live frugally and comfortably in the states...or enough for perpetual travel in less expensive countries :-)

Living in L.A. - more specifically Hollywood - for years, I have managed my image. As an actress I have never made a lot of $ - but because how one is perceived = reality, and looking good = success, I have always tried to keep up a stylish image while really cutting costs (see my blog!). So in that sense some people would be surprised. But on the other hand, we live in a rent-controlled apartment - in an area that's getting better all the time, so our rent is low - that's how we can afford our boat and our slip rental! Hearing that we have a boat makes people think we make A LOT more than we do. Then again, my husband, a "respected professional" who works in education really isn't paid according to his qualifications - and what's more, the powers that be are always demanding that he upgrade/renew his various credentials, which costs US quite a bit! With all of our frugality and ingenuity, we live pretty nicely,(with occasional bad streaks) but we do wonder HOW FAMILIES make it!

i am a grad student, and my working friends would probably be amazed at how little you can live on in the big city.

People are shocked that every internship I've had (including my current one) has been unpaid.

My partner and I live on a charter school teacher's and a graduate student's salary. Recently one of my co-workers was shocked when I told him what I'm making - turns out it's a couple thousand dollars less than he makes, though we have the same amount of experience and were both hired at the same time AND I have a Master's degree (he doesn't). He was just a better negotiator than I was when he was hired.

Still, we make it work, we live frugally, and don't feel like we are going without.

I am a tech industry employee, a high performer with the same company for the past 9 years, so with raises, bonuses and stock grants, I make a lot and I am sitting on a nice pile of savings.

But, I calibrate my lifestyle to what works for me, instead of calibrating it to what I could be spending or what 'society' would expect me to spend. This means that I live in a modest house in a modest neighborhood, I drive a 5-year-old car (that I plan to keep for a while) and while I like clothes and buy a few nice pieces every season, I don't have tons and I don't buy 'status' items. I occasionally spend a pile on something nice for the house, but again these items are not 'status' items so unless you really know what you're looking at, you would not know how much they cost. I have little interest in fancy electronics, so except for a nice MP3 player and dock, all my electronics are at least 15 years old.

I DO spend a lot on travel and a fair amount on fun things like eating out with friends, going to events and keeping up my sports equipment. I am sometimes willing to spend extra for convenience.

I save about 20% of my income and and donate about 8%, but these activities are invisible to everyone but my financial advisor.

Some of my friends have probably figured out that I'm pretty well off, but many would be surprised, judging from how they commiserate with me about their finances, or express concern that I might not be able to afford such and such.

I'm proud of the work I have done to be financially successful, so sometimes I feel like 'outing' myself, but since quite a few of my friends are less well-off, I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable.

I have gone through the most of the comments on blog. Yes the speech therapist living on teacher’s salary, {a little shocking
Submitted by Jamie g on September 22, 2009 - 07:13. }
Emily@Under$1000PerMonth on September 22, 2009 - 13:57.
Absolutely!
Submitted by Brent on September 22, 2009 - 11:21.
Now its time for you get shoked

I am living on less than $100 a month and I am very happy , with my

wife two children and good clean neat house, and my family is happy.

i am only bread winner and two children are studing. at all depends on your mind set ,to be happy or keep going unhappy.

People may not be shocked at how much I make, but they are always shocked at how much I save. I've more than tripled my salary in 5 years (I switched career so started at the bottom of the totem pole back then), but I live mostly as if I still make my starting salary at the non-profit. The extra money goes into (in that order): funding my retirement; spending on friends and family; down payment on a house; annual vacation; donation to charity; occasional indulgence.

I think most people that know me would be shocked at how little I make. I still dress very nice (ebay/thirft store shopping) and live below my means. I don't buy things unless I have researched that I am getting the best deal for a quality item (buying cheap/poor quality doesn't mean you'll end up saving money in the end!).

Others assume that people in my field (higher education) make astronomical salaries, but I don't. More often not, there's more month than money.

My answer is yes, definitely. I live in Asia and teach EFL at a university. I also do other types of work here-- all related to English. Most people think that kind of work is for recent grads or just one step up from the peace corps. I probably shouldn't say this on a public forum with unemployment at 10% - so as to protect my turf, but I make way more than $100K doing what I do. Anyone not lazy can do what I am doing. We save about 80% of that as we have no debt and live frugally. Retirement at 50 anyone? See you there.

Retirement at 50? It's 43 for me. :) so I guess I'll see u there. As far as the teaching English goes, I lived in Japan for 6 years, and I loved that 6 figure income. It's as easy as you implied and a fun way to work. It felt like I was getting paid to go out n just talk to people as if I were home relaxing with them. Great times.

because it's really not all that much at all, but my husband and I have really improved on our frugality, so we choose where to scrimp and are able to afford other things (we bought a house last year and average a vacation a year, etc.). Also, we try not to be too cheap when it comes to gift-giving. We don't go into debt buying presents for others, but we do try to be reasonably generous, because that's an area where we can spend since we save elsewhere, so our family and friends might think we make a little bit more than we do. As long as they don't think we have so much money that they come looking for a loan... ;)

I live from what I can make at student jobs and teaching and performing, starving artists unite !