how much money would you bring home in a month after taxes are taken out?

vishenda · #1 (**permalink**) 10-28-2006, 10:32 AM

With a decent paying job, about how much money would you bring home in a month after taxes are taken out?

Ima saver · #2 (**permalink**) 10-28-2006, 10:35 AM

I would like to bring home $4800 a month!

LuxLiving · #3 (**permalink**) 10-28-2006, 12:15 PM

decent job - the word decent is pretty ambigious. What one person considers decent might be quite different than other's points of views. Also I think you have local costs of living issues that would make what is decent in Podunk, Alabama not so hotsie in NYC. I guess I just don't understand the question? Are you looking to see what jobs pay? or to find out what people make? Trying to understand what the taxes are for various salaries??

'splain it to the slow girl.

disneysteve · #4 (**permalink**) 10-28-2006, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vishenda

With a decent paying job, about how much money would you bring home in a month after taxes are taken out?

Sorry, but I don't understand the question. How much you earn after taxes will be totally dependant on how much you gross. What is it you are trying to figure out?

jodi · #5 (**permalink**) 10-28-2006, 12:36 PM

Well, my full time salary would be $41,893, but since I only work half-time, I earn half of that. My bi-weekly paycheck is $803, but then about $70 is taken out for taxes (federal withholding is very low since we still get taxes back, this figure includes Medicare, SS, and NY state taxes). I lose another $85 to health insurance, $48 to car insurance, $7 to my union, $5 to life insurance (term, four people), and $3 for SEFA.
So I bring home $584.93 every two weeks. Works for me. I could be doing a lot worse for half time. That works out to $1267.35 monthly (maybe $2500 full-time? Not sure if my withholding would be the same). I consider this to be very decent, given the lower cost of living in our rural area.

safari · #6 (**permalink**) 10-28-2006, 01:12 PM

As others have already said, the word "decent" is relative, depending on many factors. At my first job I was bringing home $900 net income every month, and I thought that if I could only bring home $2,000, I would be set. A year later I was netting $1,900 a month, but I had more expenses now, so that amount didn't look that decent anymore. Right now my net monthly income is $6,000, which is pretty decent by most people's standards; however, with the house prices here in Southern California (decent houses starting at $800K-900K), it looks like I'll be living in my condo for a while before I save enough money to buy a house.

vishenda · #7 (**permalink**) 10-28-2006, 03:56 PM

oh come one, lets not overanalyze things, the question is too simple, thanks Ima Saver!

BCHGRL · #8 (**permalink**) 10-28-2006, 03:58 PM

It is very relative to the housing market in your area. For example, if an average rent/mortgage in your area is $800/mo, a monthly net income of $2400 will allow you to live within decent standards.

However, if you live somewhere that the average rent/mortgage is $3000/mo, a net income of $2400/mo won't go very far.

Personally, DH and I net ~$6500/month and our mortage is $1600/month.

tinapbeana · #9 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 05:11 AM

dh & i net 4200 & mortgage is $495. average mortgage for the area is around $800-900.

meaghanchan · #10 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 06:00 AM

I bring home about $2300 a month. Would I like it to be more? Sure, but it pays my expenses. I consider it a decent paying job.

MonkeyMama · #11 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 09:51 AM

$5k/month does well now for a family of 4. We moved here, before kids thinking $40k/year to survive. I would say that still holds true but factoring we pay $10k/year health insurance, make it $50k today. We live in a big expensive city with crazy housing. But our mortgage is $1300 - on the small side for the area TODAY.

On $5k/month we actually live pretty darn well. We could cut our expenses a lot if we had to. I would feel differently if my boss wasn't providing a 10% match of my salary to retirement or conversely if I had health coverage. There are a lot of factors to the cost of living besides pay.

Ima saver · #12 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 10:04 AM

Well, we live on about $4800 a month. That seems high, since we don't have a mortgage, but we do have a car payment and land payment. Any time my dh gets any kind of bonus, or draws house plans, I save that money.

tinapbeana · #13 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinapbeana

dh & i net 4200 & mortgage is $495. average mortgage for the area is around $800-900.

someone mentioned insurance, and i realized the figure i threw in the pot is after everything gets deducted: taxes, united way, medical/dental/vision/life, & hubby's parking pass. if we added everything but the taxes back in, i think we'd be around $4500 per month? guesstimating here...

ren · #14 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 01:03 PM

Well, having been sole breadwinner earning $6700 the year Dad was out of work (he was raiding his retirement savings to cover the mortgage and I had the best job I could find), I'd say anything more than $550 a month is good for me! And hey, I'm doing not quite four times that now, so I'm pretty happy with life.

Of course, if my boss up and decides to give me a raise, I certainly wouldn't say no to a few hundred more a month.

Snoopy2645 · #15 (**permalink**) 10-29-2006, 09:51 PM

With a decent paying job I would bring home $5000 after taxes but for now I make around $1000 after all is said & done & dh about $3000 I wish we could bring home more but thats just not possible right now with the kids 3 going 3 different directions & one would have to go to daycare ft so then you would have to take out for that ya know

greedy4chips · #16 (**permalink**) 10-30-2006, 09:07 PM

I would be happy if I could make enough to live in a decent home, drive decent vehicles, put decent clothes on the kids and us too, put decent food on the table, have a decent amount for gifts, and put enough away to retire with a decent income.

Elgin526 · #17 (**permalink**) 11-01-2006, 11:38 AM

When I was single, I neted $2200 a month (after taxes, health insurance, and 401k) I was able to afford to buy a condo, a car, and had a little bit left over for going out occasionally, and small weekend trips.

Now that we're married and own a single family home, nothing ever seems like enough even though we net $5400 a month, not including DH's overtime. With two cars, one or the other is always needing work, the house always needs work, and DH has monthly medical expenses not covered by insurance. Just these past two weeks we've had $500 in vet bills for the dog and $800 to fix DH's truck. Those two things cost us as much as our mortgage! We've got the money, but it's not exactly what I wanted to use it for, you know?

vishenda · #18 (**permalink**) 11-02-2006, 08:17 AM

If u know the pay amount try..... http://www.payroll-taxes.com/calculators... click on paycheck cac. u can put in ur state, time u get paid & amt per pay check ( before taxes ) I just filled out & it gave me all medicare ; fed; state taxes . everything that shows up normally on my check & all the amts for the state im in... seems to be very helpful

ShoppingInsider · #19 (**permalink**) 11-03-2006, 08:10 AM

All of us would bring home a lot more if the Fair Tax were ever enacted. You don't pay taxes until you buy something, which rewards frugal people. (And which means jerks who make money illegally - say, drug dealers - and jerks who put all their money in tax-free shelters STILL pay taxes when they buy their jets/boats/etc. to fund their lifestyle.)

See http://www.thefairtax.org/PDF/Compar...alTaxRates.pdf

tinapbeana · #20 (**permalink**) 11-03-2006, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShoppingInsider

All of us would bring home a lot more if the Fair Tax were ever enacted. You don't pay taxes until you buy something, which rewards frugal people. (And which means jerks who make money illegally - say, drug dealers - and jerks who put all their money in tax-free shelters STILL pay taxes when they buy their jets/boats/etc. to fund their lifestyle.)

See http://www.thefairtax.org/PDF/Compar...alTaxRates.pdf

only problem is that you run the risk of the economy grinding to a halt when you institute a sales only tax system. goes back to the conversation of "what would happen if everyone were frugal? it would be baaaaad"