How much money do you earn?

[neist]

When I lived in the states I made 11K a year once....that was the most ever....followed by about 5K the year after

I think I made around 6.5k a few years back.

I had to live most of the year off of savings. That wasn't a fun year.

[FRO]

When I lived in the states I made 11K a year once....that was the most ever....followed by about 5K the year after

I think I made around 6.5k a few years back.

I had to live most of the year off of savings. That wasn't a fun year.

Yeah, those are hard times. I remember when my wife & I were first married, and we were both only working part time. We burned through any money we had double-quick, and even when we got full-time jobs, it was barely enough to pass muster most of the time. We're still not rolling in the dough, mind you, but at least we're surviving now

[maxlords]

Well, I'm from S. Oregon, and the town I used to live in, there's simply VERY little opportunity. No industry aside from logging, very few jobs aside from minimum wage. Most people can't afford to leave, and if they do scrape enough together, they often end up not making it and coming back to live with friends or relatives. We used to call it the 'black hole syndrome'. I lived with my dad and got by on part time minimum wage jobs for years, even after getting my bachelors.

When I met my wife and moved to Canada, it was a way out of that dead end. When I got here, I still couldn't work for 3 years while I got my immigration processed. I had to work under the table and I STILL made more money than I did in OR. I recently found my Social Security statement that declared what I made the years I worked in Oregon...and it ranges from 2K-11K per year. Pretty insanely low to live off of.

[gs68]

$15, I guess? I had 1 day of jury duty.

[Plasmo]

7,50€ / hour - 20 hours / week - 200 hours / year

[PROMETHEUS]

In the wonderful country of Sweden we actualy get paid by the goverment to study at the university (no university fees either), some of the money is considerd a loan though and will have to be repayed (in small amounts luckily) when my studies are completed. We are indeed, a spoiled people.

We get that too in France except we never have to repay it, it's considered just given away to us :p People get anywhere between 0€ and 4000€ a month like this depending on their social status, how much their parents earn and stuff like that, plus they get substantial financial help for housing.

[quizknows]

redacted

[Matsunaga]

My 401k makes negative money..

[agustusx]

My 401k makes negative money..

same here..first it was 9-11, and since then it never really got better. I would have been better off taking my funds and putting it into a pcb.

[Andi]

I'm 24 and make like somewhere between 30K and 35K salary (can't remember). I work like 45 to 48 hours a week.

I'm cheap though and living well underneath my means.

[Lordstar]

Its not so much the money but the quality of life I hold in higher regard. I am going thought a rough patch right now but then i did a life long dream of visiting JP last year so there is no bitching about it really.

here is to making just enough money to make myself happy and do the thing i want to do. Anything else is just a waste on me

[nem]

11.40 euros/hour, 40 hour weeks

I try to save every cent I can, so in a years time I could go abroad for a while / start up my own business

[Davey]

My 401k makes negative money..

same here..first it was 9-11, and since then it never really got better. I would have been better off taking my funds and putting it into a pcb.

I started contributing to my 401k in April 2007. I guess you could put a positive or negative spin on that (my 401k is worth a lot less than what I put into it, but at least it only has 1.5 years of savings in it, and all the shares I'm buying now are cheap).

I'm cheap though and living well underneath my means.

Same here. It works out great! You can take all the extra money you save and put it in your 401k... oh.

[Minzoku]

I'm more than twice some of your ages though. If your not earning more than me when your my age consider yourself a failure.

What if by that time inflation means that earning three times what you make now = less than what you make now?



Er, $10/hr at a job that kind of couldn't care less if I even showed up, oddly enough

[KindGrind]

Well, after the 40% (actual figure) the government takes off my paycheck every 2 weeks I'm not left with much. Then, of course I have to pay 15% sales tax on everything I buy... Which makes a man rather poor. Free -albeit stupidly slow- heatlh care isn't so free after all, eh? I guess that's the price to pay to live in a place where they're isn't much social violence and people are pretty peaceful in general.

Mind you I could have it worse. Taxes on salary goes up to 52% when you're making 80k+, so that hurts.

We get that too in France except we never have to repay it, it's considered just given away to us :p People get anywhere between 0€ and 4000€ a month like this depending on their social status, how much their parents earn and stuff like that, plus they get substantial financial help for housing.

Well, with the price of housing, you need something like that. My brother spent 4-5 months in Paris and had to pay 600 euros for a very small, dodgy room. A f***ing disgrace if you ask me.

[neist]

Well, after the 40% (actual figure) the government takes off my paycheck every 2 weeks I'm not left with much. Then, of course I have to pay 15% sales tax on everything I buy... Which makes a man rather poor. Free -albeit stupidly slow- heatlh care isn't so free after all, eh? I guess that's the price to pay to live in a place where they're isn't much social violence and people are pretty peaceful in general.

Mind you I could have it worse. Taxes on salary goes up to 52% when you're making 80k+, so that hurts.

We get that too in France except we never have to repay it, it's considered just given away to us :p People get anywhere between 0€ and 4000€ a month like this depending on their social status, how much their parents earn and stuff like that, plus they get substantial financial help for housing.

Well, with the price of housing, you need something like that. My brother spent 4-5 months in Paris and had to pay 600 euros for a very small, dodgy room. A f***ing disgrace if you ask me.

It's not too much better in the US depending on your employer. For a long while I was paying around 45% of my check into benefits for my wife and I. But since benefits are taken out pre-tax, I was making so little money that I was completely tax exempt.

My salary isn't too bad, but I was probably making under minimum wage after they raped my check.

Fun stuff.

[maxlords]

Taxes aren't 40% in Canada....

Well, after the 40% (actual figure) the government takes off my paycheck every 2 weeks I'm not left with much. Then, of course I have to pay 15% sales tax on everything I buy... Which makes a man rather poor. Free -albeit stupidly slow- heatlh care isn't so free after all, eh? I guess that's the price to pay to live in a place where they're isn't much social violence and people are pretty peaceful in general.

Mind you I could have it worse. Taxes on salary goes up to 52% when you're making 80k+, so that hurts.

Federal tax rates for 2008 are:
15% on the first $37,885 of taxable income, +
22% on the next $37,884 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $37,885 and $75,769), +
26% on the next $47,415 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $75,769 and $123,184), +
29% of taxable income over $123,184.

That's the current federal tax rate. Provincial rates on top vary, but I don't think you're taking a 25% income tax hit from Quebec....

Here in Ontario the provincial tax rates are:

6.05% on the first $36,020 of taxable income, +
9.15% on the next $36,021, +
11.16% on the amount over $72,041

Quite reasonable IMO. Health care also isn't even REMOTELY free, as it's paid for through your income taxes....last year I paid something like $900+ in health care as part of my income taxes....and I might have went to the doctor once or twice at the most. I'd say that's mighty expensive health care actually.

[neist]

Quite reasonable IMO. Health care also isn't even REMOTELY free, as it's paid for through your income taxes....last year I paid something like $900+ in health care as part of my income taxes....and I might have went to the doctor once or twice at the most. I'd say that's mighty expensive health care actually.

$900? I'm currently paying around $3000 I've gone to the doctor zero times in 2008.

Don't mind me. I'm just bitter.

[KindGrind]

Taxes aren't 40% in Canada....

Well, after the 40% (actual figure) the government takes off my paycheck every 2 weeks I'm not left with much. Then, of course I have to pay 15% sales tax on everything I buy... Which makes a man rather poor. Free -albeit stupidly slow- heatlh care isn't so free after all, eh? I guess that's the price to pay to live in a place where they're isn't much social violence and people are pretty peaceful in general.

Mind you I could have it worse. Taxes on salary goes up to 52% when you're making 80k+, so that hurts.

Federal tax rates for 2008 are:
15% on the first $37,885 of taxable income, +
22% on the next $37,884 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $37,885 and $75,769), +
26% on the next $47,415 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $75,769 and $123,184), +
29% of taxable income over $123,184.

That's the current federal tax rate. Provincial rates on top vary, but I don't think you're taking a 25% income tax hit from Quebec....

Here in Ontario the provincial tax rates are:

6.05% on the first $36,020 of taxable income, +
9.15% on the next $36,021, +
11.16% on the amount over $72,041

http://www.revenu.gouv.qc.ca/fr/particu ... s/taux.asp

Tables for 2007, unchanged in 2008. In my bracket (38k to 58k) I'm charged 20% provincial taxes (+22% federal taxes = 42%, according to your table) Anyone earning 57k+ in Quebec is being charged 24%. Add this to the 26% for federal taxes and you've got a hefty 50% salary that goes to the state. No wonder why more and more people from here move to Ontario... =)

[system11]

I guess I will wallow in my yearly salary, no compensation for overtime (and there's plenty) but get a good bonus job then.

Me too.

SIDE NOTE: I'm amazed at how many people are willing to share this information. My yearly income is one of my most closely guarded secrets.

Why?

Yeah it's culturally a taboo subject over here too, but really - which of these bothers you more:

1) You work in a company where your boss earns twice as much as you, but he's useless, and does nothing except destroy productivity and morale. You worry about the bills and he worries about what to invest his money in next.
2) Some guy on the internet 6000 miles from you with a totally different cost of living earns more than you do.

I worked it out and roughly $30 a year before bonuses and on-call, but I'm salaried rather than hourly paid. I'm really envious of FRO's situation, it sounds quite relaxed from the small description. I'd love to live/work somewhere pretty much off the radar of the world. I'd be perfectly happy to take less money for doing so too, if the local costs were lower. Makes buying fixed price items harder perhaps, but hey - until you experience corporate hell you never realise the true value of a more relaxed work situation.

[maxlords]

Taxes aren't 40% in Canada....

Well, after the 40% (actual figure) the government takes off my paycheck every 2 weeks I'm not left with much. Then, of course I have to pay 15% sales tax on everything I buy... Which makes a man rather poor. Free -albeit stupidly slow- heatlh care isn't so free after all, eh? I guess that's the price to pay to live in a place where they're isn't much social violence and people are pretty peaceful in general.

Mind you I could have it worse. Taxes on salary goes up to 52% when you're making 80k+, so that hurts.

Federal tax rates for 2008 are:
15% on the first $37,885 of taxable income, +
22% on the next $37,884 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $37,885 and $75,769), +
26% on the next $47,415 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $75,769 and $123,184), +
29% of taxable income over $123,184.

That's the current federal tax rate. Provincial rates on top vary, but I don't think you're taking a 25% income tax hit from Quebec....

Here in Ontario the provincial tax rates are:

6.05% on the first $36,020 of taxable income, +
9.15% on the next $36,021, +
11.16% on the amount over $72,041

http://www.revenu.gouv.qc.ca/fr/particu ... s/taux.asp

Tables for 2007, unchanged in 2008. In my bracket (38k to 58k) I'm charged 20% provincial taxes (+22% federal taxes = 42%, according to your table) Anyone earning 57k+ in Quebec is being charged 24%. Add this to the 26% for federal taxes and you've got a hefty 50% salary that goes to the state. No wonder why more and more people from here move to Ontario... =)

Hmmmm....I think your math is wrong for federal though....you're getting charged 15% tax on the first 39K you make....and then 22% on the remaining amount of money you make. Assuming you are in the 38-58K bracket, you're getting charged 22% on a maximum of 20K of your income, which would make the federal tax rate something like 18.5%, not 26%. You can't get charged 26% for federal tax if the Govt. web site schedule is correct.

On top of that, according to the chart you posted, you're paying an additional 16% on the first 30K you make in Quebec according to that chart, plus another 20% on the rest of the money you make, again in the 38-58K bracket, so you won't reach the 24%. Works out to another 18%. That IS damned close to 40% though....36.5% approx. depending on where you fall in the bracket...I assumed the high end for this. Still 15% less than you were saying though. \

I'm getting taxed a bit less than you....I'm in the same tax bracket and I'm only getting taxed about 7.5% or so on provincial tax. Puts me at approx. 26% income tax total. I guess you're paying around 10% more provincial tax. There must be nice roads in Quebec

Our sales tax is 13% now as well, so we pay a little bit less sales tax. Between sales tax, gas tax, liquor tax, property tax and other taxes we pay a whole lot more tax though....you just don't see it! But most likely you get some write-offs too if you're in that tax bracket....stuff like RRSPs and mutual funds, rent reciepts, etc.

[gabe]

My 401k makes negative money.

I'm going to throw in my $.02 on this subject, because there are two points that I haven't really seen considered here:

1. Does your employer match your 401k contributions, or at least part of them? Mine does. That alone immediately doubles your "investment."
2. 401K's are supposed to be a long term (retirement) investment. Judging by the age polls I have seen on this board, I would guess that you are still rather young. At 25 years old, I am several decades away from retirement. That's a LONG time for my 401k to recover. Unless you plan on retiring in the next 5 years, pulling your money out now will simply lock in your losses.

Keep in mind, I am no financial planner, and all of this is IMHO.

SIDE NOTE: I'm amazed at how many people are willing to share this information. My yearly income is one of my most closely guarded secrets.

Why?

The short answer is that the Internet is not as anonymous as everyone would like to think. It's very public, and permanent. I don't want my salary being available in Google for all to see. My reasons for keeping it private are both personal (friends, family), and professional (future salary negotiations).

[KindGrind]

Hmmmm....I think your math is wrong for federal though....you're getting charged 15% tax on the first 39K you make....and then 22% on the remaining amount of money you make. Assuming you are in the 38-58K bracket, you're getting charged 22% on a maximum of 20K of your income, which would make the federal tax rate something like 18.5%, not 26%. You can't get charged 26% for federal tax if the Govt. web site schedule is correct.

I think you're right, my calculations are indeed wrong. 30% is more like it. Fact is with the random deductions on our paychecks (for union, provincial pension program, salary insurance, etc) it takes off roughly 40% of the total amount.

As for the roads in Quebec, they're the worst of all Canada, and this is coming from someone who traveled Canada from east to west in a car.

[Davey]

I'm going to throw in my $.02 on this subject, because there are two points that I haven't really seen considered here:

1. Does your employer match your 401k contributions, or at least part of them? Mine does. That alone immediately doubles your "investment."
2. 401K's are supposed to be a long term (retirement) investment. Judging by the age polls I have seen on this board, I would guess that you are still rather young. At 25 years old, I am several decades away from retirement. That's a LONG time for my 401k to recover. Unless you plan on retiring in the next 5 years, pulling your money out now will simply lock in your losses.

Keep in mind, I am no financial planner, and all of this is IMHO.

I can't speak for the other guys, but:

1.) I'll spare you the math, but my old company (I just switched jobs 2 months ago) had a crappy match and I contributed more than what they match (no matching after 6%), so I really did lose money altogether.
2.) I totally agree since I won't be touching that money for over 30 years. And like I said before, it's actually kind of positive since I'm buying cheap shares every paycheck now. It just seems ironic that I started putting money in right before one of the shittiest years in stock market history.

[Sonic R]

As for the roads in Quebec, they're the worst of all Canada, and this is coming from someone who traveled Canada from east to west in a car.

Off topic…

But one has not driven on bad roads until one has driven on Michigan roads or better yet Wayne County roads… :hammerhead:

[jonny5]

As for the roads in Quebec, they're the worst of all Canada, and this is coming from someone who traveled Canada from east to west in a car.

Off topic…

But one has not driven on bad roads until one has driven on Michigan roads or better yet Wayne County roads… :hammerhead:

seriously....go to quebec.....you will see

[KindGrind]

One example, random search on youtube, the first of many: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHNnaNdR-BY

This is a highway, imagine secondary roads...Pretty normal, though, with temperatures changing from -25 to 25 degrees in a few months. Road just cannot survive.

Edit: I thought of a Pepsi commercial I saw years ago, made for Quebec... Obviously in French, but from 0:30 to 0:36, they use the concept of the terrible roads. It says: "Here, the roads are far from boring". Truly a great commercial. It's here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5eZICujK3o

/Back to topic. =) Sorry OP.

[quizknows]

Quite reasonable IMO. Health care also isn't even REMOTELY free, as it's paid for through your income taxes....last year I paid something like $900+ in health care as part of my income taxes....and I might have went to the doctor once or twice at the most. I'd say that's mighty expensive health care actually.

I paid $2,340 into my health insurance this past year, not counting $468 for dental. $900 sounds great

[Octopod]

Edited after some reconsideration.

[CStarFlare]

1.) I'll spare you the math, but my old company (I just switched jobs 2 months ago) had a crappy match and I contributed more than what they match (no matching after 6%), so I really did lose money altogether.

6% is a bad match?