Individual Income Poll

[GreatWhiteEbola]

Originally Posted by flamesfan6

i really get a laugh out of looking at the poll results on here... and how because its the internet you feel like you can put in any number salary range...

you really expect us to think that 30% of you on this forum make over 100k?
you really expect us to think that over 75% of you who responded make more than canada's national average?

I don't doubt that there are some on this forum that do, but really?

I guess whatever makes you feel better about yourself... Hopefully high school grads aren't reading this thread and basing their expected salary off what has been said on this thread or the other

3.2.1.... people quote this and say "BUT I DO!!!"

But I don't

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by flamesfan6

i really get a laugh out of looking at the poll results on here... and how because its the internet you feel like you can put in any number salary range...

you really expect us to think that 30% of you on this forum make over 100k?
you really expect us to think that over 75% of you who responded make more than canada's national average?

I don't doubt that there are some on this forum that do, but really?

I guess whatever makes you feel better about yourself... Hopefully high school grads aren't reading this thread and basing their expected salary off what has been said on this thread or the other

3.2.1.... people quote this and say "BUT I DO!!!"

I believe it. A lot of people who post and are likely to respond to this survey are professionals who have Flames season tickets or discretionary income to spend on hockey, and time during the day to post on Calgarypuck. Couple that with the fact that Calgary has the highest average wages of any major Canadian city and I don't think it's a stretch.

A couple people I know at the company I work for are making six figures before age 25. I wouldn't doubt the average age here is much higher than that and most people probably work in the same industry (oil & gas).

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by icarus

Wow I am poor compared to everyone else on CP, even after converting GBP to CAD. What the hell am I doing here?

That kills me too.

Ten years ago I could have lived like a king in Calgary.

Now I'm jealous of the people who come round to clean CPer's houses.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

My sister in law just bought a 700 square foot 3 bedroom apt in Hongkong for $1.4millionUS. insane!!! The actual size of the apt is only like 580 sq ft but they count the balcony as sq footage as well as the area outside your front door to the elevator.

Tell me about these bedrooms.

[SportsJunky]

I bet if you took the group that attended the CP hockey draft last month the numbers would be closer to 50% over $100,000. There are a lot of professionals on this site that are regular posters.

[tripin_billie]

I make slightly below the $100,000 mark, but at the same time, I telework 2 days a week, have every second Friday off, and am never expected to put in more than 80 hours in a pay period (2 weeks, work 44 hours one week, 36 the other to get the Friday off).

I am perfectly happy with both the amount of money and the ease of the work. I wouldn't take $130,000 if it meant even 10 more hours a week - hell no!

edit: also forgot that I have a 20 minute walk to work, or, in about 2 weeks, Capital Bikeshare will be 1 block from my apartment, so I'll be able to bikeshare basically door to door in about 10 minutes (got to love that my employer sponsored the Bikeshare so that we could have a dock right at the door - and free annual membership!)

[SeeBass]

For all of the posts I have read of

guys renting apartments,
driving crappy cars,
guys who hate luxury imports,
looking for the cheapest flight ever,
guys with basic TV packages,
guys who take mass transit all the time,
guys who complain about drink prices
guys who complain about pop prices
what some people consider a nice place to eat
compalining about their cell phone package cost
looking to buy used hockey equipment
where some of these guys live
rarely see posts of questions about high end holiday destinations
complaints of winter tire costs
the quality of the Flame season ticket seats
how young some of the posters are I bet average age might be 32


I really have to wonder if this is the most frugal group I have ever come across or just a bunch of liars.

If I was guessing from all of the posts I have read the average income would be more realistic between $45K-$60K

[Jedi Ninja]

Originally Posted by username

I'm just suggesting that's really the only car he can afford or at least chooses to afford. When you make 100K and your wife is a stay at home mom with 2 kids then 100K in Calgary really doesn't go that far.

Stay at home mom's are the new status symbol in my neighborhood. Filipino nannies are soooo 2008.

[Jedi Ninja]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

I bet if you took the group that attended the CP hockey draft last month the numbers would be closer to 50% over $100,000. There are a lot of professionals on this site that are regular posters.

One of my engineering buddies showed me his last offer letter. His package was, like, $300K. I wish I had fotze's 8 1/2 inch package, I would have slapped him in the face with it.

Good thing Stelmach backed off on those energy royalties.

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by Jedi Ninja

Stay at home mom's are the new status symbol in my neighborhood. Filipino nannies are soooo 2008.

You fool, the stay at home husband with no kids, that is the new status symbol

[Aeneas]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

I bet if you took the group that attended the CP hockey draft last month the numbers would be closer to 50% over $100,000. There are a lot of professionals on this site that are regular posters.

Guess I skewed that downwards, sorry.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

For all of the posts I have read of

guys renting apartments,
driving crappy cars,
guys who hate luxury imports,
looking for the cheapest flight ever,
guys with basic TV packages,
guys who take mass transit all the time,
guys who complain about drink prices
guys who complain about pop prices
what some people consider a nice place to eat
compalining about their cell phone package cost
looking to buy used hockey equipment
where some of these guys live
rarely see posts of questions about high end holiday destinations
complaints of winter tire costs
the quality of the Flame season ticket seats
how young some of the posters are I bet average age might be 32


I really have to wonder if this is the most frugal group I have ever come across or just a bunch of liars.

If I was guessing from all of the posts I have read the average income would be more realistic between $45K-$60K

You totally don't understand the average wealthy person. People interested in becoming/staying wealthy don't drive luxury imports, don't take fancy vacations, don't live in ritzy houses, etc. Your list actually describes the typical millionaire.

People who lease expensive cars, wear fancy clothes and take expensive vacations are often underachievers of wealth.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by flamesfan6

i really get a laugh out of looking at the poll results on here... and how because its the internet you feel like you can put in any number salary range...

you really expect us to think that 30% of you on this forum make over 100k?
you really expect us to think that over 75% of you who responded make more than canada's national average?

I don't doubt that there are some on this forum that do, but really?

I guess whatever makes you feel better about yourself... Hopefully high school grads aren't reading this thread and basing their expected salary off what has been said on this thread or the other

3.2.1.... people quote this and say "BUT I DO!!!"

You said you don't believe 30% of people on here make over $100,000 per year. Look at it another way. 113 voters (at the time of this post) make over $100,000 per year. There are approximately 1,000,000 people in Calgary and of those, 113 people responded saying they make $100,000 or more, and not everyone who responded is from Calgary. Maybe only 100 of them are. That means only 0.01% of people make over $100,000.

As I, and several others, mentioned in earlier posts there tends to be a lot of professionals on this board. At my golf club, I'd be shocked if anyone who was a member earned less than $100,000. There are about 500 members all earning above this line, so if you took the poll there the results would be skewed. If you took the poll at a university there likely wouldn't be any students over $100,000.

I don't get what is so hard to understand that 113 people on this board make six figures. I thought it might be higher.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

I really have to wonder if this is the most frugal group I have ever come across or just a bunch of liars.

So if one makes over 100k a year they're expected to spend it all? At that wage there's still lots of people who don't think its nessesary (or wise) to spend the equivalent of a mortgage payment every month on a leased GT3, or piss it away in the high roller lounge at Monte Carlo.

I don't really understand the disbelief of these numbers in this thread. I'm not entirely sure who is going to benefit (or feel better about themselves) by bumping up their income bracket in an anonymous poll on a hockey forum. 20 years ago, breaking that 6 figure mark was a pretty tough thing to do. Now, if you're capable of getting a decent post-secondary education, or looking outside of the traditional 9-5/mon-fri work, 100k plus isn't exactly impossible. As pointed out by another poster, there's a number of 2 year SAIT programs that will see graduates making well above 80k in the first few years if they're half competent.

Looking at the (extremely small) sample size on this board, you've got a lot of CA's, lawyers, Power Engineers, P. Engs, etc. There's a lot of season ticket holders here (which requires more than just a little disposable income). You've got people working overseas, up north, and in head offices in the city. I don't see how 30% making close to or more than 100k a year is unreasonable.

I also don't understand the line of thinking that people are 'guesstimating' salaries. Unless you're an independent contractor or self-employed, it should be pretty easy to know what you make in a year. What with T4s and paystubs and all.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

guys renting apartments,
driving crappy cars,
guys who hate luxury imports,
looking for the cheapest flight ever,
guys with basic TV packages,
guys who take mass transit all the time,
guys who complain about drink prices
guys who complain about pop prices
what some people consider a nice place to eat
compalining about their cell phone package cost
looking to buy used hockey equipment
where some of these guys live
rarely see posts of questions about high end holiday destinations
complaints of winter tire costs
the quality of the Flame season ticket seats
how young some of the posters are I bet average age might be 32


I really have to wonder if this is the most frugal group I have ever come across or just a bunch of liars.

I'm 33 and although I am in one of the larger categories, I definitely match a good chunk of this list. I do it so that I have the option to retire at 45 or 50.

I like what I do, but I'd much prefer a life of exploring entire continents by motorcycle. To be honest, I've lived roughly the same "40k lifestyle" for the past 10 years. I spend when it makes sense, but I don't fritter away money.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by tripin_billie

I make slightly below the $100,000 mark, but at the same time, I telework 2 days a week, have every second Friday off, and am never expected to put in more than 80 hours in a pay period (2 weeks, work 44 hours one week, 36 the other to get the Friday off).

I am perfectly happy with both the amount of money and the ease of the work. I wouldn't take $130,000 if it meant even 10 more hours a week - hell no!

edit: also forgot that I have a 20 minute walk to work, or, in about 2 weeks, Capital Bikeshare will be 1 block from my apartment, so I'll be able to bikeshare basically door to door in about 10 minutes (got to love that my employer sponsored the Bikeshare so that we could have a dock right at the door - and free annual membership!)

I want to work where you work

[Bonded]

Also, i think wealthier people are now more frugal then in the past because of the two big crashes that have occured fairly close in time

[bomba]

It would be interesting to get a poll that breaks down the spread of $100k-$250k

[macker]

Originally Posted by WilsonFourTwo

I'm 33 and although I am in one of the larger categories, I definitely match a good chunk of this list. I do it so that I have the option to retire at 45 or 50.

I like what I do, but I'd much prefer a life of exploring entire continents by motorcycle. To be honest, I've lived roughly the same "40k lifestyle" for the past 10 years. I spend when it makes sense, but I don't fritter away money.

Randomly this reminds me of the book "Adventure Capitalist" retires at 33 and explores entire continents by motorcycle. Good read!

[WilsonFourTwo]

^^ Thanks! I've got a Chapters/Indigo card that needs to be used.....sounds perfect.