Individual Income Poll

[Travis Munroe]

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

People who are well off are typically viewed as being even more well off than they really are. This is because they:
-Go on a couple vacations a year using the cheapest flight option which totals 1 vacation from the person who does no research.
-Avoid superstore liquor store when looking for a pop

I consider myself to be a very hard worker clocking at least 10 hours a day (not including the 3 i am on CP lol) I also do pretty good for my age. The cheapest cell plan or cable package etc threads have put me in a position to pay half of what friends do. I can show up to shinny with a pair of used high end bauer skates and have paid half what a friend did to wear the velcro buckle ups.

I understand your point however I personally would like to make a point that CP has saved me thousands over the years!

[V]

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

First off, I can't believe how well this list resembles me. Of course, we have a single income family with 4 kids, so low 6 figures isn't that excessive.

Second, just take a look at the What do you drive thread and tell me those are 60k earners. That's an incredible amount of money invested in vehicles. New cars, BMW's, etc. Now I can't believe that more people don't make 100k.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by 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

Given the non-stop rise in household debt I would suggest no, at least overall across the board. For the "wealthier" people . . . perhaps - not sure there are stats that would define/track that.

[AMG_G]

I visited my uncles place in Hong Kong at it is seriously small. The elevator opens and the front door is like 1 step away. The bedrooms fit a double bed and that's about it. Don't know how they can find any privacy in such a small place.

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Tell me about these bedrooms.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

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

I think part of the problem is that responsible people are cursed with awareness. That curse of awareness tells you that you have to save for retirement, unexpected bills, family needs, etc... etc... So you end up buying a good car that is 2 years old (not new) and drive it for 10 years. Or you're happy buying a used tennis racket and changing the strings to make it new. That applies to people making 50K as much as it applies to people making 100K. But the ones making 50K end up thinking: i make 50K and I manage to save, and if I made 100K I'd finally get some of those luxuries, but I can't understand why these guys on CP who make 100K are driving the same car as me?!

The answer is that, for a responsible person, the mentality between 50K and 100K of salary doesn't change all that much, imo. I'd say this is true up to the 150K-200K range.

It's really when you get into 300K annual salary and above that responsible people can start behaving more profligately with their money (imo).

[macker]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Given the non-stop rise in household debt I would suggest no, at least overall across the board. For the "wealthier" people . . . perhaps - not sure there are stats that would define/track that.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/PSAVERT
Not specific enough but US savings rate hit an all-time low a couple of years back then began to recover for a year or two and has just recently started to decline again.


Canadian savings rates aren't any better. In 1990 Canada had a 13% savings rate but bottomed out in 2005 -0.04% and hasn't really substantially broken trend since. A study "Perspectives on Labour & Income" found that the main culprits hindering savings rates are #1 Shelter #2 Transportation #3 Food #4 Recreation #5 Clothing #6 Health #7 Tobacco & Alcohol. How do you keep up? Canadian home equity hit a 20-year low in 2010 at 34.3% so clearly home equity is being used to "keep up". I would agree that household debt in Canada hitting an all-time high at $1.5 Trillion would suggest no. The Wealthy Barber came out in 1989 just before Canadas savings rate peaked at 13% the next year and preaching the pay yourself first 10% principle. The Wealthy Barber returns came out last year and clearly many people aren't buying it.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by 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

When the first recession hit, I did my best to single-handedly spend my way out of it for us as a nation. A couple different life events reminding me we can't take it with us and a couple other factors led to buying a house worth 3 times what I moved out of and a car worth double anything I'd ever had before. A year ago I figured I'd done it, things were looking up for us, and I'd better start actually putting some money away as I knew that keeping a job from 2008-now was actually pretty lucky, and making house/car purchases assuming you'll never make less than you do now is not a wise move.

What do you know, I start saving, boom, recession part 2.

Sorry guys.

[photon]

I would edit the poll to add more options but ppl who already voted wouldn't be able to vote again so the results would be messed up.

[Phanuthier]

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.

Side question, if its outside of Canada, do you rent?

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by photon

I would edit the poll to add more options but ppl who already voted wouldn't be able to vote again so the results would be messed up.

No worries - just one of those things in hindsight. We probably shouldn't put up another poll for peeps making 100,000+; but I guess that could work I guess.

[Finner]

I'm 24 and make ~58k per year between regular salary and bonus but not including benefits etc.

I work 37.5 hours per week, and have some university education. My job also includes a generous benefit plan with a health spending/wellness account as well as a DB pension and 4 weeks paid vacation.

I'm actually surprised as well about the amount over 100k. The company i work for is probably one of the 10 largest companies in Canada and employs over 80000 people, yet in our "job zone" alberta, in order to be over 100k you'd have to the either 1 or 2 promotion steps from a VP position.

I highly doubt i'll be over 100k by the time i'm 30, regardless of if i have a degree or not. Potentially with good performance, some promotions etc. i'd be maybe at 100k by 35
(again not including benefits).

Hearing some of these salaries is mind boggling, not because of the salaries, but because of some of the jobs people have that are making these amounts of money. In the industry in which i work to be at 100k, you are senior, likely manage in excess of 30 people, have several junior managers report directly to you, and have a wide array of responsibility and experience (probably at least 10 years). You would have also had to have been well liked, smart and a performer, and by those levels of seniority have at the least an undergraduate degree.

Interesting to see the difference in other industries, where it sounds like you just put in a few years, and BOOM you're there.

Either way, interesting survey.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by V

First off, I can't believe how well this list resembles me. Of course, we have a single income family with 4 kids, so low 6 figures isn't that excessive.

Second, just take a look at the What do you drive thread and tell me those are 60k earners. That's an incredible amount of money invested in vehicles. New cars, BMW's, etc. Now I can't believe that more people don't make 100k.

I thought so too. A lot of people drive a lot of baller cars.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Finner

I'm 24 and make ~58k per year between regular salary and bonus but not including benefits etc.

I work 37.5 hours per week, and have some university education. My job also includes a generous benefit plan with a health spending/wellness account as well as a DB pension and 4 weeks paid vacation.

Where do you work? I'm 19, an engineering intern at AHS and make ~33k on flat 40 hour weeks. Doubt I'll tie you upon graduation (to be fair, being in the public medical indstury probably doesn't help), so I'm trying to figure out what industry you work in.

Originally Posted by fotze

6 years ago, i know new grad geologists were being offered $75k by the government.

While we we entering our degree selection, the engineering department tried to woo us in with stories of the average salary being 60k for a fresh grad EIT. I think it's bull, but that's what apparantly exists out there

[MoneyGuy]

Am I the only one thinking Slava is making a list of these high earners to add to his prospects list?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Am I the only one thinking Slava is making a list of these high earners to add to his prospects list?

30% of us can expect some PMs.

[GP_Matt]

Part of the discrepancy might be the length of time people have been making more than 100K and what they sacrificed to get it. With me, at 25 I was offered the chance to buy into the ownership group of the company I worked for. I knew the offer would come once I got my designation and had been saving heavily since I was hired. When the time came to buy in I had to commit every dollar I had three times over and ended up writing a cheque for slightly more money than they had paid me in the previous three years of employment. It has paid off for me now, but the loans took quite a while to pay back. So I am making decent money now, but there were 10 years or so between University, saving cash and paying off loans where I was pretty broke.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

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.

But well over 50% of there parents would.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by troutman

30% of us can expect some PMs.

I doubt he'll be contacting me.

[Finner]

Originally Posted by kirant

Where do you work? I'm 19, an engineering intern at AHS and make ~33k on flat 40 hour weeks. Doubt I'll tie you upon graduation (to be fair, being in the public medical indstury probably doesn't help), so I'm trying to figure out what industry you work in.


While we we entering our degree selection, the engineering department tried to woo us in with stories of the average salary being 60k for a fresh grad EIT. I think it's bull, but that's what apparantly exists out there

I work for a big bank.

Started as a broker with them at 19 trading stock/options/foreign currency/bonds/gold and silver etc. in the discount brokerage, moved into a branch a couple years laters, first as lower end sales, then got promoted to senior sales(mutual funds/mortgages/small business lending) both still salaried, but with small bonuses. A few months ago i moved into lower end management posting.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by fotze

6 years ago, i know new grad geologists were being offered $75k by the government.

I know someone that just got offered that at that big company that will be in the new Bow Tower. Hasn't even graduated yet.