• @Vej@lemm.ee
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    33 months ago

    We both are medical caregivers for the same disabled couple. Our main full time jobs are a data center analyst and college cafeteria work. We also both collected from unemployment. I have some stocks and CDs that have helped a bunch to keep afloat. I do some work on the side here as well.

    • @some_guy
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      13 months ago

      Not to invalidate the hard work, but aren’t data center analysts pretty well compensated? I would think that would cover a 1b place pretty effectively and then the other sources of income would be gravy. Maybe I’m over-estimating the salary for the field. I am ignorant, I must admit.

      • @fishpen0@lemmy.world
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        33 months ago

        It also depends on where they live and if they have student loans. For example the comfortable living salary in Boston has passed 80k. Low level analysts even here can still be making 80-90. Enough for an apartment, but not to add kids to the picture. Things get even weirder if you are mostly equity compensated at a startup or something like that (so your total comp is not actually spendable and you have a higher tax burden) which is pretty common in tech roles around here. This couple may be the textbook example of HENRYs, the modern DINK. High Earners, But Not Rich Yet. If they dont have kids they might retire upper middle class or wealthy. If they do they’ll stay in their current wealth class or become poorer.

        A new report from SmartAsset says a single person in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has to pull in a salary of almost $80,000 a year to “live comfortably.” The study is based on a theoretical budget where a person spends half their income on needs, 30% on “wants” and the rest on savings or repaying debt.

        “A single person needs to earn $78,752 after taxes in order to cover basic living expenses ($39,376) and still devote half of their earnings to wants and saving/debt,” the report for Boston states. “Following the 50/30/20 budget, a person living comfortably would allocate $23,626 for discretionary spending and $15,750 to savings or debt payments.”

      • @Vej@lemm.ee
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        23 months ago

        Our HR has absolutely no clue what we do and for years thought we were a branch of their help desk. So, currently management is trying to fix that. I started at this place a year ago. Great people, just underpaid. We hopefully should get that worked out here in the next few weeks.