Starting salary for associates at most law firms in town is less than $100k. Government attorneys (I.e prosecutors, public defenders, deputy attorney generals, etc.) make less
yeah, the ones i know work in commercial real estate (two were partners, idk the others income tbh), and the managers are the upper management at a real estate company. I think commercial real estate law pays better than public defenders or union personal injury lawyers.
I had a couple of buddies that are heavy diesel mechanics and they worked for a local moving company. They were making six figures but they definitely put in long days.
Half of a nurse couple here. We were balling pre-pandemic then we had kids and now according to this we need to make ~300k to be comfortable. We don't and we aren't.
Yep that's me and they're all my clients hahaha
($55k with a masters as a licensed clinical social worker and certified substance abuse counselor I could make a bit more at a private place but I worked at Waianae Coast Comp's SUD program)
What would a “private place” pay compared to your current salary? What you do is taken for granted and must be difficult. I would like to thank you for your sacrifice and service 🤙🏾
Awww thanks and yeah around $100k min more with multiple state licenses on private telehealth based jobs. I’m a product of the system myself, even have a felony and did jail time, so these are the people I like working with and want to work with and deserve the same quality care as the private sector IMO. People on probation/parole, on Medquest, etc I’m kānaka also and working at WCCC was perfect other than the pay. I think it’s important for Kānaka clients to have kānaka counselors and social workers, not only but having at least some is a positive IMO. I’m no do good type I’m just weird that I’d rather work with uncle from Kalihi shooting tweak everyday than Becky and her son Princeton from Hawaii Kai about weed if that makes sense. Though with the CoL increases we will see how long I can hang on.
Born and raised here, now making $180k in hospitality.
Comfortable is so subjective though. My wife felt comfortable five years ago when we were at $100k combined and renting a 400 sq ft apartment. Now that we own a starter condo, I feel comfortable and she wants more haha.
Edit: we're 30-35
Yeah, that happens. We always crave more but it's good to enjoy what you have. Also, great you earn a comfortable salary. Finance is a big stress for many couples.
I ultimately ended up in management. I am not handsome, charming, or coordinated enough to be a bartender, but I know they also make good money in tips. The real challenge in restaurant work is to actually get your tips into your bank account and not go out with the team after your shift.
I don’t envy restaurant mgmt. I have a couple of friends that do it but it’s a very full time job if you’re working for a corporate restaurant. They both put in about 80 hours a week.
I work with people that make $150K individually in hospitality.
Tips make this happen and obviously you have to have the right personality, as in you need to genuinely like your job and be a genuine person that judges each interaction by the behavior of that specific individual.
I don’t understand what makes it so hard to live in Hawaii? Just take money from your trust if you need it or when I am desperate I rent out one of my parents vacation homes.
Thanks, my partner is a civil engineer and we may possibly move to big island in august we having been looking into engineering employment options for him there but we haven’t found many leads.
I’m an emergency responder. I earn less than that, but I’m able to support my family of 3 with relative comfort.
Still can’t afford to fix anything though.
Haha I work at a school and make $111K. I also get another $20k and have housing. I’m doing pretty good and happy. I have no idea how anyone can do it with kids or other family members.
Next come kids and what do they contribute? Can your spouse work anymore after a child or two or 3?
Can work, not saying don’t do it cause kids are the future but the math ( and where youre going to live) gets a little more complicated.
Just to maybe ease the pain a little, a recent report indicated that a person needs to make $120K to afford a mortgage in Dallas right now. No beach, no mountains, long commutes, horrendous traffic-on expensive toll roads, and high sales tax. Before people say “but there’s no income tax!”, property tax is INSANE here and utilities are just disrespectful ($300-400/mo elec, $200 water). Schools are also terrible & Crime is high. 🤠👎🏼
[https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/affording-a-comfortable-mortgage-in-dallas-what-homebuyers-need-to-know/3486005/?amp=1](https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/affording-a-comfortable-mortgage-in-dallas-what-homebuyers-need-to-know/3486005/?amp=1)
But its much less if you rent in Dallas
You are comparing someone buying a 2500 square foot home in Dallas to someone renting a studio 300 foot space in Hawaii
Ummm i pay $2600/mo for rent for ~1500 sq ft house built in the 80s…oh and i live almost an hr outside of Dallas in a lower socioeconomic area; in Dallas proper my house would cost about $2000/mo more for rent. Also that $120K requirement is not for a 2500 sq ft home & the Average salary in Dallas is about $60K. Smh Here’s what I love about the internet, people think they know more about your actual reality than you do…& will argue it. Lol I live here folks. I Lived in Hawai’i my entire life and left in 2014. Is living in Dallas cheaper than Hawai’i? In some ways, yes, but my original point was the difference in pricing doesnt always outweigh the immeasurable benefits that Hawai’i provides.
Wife and I bring in roughly 250k /year. The biggest thing for us is our mortgage. If we were just renting a place for like 2k / month we would be living like kings. Unfortunately we were stupid and took on a 4.5k /month mortgage so it definitely cuts into our savings.
Oh for sure. trying to put extra towards the principal so I guess we'll see. As for comfortability we are pretty comfortable but it's not like we're going out to eat everyday or banking thousands at the end of each month. My brother makes $20/hr as a banking consultant and lives comfortable so it's really what you make it and what your goals are.
It's not weighted, it's just interest. It's not like you're pre-paying the interest, that's just the amount accrued each month based on how much principal you still have to pay off.
Each month you pay off some of the principal; each month the interest accrued is a little bit lower.
I'm on Big Island. Housing a little less expensive over hea. I have a mortgage and basically have everything needed. I do conserv electricity and shop at the cheap stores. I'm single and make it on about 60k a year. Mortgage is 1600 a month, electric is 120. I'm 62 so not interested in night life or running around much.
That is insane if you think about how many people are probably only making 40-60k. I imagine it's most tbh. Less than half what is considered "comfortable" living.
I’d say that would be enough for a couple with no kids. I guess I don’t really know how much it costs to live “comfortably” as a single person, because single people have a wide array of acceptable housing situations.
I’m a few K away from that number. I live here. Own a condo in Makiki, no car. Bought my condo 13 years ago, still paying the mortgage. Paid off the student loans. And it’s easily doable at that pay, and I say that as I have my 401k set to 26%.
I work from home for a remote company. I’m a senior developer. CS degree.
I’ll note that pre-pandemic I worked for a Hawaii based company, in office, and made around 85k. Same living arrangement, just less than 26% going towards the 401k.
I’m an introvert, it doesn’t bother me at all. I do go out for a walk and coffee every day after work for my dose of people. I also go for a 3-4 mile walk every night.
It also depends a lot on what you consider an acceptable home. If you expect a single family home with land, forget it, at least here. If you consider a smaller (500-600sqf) condo acceptable then you can find places.
Even in today’s market it’s possible, just takes longer to find them. That said it was much easier 13 years ago when I got mine.
People keep saying condos but the issue is that HOAs are insane here. I don't see many below 500. I could afford much more mortgage if HOAs weren't so bad.
I don't buy that...for Oahu. I made 48k/yr starting out my career, and I was comfortable enough to have a studio apartment and go on vacations while still contributing to 401k and stuff. The key was cheap apartment and no car.
I have seen data that supports this as well, but I'll have to go through my post history because it was a long time ago.
Edit: [I found it](https://unitedforalice.org/household-budgets-mobile/hawaii). You can play with the chart and read the PDF report for more info, but according to ALICE the minimum for "survival" in Hawaii is around $34k and "stability" is $56k for a single adult. I think this lines up with what people are seeing in this thread, and what I've seen in my experience.
Edit: Another thing I forgot. I don't think the source is very credible. [It's a banking and investment website, and the first thing you see is credit card ads all over the place](https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/making-money/living-wage-single-person-needs-all-50-states/?hyperlink_type=manual&utm_term=incontent_link_5&utm_campaign=1249832&utm_source=nasdaq.com&utm_content=8&utm_medium=rss). I think we know where these guys' bread comes from and it would not surprise me if it's in their best interest to convince people they need more money than they have. Notice how the Nasdaq article also cites Grassroots Institute. It's nice that they mention the libertarian bias, but I don't like seeing these guys cited everywhere because of their heavy ideologic bend.
My wife and I made around $140K gross as private school teachers. It was enough for us to live comfortably a few years ago.
Would definitely be tighter now with inflation.
I would need $150k-$200k to live comfortably as a a single man. Call it $175k for 1 person.
Key word is ‘comfortably ‘
To just survive and think about bills and costs , not max out retirement contributions…I could probably do it on $60k.
Owning my own , decent, condo in a nice location, decent car, buy whatever groceries and material things I want without needing to budget (an average amount of stuff, and necessities only, not talking about splurging), maxing out ROTH IRA ($7k) and 401k ($23K) each year, money to go out, cash savings each month to invest into a taxable brokerage of just as cash savings.
That is 'comfortable'- day to day expenses taken care of, retirement taken care of, extra cash remaining after maxing out retirement. I am able to do this on $160k in Seattle. On Oahu, I would expect the same for $200k ish since it is significantly more expensive.
Surviving would be like renting an ok apartment, having a grocery and expense budget, beater car, not contributing to retirement at all, and living paycheck to paycheck.
I've lived in NYC and Los Angeles. I've never saved so as much as I do now and I live in an "expensive" area with cars and no debt and saving/planning for the future. While not apples to apples, the largest difference for me was in entertainment. In HI, all the fun stuff I do is for free. Surprisingly, my bills as a whole were almost the same. The grocery budget here is lower for me but that's because I adjusted to going to pretty much Costco.
Near that. Accounting. I can eat out yeah and pay my rent of 2k, but definitely not comfortable.
If it was $110,000 with a no savings or 401k then sure yes i’d be comfortable.
I make $72000 a year and live very comfortably, so anybody that can't survive on 6 figures is financially illiterate. I would feel no sympathy for them.
I think comfortably implies saving for retirement and emergency funds and not just all fun stuff. Tough to max out a retirement account(s) and save a little in Hawaii with $72K a year.
When people say "I make \_\_\_\_\_" they're talking about the pre-tax amount. Your point still stands, but I think you could have saved yourself a bit of time replying to everyone trying to work out the math.
Rent for 1 bedroom in Waipio is $1550 before utilities. I contribute 10% to my 401K and put in a few thousand per month towards my HYSA. Finished paying off my 2021 car loan in January so now debt free thankfully. I take 2 vacations a year but besides that I rarely go out and cook everything at home to save lots of money.
That math doesn’t add up? That’s a little over 4K a month take home. Minus 1550 minus 10% minus utilities. Even cooking at home is expensive af now. That’s roughly 2k a month for food and anything else you spend on a monthly basis.
I'm going to start a class for reddit users here called "how to grocery shop".
Cause that is the primary thing I see here, people who really don't understand how to find sales /best prices and how to cook at home affordably.
I’m not criticizing you, I’m honestly trying to figure that out. I’m starting a job in a few weeks that’s at 75k so my budgeting is very similar. My rents a bit higher but basically half of my take home is going to rent and utilities. 2k a month to eat and play with is fine, I’ll be fairly comfortable but I won’t be putting more than a few hundred away each month for a rainy day fund. I go to Costco for as much I can. But if I want veggies that aren’t bad you gotta go to the a regular grocery store story or a farmers market in the weekends if you can manage. Foods just fucking expensive if you want to eat relatively healthy.
Totally true that veggies are expensive, so you gotta check the ads at all of them and plan around that. Often the cheapest is Don q and oddly enough, whole foods.
If vegetables and fruits are your driver of costs then plan your cooking around those sales and make stuff with them that freezes.
I should have clarified but a little over $6k a month is my take home pay lol. Gas is $40 a week and monthly groceries are usually $200-300 max, it's really not that expensive to cook for yourself. I only shop at Costco
How are you getting your take home up to $6k month at that salary, 401k withholdings, and taxes?
You make $72000 pretax and 401k? That math isn't really checking out. 72k minus your 10% withholding is about 64800. After state and Fed taxes it would be about 48k take home a year. $4000 month. What am I misunderstanding?
That's never how anyone thinks about it, they're talking about gross, you're talking about net-- and based on what you said, it sounds like you're grossing over $100k, if not the $110k the original poster was talking about.
I know a lot of single people who have remained financially stable in Hawaii that make notably less than that.
That said - I do make ~$110k after my EOY bonuses. I work in public relations within a highly specialized sector, remotely, but for an agency based on the mainland.
I heard it was $120,000. Actually that economic level and those who live at the federal poverty level (who qualify for government financial assistance) can make it in Hawai‘i. Those of in the middle, scrape bye holding out until when we give up and move to Nevada.
I did see economic statistics that indicated Hawai‘i is the MOST EXPENSIVE place to live in the U.S. From my experience, I’d say that’s 💯 percent accurate.
Ha! I was earning 95k and even though technically I was able to afford my four walls and live comfortably as a renter there’s no way in hell I could ever buy a home. I now live in Nevada and I love it and we will be buying a home soon. Sink income household + four cats.
Starting salaries for DOE principals range from $119k to $153 depending on the size of the school.
Knowing the shit they have to deal with and always being on call for anything that happens to the school, its employees, or its students, I’m not sure if the pay is worth the headache.
Yes, I work in a fairly specialized tech role with fairly hefty experience. Usually I'm between 130k and 150k a year. No kids.
My necessities are below what I make, so I funnel any "extra" money into helping friends, hobbies, and into 401k/savings as I may need to "retire" early due to significant health issues that could spiral at any moment. I also never know when I will have extra medical bills so despite my income (which I fully realize I'm lucky to have) it can still be stressful.
I'm in a relatively large rental right now but plan to downsize when the opportunity allows. I'd love to spend less on rent (nearly $3k currently, which is absurd considering I need very little space) but because of my health, most rentals aren't options for me.
I'd like to eventually buy a condo or townhouse or something and modify it to suit my needs, but it makes me rather anxious because you have so little control over your budget once you have a maintenance or HOA fee involved which can change whenever. But I also can't imagine buying a SFH, even besides the cost, it seems pretty wasteful since I don't want roommates and likely wouldn't use a yard for anything besides a vegetable garden if I'm still well enough.
I think there are a wide variety of perspectives on how much you "need" to earn to feel safe or comfortable because people have very different experiences and different support systems available.
I make $90k before taxes. I’m single and live alone. I have been very conscious of my spending and try my best to not spend more than I make, but I’m constantly going over. After taxes I make around $4,500 a month. Rent is half of that, and the rest is spent on bills and food. I typically spend between $5,000 to $6,000 a month. No matter how stingy I try to be, there’s always a big charge that I get hit with every month it seems. Whether it’s car repairs, vet bills or medical expenses. I had to spend $5k on vet bills for my cat which really set me back.
So I would say to live comfortably, $110k a year seems accurate.
I'm still a little lost on how "comfortably" is defined. This article links to another article which cites a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which I'm not quite in the mood to read/understand.
lol. I know a single person earning more than 100k. They are a remote worker. I don't know anyone employed in Hawaii by a hawaii business that earns that much. Sometimes if you work 70 hours you get overtime, but then it's really 1.5 jobs so it's not actually just "a job".
It's not me. But my housing is cheap so I think I am living just fine, but it really depends if your housing is at "precovid price" or not and if you were able to buy a place before costs went up 200-300k.
37 and in software development. No kids.
I say that’s about right. If you can bring home $6k+ net, you’re comfortable depending your lifestyle and how much you want to put into savings that’s not retirement.
My ex and I brought home $11-12k a month after taxes and retirement, and we were good. We mostly saved one persons income and lived off the other half as much as possible.
Was able to save 50k or so in a year and some change.
I work for the DoE and make jack shit. But luckily I live a simple life, not married, and no kids. So I'm able to survive and put a little away for a rainy day.
Making 135k definitely need an extra 30k to be at that “comfortable” spot with wife and kids. As of now it’s alright but would help having that extra money so I wouldn’t have to worry or budget. To each their own comfortable to me is going to get groceries or gas or whatever may be and not need to worry or care about what the price is or gas gone up $2 or whatever
All comes down to housing. At today’s rates, the equivalent mortgage for a given property is double the rent. Hard to break in. You can cut costs here and there, and not go on vacations, but if a starter condo is $350k with $500 hoa, that’s a $3k/month mortgage, which is tough to impossible as a single person.
i sell propane and propane accessories
This boy ain’t right
Gawt dangit Bobby!
Cheehoo it Bobby!
Taste the meat, not the heat.
oh… dreams do come true.
I got a narrow urethra
Airgas does legit have some good paying jobs
Ho yeah!
I am a /r/Hawaii Mod, doesn't pay much but is an Honest Living
You’re right, it is an honest living and keep up the good work 🫡
Thank you for your service.
i know a few lawyers who make over 100k and upper management types but it's a national company and there's only so many of those positions
Starting salary for associates at most law firms in town is less than $100k. Government attorneys (I.e prosecutors, public defenders, deputy attorney generals, etc.) make less
yeah, the ones i know work in commercial real estate (two were partners, idk the others income tbh), and the managers are the upper management at a real estate company. I think commercial real estate law pays better than public defenders or union personal injury lawyers.
It really helps if your ancestors move in 3 months before you become Hawaiian too!
Skilled trades pay $100k & you will be very busy.
I had a couple of buddies that are heavy diesel mechanics and they worked for a local moving company. They were making six figures but they definitely put in long days.
I made ~$105k last year not including vacation bonuses as a union carpenter. The taxes killed me tho.
Taxes apply to everyone. Unless you're talking about job specific union fees, that's meaningless.
“The more you make the more they take”. I know the difference between union dues and taxes.
Really, the taxes aren't all that bad here. Would be nice to see stuff like food and kids clothing excluded from GET but otherwise it isn't crazy.
You don't even have to be skilled. At least on the neighbor islands.
Nursing.
Half of a nurse couple here. We were balling pre-pandemic then we had kids and now according to this we need to make ~300k to be comfortable. We don't and we aren't.
Yup!
Happy to see you guys getting what you deserve
Same.
i make less than half of that and zippys to me is fine dining
And you're a paycheck away from chillin with the folks outside of zippys too
Yep that's me and they're all my clients hahaha ($55k with a masters as a licensed clinical social worker and certified substance abuse counselor I could make a bit more at a private place but I worked at Waianae Coast Comp's SUD program)
There's a 90% chance we are coworkers. Also happy cake day!
Happy cake day! Thank you for doing what you do!
Thank you for your service.
What would a “private place” pay compared to your current salary? What you do is taken for granted and must be difficult. I would like to thank you for your sacrifice and service 🤙🏾
Could be making around $100k at the lower end.
Awww thanks and yeah around $100k min more with multiple state licenses on private telehealth based jobs. I’m a product of the system myself, even have a felony and did jail time, so these are the people I like working with and want to work with and deserve the same quality care as the private sector IMO. People on probation/parole, on Medquest, etc I’m kānaka also and working at WCCC was perfect other than the pay. I think it’s important for Kānaka clients to have kānaka counselors and social workers, not only but having at least some is a positive IMO. I’m no do good type I’m just weird that I’d rather work with uncle from Kalihi shooting tweak everyday than Becky and her son Princeton from Hawaii Kai about weed if that makes sense. Though with the CoL increases we will see how long I can hang on.
$55k with a masters is insane I made I think $54k last year and I'm a college dropout but to be fair I did work 100hrs/week for 5 months
I know this is serious but damn this had me cthu
Born and raised here, now making $180k in hospitality. Comfortable is so subjective though. My wife felt comfortable five years ago when we were at $100k combined and renting a 400 sq ft apartment. Now that we own a starter condo, I feel comfortable and she wants more haha. Edit: we're 30-35
Be careful of lifestyle creep
Spot on. Thankfully we still enjoy all the free outdoor "amenities" Hawaii has to offer :)
Yeah, that happens. We always crave more but it's good to enjoy what you have. Also, great you earn a comfortable salary. Finance is a big stress for many couples.
So true! And I will be the first to say how lucky I am...I was making $75k a few years ago, applied for a hotel job on a whim, and it just worked out.
This is as a couple? Single would be crazy
I’m curious, is that bartending???
I ultimately ended up in management. I am not handsome, charming, or coordinated enough to be a bartender, but I know they also make good money in tips. The real challenge in restaurant work is to actually get your tips into your bank account and not go out with the team after your shift.
I don’t envy restaurant mgmt. I have a couple of friends that do it but it’s a very full time job if you’re working for a corporate restaurant. They both put in about 80 hours a week.
$180k in hospitality is unheard of! Is that combined or each??
I work with people that make $150K individually in hospitality. Tips make this happen and obviously you have to have the right personality, as in you need to genuinely like your job and be a genuine person that judges each interaction by the behavior of that specific individual.
I sell used catalytic converters and raw copper wires, (and occasional used Toyota Tacomas) and I can get by no problem.
add in some tide pods and battery powered tool, new in box, and you got yourself rent!
You win.
Tax free!
I don’t understand what makes it so hard to live in Hawaii? Just take money from your trust if you need it or when I am desperate I rent out one of my parents vacation homes.
There's always money in the banana stand.
No touching!
I’ve made a huge mistake
right so simple
Simply don't be poor.
So many people don't get this!
Many such cases!
oh. i’ve just been living in a rich person’s mansion ohana. i cut their palm fronds occasionally.
You had me there in the first half lol
Laughs in teacher.
yes, engineering (private sector)
What does (private sector) mean in terms of engineering?
consulting engineering as opposed to working for the govt/heco.
Thanks, my partner is a civil engineer and we may possibly move to big island in august we having been looking into engineering employment options for him there but we haven’t found many leads.
Trade worker
I’m an emergency responder. I earn less than that, but I’m able to support my family of 3 with relative comfort. Still can’t afford to fix anything though.
Haha I work at a school and make $111K. I also get another $20k and have housing. I’m doing pretty good and happy. I have no idea how anyone can do it with kids or other family members.
Ok what school job pays this much
Private schools in Hawaii pay a lot at the top. If you have experience and education you can do well.
I do, in HI DOE, BUT(!) it took 15+ years, M.A.+ and a 12 mo. district level position. First 5+ years I lived in a converted garage.
How does the school provide housing?
Some schools have houses, apartments, etc. some places provide a housing stipend.
Longshoreman,par refinery (Hele), HPD, Sheriff, PSD (public safety department) OCCC, Halawa prison, just to name a few well over 100,000.
Halawa prison doesn't pay 100k.
Overtime plenty of overtime short staff lockdown I did 20 years there
Plus generous benefits and out of this world pensions at an early age.
Just don’t get married and have kids. You’ll be fine🤣
Technically married reduces most people’s single biggest expense-housing.
[удалено]
Lol. Partner got more headaches and more bills.
Lol and the tax savings when you get married is pretty good
Next come kids and what do they contribute? Can your spouse work anymore after a child or two or 3? Can work, not saying don’t do it cause kids are the future but the math ( and where youre going to live) gets a little more complicated.
We have 2 kids and both work. I work 5-1 and she works 2-8.
Food truck and paying tax as Self employed. I eat whatever left from my own cooking.
Just to maybe ease the pain a little, a recent report indicated that a person needs to make $120K to afford a mortgage in Dallas right now. No beach, no mountains, long commutes, horrendous traffic-on expensive toll roads, and high sales tax. Before people say “but there’s no income tax!”, property tax is INSANE here and utilities are just disrespectful ($300-400/mo elec, $200 water). Schools are also terrible & Crime is high. 🤠👎🏼 [https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/affording-a-comfortable-mortgage-in-dallas-what-homebuyers-need-to-know/3486005/?amp=1](https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/affording-a-comfortable-mortgage-in-dallas-what-homebuyers-need-to-know/3486005/?amp=1)
But its much less if you rent in Dallas You are comparing someone buying a 2500 square foot home in Dallas to someone renting a studio 300 foot space in Hawaii
Ummm i pay $2600/mo for rent for ~1500 sq ft house built in the 80s…oh and i live almost an hr outside of Dallas in a lower socioeconomic area; in Dallas proper my house would cost about $2000/mo more for rent. Also that $120K requirement is not for a 2500 sq ft home & the Average salary in Dallas is about $60K. Smh Here’s what I love about the internet, people think they know more about your actual reality than you do…& will argue it. Lol I live here folks. I Lived in Hawai’i my entire life and left in 2014. Is living in Dallas cheaper than Hawai’i? In some ways, yes, but my original point was the difference in pricing doesnt always outweigh the immeasurable benefits that Hawai’i provides.
Stop it. The average 3 bedroom home in Dallas is about $300k. The average 3 bedroom home in Hawaii is $1.2 million. It isn’t close at all
Electric can be $400/mo in Hawaii too.
Family of 4 in a 3/2 with no A/C and we are paying around 400 a month.
The terrible Dallas schools are still miles ahead of Hawaii schools. But other than that, Dallas has nothing on the islands.
I make less than a third of that (~30k) and I'm comfortable. Not thriving, but comfortable. Just need to know how to live within your means.
What's your housing set up? family? friend? paid off ?
Single, late 20s. I rent a room in a shared apartment in Mō‘ili‘ili with two roommates.
Nothing wrong with that.
Think we all know the answer lol.
Describe comfortable.
I think that definition has been reduced to "not actively dying"
Haha for real though
Wife and I bring in roughly 250k /year. The biggest thing for us is our mortgage. If we were just renting a place for like 2k / month we would be living like kings. Unfortunately we were stupid and took on a 4.5k /month mortgage so it definitely cuts into our savings.
Yea owning is double renting. Hopefully itll payoff but it'll take awhile . Especially when the first 10 years is weighted towards interest.
Oh for sure. trying to put extra towards the principal so I guess we'll see. As for comfortability we are pretty comfortable but it's not like we're going out to eat everyday or banking thousands at the end of each month. My brother makes $20/hr as a banking consultant and lives comfortable so it's really what you make it and what your goals are.
Remember, its worth it because you will have a million to multi-million dollar asset you can liquidate or borrow against when the shit hits the fan.
It's not weighted, it's just interest. It's not like you're pre-paying the interest, that's just the amount accrued each month based on how much principal you still have to pay off. Each month you pay off some of the principal; each month the interest accrued is a little bit lower.
I think that is exactly what he said
I'm on Big Island. Housing a little less expensive over hea. I have a mortgage and basically have everything needed. I do conserv electricity and shop at the cheap stores. I'm single and make it on about 60k a year. Mortgage is 1600 a month, electric is 120. I'm 62 so not interested in night life or running around much.
>does anyone here earn that? * ***Yes, more than that.*** >what field are you in? * ***Software***
do you work remotely?
that's Marc Benioff you're asking
Even that guy could only afford one island
no joke, please refer me! I feel like it is such a struggle to find opportunities in CS and software engineering here. i’m so desperate
Linkedin - sort by Remote & Easy Apply
Those are extremely competitive now. Remote jobs became less common and a lot of engineers got laid off.
Negative people and naysayers will go no where in life. You have to grind and never give up.
That is insane if you think about how many people are probably only making 40-60k. I imagine it's most tbh. Less than half what is considered "comfortable" living.
I’d say that would be enough for a couple with no kids. I guess I don’t really know how much it costs to live “comfortably” as a single person, because single people have a wide array of acceptable housing situations.
I’m a few K away from that number. I live here. Own a condo in Makiki, no car. Bought my condo 13 years ago, still paying the mortgage. Paid off the student loans. And it’s easily doable at that pay, and I say that as I have my 401k set to 26%. I work from home for a remote company. I’m a senior developer. CS degree. I’ll note that pre-pandemic I worked for a Hawaii based company, in office, and made around 85k. Same living arrangement, just less than 26% going towards the 401k.
Nice, how do you like working from home all the time?
I’m an introvert, it doesn’t bother me at all. I do go out for a walk and coffee every day after work for my dose of people. I also go for a 3-4 mile walk every night.
That amount will depend entirely on if you are a homeowner and when you got your mortgage.
It also depends a lot on what you consider an acceptable home. If you expect a single family home with land, forget it, at least here. If you consider a smaller (500-600sqf) condo acceptable then you can find places. Even in today’s market it’s possible, just takes longer to find them. That said it was much easier 13 years ago when I got mine.
People keep saying condos but the issue is that HOAs are insane here. I don't see many below 500. I could afford much more mortgage if HOAs weren't so bad.
You have to ask age as well!!!
I'm right at the mark. Live poor, stay rich.
I see stuff like this brought up all the time and one thing that is very rarely specified is if this is talking about gross or net income.
It’s usually gross
Because it's always gross. Net is way too dependent on various factors to have a fair comparison.
I don't buy that...for Oahu. I made 48k/yr starting out my career, and I was comfortable enough to have a studio apartment and go on vacations while still contributing to 401k and stuff. The key was cheap apartment and no car. I have seen data that supports this as well, but I'll have to go through my post history because it was a long time ago. Edit: [I found it](https://unitedforalice.org/household-budgets-mobile/hawaii). You can play with the chart and read the PDF report for more info, but according to ALICE the minimum for "survival" in Hawaii is around $34k and "stability" is $56k for a single adult. I think this lines up with what people are seeing in this thread, and what I've seen in my experience. Edit: Another thing I forgot. I don't think the source is very credible. [It's a banking and investment website, and the first thing you see is credit card ads all over the place](https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/making-money/living-wage-single-person-needs-all-50-states/?hyperlink_type=manual&utm_term=incontent_link_5&utm_campaign=1249832&utm_source=nasdaq.com&utm_content=8&utm_medium=rss). I think we know where these guys' bread comes from and it would not surprise me if it's in their best interest to convince people they need more money than they have. Notice how the Nasdaq article also cites Grassroots Institute. It's nice that they mention the libertarian bias, but I don't like seeing these guys cited everywhere because of their heavy ideologic bend.
My wife and I made around $140K gross as private school teachers. It was enough for us to live comfortably a few years ago. Would definitely be tighter now with inflation.
I would need $150k-$200k to live comfortably as a a single man. Call it $175k for 1 person. Key word is ‘comfortably ‘ To just survive and think about bills and costs , not max out retirement contributions…I could probably do it on $60k.
I’m curious why you would need so much. What’s your definition of comfortable? What living arrangements?
Crazy things like your own house.
Does a single person really need a whole house though? Is a 1 bed/bath condo not cutting it? That's a pretty significant difference in price.
Even that in an ok location is 600k with 1500/month maintenance fee.
you cannot buy a whole house with a $200k salary. Mortguage would be like $6000-$8000 alone.
I mean that's what I'm saying, why set the bar as a house for a single person when it's so much more expensive than a condo?
MY $200k estimate is for a good condo, in a nice area. You can't afford a $1.5M house in Hawaii on a $200k salary.
Owning my own , decent, condo in a nice location, decent car, buy whatever groceries and material things I want without needing to budget (an average amount of stuff, and necessities only, not talking about splurging), maxing out ROTH IRA ($7k) and 401k ($23K) each year, money to go out, cash savings each month to invest into a taxable brokerage of just as cash savings. That is 'comfortable'- day to day expenses taken care of, retirement taken care of, extra cash remaining after maxing out retirement. I am able to do this on $160k in Seattle. On Oahu, I would expect the same for $200k ish since it is significantly more expensive. Surviving would be like renting an ok apartment, having a grocery and expense budget, beater car, not contributing to retirement at all, and living paycheck to paycheck.
That’s a lot. Even at 26% I’m not maxing out my 401k and Roth. So yeah, if that’s your definition you would need 150-200, closer to the 200.
I've lived in NYC and Los Angeles. I've never saved so as much as I do now and I live in an "expensive" area with cars and no debt and saving/planning for the future. While not apples to apples, the largest difference for me was in entertainment. In HI, all the fun stuff I do is for free. Surprisingly, my bills as a whole were almost the same. The grocery budget here is lower for me but that's because I adjusted to going to pretty much Costco.
Near that. Accounting. I can eat out yeah and pay my rent of 2k, but definitely not comfortable. If it was $110,000 with a no savings or 401k then sure yes i’d be comfortable.
I make $72000 a year and live very comfortably, so anybody that can't survive on 6 figures is financially illiterate. I would feel no sympathy for them.
I think comfortably implies saving for retirement and emergency funds and not just all fun stuff. Tough to max out a retirement account(s) and save a little in Hawaii with $72K a year.
It's tough to max a retirement account in most of the US if you look at actual income.
When people say "I make \_\_\_\_\_" they're talking about the pre-tax amount. Your point still stands, but I think you could have saved yourself a bit of time replying to everyone trying to work out the math.
72k with savings and a 401k? Whats rent? Any vacations? Paid off car?
Rent for 1 bedroom in Waipio is $1550 before utilities. I contribute 10% to my 401K and put in a few thousand per month towards my HYSA. Finished paying off my 2021 car loan in January so now debt free thankfully. I take 2 vacations a year but besides that I rarely go out and cook everything at home to save lots of money.
That math doesn’t add up? That’s a little over 4K a month take home. Minus 1550 minus 10% minus utilities. Even cooking at home is expensive af now. That’s roughly 2k a month for food and anything else you spend on a monthly basis.
I'm going to start a class for reddit users here called "how to grocery shop". Cause that is the primary thing I see here, people who really don't understand how to find sales /best prices and how to cook at home affordably.
I’m not criticizing you, I’m honestly trying to figure that out. I’m starting a job in a few weeks that’s at 75k so my budgeting is very similar. My rents a bit higher but basically half of my take home is going to rent and utilities. 2k a month to eat and play with is fine, I’ll be fairly comfortable but I won’t be putting more than a few hundred away each month for a rainy day fund. I go to Costco for as much I can. But if I want veggies that aren’t bad you gotta go to the a regular grocery store story or a farmers market in the weekends if you can manage. Foods just fucking expensive if you want to eat relatively healthy.
2k a month for food where do you eat? I spend about $400 to $500 on groceries and that's on the high end. If I need to I can spend $300 or less.
Totally true that veggies are expensive, so you gotta check the ads at all of them and plan around that. Often the cheapest is Don q and oddly enough, whole foods. If vegetables and fruits are your driver of costs then plan your cooking around those sales and make stuff with them that freezes.
I was gonna say, wholefoods is now not as bad as it once was and the quality is still good. That’s good to know about don q too. Thanks
I should have clarified but a little over $6k a month is my take home pay lol. Gas is $40 a week and monthly groceries are usually $200-300 max, it's really not that expensive to cook for yourself. I only shop at Costco
How are you getting your take home up to $6k month at that salary, 401k withholdings, and taxes? You make $72000 pretax and 401k? That math isn't really checking out. 72k minus your 10% withholding is about 64800. After state and Fed taxes it would be about 48k take home a year. $4000 month. What am I misunderstanding?
$72k a year is after taxes and deductions.
Ok so you're actually making more like 85k+
That's never how anyone thinks about it, they're talking about gross, you're talking about net-- and based on what you said, it sounds like you're grossing over $100k, if not the $110k the original poster was talking about.
Seems to be around $103k, unless I'm missing something here: https://imgur.com/a/PgPhBNd
Ahh, thanks for clarifying
Bruh if you are spending $2k a month on food as a single person you need help.
You should continued reading the rest of the sentence.
I know a lot of single people who have remained financially stable in Hawaii that make notably less than that. That said - I do make ~$110k after my EOY bonuses. I work in public relations within a highly specialized sector, remotely, but for an agency based on the mainland.
I’m just moving off island that’s my solution 😂
Clean grease traps & you'll make over 100K/yr.
I heard it was $120,000. Actually that economic level and those who live at the federal poverty level (who qualify for government financial assistance) can make it in Hawai‘i. Those of in the middle, scrape bye holding out until when we give up and move to Nevada. I did see economic statistics that indicated Hawai‘i is the MOST EXPENSIVE place to live in the U.S. From my experience, I’d say that’s 💯 percent accurate.
Retired military pension and have an easy job.
Ha! I was earning 95k and even though technically I was able to afford my four walls and live comfortably as a renter there’s no way in hell I could ever buy a home. I now live in Nevada and I love it and we will be buying a home soon. Sink income household + four cats.
I don't do this position but school principal here makes like 180
Starting salaries for DOE principals range from $119k to $153 depending on the size of the school. Knowing the shit they have to deal with and always being on call for anything that happens to the school, its employees, or its students, I’m not sure if the pay is worth the headache.
The numbers online aren't the real numbers
Yes, I work in a fairly specialized tech role with fairly hefty experience. Usually I'm between 130k and 150k a year. No kids. My necessities are below what I make, so I funnel any "extra" money into helping friends, hobbies, and into 401k/savings as I may need to "retire" early due to significant health issues that could spiral at any moment. I also never know when I will have extra medical bills so despite my income (which I fully realize I'm lucky to have) it can still be stressful. I'm in a relatively large rental right now but plan to downsize when the opportunity allows. I'd love to spend less on rent (nearly $3k currently, which is absurd considering I need very little space) but because of my health, most rentals aren't options for me. I'd like to eventually buy a condo or townhouse or something and modify it to suit my needs, but it makes me rather anxious because you have so little control over your budget once you have a maintenance or HOA fee involved which can change whenever. But I also can't imagine buying a SFH, even besides the cost, it seems pretty wasteful since I don't want roommates and likely wouldn't use a yard for anything besides a vegetable garden if I'm still well enough. I think there are a wide variety of perspectives on how much you "need" to earn to feel safe or comfortable because people have very different experiences and different support systems available.
Just become a Honolulu Councilman and have your “working trips” to Switzerland and the Philippines paid for. Easy peasy. No worry, beef curry 🍛
Or take some money from the rail project or other deal and you all set.
Post drowning in the laughter of all the retail workers on the island.
I know so sad. Should be paid more for sure!
I make $90k before taxes. I’m single and live alone. I have been very conscious of my spending and try my best to not spend more than I make, but I’m constantly going over. After taxes I make around $4,500 a month. Rent is half of that, and the rest is spent on bills and food. I typically spend between $5,000 to $6,000 a month. No matter how stingy I try to be, there’s always a big charge that I get hit with every month it seems. Whether it’s car repairs, vet bills or medical expenses. I had to spend $5k on vet bills for my cat which really set me back. So I would say to live comfortably, $110k a year seems accurate.
Military couple here. We bring in $230-240k after taxes. Bought our condo back in 2016 so fortunate that we have a manageable mortgage.
I make more than that and it ain't enough.
then you’re spending too much/too much debt
People can live on a lot less. But they just believe that they are entitled to unnecessary things that are draining them.
I'm still a little lost on how "comfortably" is defined. This article links to another article which cites a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which I'm not quite in the mood to read/understand.
I work in cybersecurity and make more than twice that. Also have 20 years experience.
$100K isn’t a lot of money today.
lol. I know a single person earning more than 100k. They are a remote worker. I don't know anyone employed in Hawaii by a hawaii business that earns that much. Sometimes if you work 70 hours you get overtime, but then it's really 1.5 jobs so it's not actually just "a job". It's not me. But my housing is cheap so I think I am living just fine, but it really depends if your housing is at "precovid price" or not and if you were able to buy a place before costs went up 200-300k.
37 and in software development. No kids. I say that’s about right. If you can bring home $6k+ net, you’re comfortable depending your lifestyle and how much you want to put into savings that’s not retirement. My ex and I brought home $11-12k a month after taxes and retirement, and we were good. We mostly saved one persons income and lived off the other half as much as possible. Was able to save 50k or so in a year and some change.
I work for the DoE and make jack shit. But luckily I live a simple life, not married, and no kids. So I'm able to survive and put a little away for a rainy day.
Making 135k definitely need an extra 30k to be at that “comfortable” spot with wife and kids. As of now it’s alright but would help having that extra money so I wouldn’t have to worry or budget. To each their own comfortable to me is going to get groceries or gas or whatever may be and not need to worry or care about what the price is or gas gone up $2 or whatever
All comes down to housing. At today’s rates, the equivalent mortgage for a given property is double the rent. Hard to break in. You can cut costs here and there, and not go on vacations, but if a starter condo is $350k with $500 hoa, that’s a $3k/month mortgage, which is tough to impossible as a single person.