Trent is always writing about focusing on the future, but here he is advocating looking at the salary at the job you have RIGHT NOW. He is not taking into account the future raise and promotion prospects of the job. I wonder what his friend that worked at the gas station 10 years ago is doing now? Hopefully he did not have Trent’s mindset and found a job that offered some possibility for advancement!

Once I deducted all the expenses involved in me going to work (including child care – a substantial sum), I was able to figure out how much I was actually making. I figured that I could save nearly that much by doing things that I just didn’t have time to when I worked outside of the home. I look at it as my job to find ways to save or make money while at home and I’ve actually done pretty well. We lead a rather simple life and our expenses are very low, even though we live on the outskirts of a major city. And I get to stay home with my child! I’m actually very happy with this decision, but I realize it’s not for everyone.

The only time when all payroll taxes are avoided is when you’re paid “under the table” and the wages aren’t reported to the IRS by either employer or employee. Such tax avoidance seems beneficial at the time but it comes back to bite you upon retirement, you never receive benefits from those “missing” wage quarters.

I live in NE Florida which isn’t known for its great wages, /and/ I never finished college due to a lot of personal problems. I’m going back this year, though, thanks to tuition reimbursement. I’m 16 credit hours from an AA then I’m moving on to AS and then BS. So yeah, my minimal earnings are my fault and I’m not blaming anyone for my geographic and educational status…

But that aside it really bothers me when people sniff at $40k or so…’that’s not THAT much’…hey, if I made that much I wouldn’t have to live in the stabbity-stabbity side of town and I could afford to replace my 15 year old car…

b. The problem is also in upward mobility. That $40K job ten plus years ago could have been a first stepping stone to $100K job now. That he chose not to pursue that was his decision and is fine. But I can say that though I didn’t make anything near $40K when I graduated I’m making three times my first salary out of college after taking inflation into account and did it via promotions and opportunities from that first job (not everyone wants or needs to be an entrepreneur).

c. This is just the kind of justification for some people to stop trying, to complain, to make excuses (e.g. “Why make more money, I’d just have to pay more taxes.”). Sometimes this type of analysis is constructive as long as you’re looking big picture and not just short term. But too many folks walk their lives always staring at their next step and never look up to see they’re walking towards a cliff.

Median starting pay for new grads in 2009-2010 however was just $27k. However in there are some people who do not work in fields at all related to their major. If you just look at people who work in fields related to their major then median starting pay is $34k.

Trent graduated from college probably 10-15 years ago and $40k was certainly a very good wage then, especially in Iowa.

After calculating in the extra commute by bus to work, I’m making $13/hour… But I can’t afford a car, nice clothes, or meals out. So who was financially better off, really?

But, money aside, there are a lot of real and important benefits to having a higher-paying job. People who make more money have a much better chance of making adequate retirement contributions, having a job with real benefits, enjoying a safety net (both in terms of finances and having an education), and the opportunity for future growth in position and income. All of these are much more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with a minimum wage job.

This comparison is entirely inaccurate and misleading.

Frequently this argument Trent is highlighting is used by new parents/moms to decide whether to stay home or work. But I find it really misses the big elephant in the room, future opportunity costs.

I have lots of acquaintances/neighbors who decided to stay home and COULD afford it at the time but then the economy tanked and some partners lost jobs and boom! they are now looking for high paying jobs but can’t get them, even if they were qualified just a few years ago.

This info leads us to conclude that Trent made $40k in 2005 or so.

Regarding the dispute over the unbilled time, he later states that including travel time, there was “an average of 57 hours a week spent devoted to my job.” So he definitely didn’t mean that he was doing 50 unbilled hours a week.

Also, seconding Jim on Trent’s hilariously low FICA tax estimate.

Despite this, I’m looking at changing jobs in the near future. I’ve found it really beneficial to take a look at all the cost outlays that I’d have to address if I took another job, even at another state agency where benefits are comparable (and they have a similar benefits calculator).

For example, if I got a new job, I’d have to get another car (we’re currently a one-car family) and increase my commute time. The longer workday might also affect childcare costs and make it harder to stay frugal at mealtimes (longer commute means less time to cook, making drive-through or another cheaper, faster option more attractive). Also, if there’s a different corporate culture, there’s also wardrobe considerations and possibly pressure to eat out at lunch with colleagues regularly (which I don’t experience now since I usually go home for lunch, something I might not be able to do at a new job).

On the flip side of this hypothetical situation, there are a lot of intrinsic things I’d be trading for — the opportunity to move up, funding for professional association membership, new challenges in terms of responsibilities — that aren’t available to me at my current job. Notice, these are all things that don’t have a nice, neat dollar amount attached to them, but could prove invaluable to my future career growth.

So, regardless of whether or not you think the above calculations are accurate, it’s the doing them that’s most important here.