A debate over income and rising costs surfaced after friends questioned how someone in Texas earning about $70,000 a year still feels poor.
The original poster wrote on the r/Salary subreddit that the individual works at a restaurant, handles multiple duties, picks up extra shifts and shares rent with two roommates. Even so, the poster wrote that money continues to run out because of weekend spending, nights out and vacations where costs rise quickly, including casino stops.
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Income Isn't The Whole Story
According to the OP, rent is about $800 and total income ranges between $70,000 and $75,000 a year. They added that weekends often involve "hundreds of dollars" spent on drinks, and vacations become expensive because the individual tends to "spend like crazy."
The poster also wrote that the individual's sister argued the struggle comes from being "poor." However, the poster pushed back and compared it to their own experience earning the same salary in a more expensive city while still managing to save.
As the thread developed, several commenters challenged the sister's view. One Redditor wrote,
"This subs perception of salary is not realistic. 70k is not poor, especially somewhere where cost of living allows for an 800/mo apartment. Your friend never has money because your friend is bad with money."
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"I don’t understand how she ‘never has money' but appears to have lots of nights out and vacations. Thats where the money is going. Like duh," another wrote.
A different commenter highlighted savings habits and added, "Actual poor people would never have 5K in the bank. There's also that stat about how about 60% of Americans do not have $1,000 on hand for an emergency."
Cost Pressures Add Complexity
The OP wrote that inflation has increased "like crazy" since they earned the same salary seven years earlier, though they still did not view $70,000 as poor in a low-cost part of Texas. As the thread widened, commenters began comparing how different households experience the same income in different ways. A user pointed to a pattern that extends beyond this single case and wrote, "Married or kids on a single income of 70k? Even rural areas would be tight. As a single person? F**k no. There's a very small number of cities where 70k as a single person isn't a comfy living in the US unless you're bad with debt."
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