#because 'they don't have state income tax and the cost of living is so much lower'

[captainjonnitkessler]

Every time I’m forced to listen to a coworker preach about how Jordan Peterson or one of those other grifter assholes “changed his life” and “you have to listen to this podcast, I swear, you’ll never go back” I should get four hours of overtime added to my paycheck

[jitterbugjive]

So let me explain my bullshit situation.

I'm losing my state healthcare that has been covering all my needs for years now, even though I made less than I made last year.

This is the cheapest healthcare I qualify for. I make about 30K a year. They expect over a third of my income to go into medical care. I have to pay 360+ a month so that I still have to pay for appointments and meds, just "a little less".

-State healthcare was paying my room mate as my Personal Care Assistant, but she's losing that job because of this on Jan 31st which means the household will have 400 less to work with

-Rent costs 1740

-State healthcare threshold is 1780

-After taxes I make about 1800 a month from my job, before taxes around up to 2400 depending on the days I worked

-Room mate can only provide a few hundred at best without the PCA job because the art commission market is dying

-Cheapest insurance costs 370+, and many still come with added costs for meds and appointments

-Have MANY health needs, pre-diabetes, sleep apnea, psychotic mood disorder, acid reflux, ADHD, anxiety, transitional care, in desperate need of a surgery on a persistent cyst, plus some other miscellaneous health needs

-None of the insurances cover my antipsychotic injections which are vital because I cannot keep up with physical medications consistently

-None of the insurances cover all the clinics I'm with right now, many don't cover any of them at all

-Can't really afford to have less hours without having a cheaper place to live

-Most places want renters to make 3x the rent, and low income housing has a long long waitlist

-Make too much money to qualify for housing aid

So tell me the system isn't a big fucking nasty trap to make sure poor people are as miserable as fucking possible with no way out of being poor outside a godamn miracle

[phoenixyfriend]

I think one of the things that makes it possibly not... super clear why I'm so anxious about finding a job that pays enough. So uh. Here's the thing.

"In December 2022, 51% of people who earn more than $100,000 reported living paycheck to paycheck. [...] After taxes and adjusted for cost of living, $100,000 amounts to just $35,791 in New York, New York." - Time Magazine

Now... a lot of these people probably have dependents. Some are probably paying off student debt. Some may have medical debt. There are lot of reasons for a person to be living paycheck to paycheck.

But to pay off a most basic apartment in an outer borough, utilities, insurance, transportation, all taxes, and food, a touch of medical or dental, basic hygiene needs, the occasional treat? I need a 70k salary.

I could sell my car, in theory; the transit infrastructure is good enough, if I find a place near a subway station, even if I cannot do anything without it where I am now. I could get a roommate in a 2b instead of going solo in a 1b. I could live in the spare room of my parents' friends, even though I know from a friend that it's suboptimal. There are ways to make this work, obviously. There are people who make this work, millions of people in NYC who have been doing this for generations, and I am willing to compromise the way so many people do, sure, but...

Well, I'm bad at people. Getting a romantic partner isn't in the cards, really, and finding a roommate online is theoretically possible but fills me with anxiety to think about. It sucks that the rent is such that I have to. That health insurance is such that I have to. That I can't reasonably think about grad school until I've stockpiled some savings up again, just in case there's an emergency, because of the aforementioned health insurance situation.

People do it, sure, but there is not a single county in the entire United State where the minimum wage is enough for a single adult to live alone in an apartment. That's not really okay. Why should so many of us have to give up the most basic and affordable of luxuries because the economy favors those who came from wealth?

NYC might have a higher minimum wage than most, but a $15/hr minimum wage still doesn't mean much when the living wage is $25/hr for a single adult with no dependents.

(Did you know, the advice used to be that your rent should be no more than 20% of your income?)

IDK where I'm going with this. It's not a situation with an easy answer, and I'm not in a place to change anything directly. All I can do is keep looking for a job that pays me enough to survive, find someone I don't think is going to be a horrible roommate... or look into doing Chicago instead of NYC, I guess.

I just know that I can't stay in the suburbs forever. This place is killing me.

[bakafox]

Considering how I've been treated and seen people treated by their close communities- sorry if I just do not understand anarchism etc, but I would much rather fight for reforms where there is an institution/government that takes human rights into account, fight for reforms where the rich are taxed and that money then goes to UBI for all, subsidized healthcare for all, and better handled social security and other safety nets, where right now the problems are lack of funding and unfair gatekeeping as to who gets any help at all and a lot of people falling through the cracks based on race, gender, age, location, perceived income or ability etc-

Than fight for, what is it exactly? Hoping that my immediate community of people don't find reasons to gatekeep and refuse to help or can't afford to help so that people are falling through the cracks based on race, gender, age, perceived income or ability, but it's also more individually networked so that location also becomes even more of a dire reason that folks may fall through the cracks because their local groups just don't have the same resources as the local group down the road- having to pray that the local groups will play nicely when there's no real set of guidelines or rules agreed upon on how to spread the wealth and all the various needs that are rights?

Like, the more territory an agreement/social contract can cover, the more that is distributed, the more people it will help, but by the time you've got social contracts set up so that people in New York City are also seeing to it that there's help for people in Las Cruces and there's an even distribution of what's needed to all, and it's even over time and not just a week by week thing- doesn't that just mean it's basically laws and government?

Like, community action and goodwill towards others is super important, there is NO substitute for it- but it feels like there logically are some serious limitations on what can be done through community action.

In absolutely no universe would UBI at a federal level and probably even reformed medicaid for all and disability payments additional to UBI mean there's no need for volunteers or community, and no room for charity, but I can't see how people who focus solely on direct community action and say no one can depend on institutions and government at all can make up for the stable platform that a larger organization or institution/government can do if directed properly.

Like, current SSI sucks, it isn't really enough with today's cost of living, makes me jump through hoops to keep getting it every year or two, and a lot of people who need it are left out. But once approved for the current cycle, I don't have to go to church, I don't have to limit what types of food I eat beyond what I can afford on it, I don't have to be straight or otherwise seem 'normal', and in theory I could get the same $900 a month if I were black, or if I were older or younger than I am.

It also doesn't matter to SSI that my yard looks like a mess, I don't have to leave my house or stand in lines for it on any regular basis, I can be unshowered and sweaty and be in my worst mental state ever and I'm getting $900 a month even if no one outside of the computers at the SSA know I exist. I don't have to keep networking or be likeable in any way, shape, or form like trying to rely on people's kindness, on private charities or gofundmes.

The hoops I'm forced to jump through for SSI need to be gotten rid of, but even while they're here- they're... more able to be understood and countered and are well known, compared to knowing what it will take to get help elsewhere.

What replaces something like SSI better if it gets torn down, than trying to hammer out the dents, keep it functioning/standing, and making it work more fairly for even more people?

[ashadowofburnedoutstardust]

I'm bored and still not sleeping and still scrolling tiktok for what is pretty much the first time

I've come across a few Americans attempting to explain the debt that you encounter in your College/University education system

I've been well aware in New Zealand of what your tertiary education costs in the United States for quite some time

Comparative to here it is horrendously expensive

From my understanding the majority of you end up taking out Bank loans or something along those lines, I understand there's also student loan debt which I am less clear on how that operates but as far as I am aware you also get charged interest on both of these things

In New Zealand our education is still middle range in terms of cost but you should be able to reach PhD level still being under 100K, although you may not reach this level of debt it can greatly depend on what you study and how long you study

We have something similar to your student loans but our conditions are very different

So long as you live in New Zealand after your study while you are still paying off your loan, you are not charged any interest on your loan and your loan repayments are automatically deducted at a rate of 12% from your wages.

We also pay staggered level income taxes on top of that, as well as our ACC levy, but out of that we get healthcare as well as liability insurance in case of an accident. Keep in mind you can't sue people for that in this country, you're simply not able to legally do it without a lot of difficulty

If you have a legal issue with a government agency we also have government funded independent agencies that are able to act on your behalf in place of lawyers, so those ones that stand on street corners waiting for an accident chasing you with a card, they don't exist here

Anyway you can borrow the course fees, you can also borrow up to a thousand dollars per year to help with course related costs, I will admit this amount never covers the actual course related costs and as a bit of a running joke because it's piss all in terms of the cost of books etc although the movement to online learning has helped greatly reduce this over time, but it did mean arise in our course costs so that the provider was then required to provide you with all of your course materials

You can also borrow something called living costs where if you are unable to cover your bills you are able to borrow a little bit extra every week in order to meet your living costs

You are however required to pay back your course fees, your course related costs, and your living costs; all three of these things contribute to your loan total

We also have something called as student allowance

This is basically equal to a UBI that is applicable to students only. You are also able to borrow an accommodation supplement that goes along with your student allowance which is based entirely on your total income and how much you pay in rent. The accommodation supplement is exactly that, a supplement to help fund your accommodation

You are also able to get a job as a student while receiving the student allowance, you are able to earn up to a certain amount before your student allowance will start to be gradually decreased, it's something like it will be decreased 80 cents for every dollar you earn over a certain amount. The last time I studied while I was working the capped amount was about $180 before they would begin the reductions in your allowance amount, but this was also over a decade ago so I imagine it will have increased a bit since then

There is a limit to how much you are able to borrow and we use a system called EFTS or equivalent full-time study, which is basically a measure of time that should enable you to reach a master's level at the very least

We have had restrictions placed on masters degree students by the current ruling party in their previous term that put limitations on their access to the student allowance which enabled people to reach a higher level of study.

As a result people paid off their bachelors degree and then simply saved all of their money moved overseas and studied over there and got jobs there so great job to a shitty government that we are stuck with again on that one

While there are advantages to having this system in place, the student loan system was only introduced in the early 90s as a measure to stem the loss of qualified people leaving New Zealand due to low wages

The system may enable people to gain and education but it also change the student to what is equivalent to a modern day indentured service to the government that refused to improve workers conditions in terms of wages

I will mention that the entire reason that the wages sucked was due to the fact that the country was still recovering from the economic depression intentionally caused by the British government after we kicked them out in the 60s and 70s

This is the real reason you will have come into contact with millennial New Zealanders overseas and as part of the reason we do what is called an OE, or an overseas experience, what the Americans call a gap year

The idea behind it is first and foremost exploring the world as an adult, getting some life experience behind you. But if in that process you find yourself a better opportunity overseas when you were able to get a job that will train you, pay you better, and give you a better quality of life then you would seize it

Wow this post ended up a lot longer than I thought it would be I can't really put a tdlr after that can I?

Anyway it's not perfect, and we end up indentured slaves, but we can still access and education a lot more easily

Personally I think that education, especially higher education should be free at the very least for the citizens in the country that they are born, live, and reside in

It's a bit farfetched to dream that education would simply be free everywhere for everyone in the world but wouldn't that be a nice thing? Everybody could lift themselves up as well as each other

[walks-the-ages]

"I did not mean to derail this post"

so why are you still leaving paragraphs and paragraphs and paragraphs ignoring every single thing that was said before by the people you decided to argue with by saying that it's

"better to keep Democrats in office to hold them accountable for their actions, because if they lose office they'll just blame Republicans for the things they did"

????

"Why are you telling me your finances, do you seriously think I'm not also working class?"

I mean, if you actually fucking read my response where I spelled out my finances and engaged with it properly you would have seen the giant glaring message that I am spelling out my (and thus, 90% of American's reality) financial situation of 99% of my paycheck going towards basic living costs even before actual food is on the table because I'm pointing out how much fucking rediculous money politicians make when they hold the highest office in the Country ($400k per year + a $50k Expense Account) ,and thats what you're advocating to pay these people for them to continue to commit genocide.

you think its a good idea to keep Democrats in office because you somehow think that them staying in power and making life-changing amounts of money off of our tax dollars to continue that genocide with, because you think somehow you can hold them accountable even as you acknowledge its impossible to push them Left once they're elected into office???

make the fucking cognitive dissonance make sense.

You acknowledge Democrats are committing genocide

You acknowledge Democrats cannot be "Pushed Left"

You acknowledge that its a good thing for people to Vote Third Party ""if they believe it will work"".

But you also demonize people who choose not to vote even if you deny that "demonization" accusation as you continue to insist people who don't vote aren't doing anything at all politically.

You do all this......... as you then turn around and insist we actually need to keep Democrats in power, otherwise they'll just blame Republicans for Democrat's actions while in office, and somehow that will magically brainwash millions of Americans into...... uhhhhh caring about Palestine finally, because it will have been done by a party in red instead of blue?

"Democrats will just wash their hands of the blame for Palestine if they lose the election"

I mean, if you let them, sure! And you know how you let them wash their hands of the blame? by fucking voting for them. by endorsing them despite their genocidal actions and crimes against humanity.

The only people who are letting Democrats wash their hands of these atrocities are the people who vote for them despite knowing there's a dozen other options .

You can reblog as many donation posts as you want, but if you're advocating to reward Democrats for being genocidaires by keeping them in power against ALL advocacy by actual Palestinians and Arab Americans, including arguing with these people on their posts where they talk about how they're directly impacted by the Democrat's genocidal campaign... do you actually care about other people, or do you care more about maintaining the status quo??

Anyways. Vote Jill Stein for a Free Palestine.

Do not re-elect Genocidal warmongers.

Don't forget your daily clicks

And if you have any kind of disposable income , please donate directly to vetted Gaza funds if you can!

[judgedarts]

hi!! proud owner of i think 5 atp jojo chibi charms and VERY new artist alley vendor here and i was just wondering, how do you budget/manage costs for non local cons that might have high transportation costs or more expensive tables? do you usually make back what you spent on transport + table/tickets + merch production/ordering + etc at the con or is there a slight loss? this is mainly for my own reference asking someone successful so ty for answering!!!

hey! congratulations on becoming an AA vendor :,) im very honored that you've bought from me before and that you consider me a 'successful' vendor haha!

i'm really passionate when it comes to talking about AA stuff so I'll be putting my answer in the read more since it's pretty long lol!

to be honest, I'm in a very lucky position to be able to travel to conventions beyond the east coast because it can really get expensive T_T i think the most honest answer i can give you is that your first couple of cons most likely are going to be a slight loss for you income wise if you are planning on traveling for a convention - tbh, i generally don't recommend doing a convention out of your state/out of your means if you're very new to tabling. my very first conventions were in driving/public transport distance (i love you new york and new jersey!!!) so i never spent money other than the table cost and ordering product. so if you're starting out and live in a state that has local cons, id HIGHLY recommend doing local events to get experience and cutting down costs as much as you can so you can get the most out of it! if you do intend on doing out-of-state cons because your state doesn't have many small local cons, i totally get it, but again, just try to keep your costs as low as possible. here are some suggestions and things to keep in mind:

1.split costs with a friend

split the table, split hotel fees, split ubers, etc! if you have family/friends in that state, consider crashing at their place for the weekend! maybe treat them to dinner haha

2. save up funds

honestly, there's really no getting around it - you might have to get income from somewhere else besides selling merch @ cons! i worked a part-time job throughout college, did commissions/freelance, and had my store open to save up for cons.

3. remember to deduct all expenses for your business

keep in mind that table fees/travel and hotel fees/products/meals are all deductible. these are considered investments for your business and they're completely necessary for you to run said business so when it comes tax time, you'll be able to breathe a little easier haha.

4. know your limits and be cautious

unfortunately, not all cons are going to be successful or will go your way no matter how much money you pour into it. if you know a convention is going to be out of your means, you can always apply the following year. I've had plenty of cons i couldn't go to because i simply couldn't afford it at the time, but the more money you save up, the more experience you get, and the more connections you make, you'll be able to afford to go and be successful! i'd also do plenty of research about the convention (especially the attendance #s, how previous vendors feel about the con, etc) before you decide to go. 5. have fun!

even though the upfront price can be intimidating, you are still paying the price to travel, visit a city you've never been to, meet new people, fans, your friends, and make connections! not to mention the really inspiring and motivating atmosphere that artist alley can be. i hope that regardless of the money you make you take the time to enjoy the experience to the fullest and appreciate that you are sharing your awesome art with others :,)! i try to make the best out of a con even if i barely make even, and make new friends and connections because trust me, they are so meaningful ^^<3!

besides all that, i highly recommend joining the Artist Alley Network discord if you haven't already - there's a plethora of info, advice, etc that you can take away from there. https://discord.gg/artistalleynetwork i hope this was helpful! if you have any more specific questions I'm more than happy to answer them for you. if they're too specific or i don't feel comfortable answering, i hope you can understand too! good luck with all your AA endeavors - i believe in you and i really hope we will table at the same con soon!

[hotsugarbyglassanimals]

guys i don't think karl marx would have had enough foresight to accurately predict which social class freelance artists would fall into in the modern day with factors such as "they don't get health insurance, benefits, or PTO" ... "they pay nearly double the amount of income tax due to freelance tax" ... "art is much harder to make a living off of due to it's importance being heavily devalued" ... "the average person cannot afford luxuries such as art, therefore commissions are scarce and undervalued" ... "it's some disabled people's only option to survive"

So no, I don't think freelance artists fall within the petite bourgeoisie category, the same category described as willing to backstab the working class for a cut of the pie. you guys seriously think freelance artists would willingly uphold capitalist systems? where many of them can hardly put food on the table because they know if they work a stable 9-5, they won't have time or energy to engage with their passions? Many of them being disabled? It's really obvious that some of you think artists live lavishly lol

Let's say a furry artist* living in California puts up an auction for a design and the bids reach 1k. That's a 30% income tax, so it's down to 700.(That is only 200 dollars more than my part-time retail paycheck). The average cost of living in California is 53k a year. That artist would have to make 75 designs a year and hope that all of them would reach 1k in bids. Even if they don't burn out from pumping out designs of lowering quality, chances are all those auctions won't even be close to reaching 1k because that's rare. That would require around 75 people willing and able to spend 1k on a design, which I already mentioned is a luxury that few people can afford. 53K in of itself would be the absolute minimum to cover necessities, so I wouldn't call that living lavishly at all. I wouldn't even call that well-off, that's someone's head barely floating above water. I didn't even factor for payment processors taking a cut of the money, too.

The jokes about furry porn artists with 100k on patreon are the exception, not the rule. That's extremely rare compared to how many freelance artists there are online. Many freelance artists state that they make 20,000 a year, only 5k above US federal poverty level. That livelihood is far more precarious than the mom and pop shop that opened on a street corner. Opening a physical business with products and such requires some level of pre-established wealth and capital. All you need to be a digital artist is, at minimum, an ipad or a phone, which makes it more accessible for people in poverty. Chances are an artist is starting off in a severely disadvantaged position. The majority of artists that I see living in stability have a partner that's the breadwinner, or they live with their parents.

When I had my first job working retail as a late teen, I had taken art commissions a bit prior. I got my first paycheck and thought "I made much more just showing up and standing around doing nothing than I did working my ass off to draw someone's character" and I think that speaks to the trade-off of being a freelance artist more than anything

*Furry artists and adoptables were picked as an example because I saw this exact sentiment expressed towards them. Not at the artists who have their works put up in museums and auctioned off for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[captain-kit-adventuress]

Hang on, the math on this is wrong and so are some of the explanations.

$7.25 x 40 = $290

$290 x 4 = $1,156/month.

Working the original equation backwards yields a typo of $7.85 per hour, which is incorrect.

Not only that, but the three times rent requirement is based on gross income, while the amount of money you actually have to live on (take home) is net income. Net income for hourly individuals is

hourly wage x number of hours worked - taxes - other deductions (insurance, 401(k), etc.) = net income

So they're basing both the 30% requirement and the three times requirement on an amount of money you don't actually have; and it assumes a relatively low average amount of state and local taxes across the country. The problem is, this standard was written nearly a century ago, and American economics have, er, changed a bit since then. State tax amounts vary wildly across the country, so again both rules don't capture things like people who live in high-tax jurisdictions trying to survive on minimum wage, for example, which is going to skew these numbers even more dramatically.

If we assume an individual Federal tax rate of 12% and a state tax rate of 5% (state tax rates are often more complicated but for simplicity's sake), that makes it, assuming a pay period is one week

$7.25 x 40 x 52 = $15,080 gross pay

$15,080 x 12% = $1,809.60 annual Fed tax

$15,080 x 5% = $754 annual state tax

$1,809.60 + $754 = $2,563.60 total annual tax

$2,563.60 ÷ 52 = $49.30 annual tax allotted to one pay period

$7.25 x 40 = $290 weekly gross pay

$290 – $49.30 = $240.70 net (take home) pay

I'm not assuming any health insurance or 401(k) for simplicity's sake, and I'm assuming all income is taxable, even though that's generally not true, because the way our tax system generally works is that you get it back after the tax year is over, so it doesn't make sense to include it as monthly income when you don't see it as such.

So what you actually earn in a month is $962.80. If you multiply that by 12 months, you get an annual net income of $11,553.60.

If we take 30% as the rent guideline for net income, which is more reasonable as it is the amount that actually is deposited into your bank account, rent that is 30% of your monthly net income should be no higher than $288.84 per month, assuming no other income whatsoever. Even if we still went by the gross income standard, 30% of single-job minimum wage is $348.

I don't know when the original tweet was posted, but the most reliable source I could find showed the median rent (different from average) in 2022 being over $2k per month. So if we take that as our guide, someone would have to work at minimum three full-time jobs at $7.25 per hour and would barely make rent. So realistically, we're looking at a single person maybe having to work four minimum wage jobs, all at 40 hours per week, just to reliably be able to afford to survive.

What you may have noticed from all of this is that working four full-time jobs is not actually physically possible. Hell, working two full-time jobs is not really physically possible, and it certainly shouldn't be a requirement. Rents and other living costs are not becoming unliveable, they are wildly unliveable already at minimum wage. As you can see, they're not even survival wages. $15 an hour minimum wage isn't even close to being liveable in most places, either, it's something closer to $25 an hour now because we've been having the "debate" for so long.

The problem has been here for decades; it's just now starting to creep up to people who would otherwise be middle class without rich people greed. And to remind everyone, a good working definition of middle class is comfortable. If you don't have disposable income, or you don't have much of it, if you're living paycheck-to-paycheck, if you're one flat tire away from total catastrophe (even if you own a home), you are not middle class.

Friendly reminder that a lot of people used to be able to meet that definition, with spouses and children, on a single income. A single income can't even support one person in most cases today.

[originalleftist]

So Donny Dipshit went on Joe Rogan and they apparently floated abolishing income tax.

A few things on this:

This wouldn't actually save most people much, if any money. Why? Because the shit all those taxes pay for, that people rely on, would either have to be scrapped... or paid for by some other means.

That might mean they simply don't exist any more. Or it might mean privatization- your schools, roads, parks, etc being run by a for-profit company (probably owned by a Trump donor), who would charge you for them and then likely sacrifice quality to cut costs and maximize profit. Basically, another wealth transfer from the working and middle class to the super-rich, disguised as a "tax cut".

Alternatively, state and local governments would have to pick up the costs as well as they are able, which means more taxes at those levels, at least if you live in a Blue state. Red states would just go without a lot of stuff people currently take for granted. Republicans can then point to the "lower taxes" in red states, without acknowledging the gap in services.

And, of course, some things would just get scrapped.

2. This is, of course, assuming Trump actually acts on any of this, which is... doubtful, given that he is consistently both dishonest and incompetent. His staff have already partially walked back this particular idea. Remember how he was going to build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it? Or his alternative to the Affordable Care act that was forever on the brink of being unveiled?

This is a cheap, desperate 11th hour ploy to bribe millions of voters into backing him with the temptation-not even the promise-of a tax cut that will never actually be followed through on.

(Also, at least one of Trump's proposed tax cuts, eliminating taxes on tips, is something Harris also supports, and is more likely to actually follow through on because she's not an imbecile with Elon Musk's hand up their ass.)

[thenewpathfinder2024-2034]

let's look at the retirement expenses

Housing

Real Estate Taxes

Electric

Garbage

Water

Natural Gas

Internet

Cell Phone

Security System

Home Improvements

Furniture

Yard Maintenance

Loans & Liabilities

House Mortgage

Auto Loan

Boat Loan

Credit Card

RV / Camping Trailer

Food & Personal Care

Groceries

Restaurants

Spending Cash

Haircuts 

Dry Cleaning

Gym Membership

Clothes and Shoes

Chiropractor

Insurance & Medical

Auto Insurance

Home Owners Insurance

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Life Insurance

Long Term Care Insurance

Medicare Supplemental Insurance

Vision & Eyecare

Medications

Vehicles & Transportation

Annual Tuneup

Fuel

Oil Change

Maintenance

Tires

Repairs

Memberships

License Renewal

Public Transportation

Travel & Entertainment

Vacations

Birthdays

Christmas

Amazon Prime

Hobbies & Lessons

Magazines and Newspapers

Software Subscriptions

Netflix

Movies 

Giving & Miscellaneous

Tithes & Offerings

Missions

Charitable donations

Financial Adviser

Tax Preparation

Remember To Include Taxes include both state and federal taxes in your retirement spending planning.

There are a few ways to reduce the amount of taxes you'll owe in retirement. One is to consider doing ROTH contributions and conversions as you prepare for retirement. Another is to carefully plan your withdrawals from those accounts so that you don't end up in a higher than necessary tax bracket.

Essential vs Discretionary 

-Essential expenses are those that you need to live, such as food, shelter, and clothing.

-Discretionary expenses are those that you can live without, such as entertainment and vacations.

The Goal Of Retirement

The goal of retirement is cash flow. It's all about making sure you have enough income to cover your expenses. You can start to project how much income you'll have in retirement and then compare your guaranteed income to your costs. Some of the most common sources of income in retirement are social security benefits , pensions, annuities, or rental income.

The Gap

Normally, your income sources will not cover all of your expenses in retirement. This is where your retirement savings come into play. You will likely need to supplement your income with withdrawals from a 401k, IRA, or other retirement accounts.

After entering all of your income and expenses into the calculator let's say you discover that you will have $50,000 dollars of income every year But your expenses are $90,000 per year. The gap in this scenario is $40,000. It is the difference between how much income you have compared to how much you plan to spend.

Have You Saved Enough To Cover The Gap?

The general rule of thumb is that you will take the gap number and multiply it by 25. This is based on the 4% rule that says you can safely withdraw up to four percent of your retirement savings each year without depleting your account. In the example above, you would need one million dollars saved to cover the forty thousand dollar gap.

Asset Allocation

If you are going to use the 4% rule you will want to make sure you have the correct asset allocation of your investments. The goal is to have a mix of stocks and bonds that will give you the best chance to not only cover your expenses but also keep up with inflation.

The research on the 4% rule found that a 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds is the sweet spot for most investors. This means that if you have a one million dollar portfolio, $600,000 would be in stocks and $400,000 would be in bonds.

Even though this combination has been shown to work, it does not factor in your risk tolerance and it's vital to note that past success is no indicator of future performance.

Withdrawal Order

How you choose to take money out of your different accounts could play a role in how long your money will last in retirement. The conventional wisdom is to withdraw from taxable accounts first and then move to tax-deferred accounts like a 401k or traditional IRA and save your tax-free accounts to last.

However, this is not always the best strategy because how much taxable income you have can impact other things such as how much you will pay for health insurance in the years leading up to age 65 or how much of your social security will be taxable.

 Experiment with different withdrawal strategies to figure out what would be the best approach for you.

[lonita]

B roll - 2020 09 24

24 - I was just speaking with a friend who runs a business and he was not able to bring anyone back full time. He had his staff decide amongst themselves how they wanted to split the hours he could offer. But he agreed that the kneejerk "just go get a job" response these days is nuts.

24 - I find it particularly disturbing, in a just stepped barefoot in fresh dog shit kind of way, when a person's only method of measuring their worth is by comparing it to the monetary wealth of another. That seems terribly constricting, narrow, and sad.

24 - Home Ec used to be very gendered at one point. Only women used to take it. Historically, it had very nasty gendering. I think everyone's equally capable of cooking, cleaning, etc., and should be taught equally.

24 - Why make education a privilege? Doctors are necessary, lawyers too. They are tools. We require them to function. If you expect your society to have doctors to serve it, then you need to make that happen.

24 - One simple thing that actually could help to mitigate poverty, burdens on the health care system, burdens on the welfare systems, is making post-secondary education free. Make it easier for people to get trained and educated, and don't burden children with unnecessary debt.

24 - I don't give a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut if people are rich. I honestly don't. I care about the rapaciousness brought on by wealth when so many are starving, homeless, and uneducated in wealthy countries where that doesn't need to happen, nor anywhere else for that matter.

24 - I don't need to have a deeply personal stake in a situation in order to be concerned about it.

24 - Not everything is about choice. Answers for one person aren't necessarily going to serve the problems of another.

24 - Choices don't exist so readily for everyone. If you think that people on low incomes or social assistance aren't already sacrificing everything possible, then you're living in a fantasy.

24 - Try living on $1169 a month and then tell me you don't think that ODSP needs expanding.

24 - Moving disabled people away from their supports seems senseless. Moving the poor away from low-cost rapid transit doesn't make much sense either.

24 - The state of rents in this country is to the point that there is nowhere 'cheaper' to live. Market rents where I am are $1200 at the bottom for a one-bedroom. Rents are grossly outpacing people's ability to pay them. Wages are not keeping up.

24 - Financial punishments for those who offshore their money in tax havens instead of investing in the economy they live in and profit from. Sounds good to me.

24 - My left big toe does this weird clicky thing when I bend it.

24 - I have dill havarti. It is glorious.

24 - If you presume good faith, then don't accuse people of telling lies.

24 - Most people have no idea how much money is NOT being put back into this country by the people with the most. And are instead taught to blame and scapegoat those with the least.

24 - It's not wrong to help people, and it's not wrong to need help.

24 - I recall reading years ago that adventure stories for girls in the era of Green Gables, Becky Landers, et al, used to be written by men because they didn’t think women were capable of writing about women.

24 - When something falls off your salad plate and you didn't realise it until you step on that cold, wet thing the next morning.

24 - Last time I cat sat for a friend in town, I stepped in her cat's fresh hairball. Ewww.

[weaselle]

i mean. It IS the comments section. Sends me into a rage too. And yeah, there's a lot of that sentiment all over the country. But not as much as you might assume if the comments section is your main sample. Also, california is... mostly conservative, by area. And disturbingly close by population. California voted for Reagan. Look at this

the only thing that makes california blue is that more people live in the blue areas, so those areas have more votes, and more of the people in the heavily populated places vote blue. But by population we're still only something like a 55/45 split percentage wise, so single issues like prison labor don't take a lot of people to swing it the other way.

And even for a very liberal voter, there's always like 10 or 15 things on the ballot that will raise taxes to do, and very few people are going to vote yes on all of them even though they are all incredibly worthwhile.

Because we already pay almost 45% of our income in total tax, plus one of the highest sales taxes of any state keeping our grocery bill high, and our housing prices are one of the worst in the country, and most people are already struggling financially, and i can tell you from experience you check yes on about 3 or 4 propositions that will raise taxes even more and you start to feel like you're at about the limit of what you can afford because you're already broke and you're voting to be broker.

Personally, I still voted yes to end prison labor in this state, but i didn't vote on a few things i believe in because... i used up all the yes votes i think i can afford. Plus a couple, actually, because i will absolutely vote to be even more poor to get some worthy things done. But then, I don't have kids or a mortgage or a sick spouse or anything either.

And prison labor isn't on the general population's radar in a big enough way. I know it's not, because when i get off the internet and i tell real people to their face that california uses prisoners for an amount of firefighting that would cost the state 100 million dollars if we actually paid people to do it instead of using prisoners, they never know that.

They also don't know just how much prison labor the US really uses, and they aren't aware of how, for example, the georgia governor's house (like the white house but for the state governor instead of the country's president) is a re-purposed slave plantation and the grounds keeping and cooking and housecleaning and everything is done on that ex-plantation by (mostly black) prison labor. So the main way it's a different facility now is that it produces legislation instead of cotton.

Me, i am very passionate about ending prison labor but there isn't enough public awareness (which i try my best to address with the people around me) and there isn't enough public agreement on priorities.

People sit with their voting guide every year trying to choose between prisoners, school kids, wildlife, air-quality, funding for battered women, environmental chemical regulation, the homeless, mental health services, raising minimum wage and a bunch more programs it feels shameful to vote "no" on... but i can only agree to be so much poorer next year before i have a panic attack about the possibility of winding up homeless again myself.

And there's chaff that gets in the way of the public having a clear cut decision. Because prison work programs are actually SUPER beneficial to incarcerated people (for example, gaining them an employable skill for when they get out, often with an employer who might actually hire them as an ex-con because they've already been working there as a convict. Incarcerated people go back to prison far less often if they have access to these kinds of programs). It's just, you can't tie it to any entity's profit margin or it becomes slave labor. It has to be a program that exists 100% for the benefit of the prisoners, which is always going to cost money and be a harder sell to the public. And the more complex an issue is, the harder it is to get the public to be educated about it, or have agreeing opinions.

Anyway, I don't really know anyone irl that feels the way the comments section feels, but i do think a lot of people vote yes on about half the things they wish they could afford. I don't think it lost because most people have "fuck those prisoners" feelings and voted no on it, i think it lost because a lot of people who would instantly agree to it if it was explained well to them and totally free, voted yes on other stuff and then left that one blank because it didn't make their top 5 list.

There's too many holes in the dike, and we already feel like we're out of fingers. And "prisoners" is a demographic that the public does not tend to have as much empathy for without unlearning a lot of internalized biases. It's starting from behind and it's competing with a lot of things competing for voter's hearts and minds... and wallets.

I suspect the people you've had conversations with who are aghast about the results are probably not in touch with this part of the way things are, or else they think the issue they are most passionate about should automatically be the issue everyone else is most passionate about too.

I hate it, I HATE that abolishing prison labor wasn't passed, but i get how that happens. There's ten drowning people and i only have three life vests and all the choices are tragic. And there's a hole in the bottom of the lifeboat i managed to get in.

i've been seeing a lot of californians aghast at the proposition to abolish prisoners being used as slave labour getting voted down and i have no idea how to fix this on a societal scale but after having enough conversations with people you really do start to realise that a massive percentage of the population sees prisoners as subhuman and therefore believes that once someone is in prison for any reason then everything bad that's done to them is simply their just desserts

[shawllarlife]

How to live off the grid?

For some people, living off-grid simply means being disconnected from the utilities. For others, off-grid living means living a completely self-sufficient life where you can meet all your needs - including electricity, food, and medicine - but using modern technology to help you do so.

For others, going off-grid means living a primitive lifestyle without any modern technology. Shawllar's portable solar panels use the most advanced MWT technology available, with a conversion efficiency of up to 23.8%, to provide you with energy in time for your off-grid lifestyle. Compatible with the most commercially available power sources, you don't have to worry about matching them and you can enjoy off-grid living with peace of mind.

In this article, we look at the costs of living off-grid and what you need to get started.

1 What does it take to live off-grid? Unless you are living a completely primitive lifestyle, the cost of going off-grid may be higher than you think. The main initial costs include land, house and outbuildings, electrical system, digging a well, septic tank, and equipment. If you do most of the work yourself, a rustic off-grid home on cheap land may initially cost as little as US$10,000 to US$20,000. However, most people will end up spending at least $100,000 on their off-grid properties and homes.

If you want to be able to live self-sufficiently or profitably on your own land, you will need higher quality land, larger areas, and more complex systems, so expect to spend at least $200,000. Note: These prices come from many off-grid forums where people have discussed how much their projects have cost. Costs vary greatly depending on location, the technology used, etc.

Recurring costs of off-grid living Even when everything is set up and running, there are still many costs associated with living off-grid. Some of the recurring costs you may have to pay include property tax septic tank pumping every 1-3 years Equipment replacement parts Decreased efficiency of solar equipment Vehicle fuel propane wood for heating Insurance (property and health) Equipment/machinery rental Generally, these costs are cheaper or comparable to what you would pay if you were connected to the grid. However, they can often come as a surprise. For example, you may be surprised to find out how much more petrol your vehicle uses, given that you live in a remote location and often need to transport supplies. This is why it is vital to have a source of income when living off-grid.

What do I need to live off-grid?

Land Land is the most basic need for off-grid living. Unfortunately, finding suitable land is often not easy. If you want to live off the land - for example by having a garden or raising livestock - you need to find land that is large enough, water-rich and fertile to support these activities.

Shelter Most people probably think of a rustic cabin in the woods when they think of off-grid living, but there are many options for off-grid housing. Unfortunately, some of these options are not always legal. For example, most counties do not allow people to live in tents, yurts or caravans for more than a few weeks of the year (yes, even on your own land!) .

Water The average American household uses over 300 gallons of water per day. Because this water comes from the tap, most people don't think much about it. However, when you have to supply all your water while living off-grid, it can be quite a challenge. If you have limited water on your land (which is the case in most western states), you will have to take drastic measures to reduce the amount of water you use. This may make it impossible for you to grow certain crops or raise livestock.

Power supply Although it is possible to live off the grid without any power supply, this is not convenient. You have to do things like fetch water by hand from a well rather than using an electric pump. I can think of a dozen other chores that would be a better use of my time! Also, remember that it gets dark very quickly in winter. If you don't have power for lighting, you will have to stop working when the sun goes down. You can, of course, use candles for lighting, but unless you keep bees, you will have to buy wax. Wouldn't it be easier to use renewable energy? Solar, wind, and hydropower are the main sources of off-grid electricity. Even with these systems, living off-grid still means learning to conserve. You probably don't use your air conditioner as often in the summer, nor do you use high-energy appliances such as hair dryers. This is a major lifestyle change, but one that many people will eventually enjoy as they simplify their lives.

Shawllar 100W Sport Portable Solar Panel

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COMPATIBLE & VERSATILE: Shawllar portable solar panel charger equipped with 1USB-C port (5V 3A/9V 2A/12V 1.5A) and 1QC3.0 fast charging port (5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A), can charge for multiple small devices at the same time, including smart phones, tablets, laptop, digital cameras etc. The foldable solar charger also has 1*DC 8mm output with 3-in-1 connector (DC 7909 to XT60, 5521, 8020), compatible with most solar generators LIGHT & PORTABLE: Folded Dimension: 21.6x14.8x1 inch; Unfolded Dimension: 50x21.6x0.1 inch ; Weight: 6.2lbs. Thinner and lighter, ideal for RV trip, off-grid camping and unexpected power outage

[onthehighwaytomel]

Man...I gotta be honest, it's feeling more and more hopeless and disillusioning to be a working class woman with a not-sterilized(-yet) reproductive system in the U.S.

I'm dreaming about finally getting my first car (that I'd own) this year, and I'll be 31 in the summer. I have more credit card debt than I ever imagined myself having, and there's never enough leftover after bills to make more than the tiniest dent in it. Ever owning property or retiring seems like a pipe dream.

I want to get sterilized because I know I never want children. But that's another major expense (even with costly insurance), and how am I going to take the time off work for it? While at the same time, knowing that I likely have a narrowing window before that too becomes illegal, because the rising Christofascism demands that women be brood mares to make more wage + tax slaves on a dying planet.

And I don't have a long term partner I could combine incomes with, or share a car with, or who could support me while I take care of something not-work-related. And I truly don't believe I'll find such a partner until I move out of the town I live in. (Believe me, I've tried... I'm not the woman these Southwest PA manchildren want as a partner, nor do I want 99% of them.) The very town that I can't afford to leave anytime soon, because moving is expensive, and most other places cost more. Never mind ever getting to a country that actually gives a shit about its non-wealthy citizens. You see my predicament.

I have friends, but I don't really have anyone else I can rely on for anything more substantial than one-off small favors, or true emergencies. It's just me, taking care of me, like it's been for the past 8+ years. Neither of my parents can help financially. I can't even afford the new dresser that I desperately need, because it's either pay at least $200 for a flimsy one from Ikea (whose drawer bottoms will fall out under the weight of my clothes, like what happened to my current one), or try to find a local one for sale cheaper, and then pick it up...in the car that I don't have.

That's not even touching on student loans...these pauses have been a godsend, and I'm still behind.

And despite all this! I'm still pretty damn privileged! And my heart breaks for the trans community, and everyone subject to the onslaught of appalling, violent laws being put forward to state legislatures over the past several months. It just all feels so overwhelming and hopeless sometimes.

I really resent being born in a time where those in charge are, with isolated exceptions, ineffective or parasitic. Being born into such an economically fucked generation. And being born into a country that does not care about you, unless you're a wealthy straight white Christian man.

I have so much to offer, and I don't mind contributing, but in my adult life, it feels like I was never even given a fair chance at anything but subsistence living.

[pageturner001]

I am a teenager and I was recently, with my grandma, going through the cost of living. I'll live alone in a studio when I am older, mind you

It only stopped looking *somewhat* less desperate when we calculated the monthly amount I would be making on 20 an hour and even then I wouldn't be able to afford much after

(We did wage*40*4.33*0.66-1500 to find the left over monthly income about after taxes and housing)

Minimum wage in my state is $7.25

My grandma was like "Well, you'll get a good job after college and not have to worry"

WHAT ABOUT BEFORE COLLEGE? I want to live on my own. I want to be able to pay my own rent and buy my own groceries. I am not becoming a computer programmer out of high school. I am going to have to be a burger flipper for a few years. I am going to still need to eat for the first years. I am going to need a roof over my head for a few years.

Idk what the moral is here. Um... don't hate burger flippers because even if not a single one was someone like me who is going to need a job to get them through college to become a skilled worker, they still need to eat.

I can name so many reasons that would appeal to people who hate the idea of raising minimum wage why doing so would be great

I’m gonna make this its own post bs it’s not nice to keep rambling a tangent on someone else’s post but like. It’s just fully blowing my mind that my shitty $480/month apt in Indianapolis in 2006 is going for like $1500 now.

I always trot that very low rent figure out as a “back in my day” anecdote (where I live now in Austin) bc a similar place would probably go for $2000 here in 2024. And it’s so cuckoo today to hear someone say “my half of the rent in my first apartment was $240.” Like is she 60? Nope she’s not even 40 yet! It’s gotten that bad that fast!!! Haha!

But I didn’t even know the half of it. I’d never done the work to know 1) what those very shitty apts rent for now (and they still exist?!) and 2) what the rent would have been in 2024 if it just kept pace with NORMAL INFLATION ($734) which is already bad in its self.

I mean come on! $1500 is what we’ve got vs $734 which is what one would expect if you could control for the ever escalating greed or corporate profits and the ultra wealthy making a literal killing off of the basic human right of shelter.

To say it’s enraging to think about is my understatement of the week.