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How much do you need to earn to make your living?

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For many people any salary might be not satisfactory when it comes to money. Employees dream about promotions or changing jobs to get a better pay which is usually never enough. Normally when individuals start to make more, they begin to spend more about accordingly. For example, on minimum wage a person could drive something not much better than a 10 years old compact car, but on salary of $150,000 a year it is possible for him to afford an expensive sport vehicle.

In addition, people are unalike and have different needs and values in their lives. Some individuals prefer to live simple life and do not expect much while others might feel unhappy without regular restaurant visits, vacations, and entertainments which might cost lots of money. That’s why what monthly amount you need to come up with depends on a number of factors in order to cover all your expenditures and short-term or long-term debts.

To better control your finances, it is wise to do some little daily bookkeeping in order to control more successful where your money goes. For example, put on top of the list your spouse’s (if any) and your net monthly wages and start to subtract all expenses that occurring during the month to come up with the amount what will be left at the end. Hopefully it will be some positive number; otherwise it would mean that you make not enough compare to your spending. This would force you to earn more or spend less in order to be at least at a break-even point and do not be seduced to purchase useless or unnecessary stuff.

Monthly expenses you make

Everyone needs to pay bills. Examples of unavoidable monthly expenses are rent (mortgage), utilities, food, and commuting. No one can get away from those routine expenditures unless you are freeloading boyfriend or girlfriend.

Your big purchases or future expenditures

People might plan to buy a car or a house. That’s why they need to plan for minimum down payment amount. On the other hand, some individuals may dream to purchase a business or pay for education of their children.

A number of dependents you have

The more kids a person has, the more money he needs to make to feed those people, buy them cloth, and pay for schools.

Your spouse’s income

If your spouse has small or no income at all, you will have to make up for two.

Debts

Nowadays very low percentage of student can afford to pay cash for the college. Most fresh graduates have huge burdens of their student loans which have to be repaid.

Low income families might pay decades for their houses.

Plans for retirement

It is wise to start planning early and set aside some money for retirement when you are still young. The older you get the harder might be to find a job. That’s why, it is important not to live for one day, but make some cautions for future just in case.