Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
No, it’s not only you who feels like with rent so high, groceries and restaurants ridiculously expensive, things are going out of control. We bid farewell to the caramel frappuccinos at Starbucks, all knowing that pocket money is now part of the budget for this week’s groceries. So what on earth is happening?
Well, the experts have measured that inflation continues to run at the fastest pace since January 1991. Although prices rose sharply, American incomes increased at only a modest pace, and inflation is eroding the increase.
Moreover, it’s not the US who’s taking the hit, as consumers around the globe are experiencing the same thing since supply chain problems bedevil markets for goods, and energy prices spike to unseen highs.
So, it’s only fair that people took to Twitter to weigh in on whether ‘If someone makes $400,000 per year do you could consider them "rich"?’ Among thousands of comments, all sharing their own point, Twitter user @Molson_Hart stood up to say it’s not much since you have loads of expenses. As you can imagine, it stirred quite a backlash, so let’s see what everyone said.
Image credits: crushthebigots Image credits: Molson_Hart
Image credits: Molson_Hart
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Katherine Heasley 4 years ago
Lots of families with two working parents don't have a 24/7 nanny. They make do with day care or a part-time nanny.
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
With the example given, ummm, that IS rich. They spend less than HALF of their pretax earnings. Tax rate is far from 50%. They put money in savings every month? They are rich.
brian jones 4 years ago
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen, nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
Grumble O'Pug 4 years ago
You need to turn off the "Spout Something Stupid" button in your head, bruh.
Load More Replies... RELATED:
#2
Grumble O'Pug 4 years ago
It's funny how the poor are supposed to bootstrap, but the rich have a ton of excuses for overspending.
Lois Matelan 4 years ago
So even with this extravagant "budget," they are looking at an annual surplus of $600,000 for "miscellaneous spending or investing. Yes, that is rich.
Janice Hazeldine 4 years ago
Depends on where you live. Cost of living in some states means this is rich in others they are just getting by. Its relative.
RinLo14 4 years ago
No one who makes 400K/yr is "just getting by" in ANY state.
Load More Replies... #3
Seanette Blaylock 4 years ago
My husband and I get by each month on what HRH spends on "food and entertainment".
Drakaina Dreadnought 4 years ago
I'm loving that most people don't get that this is satire. lol
M O'Connell 4 years ago
Apparently "a soft greasy or viscous substance used as ointment or for lubrication."
Load More Replies... 
Diane Swartz 4 years ago
Myrrh, Yay! Note: One could move to quail eggs to save, but the manservant would then require overtime, so it would kind of even out...
Lisa Pockat Bork 4 years ago
Three months rent is more than both of us make in a year and we are relatively comfortable in our area.
While consumers around the world are paying more for items like food, clothing and household supplies, and for major purchases like cars, appliances and homes, the most severe impact goes to lower-income households.
According to the vice president at Moody’s Investors Service, inflation most impacts lower earners, who spend more of their average dollar on gas, food and other items that may be rising in price, Foster commented on CNBC. Wealthier individuals, who tend to hold more financial assets like stocks or homes, may be better able to offset the impact of inflation, he added.
Even though average hourly wages grew 3.6% in June relative to last year, which made it the most in more than a decade, the current inflation gave the average worker about a 2% pay cut, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
#5
Sebastian's Mama 4 years ago
I'm on disability as well and receive a total of $814 a month (that's $9,768 a year). I have no choice but live with my mom and brother. If I didn't have them, I honestly don't know how I'd survive.
Milla Leino 4 years ago
Oh, that sounds hard. But i am glad you have your mom and brother. 💙💜 Stay safe!
Load More Replies...
Al Cook 4 years ago
Honestly, I'm not sure how you manage that, that's only just over $1k per month!
Witchling 4 years ago
That's exactly what it is and it's about what I get. I became disabled when I was only 33. That's not a lot of time to contribute to the program. My mother and I are very close and live together so I have help. Couldn't survive without her.
Load More Replies...
Karen Wenzel 4 years ago
way less for most on disability/retirement. and food stamps are a joke. when i was on disability they offered me 15 dollars in food stamps. america hates the poor
Tee Witt 4 years ago
I do not understand, you could live OK on that in Britain. Is the food cost high, rent or what? Please, I am not belittling you but really am puzzled. When I retire my income will be around £9.500.00
LadyPiehole 4 years ago
Certain areas of America are expensive. Out of curiosity, how do you think you'd do on £7000.00 a year (~£580 per month)? Keeping in mind that a 1 bed apartment averages $650.00/~£480 a month in my area. It's why I live with my mom. I can't afford to live alone.
Load More Replies... #6
Marvin HoG 4 years ago
Lol meanwhile me figuring out meal plans to keep our groceries under $80/week
bill marsano 4 years ago
You can post tht as often as you like, Molson, and still no one is going to believe you.
Thomas Turnbull 4 years ago (edited)
We’re did the 5.5 billion come from? And also he has never ever said he was not rich so this post is nothing to do with the original post.
What’s important is that it’s unclear whether higher consumer prices and wages are temporary or longer-lasting, according to economists. Some of the inflation is surely the result of short-term dynamics, like supply constraints and a surge in demand as consumers emerge from a pandemic-induced hibernation.
But some experts expect inflation to become permanent."There are very many reasons to think that this inflation is not transitory — that it's going to be with us for quite a while," Desmond Lachman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, told VOA.
According to VOA, On Tuesday, the price of the global benchmark for oil, Brent crude, rose to $82.56 per barrel, hitting a level not seen in three years. Worldwide, prices for food, fuel and consumer goods are on the rise. Natural gas prices have more than tripled in Europe and Asia this year, causing economic slowdown in Europe and power cuts in China.
#8
M O'Connell 4 years ago
I REALLY want to see the underlying calculations behind the minimum-400 falcon city depopulation estimate.
Katherine Heasley 4 years ago
Well, that won't do. I demand top-of-the-line falcons for my evil schemes!
#9
NsG 4 years ago
The key word that needs highlighting is "need". They've got it mixed up with "want".
Emma Perkins 4 years ago
Yeah, when you're broke a lot of things that should be needs turn into wants, like air conditioning, healthy food, a car that doesn't overheat every time it goes up hill. Apparently, when you're rich, this concept also works the other way around until you "need" $5k in food and entertainment monthly.
Load More Replies... Martha Meyer 4 years ago
Vacations twice a year should not be something only rich people can afford.
bill marsano 4 years ago
Right, Kurtsed. To be poor is to lack sufficient money for necessities. To be unnecessarily poor is to make a large salary and spens every cent every month.
#10
Grumble O'Pug 4 years ago
The sad thing is that people who have wealth forget that they mostly didn't earn it.
#11
Sid Watson 4 years ago
I just find this person Rude, not someone you would want to know Rich or Poor
Barbara L Bristow 4 years ago
No, I have no idea about any of that because I live on less than 25K per year - I do live in a gated community of apartment homes, no private school and I've never owned a brand new car in my life.
#12
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
When you spent your money you were using it, you snobby, extravagant, insensitive moron.
Adrian 4 years ago
Well if you are rich your money is probably in the bank, or some other institution that keeps it in the bank. The bank lends it out to individuals to help them buy a house by paying a builder who pays his workers and suppliers who put it in the bank ... Sure there is interest, but that gets kept in the bank too.
Sid Watson 4 years ago (edited)
OMG - brains you have none - there also saved, why are they paying you this money
Sue Hazlewood 4 years ago
Doug, just what do you think savings are? And without that money in the first place, how could you spend? Another clown not thinking things through. How the hell do they get money in the first place?
#13
Anne 4 years ago
Didn't some drug lord do this? Set cash on fire to keep his kid warm? (Good dad - not so good otherwise)
Tee Witt 4 years ago
I would think silly, he could have bought some fuel to heat the house and would have worked out a lot cheaper I am sure.
Load More Replies...
Pantherkatz 4 years ago
Pablo Escobar burned 2 million in cash to keep his family warm in a hideout.
#15
Milla Leino 4 years ago
Same, as a student in Finland. Under 15,000€/year 😅
Load More Replies... #16
Monica Martinez Castañeda 4 years ago
I'm guiessing maybe it's 3 nannies, so each one works 8 hours a day...? Still, it's 5K a month per each one.. I wouldn't say no!
#17
Rob Davison 4 years ago
Exclusive seats or sections of seats at First nights at Broadways shows several times a month could eat that 7 K up when you drop 500 at dinner after the show. 16K a month for 24/7 childcare is 22.22 an hour and that includes all expenses involved in employing how ever many Nannys they have.
#18
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Yes, you are very very rich, you idiot. It doesn't matter what you do with your millions.
#19
Hans 4 years ago (edited)
Frankly, many of the provocative comments are not helpful. This comment, though, gives context.
Emma Perkins 4 years ago
Most people who need help understanding that $400,000 a year makes you rich are a lost cause anyways
Load More Replies...
#20
Marilyn Ransberry 4 years ago
This is how people rationalize what they male versus what minimum wage should be, Minimum wage people don’t need nannies 24/7 ( daycare and parenting) expensive trips , eating out ( cooking, staycation in the backyard- no wait , they can’t afford a backyard.)
#22
Marilyn Ransberry 4 years ago
It doesn’t matter what you choose spend it on - you have choices that others don’t.
#23
#24
Kristy Nelson 4 years ago
Because they can! Most people struggle to pay for their rent, utilities, and groceries! Can you imagine not being so stressed about how to pay for basic things? So much so that you are able to travel, buy whatever food you want whenever you want, and have a nanny? Ah to be so ignorant and cocky about the realities of other human beings.
#25
NsG 4 years ago
The only way the question is not egregious is if there is a second part: "if someone [...] consider them rich, or filthy rich?" Personally, I wouldn't put them at filthy rich, because I think you do have to have breached $1m a year for that boundary. Or is that ultra-rich? There are just so many categories once you leave "poor" and "comfortable"
Katchen 4 years ago
To me, filthy rich means you’re independently wealthy and don’t need to work. $400,000/year is rich, but one presumably needs to keep working to maintain that.
Load More Replies... #26
#27
Adam Jeff 4 years ago
Hmm, this says top 20% whereas just a few places higher it says top 1-2%. Which is right? If only I could be bothered to look it up.
Adrian 4 years ago
Maybe you could employ a nanny 24/7 - just get one with a degree in Applied Statistics.
Load More Replies...
Dodo 4 years ago
Did you just suggest it's better to earn $30k a year because at least you don't only get $300k after tax?
Load More Replies...
#28
Rebecca Surette 4 years ago
I remember how stunned my elder son was when he asked my monthly income. I told him, and he said, "That's after expenses, right?" "No, that's gross," "My GOD, Mom, how do you survive?" Nicely, thank you. I am just very careful.
Katherine Heasley 4 years ago
I make a middle-class wage. I bought a used car outright, so I don't have to worry about a car payment. I live in a relatively inexpensive area, so I have reasonable rent and expenses. But I've still had to put things on a credit card because I needed, but couldn't afford, to pay for them all at once. (Moving is expensive, yo.) I also have student loans to pay. I certainly can't afford thousands on entertainment.
Joe Edwards 4 years ago
$200k is middle class? Jesus f**k. I live on roughly $15k yearly and am comfortable. I mean there is very little in the way of luxury but I'm not complaining. It's all about expectations in life.
#30
Bobby 4 years ago
Just someone who thinks the question is absurd typing faster than they were thinking is my guess
Load More Replies... Chris Freeman 4 years ago
Complete garbage. If it takes $80k to run a household, that number is more like $200k in areas where these higher paying jobs exist, (tell me you can buy a house in silicon valley on 80K per year income). Then you take $100k taxes away, and you are immediately up to $300k base expenses. Add in savings for 401k etc and you are about $350k minimum. I know many people with this income level, and NONE of them spend anything CLOSE to what is listed. They are simply a bunch of made up numbers from those jealous of others.
Honu 4 years ago
True, $80K in Silicon Valley means you are renting and probably have a roommate/partner. $400K is a good income, though. I'd call it upper middle class. Folks I know at that income level aren't even buying huge houses, since those are a few million here, but they still live a pretty comfortable lifestyle. There is much more savings out of that than median income workers have. Healthy college funds for the kids so they won't need punishing loans. The ability to actually retire some day. Things that used to be standard for the middle class and now only the top income earners can afford. People I know in that range also spend more on conveniences. They don't have full time help, but they hire a cleaning service and a gardening service. They'll get stuff delivered rather than taking the time to shop, even groceries and takeout. There's usually at least one nice vacation a year. It's a really good lifestyle, just not as plush as it would be somewhere housing wasn't absolutely bonkers.
Load More Replies... #31
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Warloew Brinn 4 years ago
I'm willing to bet there's not one "Nanny" that makes $16,000 per month. A rich guy paying a nanny that much makes me call bullshit on the whole thing.
just me 4 years ago
Could the nanny be through a service that takes a significant portion of that? Maybe they're counting 'rent' for the room the nanny lives in (24/7 so I assume on site) as part of the pay they aren't actually giving in cash? I can't figure out how they could come up with a 16k/month figure otherwise.
Load More Replies...
Emmie Jensen 4 years ago
I don’t have an issue with rich people/capitalism (that’s a can of worms I’d rather not open at the moment), but it really irks me when they don’t realize how good they have it.
Jerry Mathers 4 years ago
What the hell does a 2k/Month HOA do exactly? That number is absurd.
M O'Connell 4 years ago
If you live in a condo building, the HOA fee pays for the upkeep of the building itself and all of the facilities-management expenses. Large buildings are very expensive to maintain.
Load More Replies...
Jennifer Germain 4 years ago
how does the nanny make that much money? 2k on travel? a month? cabs don't cost that much and I believe he listed parking as well. Calling BS here and frankly nice try by ya you are rich dumb a**
Joanne Hudson 4 years ago
Serious question. What exactly does an equestrian do that they get paid for. Also a blogger. Vlogger. Who pays them and for what?
Evelyn Haskins 4 years ago
As Charles Dickens so famously wrote. Annual Income one hundred pounds, annual expense 99 pounds = Rich Annual Income one hundred pounds, annual expenses 101 pounds poverty
Lisa Shaw 4 years ago
Relatively, many people are living on what is spent on one of the major expenses on that budget, it can be done, it means changes, the vacations are not "luxury" the food includes kraft dinner and hot dogs and they and their children get their clothes at resale shops, clearance outlets and major chains having sales.
Warloew Brinn 4 years ago
I'm willing to bet there's not one "Nanny" that makes $16,000 per month. A rich guy paying a nanny that much makes me call bullshit on the whole thing.
just me 4 years ago
Could the nanny be through a service that takes a significant portion of that? Maybe they're counting 'rent' for the room the nanny lives in (24/7 so I assume on site) as part of the pay they aren't actually giving in cash? I can't figure out how they could come up with a 16k/month figure otherwise.
Load More Replies... Emmie Jensen 4 years ago
I don’t have an issue with rich people/capitalism (that’s a can of worms I’d rather not open at the moment), but it really irks me when they don’t realize how good they have it.
Jerry Mathers 4 years ago
What the hell does a 2k/Month HOA do exactly? That number is absurd.
M O'Connell 4 years ago
If you live in a condo building, the HOA fee pays for the upkeep of the building itself and all of the facilities-management expenses. Large buildings are very expensive to maintain.
Load More Replies... Jennifer Germain 4 years ago
how does the nanny make that much money? 2k on travel? a month? cabs don't cost that much and I believe he listed parking as well. Calling BS here and frankly nice try by ya you are rich dumb a**
Joanne Hudson 4 years ago
Serious question. What exactly does an equestrian do that they get paid for. Also a blogger. Vlogger. Who pays them and for what?
Evelyn Haskins 4 years ago
As Charles Dickens so famously wrote. Annual Income one hundred pounds, annual expense 99 pounds = Rich Annual Income one hundred pounds, annual expenses 101 pounds poverty
Lisa Shaw 4 years ago
Relatively, many people are living on what is spent on one of the major expenses on that budget, it can be done, it means changes, the vacations are not "luxury" the food includes kraft dinner and hot dogs and they and their children get their clothes at resale shops, clearance outlets and major chains having sales.
Related on Bored Panda
