You’ll always have bills to pay as long as you’re on this amazing planet. It doesn’t matter whether you’re single or married with children.
However, several factors determine if your current salary would be enough for you. And your ability to make proper plans would determine if you could survive on an 80K salary.
For most people, 80K is a good salary. For others, it might not be a good salary. Several factors would determine if the current salary you’re earning would be enough for you. Let’s discuss them.
Firstly, let’s respond to this question.
Is 80k a good salary for a single person?
Like we said before, most people would lead a comfortable life on an 80 salary, while some may struggle. Several factors determine if 80k or a different wage would be enough for you.
These factors include where you’re residing, lifestyle, monthly expenses, including those you’re assisting financially.
The 2020 U.S. census report indicated that $67,521 was most Americans’ median household income.
This means one thing. Many Americans are surviving on less than $80k per annum. Many of them even have children and probably, aging parents to look after.
So, if you’re single, 80K should be a good salary for you.
Keep reading as we discuss in detail factors that determine if 80k might turn out to be a good salary for an individual.
Factors That Determines If 80K Is A Reasonable Salary For You
Several factors determine if one’s salary will be sufficient. You might live like a king with an 80K wage in Texas. In California, you might want more than 80K to live comfortably.
Let’s discuss factors that determine if 80K would be a good salary for you.
Here are the factors.
- Where you’re residing
- Lifestyle
- Monthly expenses
- Financial assistance
- Unforeseen expenses
#1: Where you’re residing:
Before concluding if an 80k salary would be enough for you, consider where you’re residing. What is the cost of living there?
The cost of living varies from one state or city to another across the United States of America. But the good thing is you can get information on an area’s cost of living before moving down.
You cannot compare California’s living cost to Texas, as the former would certainly be more expensive.
However, the recommended annual income for a single person living in California is $74,371. A family of four can even survive on a salary of $78,336 but have to cut down on some expenses.
A Handy Tip: Before relocating, compare the cost of living there to where you’re coming from. If where you’re heading is expensive, find tips on lowering your expenses.
You may also ditch a metropolitan city for a rural area. Why? Houses in rural areas are cheaper.
What’s the cost of living? This refers to the amount of money one requires to cover basic expenses such as healthcare, food, taxes, housing (renting or mortgage), commute expenses, and utilities.
#2: Your lifestyle:
Is 80k a good salary? Your lifestyle will determine that. It doesn’t matter whether you’re single or married.
If you’re someone that always eats out, lavish money on friends, organizes parties, buys expensive things, spends quality time in costly hotels, etc., 80k might not be enough for you.
So, your lifestyle choices are important. They’ll determine if an 80K or a lower salary would be enough for you.
A Handy Tip:
- Avoid habits that hurt your health and wallet. You can save on an 80k salary if you ditch those bad habits.
- Avoid eating out, as it’s a massive budget buster.
- Plan the amount you feel is reasonable to spend on friends every month.
By the way, who says you must lavish cash on your friends? There are other ways to spend quality time with friends without blowing your budget.
#3: Monthly expenses:
Monthly expenses include the amount spent monthly. It could be to repay a student loan, credit card loan, bills, and others.
If you’re earning 80k, your monthly salary is in the region of $6600. A monthly expense of $7000 is way too high. You may have to keep borrowing to make up the deficit.
Spending above your means isn’t a healthy financial habit. You’ll keep borrowing, which is not a good lifestyle. The more you borrow, the more financial challenges you might face.
A Handy Tip: Seek ways to lower your expenses. It is important if your monthly expenses are higher than what you earn monthly. Avoid spending above your means.
Make little changes. Lower your electricity bill by purchasing energy-saving appliances, turning off your electrical appliances before leaving the house, etc.
Those little changes might seem like nothing, but they’ll amount to something over time.
#4: Financial assistance:
Do you have people that depend on you financially to survive? It could be your parents, siblings, or relatives.
Well, it’s okay to help those who are close to you. You may even choose to extend the help to outsiders.
But please, know your financial capacity. Don’t try to overspend on others and plunge yourself into financial stress.
Remember that you cannot depend on those you’re helping when you go broke. So, use wisdom when helping others.
A Handy Tip: If possible, urge family members to provide a list of bills they have. Then decide on the ones you can handle every month.
Please don’t allow relatives to decide bills for you. If possible, you can choose to spend some time with them to understand their needs.
Just ensure you are not spending above your means. And if possible, try to assist your family members so they can start a business and take care of some financial demands without contacting you.
#5 Unforeseen expenses:
Nobody is praying to face challenges in life. They happen by themselves. Someone who has a clear vision of being hit by a bus would prefer to remain home to avoid the situation.
However, challenges are part of life. We don’t control them. You probably didn’t know you would fall sick today or experience a natural disaster. That’s it.
So, it is important to plan for emergencies. You might be forced to spend heavily to repair your house damaged by a natural disaster, a car, or even emergency medical bills.
The truth is, some of these expenses might eclipse your 80k salary. You may even find yourself borrowing to offset the deficit.
We all wish to have a smooth year throughout. If you’re that lucky, you may find 80K a good salary.
Conclusion
Is 80k a good salary for a single person? You can see the response to this question. Several factors would determine if you could live on an 80k salary. These include where you reside, monthly expenses, lifestyle, financial assistance, and unexpected expenses faced.
We also gave tips to help you ensure your 80k salary can go a long way. These include living in rural areas, cutting down on your expenses, and making healthy lifestyle choices.
