How Much Pre Tax Income Would You Need to Pay Your Taxes?

In 2020, roughly 18% of households made $150,000 or more per statistic. You would need about $165,000 per tax to end up with $111,000 post tax in a state like California that has high state taxes. A married couple only needs to earn between $175,000 and $190,000 per year together to spend the average monthly amount, invest the difference, and become a millionaire in 10 years.

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Before I understood the almost-unbelievable magic of exponential compounding, I thought becoming a millionaire was an almost-impossible goal only achievable by the highest earners or people who were already rich. Granted, inflation has certainly shifted the meaning of a million dollars over the last 20 years—but it’s still no small potatoes.

Fortunately, we can calculate this path to the magic million with relative ease—so that’s exactly what we’re doing on the show today. If you’re trying to reach a $1 million net worth with a partner in 10 years or fewer, good news—neither partner even needs to make six figures.

Of course, the temptation is strong to try to time the market in the context of our current volatile shitstorm. We’ll address why that’s a fool’s errand, historically speaking, and discuss some ~alternative options~. (And reminder: Past performance is not indicative of future returns.)

Finally, we're joined by my friend Delyanne Barros, otherwise known as The Money Coach (https://www.instagram.com/delyannethemoneycoach/) and host of CNN's Diversifying (https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/diversifying). Delyanne shares her path from being a high earner and equally high spender to becoming a millionaire on track to retire by age 45.

To learn more about our sponsor, Vin Social, check out http://vinsocialvip.com/

Episode transcriptions can be found at https://www.podpage.com/money-with-katie-show/.

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Mentioned in the Episode

Download the free Money Management Routine resource: https://education.morningbrew.com/budget
Data on the world's millionaire population: https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html
JP Morgan Asset Management study on market timing: https://am.jpmorgan.com/us/en/asset-management/adv/insights/market-insights/market-updates/on-the-minds-of-investors/is-market-timing-worth-it-during-periods-of-intense-volatility/
Secret millionaires: https://www.rd.com/article/secret-millionaires-donations-after-died/
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41881472-the-psychology-of-money
Average monthly spend by a single earner: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/monthly-expenses-single-person-family
Incomes making higher than $150K/year or more: https://www.statista.com/statistics/203183/percentage-distribution-of-household-income-in-the-us/
Median retirement savings amount: https://www.synchronybank.com/blog/median-retirement-savings-by-age/
How to Diversify Beyond The Total Stock Market: https://www.moneywithkatie.com/blog/you-might-be-overexposed-to-large-cap-diversifying-beyond-the-total-stock-market-and-sampp-500
10 Stunning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics: https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/