running about 325-350 a week in groceries and gas is about another hundred.

with $$$ in groceries like that you would think I was eating steak all the time but Still feeding 4 of us sometimes 5 and that grocery bill includes personal care items like soap , toothpaste , shampoo and cleaning stuff.

last steaks I bought that weren't in the discount meat cooler the stuff that is freeze or use same day was new years nearly all our beef is Salvage cow butchered 2 this year

but bills paid , gas for the boat , bullets for the guns and time to hunt fish and trap and maybe take the wife out to a concert or two a year

Exactly Pete, we don’t buy eggs and most of the meat we eat. It’s nonsense at this point. I don’t know how the folks who are trying to make ends meet living paycheck to pay check do it! The ones not getting free food stamps that is.

Yall are right..it depends on how may are in your family and how many frills you need to be happy.

I am closing on land next Monday, getting married next October, breaking ground on a house around January (hopefully)

I could spend as much money as you would give me at this stage in life, lol

Me and the Mrs don't need much money at all. Just enough to pay the bills. We eat a lot of the land and don't live a "frilly" lifestyle. We've never had a lot so we're use to making do by ourselves. As far as entertainment, we got that covered too

Speaking of depends----has anyone priced those lately>

I could get by with way less, but I like my toy's.
Yes traps too lol.
When debt free probably $20-25,000

It mainly depends on where you live.
Where I am I can enjoy my lifestyle with all the toys and it costs very little to do so.
Fancy restaurants and big stores require a half hour or an hour travel,but the money I save living in a small town way more than covers trips out of town for that stuff.
Dont even have a Tim Hortons here,but I drive a half hour once a week for a Timmies.One of My traplines is half way,so not too far out of the way when I travel to that line.

I would guess with where we are in life right now it would be about 75k, which is more than I make but so far the farm is making up the difference and paying the farms bills. Before we bought the farm we were 100 percent debt free and my 45-50k income kept us living comfortably

I'd say there are many factors....kids, where you live, what stage of life you're in, and your standard of living. There's not a set number. At this point in life, I've got to be making more than any other point in life because I'm raising kids, driving to and from work each day, investing a lot into 403B's, 529's, HSA's, etc. in preparation to retire earlier in life. As I near closer to retirement or during retirement, I won't need much. And what I do need will be coming my way in the form of pension, 403B investments and maybe, just maybe Social Security.

Cathryn, since I'm a former, and hopefully future, martentrapper, I'm curious about Jerrys marten trips. Since this thread is about income I'm asking about income from marten trapping. I'm sure you'll use MYOB where necessary. With expenses of 3 bucks a gal. for gas, the cost of the trip to Wy. And back, food, misc. etc. etc. and then the sale price of his fur, marten and other species, can you provide a ballpark figure of his expected profit.
I just happen to have a bunch of plastic milk jugs I will be putting to work in a similar fashion thanks to your pics!

He figures on clearing 2,000 to 3000 after expenses..

Possible 4000 if his catch picks up

It usually a little more but since he's not working out there anymore he can't defer the fuel cost out and back so that's adding about 700.00 in extra expenses this year that he usually doesnt have.

That's including all fur he's caught..not just the marten.

He's trapping all species..

I'm just mostly posting marten pics.

I like lots of frills, guess I need lots of money. Plan on retiring when I can bring home about $80K a year until I die or turn 99…depends on what comes first.
Everything will be paid off and the house like I like it before I turn 60. I’ll even have me a NEW truck. Still driving a 2000 model. I like my out of State and even Country turkey trips and the wife likes her cruises, already been roped into one next Christmas, lol. I don’t plan to stop living just because I retire one day.
I like my life. I like buying something when I want it. I work hard for my money and even trap so I don’t touch my hard earned money. I like flying first class when I fly. I don’t mind paying for expensive guns, traps, fishing rods and reels, food, or fun because it lasts longer than cheap crap.
I live in a modest house and we drive modest vehicles so we and our kids can enjoy a fun filled life and not have to worry about gas prices or anything else when inflation gets sky high.
Think if most would just live within their means they could do a lot more. I’ve always been the type of you want something you work and save for it. What I’ve found is when you save and keep cash on hand it’s a lot harder to part with it, so you keep saving and keep adding more cash. Cash is good to have, lol.

You will get a different answer between my wife and I. Everything we have is paid for. I don't need anything that I already don't have. My wife orders so much stuff from Amazon that the UPS driver is partioning for a stop light at the end of our driveway.

I know as a pastor of those who deal with grave situations towards the end of their lives, that the economy and people's lifestyles have led to a massive endemic of impoverished older Americans who can't afford most things they wish for at the end of their lives. And it's ramping up in this direction exponentially. I have a lady right now, whom I'm supporting whose in hospice care, who worked at the big 3 auto plants (so did her deceased husband), and who retired 18 years ago, who now can't afford much of anything at all. Sad.

I'm sitting among people like this more and more it seems.

I don't know how much annual income it takes to live in a comfortable manner because comfortable is a generic term.
I have come to realize that how we value money speaks the loudest.
Some make a little and have a lot.
Some make a lot and have very little.

And that includes money.

Blessings,
Mark

Mark, I had a profound moment a couple days ago. Let me paint this picture as I know your're familiar with my area now. When coming into West Branch, you pass the car dealers and St.Vincent DePaul thrift store. Well I go to St. Vinnies several times a year for old blankets and coats for our barn cats to bed in at the Mill. I had to wait in checkout for a while, thrift store was crazy busy. While picking through the "Dog blanket pile" an older couple were also picking through the pile. Except they were not getting old blankets for dogs or cats, they were for themselves. Said if those blankets were good enough for dogs they were good enough for them. Blankets were $1.00 each, I filled my cart, paid. I then left $50.00 with cashier with intent to pay for old couples cart full of second hand stuff, any extra $$$ were to be given to old couple as change. Still, I have never seen a second hand thrift store so busy.....I made the connection in my head, and mumbled my best attempt at prayer for better times for all those folks, as I headed back to the Mill with my cat bedding.

Ever had somebody who works for the same wages you do ask to borrow money? Often its the inability to manage the money we do have rather than insufficient income. I have a married relative with credit card trouble. Credit counseling has not helped much. They can not commit to step one which is stop spending.

lol

Good post Feedinggrounds. And well played, your humble assistance for the widows, orphans, and aliens among us.
As we all go about our days, there are indeed many people who aren't able to provide for themselves in ways we might consider "comfortable."

Have some made poor choices along the trail? Who hasn't.
Have some made some good choices along the trail? Who doesn't?

I'll comment that when it comes to the end of our trail, I've noticed most people think differently about the things that truly matter. Not everyone, but most do.
Now, the people around them are typically doing the things they typically do.
People who are straight up - are straighter up. People who are quiet - get more quiet. People who are louder - get loudest.
Quite fascinating, the things I learn, as I observe.
We'll all be there one day and until then...
slip a $50 at the St. Vinnie's or buy a vet a meal, or say hi when the person next to you a crab butthead.

You'll end your life with others around you, not as vultures, but as caring people who love you. Till the end.

It's not how you start, it's how you finish, right?

Blessings,
Mark

with inflation the way it is, how do you pick a minimum income number? if you live another 20-30 years after retiring it is IMO impossible to predict how much will be needed.