How much money do you make in one year?
65 members have voted
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1. What is your annual income?
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Less than $20,00010
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$20,000 to $29,9993
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$30,000 to $39,9999
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$40,000 to $49,9999
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$50,000 to $59,9995
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$60,000 to $69,9995
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$70,000 to $79,9992
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$80,000 to $89,9992
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$90,000 to $99,9993
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$100,000 to $124,9997
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$125,000 to $149,9995
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$150,000 to $199,9992
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$200,000 or Higher3
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Belle
Geeze, Rocky - somebody kick your cat or something? <_<
It's an ANONYMOUS poll. Answer if you want - don't if you don't - no harm in asking.... No need to be a jerk about it.
I tell ya, I have the UTMOST respect for someone wanting to run their own business.... it's A LOT of long hours and A LOT of work. You're the salesman, accountant, employer, employee, operations director, human resources director, etc. etc. etc. until/unless the business grows to the point of adding additional staff, then you have a whole 'nother set of details/headaches to handle - social security, insurance, taxes, etc....
I know the payoff is incredible for someone who truly wants to work for themselves, but I like coming into work and making money for someone else. I know what I'm going to get paid every month and I don't have to think about work when I leave at the end of the day.
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Belle
:eusa_clap:
Great points, Bolshevik! I took a small pay cut to work where I am now. Never once do I regret it. I love the work, the people, the commute, the dress code and other intangible benefits much, much more than the jerks, stress and commute that came with the larger paycheck.
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excathedra
i'm not offended by this except for the people who make a lot of money
i took a huge cut to be a better mom
no regrets
well he is getting fresher by the minute
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excathedra
ps. my friend, tommy, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
oh and their name is "Economides"
that's just plain weird
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Rocky
If they DID, I'd be doing more than just writing some HARMLESS criticism of a pointless poll.
And I disagree on whether there's harm in asking. But that's where I'll leave that one.
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Bolshevik
Mr. P,
did you learn anything? what conlculusions or trend do you see?
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Mister P-Mosh
Actually yes. I assumed that since most people within TWI seemed to be not very well off financially, the trend would continue outside of TWI. People are making a lot more money than I expected.
Of course, the poll was not very specific. People earning six figures could have counted both themselves and their spouses, and there was some confusion over whether I meant the pre or post tax amount of money (I meant before taxes, by the way, since taxes are a form of expenses.)
Some interesting polls that could come after this would be things like building a matrix between income and whether or not the person still believes in tithe/ABS, income and political views, etc. Anonymous polls are a good way to understand the demographics of former TWIers. Some time maybe we should run a poll of how people left TWI, but I am not sure what all the options would be other than M&A and left on your own.
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Bolshevik
income was a huge issue for me coming out of the gulag w/ a family. As I started letting go of twi teachings (abs, debt-free, believing etc.) things go a hell of a lot lighter mentally.
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Hills Bro
I can confidently say that: I make more money than God
...and I still Tithe. :)
I am at the point where my investments generate more income annually than my business. I plan on working as long as I live on a part-time basis.
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J0nny Ling0
Me? I finally decided to believe the verse somewhere in the Word that says:
"If a man can't take care of his own household how can he take care of the Church of God?"
And since I'd been broke all of the time as a branch leader and father of two/husband of one, I told my LC; "Well, I gotta go. I'm not taking care of my own family financially, so, it is time for me to go to work". He agreed with me, and so I left my BC job and went back east to be with my folks, started hanging sheetrock full time, and eventually decided that even that was kind of dead end and finally "allowed myself" to get a real job. And that was with the Alaska Marine Highway, a final return to what was once my chosen profession before I got involved in The Way. It was kinda strange "having a job" at first, because people in The Way who were full time employed and not in the Corps or not on Staff somewhere, were considered "lesser people" because they didn't have the "comittment" that others in The Way had.
And so, I began to take care of my own family for the first time. It took some "evolving", but we are up on step now, and I am thankfuul...
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Belle
I wonder if the length of time and the age of involvement with TWI has any correlation on one's income. :unsure:
Someone who got involved during the teen years and gave up college and/or building a career to go out WOW and to attend the ROA every year AND stayed involved doing anything and everything TWI demanded for many years MAY have/had a tough time building up a comfortable salary and career advancement.
I didn't get involved until after I had been out of college for a few years and was already on a nice career path. I was also highly skeptical of the bu11sh1t financial advice I kept hearing out of TWIt mouths and never bought into it. As a result, I didn't lose any ground professionally and have made some wise investments (my house being one of them).
My ex gave up a great career doing exactly what he loved and making good money at it to go WOW and then into the corps. He was drop kicked to the curb shortly before graduating and never did get his career back on track until we had been married for a few years. He was just starting to build a retirement account and some stability on his resume when he left me. He not only left me, but he left his job and all things "normal" to go work at TWI HQ. He's fast approaching 50 and I suspect he is barely making ends meet with what they probably pay him and he's probably got a mere paltry amount set aside for those sunset years. :(
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Mister P-Mosh
That would be an interesting question as well. In my case, I basically grew up in TWI and got out after I was already working, but there was a lot of pressure for me to go Way Disciple (the "new" WOW program) and I never succumbed. The only things that really screwed me up financially were 1) TWIs focus on savings, which didn't really teach you how to save and thus failed, and 2) the absolute no-debt policy, which meant I went to community college instead of a four year school, despite the fact that I was within the top 10% of students in the nation when it came to my standardized tests. I'm still very successful, but I think I would be even more so if I could have gotten the four year degree instead of a two year degree. Could I go back? Sure, but then I'd have to quit my job, and my wife doesn't work and we make very little other income. Could I do night school? I am lucky to get 5 hours of sleep every night because I'm so busy, so there's no way I could make the time.
Well he probably got what he deserves then.
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Jim
In LCM's case, yes.
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excathedra
very impressive, p !!!!
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Bolshevik
I'm not assuming you haven't done your homework on this so please forgive me for saying, but
it sounds like you could easily qualify for scholarships and subsidized student loans at a four-year school, ones that could possibly cover tuition and cost-of-living?
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Mister P-Mosh
I actually haven't looked into it, but it's one of those things where I'm making good money now, and am used to what I have, so I haven't felt a strong need. If I go get a 4 year degree it would just be a personal pride thing. I'm applying for a new job this weekend that would ordinarily require an MBA or something similar, but since I know the guy I would be working for, he would waive that requirement.
So I might go finish at some point, but I think I'll wait until I have enough money saved up that I don't need to work, should that ever happen.
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tonto
I didn't answer the poll in part because of the confusion over whether or not to count our combined income, and I also didn't answer just because. But Belle I think what you said describes a lot of folks...namely me and T-Bone.
Shoot, we struggled financially the entire time we were in twi. Neither of us finished college because of twi and without a degree it's hard to get and keep a decent job, especially when you're a kool-aid gulper who feels compelled to attend every seminar, class, leader's meeting, whatever life-changing event hq-could-dream-up-to-part-us-from-our-hard-earned-cash!
At the time we honestly believed that we would eventually work full-time for twi, so our incomplete education wasn't an issue financially. Of course, I also believed that the crustees (thank you Groucho) were being wise stewards of our 15+% before taxes. And that monkeys might fly out of my bu++.
As soon as we left twi the finances improved, but it took a long time to get to the point where I didn't feel like there was a weight around our necks. With 20 years of hard work and the grace of God we're comfortable, but who knows where we could have been?
You know, I don't know if any of you remember this, but I remember vp teaching that the people in pentecostal churches were usually poverty-stricken because they weren't handling the holy spirit field correctly. Anyone else remember that? Funny...it seems that the same can be said of twi's cash-strapped followers today. Except for the chosen few at the top of the dung pile, of course.
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BikerBabe
I will openly say what I live on. 623 bucks a month from SSI and with that I get 99 bucks of food stamps (do the math, that's a buck a meal gang) and all my medical via medicare which uses the state's welfare insurance companies. The first year was real hard, I wasn't put on the best company, but now I had the chance to change a month ago and now finally all my meds are covered and they give me cab rides to all doc visits, tests, etc, that I have to go to. My GP doc is only 4.12 miles round trip though, so I can ride my mountain bike to his office when the weather allows. They insist on sending the cabs an hour before your appt time and living so close, I hate hanging out and wasting an hour before I get seen, then waiting up to another half hour after I call to get my ride back home when I'm done.
To get all of this wonderful money and medical so I could stay alive, all I had to do was separate and start the divorce from my husband. SSI accepted me fine, but couldn't help me since he was considered responsible for me while living with me and he made 9.50 an hour, which is too much income according to them. Of course that job of his offered no insurance and we could barely make bills much less pay for doctor visits and expensive meds, tests, etc. I needed. I held out for awhile, but I was down to 76 pounds and fading fast. I then did what I had to do and found a small studio apt near him. We can still hang out together, we just can't live together and will have to get the divorce. At that point we could then live together again if we would chose to, as he would no longer be responsible for me. Real nice system our Government has huh?
Today I'm at 104 pounds and no longer need the wheelchair or cane except for the times when my left hip joint, which needs to be replaced (has a flat spot on it) in time, flares up. I can't walk very far, 3 blocks is pressing my limit, but I can ride my mountain bike 5 miles or so without a problem since riding puts no weight on the hip or gut where the pain is the worst. Now that our weather has finally broken and we are down to the 90's and a couple of days in the 80's, it's beautiful riding weather and we will be able to start riding on his days off on weeks I'm up for it and I can start to ride a little further each time until I hopefully can get back somewhere near the 20 miles a day I used to be able to ride. When you don't have a car, it can make many things more difficult to get done that most take for granted daily.
Each month or every other month we are now adding on a new specialist I need to be seen by and getting all the pre auths done with my insurance company. I have the pain doc already, the OB-GYN and GP of course. Next will be either the G.I. for the Crohn's Disease or the skin doc for the Crohn's related skin disease I need a biospy of so we can get it entered into my medical records, since only 4 out of every one million people with Crohn's get the skin disease probs or the doc who will start to decide what to do about my hip joint that will need to be replaced. Being on 120 mg of methadone a day for my Crohn's, IBS, the skin blisters that turn into painful raw skin on hands, head, and recently face flare ups, Fibro and migraines, I don't normally feel the pain from the hip ... unless I do something stupid like stay under the table too long in a bad position while working on my computer. (Quit laughing Garth! Hahaha.) Then I will be in extreme pain for about 2 weeks and unable to put any weight on that hip and have to keep a special cream the pain doc has the pharmacist compound up special for his patients that numbs an inch deep into the skin and really helps when mixed with a heating pad and have to use the **** wheelchair if I go out of the house and be pushed around in it. *sigh* So fun .. NOT. Well, unless I'm on a nice smooth surface, like the grocery store floor where I can do donuts in the chair till I'm so dizzy I almost fall out of it. That's fun at times to do, but tends to embarass whomever is pushing me. LOL. Hitting the sloaping driveway as fast as I can and freewheeling it while saying 'Yee Haw!' kinda gets them going too.
One step at a time and we will get it all taken care of at the pace I can handle. Going out for a day will take me down for the next 3 or 4 days and I am good for nothing really other than sitting and talking and sleeping. Then I get the energy back that's needed to do it again. LOL. My GP doc's nurse practitioner is really good about making sure I get the time I need to rest up before we do the next round of medical stuff. She knows I lose weight so easily, we can't risk having that happen and then have me in a condition that would make me unable to have needed surgery until I could gain it back. It's taken me a year to go from 76 to 104. This is the first time in my life I've been over 100 lbs, unless I was pregnant. After so many years of bad docs who ignored me, called me a liar, asked me if I wanted the name of a good shrink, accusing me of being a drug seeker, it feels really good to finally have a full team of doctors working together to help me. After about 10 years of being an almost total shut in, I have so much I want to get out into the world to see and do, once they get me to the point I can without fearing it will set me back.
I kinda went off track there, but for a reason. The SSI/income issue with me doesn't really sink in, unless you hear the full story behind it and all we've had to go thru to get it and keep me alive. It really would have sucked to have died at 49 years old last year from a non fatal disease, just because of a 9.50 an hour job. All I can do is pray my rent doesn't go up, since I live in the cheapest building in this neighborhood where all stores I need for food, meds, bank, etc are all in a 3 block radius and I can ride there on my bike in a few minutes. It's not easy to find all that plus affordable rent so close together. I'm also on one of the major bus routes when I need to go further and carry things home (I have one of those big carts that holds 4 paper sized grocery bags and a couple plastic ones) to get to Target and WalMart on rare occasions. A cab is out of the question, they want 10 bucks each way and I just can't afford that.
The years I would have been able to work when I was younger, I was in TWI and following the husbands I had while in wanting me at home caring for the kids. I had no jobs other than a few that only lasted a month before I'd end up flaring and getting so sick I'd have to quit. Back then I couldn't get the docs to listen to me though, so I stayed home, tried to not whine about the pain and make it thru each day the best I could. Then I got really sick 13 years ago when I quit smoking to please a boyfriend .. stupid decision. I didn't know that I had Crohn's and those with Crohn's and Colitis tend to go from minor gut pain to major (I pass out from it) once they quit smoking. Tylenol no longer made the gut pain go away, I needed the script pain meds 24/7. By the time I made the connection it had something to do with quitting and started smoking again, it helped me stay where I was, but I never did and never will get back to being as healthy as I was before I quit. So not working, not paying into the system, left me open only for SSI help, not the other type of Social Security Disability that you get a portion of your prior income, which is normally much more than I get.
I'll shut up now ... and this was the short version of it all. LOL. I have a blog online where I vent, err .. post at times when I feel the need where I point people who want to know more of all I've been thru in my life. There's so much more than just the medical, it's just easier to keep it all in one place, so I'm starting to write it all out there when I feel up to it and have the time. While money has never mattered to me so long as the bills were paid and food was on the table, I have to really stretch it to get that done these days depending on the SSI and it's benefits (as they call them). But I'm alive, I'm riding my bike again and feeling the wind in my face. That was my dream, my goal, and it feels REAL good when I'm out there flying on my bike on a nice straight side road with no traffic around to hit me. I feel alive again for the first time in many years. Some of you here helped me reach this point, you know who you are. I can never thank you enough for the things each of you did for me. Every time I ride that bike or walk into my front door I think of y'all and thank God for you and your kindness to me. I owe many of you some emails, but when I had my puter crash some months back, I lost everything. If you haven't heard from me in email, that's why, I've lost your address. Send me one and I will get you back in my addy book.
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excathedra
hi bb !!!!!! i love you !!!!!!
i'll read your post when i find my attention span
many hugs
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cheranne
You mean if I collect cans? hahahah and or give blood or plasma!!!!
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TheHighWay
Well, I make less than the US median income, and considerably less than I would have been making if I hadn't wasted 20 years in twi.
That being said, I make enough to pay the bills, put some in savings, and still enjoy enough extra goodies to make life fun, so actually I'm pretty darned content.
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Caveman
moreover, where do you get the ink?
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Steveo
Hi,
My brother is in disab=ilty here in Florida and gets about the same, only...he wont apply for food stamps...
Fortunately he qualified for "subsidized housing" after apllying with some state agency and being approved (took awhile, I can ask him more about this inif you want more info)
At that Income level you should apply for subsidized housing, give it a try, thats what its there for
Also in Florida we have such a thing as Vans that pick you up and bring you to the doctor when your disabled, ask about those too ( I dunno if they have that in your state)
Finally, Im sure you dont need me to tell you this, but find cheap places to get food...Factory OOutlets ( I have a bread place near me that selss stuff for like 10cents each) and also Wal Mart ( I myself get 2 of my prescriptions there for $4 each
Finally, God Bless and keep you and Ill say a prayer for ya!
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