Quote:
Originally Posted by Cad  How the hell do you make less than $166k as a lawyer?  |
I live in Spokane, Washington. That means that the cost of living is about 4 times lower than a major city such as Seattle, NYC, Los Angeles, etc. That doesn't mean that i'm destined to make nothing, it just means that you have to take my income in perspective.
Making $100,000 in spokane is a better job than making $200,000 in any other major city due to the fact that my 3200 square foot home cost me only $229,000, a home that in LA would sell for over a million. My income is such that I'll have my home paid off before i'm 39, and I already have $50,000 in protected ROTH investments. Plus, I deduct quite a bit from my income for business expenses, so my actual Adjusted Gross Income is almost laughable compared to what you think a lawyer should make.
Plus, i'm a stay at home dad, my lawfirm is new as of March, 2005, and I only need to work about 4 hours a day, compared to the idiot who got a firm job working 80 hour weeks. I did the firm thing for a while, and once you have the experience, theres no reason to stay at a large firm unless you want to stick it out for 15 years, make partner, and have 10 million by the time you retire. I don't need 10 million. Three million is just fine with me. My business will grow, and I have plenty of time to take days off on summer days when I want to take my son to the park while he's young.
So thats how I can put $$$ into ROTH. I'll still have well over 2.5 million before i'm 55, which is all I really need to live comfortably off interest. Sure, I could probably think of a way to make more money, but shrug, I'm liking my life.
