How 24-year-olds spend their 6-figure incomes in New York, California

Loads of folks can be happy to earn a six-figure salary. 

Although $100,000 might not go as far as it used to, it is nonetheless a comparatively excessive revenue for People. The median private revenue for 2023 was simply $50,310, in accordance with U.S. Census Bureau data. 

Nonetheless, personal preferences and local costs of living for requirements like lease, meals and transportation make everybody’s month-to-month funds distinctive — even when they’re in an identical revenue bracket.

Here is how three totally different people, who have been all 24 years outdated when CNBC Make It profiled them, earn and spend their six-figure incomes around the globe. 

Steven Guo is an e-commerce entrepreneur dwelling in Bali, Indonesia, who based several businesses on observe to herald almost $2 million this yr. He’ll take residence $254,000 himself in 2024.

Nonetheless, he selected to maneuver to Bali, Indonesia, to get pleasure from a top quality of life at a “fraction of the price” of what it could be in California, the place he moved from. 

“I am positively a lot happier in Bali due to how nice the life-style is,” Guo informed CNBC Make It earlier this yr. Since his dwelling prices are comparatively low, he is capable of put a big chunk of his revenue towards his funding accounts. He goals to save lots of $60,000 a yr. 

“I usually do not wish to spend an excessive amount of cash on myself,” Guo mentioned. “Most of my bills go in direction of meals, but when I do spend cash, it is usually in direction of presents for household or my girlfriend.”

Here is how he spent his cash in September 2024.

• Financial savings and investments: $5,583 towards a Robinhood brokerage account and a Roth IRA
• Discretionary: $1,942 for purchasing, presents, journey and well being bills
• Housing and utilities: $1,691 for his share of a month-to-month Airbnb rental, Wi-Fi and utilities
• Meals: $539 on takeout and eating places
• Subscriptions and memberships: $430 towards his annual Amex charges, Amazon Prime, YouTube Premium, a private assistant and a storage unit
• Insurance coverage: $223 on well being and journey insurance coverage protection
• Transportation: $97 on a scooter rental and taxis
• Cellphone: $30

The wrestle millennials and Gen Zers have had to buy homes has been properly reported. However Sharon Kim, her brother and his spouse discovered a artistic answer by pooling their funds to purchase a home collectively.

“I didn’t ever think about that I’d be dwelling with my brother, together with his spouse, buying a house post-college,” Kim beforehand informed CNBC Make It. “I did not actually assume it was potential with all the scholar loans I had and nonetheless determining my profession.”

Kim secured a $94,000 wage as a UX designer at a tech firm in 2023. She additionally creates lifestyle content for her YouTube channel, which introduced in $51,000 that yr. 

She first moved right into a 1-bedroom condo in New York Metropolis together with her brother and his spouse after graduating from faculty in 2023. However the house was cramped, so that they began wanting into houses they may afford to purchase with their mixed funds. 

After a prolonged search and several other rejections, the group bought a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home within the suburbs of New York Metropolis for $750,000 in early 2024. 

Her portion of the mortgage is Kim’s largest month-to-month expense. And at $2,500 a month, she acknowledges she may in all probability lease an condo with roommates for a similar quantity within the metropolis, however proudly owning a stake in the home “feels extra price it,” she mentioned.

Here is how she spent her cash in July 2024.

• Housing and utilities: $2,876 for her portion of the mortgage, water, oil, electrical energy and Wi-Fi
• Discretionary: $636 for brand spanking new bedding, bed room fixtures and tithe to her church
• House upgrades: $533 for paint, baseboards and a brand new showerhead
• Meals: $404 on groceries and eating out
• Pupil mortgage compensation: $285
• Retirement financial savings: $216
• Subscriptions: $116 on her gymnasium membership, Spotify, Amazon Prime and Apple Cloud storage
• Cellphone: $64
• Insurance coverage: $41 for medical, dental and imaginative and prescient

Kevin Levu earned his licensed vocational nurse credentials after becoming a member of the military in 2017. He needed a job that may additionally give him expertise he may apply as soon as he completed his navy service. Upon getting out of the military, he began taking courses to develop into a registered nurse and get a broader scope of accountability with sufferers. 

However after seeing the profitable opportunities for travel nurses through the Covid-19 pandemic, Levu put his research apart in 2023 to take a contract as a journey nurse at a county jail in Placerville, California. A yr later, engaged on one other contract at Pelican Bay State Jail in Crescent Metropolis, California, Levu expects to earn $112,000 by the top of 2024.

“That is the primary time I’ve ever revamped six figures in comparison with my different jobs, and it is simply totally different,” Levu informed CNBC Make It. 

Although he considers himself a “frugal particular person,” his revenue has given him extra “respiration house” in his month-to-month funds, which has been a aid, he mentioned. 

When he is not working, “I simply keep residence, play video video games, or I grasp round on the seaside. I attempt to maintain prices low.”

Here is how Levu spent his cash in June 2024.

• Financial savings and investments: $9,063 towards financial savings, a Roth IRA and a well being financial savings account
• Housing and utilities: $1,450 for a one-bedroom rental
• Meals: $836 for groceries and the occasional takeout order
• Discretionary: $534 for family items and garments
• Insurance coverage: $379 for well being, dental, hid weapon, auto and life insurance coverage
• Gasoline: $174
• Cellphone: $162
• Subscriptions and memberships: $79 for his gymnasium, Netflix, Spotify and Patreon

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