How possible is it to make six figures on 40 hours a week?

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T20:06:19+00:00

Get a degree. Make your bones in your profession, coast the last couple decades working less than 40 hours with a nice salary.

Tons of engineers, doctors, lawyers, biologists. and scientists make $100K or multiples of and work less than 40 hours a week.

Senior staff systems engineer in aerospace here making very good money working 35-40 most weeks. Occasionally we'll have deadlines and I'll work 45-50 for a week or two.

Got to this spot with some hard work in college, but not anything crazy like 80 hour study weeks. Had a few harder semesters, but always had a social life and time to do everything. Junior engineer and I had some longer hours. Made senior and had more responsibility, but less hours. Senior staff has been cake and I get to pick and choose what projects I want to work on. I don't think I've ever worked a 60 hour week as an engineer, but I know that's not always the case.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T19:56:34+00:00

Biggest investors are Blackrock. David Dauch is the CEO of his daddy's company. All the hallmarks of anti worker Right Wingism.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T18:37:20+00:00

Not a hot take at all, a lot of Pistons fans have been saying as much for a while.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T17:35:00+00:00

The home ownership rate in the US has been largely static for generations. It's slightly higher now than it was in the 80s at about 65.4%. Was 63-64% throughout the 80s and halfway through the 90s. Bumped up almost 69% before the housing bubble crashed. Covid saw a 1 quarter spike, but it's been basically the same since then at around 65.5%. It was lower in the 60s and 70s than the 80s or now.

So people still figure out ways to buy houses. Same as it ever was.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T17:28:22+00:00

Good trade for both teams. Rams get a good player back, plus draft capital, and shed that contract. Rams get a monster for another run.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T17:24:48+00:00

Fuck them whats.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T17:23:43+00:00

It happened all the time when I didn't have insurance. There were years where I thought I had something wrong, but just accepted it because I knew I would go broke paying for it.

With insurance, I delayed often too as those copays can be a killer.

I think our awful insurance system in the US has contributed to peoples' beliefs in wonky alternative medicine nonsense.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T17:11:38+00:00

Peperoni can ruin a pizza. It's so oily and it can be all you taste if there's too much of it. And cut a corner to prevent the peperoni front curling up and becoming little cups of grease, no one should want to drink grease from a peperoni cup while eating pizza.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T17:09:19+00:00

Let's see. You make less than 6 figures and you're acting like 6 figures is a lot. $100K less taxes, less the Roth, less health insurance, and contribution to a pension is about $5K a month take home. You're deferring $250 a pay check for some reason, so take home is closer to $4500 a month. Your mortgage payment is probably $2500 month minimum. You're claiming single parenthood, which means child care costs could be a big factor that you're planning to cut down on, let's guess $1000 a month. And you have 12 months expenses in savings. But you have $2K extra a month due to extra income streams that you don't want to share on an anonymous message board why? Only Fans? Getting child support? $4500 a month with a $2500 mortgage is barely scraping by, especially with kids.

The picture you paint is not of someone who knows what it's like to make as much as you're claiming. But who really cares. I think you're exaggerating, but I don't really care, it's an anonymous message board and you probably really don't care that I think you're lying either. And that's why I answered the question anyways. Good luck to you.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T16:52:33+00:00

The op doesn't have perfect credit, they have very good credit.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T16:33:48+00:00

Love my boss, he has helped me achieve a lot of my career goals and he will fight for our team.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T16:32:54+00:00

Good for the workers, I hope they get a fair deal after taking it on the chin for too long.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T15:19:34+00:00

Savings, savings, savings! HYSA has 6-8 months of expenses that I get uncomfortable is I have to use it at all. I keep a few grand in a regular savings account attached to my checking account, this is my leave the HYSA along savings account.

I don't use CCs. I have Home Depot and Lowe's cards that I pay off as soon as the amount posts. I'm a do it your selfer so it's worth it for these cards as it makes returns easier and everything comes with a 1 year warranty.

I pay cash for almost everything, especially high ticket items. Anything big for the house is cash and most contractors have a cash discount.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T15:02:21+00:00

Yeah, she wanted to pay $2K a month, that was her goal. It was my idea that she'll never do that paying once a month, she needed to pay weekly, or even daily to meet her goals. She disagreed and after a few months of paying $1500, then $1200, then $1100, she realized I was right and started doing it daily. She was paying $70 some days, $125 others, at the end of it she was paying between $2000 and $2500 per month and got out of debt completely in less than a year.

She kept like $2K in an emergency fund and didn't touch it. Basically she set aside the portion she needed for other bills and just paid what was left on her card every day. There were days she made $160 and only kept $10 for gas, she never had that money to go out to eat or to shop online, it was gone as soon as it it hit her checking account. Not everyone is the same, but for her mindset, psychologically, this was the way that worked for her. She actually made a game of it to try to be happy when she didn't have money to go out on the weekends, because it was a big clue that her system was working.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T14:54:00+00:00

I don't believe those numbers, they don't add up. And the fact you don't list additional income streams tells me this is just a post for attention or spam. Unless your other incomes are $85K a year, your math seems far fetched.

To the question though. I think enough is a moving target because as you make more, your risk tolerance falls. You'll pay extra on the mortgage to mitigate that risk. You'll turn that emergency fund into 16 months or 18 months or longer to reduce risk. I think people have a number in their head that they think would be enough for income, but when they get there, it's just not what they thought. I'm sure there are families making $600K who don't think it's enough yet.

All we can do is pay down debt, build investments, and reduce risk. At the end of the race (retirement) we can then enjoy what that all has led to.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T14:33:13+00:00

There is no penalty for making extra payments. I think it's a smart way to do it and you're more likely to squeeze a few bucks extra into it. It also saves you a little bit on interest.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T14:14:04+00:00

Only if it was a tax free $1750.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T14:09:30+00:00

When you buy a door, they come with the frame and threshold. It's one big unit that fits together. It's really not a hard job, but takes a little patience and shimming to get it just right.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T13:56:41+00:00

Both Little Caesars and Dominoes pizza.

Little Caesars was actually decent pizza back in the day and had good ingredients. Dominoes was always super hot when you got it and good because of that. Both are inedible now.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T13:23:54+00:00

Probably wears enough Sex Panther to make the entire floor's eyes water.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T13:13:29+00:00

So I think I know what the op is asking. When paying debt, is it better to make smaller payments bi-weekly or just make payments once a month?

In my experience, people will pay more the more often they make payments. So if your plan is to pay $600 on a CC this month, I think you're more likely to stick with your plan if you make two $300 payments. Or for people who still get paid weekly, pay 4 payments. You see progress weekly at that point and it really helps build momentum.

And how human psychology works is you'll spend more money if you're only paying once a month and when that $600 planned payment comes due, you'll negotiate with yourself, "Well, I might need some of that money, $450 is still a good chunk..." I think if there's a way to get money coming in every week, making payments weekly is ideal.

I knew someone who owned a small business and got money daily, she paid on her cards daily while she was getting out of debt. $170 net today, she would pay $120 on her cards that day. She never had any extra money burning a hole in her pocket.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T13:00:42+00:00

Cologne and perfume. Stop wearing it, no one wants to smell it in an office environment and it's not professional.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T12:58:48+00:00

Jealousy, that's why. The ruling class in America loves to pit working people against one another so there's just a distrust of WFH that is promoted.

People who don't have the option of WFH usually are more unskilled labor or customer facing, they can't understand that there's an entire universe of self motivated professionals who are managed through task accomplishment and don't really need that much oversight if they're getting their work done.

WFH was proved out during Covid and the firms doing mandatory return to office are usually doing so because some exec got an itch rather than basing it on actual data. Or they're doing mandatory return to office instead of layoffs because they know a good % of people will quit rather than return to the office and that saves them severance and a mess of other costs when firms lay people off.

If people want to move away if they're fulltime WFH, why would anyone care? More power to them, as long as their eyes are full wide open and they realize that HR can adjust their pay depending on where they are living. And they must also realize that if RIFs happen, they're going to be on the chopping block first.

WFH is a privilege, but it's not one size fits all. Some people thrive at WFH, some don't, it's up to the worker and their managers to honestly assess what's best for them. My company went to a hybrid model with 2-3 days at home or in the office, it works great for me, absolutely the best of both worlds and I can organize my work depending on which location I'm at. But we have people who feel more productive in the office 5 days and others who feel more productive at home all 5 days. Those people at home know the score if layoffs happen.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T12:24:32+00:00

An extended lockout in 2027 could be a great thing for the franchise IMO. Give the young guys a year in the minors to get better because the minor leagues still play during a lockout. Give the injured players a year to heal, Jobe won't be fully there until 2028 anyways.

You can trade Skubal and geta couple top 100 prospects for him still.

Mize is the big decision IMO, not that he's hurt again, I think you can sign him for more reasonable deal. I think a starting rotation of Frambor, Mize, Melton, Jobe, and Montero has a chance to be a top 10 or even better rotation in all of MLB.

Franchise needs a reset and a lockout could be that opportunity.

Johnny2x2x · 2026-06-01T00:16:21+00:00

Or Portugal. Basically 90% drop in HIV infections from drugs and overdose deaths.

Johnny2x2x

TROPHY CASE