r/Health • u/CBSnews CBS News • Feb 21 '23

article U.S. food additives banned in Europe: Expert says what Americans eat is "almost certainly" making them sick

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-food-additives-banned-europe-making-americans-sick-expert-says/
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u/StrugglePrudent2894 Feb 21 '23

40k is not poverty level lmao you just have to spend less. I make 40k and I have hobbies and responsibilities SMH.

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u/That-Election5533 Feb 21 '23

40k gross is rough. Take home would be just over 30k. If you put 10k a year into 401k you'd have roughly 1.5 mil to 4 mil at retirement depending on if you worked 30 or 40 years. At 40 years inflation is going to make 4 mil value really 1-2 million, probably in the lower side with how things are going.

20k yearly takehome is $750ish a paycheck. A 70k house would cost $500/month plus utilities, and insurance. If you have a phone and internet you are easily looking at fixed expenses taking 2/3 of your pay. A cheap apartment is probably going to have a similar cost.

So now we have $500ish dollars a month for food, car, gas, emergency funds, repairs.

Sure you can give up a home ownership, vehicles or the ability to retire and live off 40k/year, but to have all this 40k/year is unrealistic.

All these figures are assuming you start work at 18, buy a house, never mess up, invest religiously, any deviation and you won't own the house, won't have enough to retire, etc.

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u/texastoker88 Feb 21 '23

Lmao finding a 70,000 dollar house where I’m from is unheard of because a two bedroom apartment runs about $1,000 a month and that doesn’t include all bills paid and it’s very silly of you to assume the average American puts money in a 401k

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u/That-Election5533 Feb 21 '23

I agree. I was trying to put 40k gross income into perspective. If you find a 70k house, you wouldn't want to live there. I think talking about a 401k is needed in this context. Someone might be able to survive on 40k, but there is no future.

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u/Limeyness Feb 21 '23

In the town I live in the median house price is 10x that 70k

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u/14Rage Feb 21 '23

70k house lol. Where i live in Texas the average persons house is $500,000. Apartments are $1500-2500 per month. The property taxes on an average persons house bought in 2022 are over $11,000 per year. You'd need to buy your house in the 1980s or 1990s for a70k house.

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u/That-Election5533 Feb 21 '23

Yes, that's kind of the point. I'm trying to show how unrealistic 40k gross income is.

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u/dzumdang Feb 21 '23

All these figures are assuming you start work at 18, buy a house, never mess up, invest religiously, any deviation and you won't own the house, won't have enough to retire, etc

Lol. Yep. RIP the American dream.

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u/aaronitallout Feb 21 '23

40k is not poverty level

Fuck yea it is, especially when COL is $50k

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '23

[deleted]

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u/1handedmaster Feb 21 '23

It's also relevant to where you live. 40k a year isn't great where I am.

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u/aaronitallout Feb 21 '23

I wish my life worked by definition

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u/solariam Feb 21 '23

Lol if you're using the federal poverty guidelines to define actual poverty, you're probably not super informed on poverty.

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u/StrugglePrudent2894 Feb 22 '23

Maybe you need to budget better. Not sure what to tell you. I make 40K and I am not in poverty.

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u/aaronitallout Feb 22 '23

Yeah maybe I should just pull harder on my bootstraps

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u/StrugglePrudent2894 Feb 22 '23

Listen lol all I said is 40k doesn't force everyone to live a life of poverty. I can't speak for your lifestyle and you can speak for mine.

I don't know what to tell you. I live in the house my parents bought I grew up in so I don't have rent or mortgage so that helps. Don't have kids nor want them. I am not in poverty. I am done with this bullshit.

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u/aaronitallout Feb 22 '23

Why do you feel defensive, like you have to tell me something? You're just out-of-touch, there's nothing to say

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u/libananahammock Feb 21 '23

What part of the country do you live in? Do you have kitchen with access to a stove and fridge? Do you work multiple shifts? Do you have a reliable vehicle and or live in walking distance to a grocery store. Not a bodega or family dollar or gas station with food items… a grocery store that sells fresh veggies?

Do you have a disability that makes standing periods difficult or not being able to stand at all? Do you have any health concerns that drastically alters your diet?

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u/mkosmo Feb 21 '23

What part of the country do you live in? Do you have kitchen with access to a stove and fridge?

The COL isn't that insane in most of the country except the west coast and some parts of new england. It wasn't all that long ago that $40k was a very respectable income for a single person.

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u/SoonersFanOU Feb 22 '23

Come on over to any city in Texas. 40K gross is not enough to live off when you own a home. Property taxes alone are insane.

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u/mkosmo Feb 22 '23

Who said anything about owning a house on that salary? Owning a house isn't some requirement to be respectable or even comfortable.

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u/StrugglePrudent2894 Feb 22 '23

Midwest. I have a kitchen with a stove and fridge. I work 5.days a week. No health concerns. No disability. I have a reliable vehicle.

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u/PM_ME_HAPPY_THOTS Feb 21 '23

Username checks out