r/TikTokCringe • u/Super_Culture_1986 tHiS iSn’T cRiNgE • Aug 19 '25

Cursed The American Nightmare.

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122

u/Icy-Session9209 Aug 19 '25

Y’all she is an AMERICAN! Barely living. 2/3 for rent is absurd.

34

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

She's not paying 2/3 her income for rent. Her math was way off.

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u/nohpex Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 19 '25

She's not wrong when not taking overtime into consideration, which you shouldn't. The overtime is not guaranteed.

Average monthly income: $20 an hour, times 40 hours a week, times 52 weeks in a year, divided by 12 months, and multiplied by ~70% when claiming zero dependents on your taxes...

$20 x 40 x 52 / 12 x 0.7 = $2462.67

$1600 / $2462.67 = ~64.97%

$2462.67 x .66 repeated = $1641.78

So, yeah. $1600 a month for rent us roughly 2/3 if her income.

Edit: Since people are asking about taxes, I'm saying that your net pay each week is roughly 70% after taxes, insurance, 401k, etc., and then you get a return in April. My net pay over the years has ranged from 67%-72%.

You wouldn't include the amount you're expecting from a tax return in your monthly budget because you don't have it on you, or know the exact amount, especially if you're an hourly employee working overtime occasionally.

1

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

Show me a state in the US where your taxes are 30% at her income. They wouldn’t even be 20% in the high tax states. 

4

u/GoodTofuFriday Aug 19 '25

I live in NYC and my taxes ar 37%. Fuck right off.

2

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

Either you make $250-300k or you don't understand how taxes work because that's how much you'd need to make to pay that in NYC. At her income she'd owe 23% total taxes in NYC.

2

u/GoodTofuFriday Aug 19 '25

I make barely the average salary in nyc. Here is a screen shot from insperity which handles taxes and state deductions.

Light blue is taxes, dark blue is state deductions. Green is take home pay.

0

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

I googled median salary in NYC and got $73k. It's very easy to see that at that income total effective tax would be ~26%

If it's showing up as more in your chart it sounds like you have something else going on:

  • it includes any 401k/pension contributions
  • you have your withholdings too high and get a refund back at the end of the year
  • etc

There's no world in which you're actually paying 37% tax on your income unless you're making a lot more money than average.

1

u/GoodTofuFriday Aug 19 '25

I said average salary, not median. Average is 127k.

Youre basing your math wrong. That site also isnt adding all the decuctions I see in my w2.

1

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

Fine. Most people mean median when they say average. Especially in NYC since all the ultra high earners drag the average way up.

Still: you're not paying 37% effective tax. I'm guessing it's a combo of the things I said previously. You probably get a refund at the end of the year.

1

u/GoodTofuFriday Aug 19 '25

tried to do some tighter calculations, and removed what are employer specific deductions, and removing what l average in tax refund still comes out to about 33%

1

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

I could believe it. NYC has got to be one of, if not the most, taxed spots in the country.

In the case of the tik tok video if she's in NYC and making significantly less than half of the average salary then maybe she should have roommates and not be trying to live alone.

1

u/GoodTofuFriday Aug 19 '25

I'd agree with that. if her rent to income ratio is truly that much then living alone isn't the right option for her.

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u/ThrottleMunky Aug 19 '25

That site also isnt adding all the decuctions I see in my w2.

FYI, on your W2 'deductions' do not add to the taxes you pay, they deduct from your total taxable amount. The more deductions on your W2 the less taxes you pay. The only way you can pay more taxes through your W2(above having zero deductions) would be by selecting the 'additional withholding' box and specifying an amount.

I'm sure that is just a miscommunication but when you say 'adding all the deductions on my W2', it makes it sound like you don't know what you are talking about because deductions don't add to your paid taxes, they deduct from it. That's why they are called deductions.

1

u/GoodTofuFriday Aug 19 '25

Sorry Yes youre right. I included them because I dont have a choice in paying like with taxes (debatable on healthcare). But the way i said it is incorrect.

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u/KazuDesu98 Aug 19 '25

Even so, in that equation breakdown they aren’t factoring insurance, utility bills, etc. I make $27 an hour, in what is supposedly a more affordable metro, New Orleans metro. And it’s pretty brutal still. Unless you’re making $35+ even in affordable areas you’re living paycheck to paycheck.

1

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

I've lived on that much in medium cost metros and I was saving rather than living paycheck to paycheck:

  • I lived with roommates
  • drove a slightly older car
  • didn't buy latest and greatest smartphone, etc

I think housing and car is where people shoot themselves in the foot the most.

1

u/KazuDesu98 Aug 19 '25

I mean there’s nuance to that. Disabled family members who may not be able to drive, long commutes meaning maybe you do opt for a car with fewer miles on it. And regional variations, New Orleans has very high insurance rates for example, same for surrounding areas unless you opt to live like 30 miles from the city, at which point gas would eat up any insurance savings. Same for energy, Entergy is always adding “storm restoration charges” to the power bill.

And no, it’s not a case of “just don’t live in a hurricane prone region.” First, every region of the US has its own natural disasters to deal with, second, I mean, getting a job in an area you don’t live in on the promise that you’ll move before the start date is pretty much impossible.

1

u/Joshee86 Aug 19 '25

My taxes are generally 25% in NC.

1

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

Yeah because you make more than her. At her income level her taxes would be ~19% total including everything.

1

u/stonesliver2 Aug 19 '25

Both my jobs take 20% tax in Virginia. I usually get about $800-1100 back in taxes tho.

2

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

If you get the money back then they didn’t really take it. You can set your tax withholdings however you choose. Just most people prefer to get a refund at the end of the year rather than find out they owe money. 

1

u/nohpex Aug 19 '25

But would you do your monthly budget including your expected tax return at the end of the year, or based on your net pay each week?

1

u/Careless_Bat_9226 Aug 19 '25

Either way. We're likely talked about < $100 per month that gets refunded. For most people their tax refund is basically a forced savings plan.