Welcome To World Best Suggestion: Can You Live on $30 Dollars an Hour?

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Thirty dollars an hour may not sound like a lot to you, but when you calculate it as an annual salary, you’ll see that it’s a livable wage.

Here’s everything you must know about making 30 dollars an hour and how to calculate your income.

$30 Dollars an Hour is How Much a Year?

If you make 30 dollars an hour and work full-time, you’d make $62,400 annually. This assumes you work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, including two weeks of paid vacation.

However, if you don’t get a paid vacation but take the two weeks off, your annual salary would decrease to $60,000 per year.

When determining how much you make per year, it helps to look at the number of days you work per year.

To get more accurate, you can look at the actual number of working days in a year. For example, there are 365 days in a year, but only 250 working days, which equals an even $60,000 per year.

Before Taxes (Full Time)

If you work full-time at 30 dollars an hour, your gross income, or income before taxes, is $62,400 with paid vacation or $60,000 without paid vacation.

Roughly After Taxes (Full Time)

If you earn $62,400 a year, putting all other income aside, you’d be in the 20% tax bracket. This means roughly you’d bring home $49,920 if you work full-time.

How Much is 30 Dollars an Hour Per Day?

If you make 30 dollars an hour and work an eight-hour day, you’d make $240 a day before taxes. However, if you’re in the 20 percent tax bracket, you’d walk away with $192 a day working full-time.

What Does $30/hr Equal Per Week?

If you work full-time, making 30 dollars an hour, you will make $1,200 a week working five days. This is before taxes. After taxes, you’d walk away with $960.

If you work part-time, say 20 hours a week, you’d make $600 before taxes.

How Much is $30 an Hour if Paid Bi-Weekly?

If you get paid bi-weekly, your gross pay will look like $2,400 in gross pay. So after taxes, your take-home pay would be $1,920 for two weeks of full-time work.

What Is 30 Dollars an Hour Per Month?

Finally, it may help to see how much 30 dollars an hour is per month to see if it’s enough money to cover your bills and have disposable income.

If you work full-time, your monthly income of 30 dollars an hour is $5,200. So after taxes, most people would have a check worth $4,160.

Can You Live on 30 Dollars an Hour?

The federal poverty level for individuals in 2022 is $13,590, which is well below the $62,400 you’d earn making 30 dollars an hour. You can live on 30 dollars an hour since it’s $62,400 a year.

The average income per individual in the US is $35,384 per year, but the median income in the US is $64,994, which is right around the 30-dollar-an-hour mark.

Since 30 dollars an hour is above the average income per individual, it’s a livable wage, but it depends on a few factors.

Factors and Considerations

The cost of living contributes to whether 30 dollars an hour is a livable wage. Living on this wage in a high-cost area like New York City can be much more difficult. The average rent in NYC for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,016 monthly. That leaves you with a little over $2,000 after housing costs. This must cover the rest of your bills and living expenses, which isn’t much.

Other factors determining if 30 dollars an hour is a livable wage include whether you have children or other dependents, your debt, and your lifestyle.

If you live an average lifestyle in an area with an average cost of living, 30 dollars an hour works great. Any factors that increase your cost of living, though, could make it harder to live on.

Jobs Paying 30 Dollars an Hour

Many jobs pay more than 30 dollars an hour, and not all require a college degree. Some require licensing or special education but not a 4-year degree.

Of course, having a college degree will increase your chances of making 30 dollars an hour or more at your job. Here are some examples.

Accountants make an average hourly salary of $41.66 per hour
Fire inspectors make an average hourly salary of $33.56 per hour
Real estate agents make an average hourly salary of $41.36 per hour

Side Hustles that Pay $30 an Hour Just Isn’t Enough

You don’t have to get a full-time job that pays at least 30 dollars an hour, try some of these side hustles to supplement your income:

Blogger
Data entry specialist
Freelance writer
Web designer

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Investing While Making 30 Dollars an Hour

You can (and should) invest while making 30 dollars an hour. Investing as early as possible helps your money grow faster because the earnings compound, allowing you to earn more money without doing anything.

Ideally, you should invest 10% of your monthly income or around $400. However, if you budget well and stick to your budget, you may be able to squeeze more out of your income to invest.

Before You Invest:

Before you invest, though, make sure you have an emergency fund. Ideally, your emergency fund should have three to six months of expenses, but at 30 dollars an hour, that could take a long time.

For now, make sure you at least have a month or two of rent or your mortgage payment in a savings account, but continually add to your savings account, helping it grow.

Other factors to consider when investing are:

Your financial goals – What are you investing for?
Risk tolerance – How much can you risk without feeling uneasy?
Employer match – If you have an employer-sponsored 401K, contribute at least as much as your employer will to get the free employer-match

Buying a House While Making 30 Dollars an Hour

You can buy a house on a $62,400-a-year salary, but it requires careful budgeting. You shouldn’t have excessive debt when applying for a mortgage, especially if you make 30 dollars an hour.

Before You Buy a Home:

I’ve found it’s best if you have a credit score of 680 or higher and your debt-to-income ratio is lower than 43%. This means your debts, including the new mortgage, minimum credit card payments, and any loan payments, don’t exceed 43% of your gross monthly income of $5,200 a month.

It’s important not to overextend yourself when buying a house. If you can’t afford your mortgage, you could face foreclosure, which means losing your house.

Budgeting While Making 30 Dollars an Hour

Budgeting while making 30 dollars an hour is important. But I think it’s important no matter how much money you make. I like the 50/30/20 budget. This budget allows 50 percent of your income for necessary expenses, 30 percent for ‘fun’ or unnecessary expenses, and 20 percent for debt payoff and savings.

Here’s a quick example using $4,160 income per month:

Your fixed and necessary expenses like housing, utilities, transportation, basic food and clothing, and healthcare costs. You need these things to live; they shouldn’t exceed $2,080 per month.
You have $1,248 a month for unnecessary expenses or wants. These things aren’t crucial to survival but fit your lifestyle.
You should use $832 of your income to pay off any high-interest debt and save for retirement or other financial goals.

You don’t have to stick to the 50/30/20 rule. Instead, you can play with the numbers and see what fits your lifestyle best. For example, if you live in a high-cost area, you may need more than 50 percent of your income for housing expenses. If that’s the case, adjust your spending in other areas, decreasing your lifestyle to afford the cost of living.

Tips to Live Within Your Means

Any amount of income requires you to live within your means. So if you make 30 dollars an hour, here are a few ways to stay within your budget.

Don’t use credit as an extension of your income
Create a budget and follow it
Learn to save so you can splurge on items you want
Learn to shop sales, meal plan, and be frugal with your meals
Find ways to cut expenses, such as finding cheaper insurance, internet, or cable services

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 30 Dollars an Hour a Good Wage?

30 dollars an hour can be a good wage if you don’t live in a high-cost area and you’re single. However, if you’re married, have kids, or live in a high-cost area, you might need an additional income from your spouse or to supplement with a side hustle.

What if I Don’t Have PTO? How Will This Affect My Income?

If you don’t have paid time off, you’ll likely work 80 hours less per year, which reduces your income by $2,400 before taxes.

How Do I Find My Total Number of Working Days?

To find your total number of working days, determine if you get PTO. For example, if you do, and you work 40 hours a week, you work 2,000 hours but get paid for 2,080 hours. But, if you don’t get PTO, you still work 2,000 hours but only get paid for 2,000 hours.

How Do I Calculate My Annual Income?

To calculate your annual income, take 30 dollars an hour (or however much you make) and multiply it by 40 hours. Then, take that number and multiply it by 52 weeks. This is your annual income. If you work part-time, you must know how many hours you work to determine your annual income.

How Do I Calculate My Gross Income?

Your gross income is income before taxes. You multiply your hourly wage by 40 hours and then by 52 weeks. Your take-home pay is your net pay, which is after taxes. Most people making 30 dollars an hour are in the 20 percent tax bracket.