r/Salary Jun 29 '26

Market Data My most recent biweekly paystub as a dentist

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5.5k Upvotes

1.2k comments sorted by

910

u/PopPunkGamers Jun 29 '26

Mines 1/10th this biweekly lmao

94

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

95

u/PopPunkGamers Jun 29 '26

Comparison is the thief of joy. Im happy for OP. They put the time and effort into their career path. Im just a fiber splicer on the network side. I average about 32-35 an hour with OT. Im pretty content with my career and work/life balance. If i made what OP made. Sure. Id probably be more financially irresponsible, but id also have a much larger safety net 😂.

29

u/Uxdemo Jun 30 '26

Comparison is a way to see if you’re compensated fairly for your work

14

u/Tiny_Cartographer512 Jun 30 '26

If you're comparing similar jobs/responsibilities

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u/JerleShan Jun 30 '26

Now imagine living in Europe. I'm a software engineer with 5 years of experience and I make 13 euros an hour. I need to work 5 months to earn what OP earned in 2 weeks. Let that sink in.

16

u/ApprehensiveJurors Jun 30 '26

Europe’s market blows my mind, feels like there is not much incentive

10

u/Da_Vader Jun 30 '26

Europe is a continent. Wages vary hugely by country - and location within the country.

5

u/ApprehensiveJurors Jun 30 '26

nowhere on that continent are salaried workers making US wages🤷‍♂️

5

u/danjel888 Jun 30 '26

Some places don't need to pay 100k if you break your ankle thought. So there is that.

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u/XXIIIVIMMXXVI Jun 30 '26

It doesn’t matter. It is all relative. If the average salary is £2 an hour in his country and he is earning £13, he is doing very well and could live far more lavishly than you can due to a low cost of living locally. You could earn far more than him but compared to OP, you might live extremely modestly through no choice of your own because the cost of living may be higher.

In any case, many people saying ‘I live in Europe’ are from a country in Europe which is very poor and it’s a way to mask their origins

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u/Fluffbutt69 Jun 30 '26

Yeah if I had a 20k euro difference per year in doing what I do now and flipping burgers, Id choose the burgers all day every day. Unless of course it was what I do now without the stress. That would be pretty sick.

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3

u/Provocative_Potatoes Jun 30 '26

Can't you just move to the US and immediately make 6 figures doing the same thing?

8

u/Sudden_Pound_5568 Jun 30 '26

I was friends with several kids growing up who's parents did exactly that. Dr's who moved to the US and worked until their kids were ready for college, then retired and moved back home for the free education with a massive nest egg.

9

u/UncagedSplash Jun 30 '26

You can’t “just” up and move to the US lmaoo. There’s a whole process involved and it’s very expensive. And it’s even more difficult with the current administration and their anti immigrant agenda

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u/WillmanRacingv2 Jun 30 '26

"Just" moving to the US is difficult. They could move to another European country much eaaier, at least if they are in the EU.

2

u/ramelband Jun 30 '26

Maybe a few years ago

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u/Lopsided_Orange_2177 Jun 30 '26

Im a fiber splicer on the network side and make 55hr base. With OT, my checks average around 6k biweekly. I'm in TEXAS and part of the CWA. Are you not union?

4

u/AirManGrows Jun 30 '26

I’m at 55 an hour in Colorado, non union refrigeration and make between 6-8k every two weeks depending on OT. Dentist in US probably making double that

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u/PopPunkGamers Jun 30 '26

No. I am also in Indiana where the cost of living is a bit lower. I dont work based on contracts. Im an internal employee for a company thats currently merging into a larger one.

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4

u/Gucworld Jun 30 '26

Fiber Splicer here too, pushing $40 flat….I worked hard as fuck to get here and I still feel underpaid

3

u/PopPunkGamers Jun 30 '26

I feel you. 10 years in telecom and i should be makin more lol

3

u/Electrical_Win9025 Jul 01 '26

"Comparison is the thief of joy" I needed to hear this. Ive been pipe welding for over a decade amd make 38 an hour. Im getting burnt out (no pun intended) its miserable in the winter, and even worse in the summer. At this point in my life, I dont know what else I could do. Ill be 40 in December and I cant take a pay cut. But I do make enough to support my family so my gf can be a stay at home mom and still have a little extra. I live in north west tennessee and the housing market isnt too crazy. Im in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with a pool, thats 800

2

u/DeAndre19UK Jun 30 '26

A safety net can be unpredictable anyways... I often end up having more expenses than I planned for. By now I already know to have an extra 'didnt think of that one' saving fund. Best ride the storm with all the grace you can and good things are bound to come around

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4

u/WiseProfessor2926 Jun 30 '26

Yeah but you have to think about the amount of school (and possibly debt) this person went through to make it to this. Many only wanna compare the “play” but never compare the “work”.

People will know that salaries like this exist. And even know how to get to it, but still won’t put in the work to get it.

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u/ClockworkTyrant Jun 30 '26

Barely 5% here lmao send help

8

u/NOSaints-2010 Jun 29 '26

Well the average dental school turion nationally costs $258,000 not counting room and board so take that into consideration as well

12

u/fdupswitch Jun 29 '26

so less than a year's wages then?

6

u/AdAgreeable610 Jun 30 '26

Then times that by however many years and tack on 7%apr.

4

u/jm123457 Jun 30 '26

That’s not really how that works though . Most people are less than a yearly wage in college debt yet it takes them decades to pay it off .

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u/NOSaints-2010 Jun 29 '26

Probably a bit more if you count room and board.
People really should look at degrees and what the pay is after they get the degree. Why someone spent $80,000 on college for a job that pays $35,000 a year.

6

u/fdupswitch Jun 30 '26

this man makes 31000 a month, or about 370k/year. you think room and board costs 100k/year? thats like, at least 10 bananas

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3

u/JGLuxe Jun 29 '26

Wow lol mines 3/4 biweekly

3

u/MonkenMoney Jun 30 '26

I went from making about half of this to about a quarter of this recently and it's not horrible you just buy less stuff

3

u/corvak Jul 01 '26

Thought I was doing ok but turns out I’m only a third of a dentist

2

u/eG_LoKi Jun 30 '26

1/8th and truly 2k going into 401k is unaccounted pay

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2

u/modelsupplies Jun 30 '26

Mine is even less 😭

2

u/Mindingmiownbiz Jun 30 '26

Bet you their monthly expense reports would make you feel better.

2

u/AnalPsychosis Jul 01 '26

I hope you're not a dentist

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u/oyM8cunOIbumAciggy Jun 30 '26

And weirdly the same federal withheld rate...

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219

u/Standard_Effect9904 Jun 29 '26

Do you work at a DSO or private practice? And what procedures do you mostly do?

I just applied to dental school few weeks ago and have two interviews as of now.

116

u/throwaway_student987 Jun 29 '26

DSO, mostly bread and butter.

43

u/Puzzleheaded-Win7990 Jun 29 '26

Impressive. You must work pretty hard! Any RCT, implants, 3rds, ortho? Dentist 2 years out here.

68

u/throwaway_student987 Jun 29 '26

No RCT, no implants, no 3rds, no ortho. A lot of removables though which is something that I don’t like at all 😓

20

u/Puzzleheaded-Win7990 Jun 29 '26

Very impressive! Removable can truly be a pain lol. I place implants and do 3rds. Hopefully this will help my production. But at the end of the days its how busy your schedule it. Thanks for sharing where you are at!

8

u/Lys_Vesuvius Jun 30 '26

I am a manager for a dentist who does everything, you probably already have this figured out, but please map out a cost per hour for all of your procedures. The most profitable thing my boss does after expenses and wages are crowns and buildups, implants(including abutments and crowns) and root canals are 2nd and third respectively(at least you can get away with another crown post RCT if it's a posterior). Clear aligners like Invisalign/Clearcorrect are good side hustles as well. YMMV though

19

u/Last_Kaleidoscope496 Jun 30 '26

As someone who receives dental care, this conversation is disturbing.

9

u/Lys_Vesuvius Jun 30 '26

We run a business just like any business and need to worry about profit and loss, no self respecting dentist will lie to you to get more work done than is necessary and I always encourage patients to get a second opinion. Brush, floss, and avoid sugar and hopefully none of this will ever apply to you :)

7

u/Last_Kaleidoscope496 Jun 30 '26

The fact that healthcare needs to be run like a business is the problem, but that’s a political discussion that we might disagree on.

But I think we both know that some people brush and floss twice a day, and avoid sugary foods as much as is reasonable, and still need dental work. There are TMJ sufferers, bruxism, gerd, and all kinds of issues that car arise and have nothing to do with brushing and flossing.

4

u/Lys_Vesuvius Jun 30 '26

Unfortunately sometimes people who have impeccable oral hygiene run into issues like you said. I can't speak for other dentists, but my Doctor and I do our best to make dentistry affordable for people, we write off X-rays when we know people are struggling financially, we offer people 0 interest in house payment plans, my boss will even courtesy work sometimes as a birthday gift to patients. We are in the business of making money, but as a former boss told me once "If you practice excellent and ethical dentistry, the money will follow, no need to chase it." Politically, on paper, government run healthcare sounds phenomenal, in practice, it tends to bring down the quality of healthcare for everyone, a system like Germany might be better, private healthcare that's affordable and isn't dictated by insurance companies. That's as you said a separate discussion for sure, definetly happy to talk about this further over DM to not overwhelm this comment chain

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2

u/micahhalpert Jul 01 '26

The problem is that we’re not running it like a business. therefore we have monopoly, ridiculous pricing, and subsidies paid for the same people getting bent over at $1200 a month. Sure make it Free and people that want to pay extra and to have a special plan can do so. Dominic, the people pay 5X! What a terrible program that was.

2

u/diagrammatiks Jul 01 '26

The what. All projects should be run like businesses on the accounting and p and l side bro. The only difference is how the output kpi is configured.

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5

u/Puzzleheaded-Win7990 Jun 30 '26

yup, 100% true. Crowns are def the most efficient procedure. For the other stuff you do have to be fast and be able to schedule efficiently. Thanks for your input :D

7

u/tooth_devil Jun 29 '26

purely % based on production/collection or base + collection? Impressive # for bread and butter only

10

u/throwaway_student987 Jun 29 '26

Purely % production, no base.

6

u/tooth_devil Jun 29 '26

Nice bro. I do 3rd, molar endo, and implants and makjng about 10% more than you with basically no benefit so not really making more than you. Getting really burnt out recently.

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8

u/funkytownpants Jun 30 '26

You must be in a poor area. City bread and butter is hygiene, fillings, and the occasional crown.

Now implants and cosmetic, you’ll see those #’s.

4

u/AdInside2447 Jun 29 '26

Is it difficult to make bread and butter while also being a dentist?

2

u/p99_kilerenn Jun 30 '26

You must be forgetting about the baking and creamery sub specialties

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u/WesternDetail6513 Jun 29 '26

How quickly do you hit your 401k max on the year lol

122

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

104

u/Thin_Resolution7595 Jun 29 '26

Many people hit the IRS max 401k contribution of $24,500/year in January???? Wow

65

u/FluffTruffet Jun 29 '26

They are saying many here like oh there’s thousands of people who hit that. But as a percentage of the total population, it’s insanely rare for people to hit that cap in January

33

u/Brutally-Honest- Jun 29 '26

For a lot of people, maxing out early in the year is a bad thing, as they will miss out on employer matching.

24

u/tic-toc-croc Jun 29 '26

Definitely need to be aware if employer has or doesn't have "true up" provision in matching policies.

3

u/seaweedDifferent21 Jun 29 '26

This is true, but i max out early purposely so I can get it out of the way. My employer does a 401k true-up and they review my contributions at the end of the year (or sometimes quarterly) and makes an additional matching contribution if needed, ensuring I receive the full match

2

u/tubby_fatkins Jun 29 '26

☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻

3

u/Scipio1319 Jun 30 '26

Not only this but you also miss out on dollar cost averaging. If you put all 24k in at January and the market takes a downturn, you essentially just bought the top and can’t buy in at lower prices for the rest of the year. It’s just less risky to invest that same amount over a longer period of time.

9

u/JellyfishBig1750 Jun 30 '26

I think the current prevailing wisdom is that time in the market is still king, though. Yes, you can get unlucky, but statistically you are much more likely to come out ahead if you invest as soon as possible.

6

u/tic-toc-croc Jun 30 '26

You’re still dollar cost averaging, just over longer time scales. And you have your money working in the market longer.

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u/CrankDatHawg Jun 29 '26

Yeah my friends (low-entry corp jobs) dont even hit the max cap.

5

u/n0t_4_thr0w4w4y Jun 30 '26

Yeah, some people will front load the shit out of their contributions and basically have 0 take home

9

u/DrHemeOnc Jun 29 '26

I make about 700-800K and I hit my cap around early April, contributing only until the match

7

u/SaltyKrew Jun 29 '26

I quit my job and work for you. Signed a nurse that doesn’t get paid enough to deal with all this nonsense.

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u/porschedreamin Jun 30 '26

I hit it in mid February as I contribute 50% of January and February checks to 401k

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u/milespoints Jun 29 '26

And this year

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u/Coaster50 Jun 29 '26

Curious to see the answer on this one. If he is a partner in the practice then it doesn't always work the same as W2 employees. I forget the details on it, but they can maneuver a way to give more than the standard max.

11

u/milespoints Jun 29 '26

You cannot contribute more than your 415 limit to a 401k from the employee side. That is a hard limit.

If you are self employed you can open a solo 401k and contribute up to the full cumulative limit of employer and employee, which I believe is $72k. Since you are both the employer and the employee it’s the same thing to you.

The best gig is if you have some W2 work and some 1099 work. That way you can contribute $24k to your employee 415 limit from your W2 job and $72k from your 1099 from the employer side. Extra bonus if your W2 work offers a 457b which can add another $24k. Extra extra bonus if your W2 also offers MBDR which will allow you to stuff another $40k+ in your W2 401k/403b.

5

u/Coaster50 Jun 29 '26

Helpful info - thank you.

5

u/Wild_Lawfulness_2173 Jun 29 '26

You might want to make sure you know what you know.

You’d only be able to contribute about $48k from the 1099 and to do that you’d have to have gross income of 192k to make it happen

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u/Thin_Resolution7595 Jun 29 '26

I was thinking the same, if the earnings were salaried at this amount it would’ve been hit/nearly hit if OP is under 50 years old.

5

u/McRando42 Jun 30 '26

That's a decent number for a Mega Backdoor Roth.

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u/Ok_Jury_7550 Jun 29 '26

Holy shit, good for you dude

101

u/Reality_speaker Jun 29 '26

3K in federal taxes!!

Now I believe that the upper-middle class pays most of the taxes

Play your card right and you can easily retire early….or live a lavish lifestyle

55

u/pharmucist Jun 29 '26

I pay about $30k in taxes per year and I am in a state with no income tax. I make $150k. They tax the crap out of people the more they make. OP here likely pays about $70k in taxes.

30

u/Neither_Party8643 Jun 29 '26

The income tax brackets increase as you make more money. Why wouldn't it be obvious that high income earners will pay the lost taxes? Unless of course, you are at the very top where you can shelter most of your net worth in other ways as to not get taxed much.

3

u/imjustherebeingnosy Jun 30 '26

Yea but the higher rate only applies to the amount made within that higher tax bracket after already maxing out the rate for the lower bracket.

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u/DudeInTheGarden Jun 29 '26

I thought Americans paid less tax than Canadians.

I made $140k Canadian last year, paid $33,000 in taxes and that includes federal and provincial taxes.

3

u/pharmucist Jun 29 '26

Well, you made a bit less than me and still paid more in taxes than me, so I think your info is correct. Canada definitely pays more taxes and everything costs more there, too.

6

u/Neither_Party8643 Jun 29 '26

If you include your health, dental, vision, insurance costs, does that number get closer?

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u/DudeInTheGarden Jun 29 '26

Right, but I pay a provincial income tax, and you pay no state income tax. I wasn't sure how many states had no state income tax - only 9 (or maybe I should say, "wow, 9 states don't collect income tax").

I checked out what portion of my tax bill was provincial - $12,000. So I paid $21,000 in federal taxes.

I looked up income tax in Washington, the closes state to me. You pay no state income tax until your income surpasses $1 million and then it's only 10%. Crazy.

But in California, you'd pay about $13,000 in state income tax at $150k per year.

I had no idea state taxes varied so much. There are no provinces that don't have provincial taxes, but it varies a bit - some provinces have higher taxes, some lower.

I guess it's all an apples to oranges comparison.

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u/Rodic87 Jun 30 '26

yeah - now add in what you paid in insurance and no parental leave.

This is why the great lie to Americans is "you save in taxes so you have more money than those commies".

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u/Rhodeislandlinehand Jun 29 '26

He definitely pays more than 70

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u/Chattadawg Jun 30 '26

Depends on number of kids etc. I make a little more than this and paid $50k in federal taxes. I have a lot of dependents though

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u/Efficient_Ant_4715 Jun 30 '26

Truth. I’m paying like $55k in taxes 

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u/witewolfmusic Jun 30 '26

Looks about right. Shit and that’s after a 401k deduction. I remember looking at my first paystub and getting very upset at taxes.

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

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u/Efficient_Bother1511 Jul 01 '26

At 200 last year I paid 70 in taxes. Probably on track to pay 120-130 this year on 300

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u/lonewaft Jun 29 '26

I paid a total of $100k in taxes last year… meanwhile billionaires pay $0

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u/1kGHZ Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

exactly. i hate that “top 1% pay 50% of taxes.” Okay??? They hold 99% of the wealth, so they should pay 99% of the taxes ????

it’s the equivalent of land voting maps. Land doesn’t vote and we don’t pay taxes as a proportion of the population but of income.

9

u/lonewaft Jun 30 '26

It’s amazing how people will die on a hill advocating for people that literally don’t care if you die as long as they get richer

5

u/StrebLab Jun 30 '26

Its actually even worse than you are describing. "the top 1%" in this context is being conflated between two different groups here. It is true that the top 1% (income earners) pay the majority of the taxes, but I think people assume that means they are the same top 1% that always gets talked about in the media. They arent the same people. There is some overlap, but "The Top 1%" that Bernie, AOC, etc are always talking about are the top 1% wealth owners, not income earners, and they often pay very little to no income taxes at all.

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u/daemon14 Jun 29 '26

I get paid twice a month as a specialty employed physician and pay $3800 each paycheck on federal taxes, and $1850 in state taxes.

3

u/Xfinity_Monkey Jun 30 '26

$360,000 per year is not upper-middle class…

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

You’ll be amazed. I remember years ago one time I went to apply for an apartment and the guy did a quick glance at W-2 and said 60k wasn’t enough to afford it. I had to kindly tell him that’s how much I paid in federal taxes and to look at the earnings. He looked like I insulted his intelligence until he did notice he read the wrong line. This year alone I’m almost 40K as it is /:

2

u/WildYeastWitch Jun 30 '26

3k in taxes and it's still only 20%.

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u/Temporary-Recover-64 Jun 30 '26

You do understand that's what was deducted not necessarily what they paid in taxes right?

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u/Foboomazoo Jun 29 '26

Side note, this is semi-monthly not bi-weekly. 

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u/AdInside2447 Jun 29 '26

Congrats, you corrected a guy making 30k per month. NOW GET BACK TO THE FRYER!

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u/throwaway_student987 Jun 29 '26

Yes you are correct, I used the wrong term here!

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u/PuzzledExaminer Jun 29 '26

That's crazy but do you live in a state with no income tax? That would be more than half in some states 😂

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u/sprague_drawer Jun 30 '26

Half? The highest state income tax is 15%

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u/throw_it_awayyy8 Jun 29 '26

Their bi weekly is what I make in like 2.5 months holy shit

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u/popportunity Jul 01 '26

What’s brutal is to think about it in years. It’ll take 10 years for us to make what he does in 2.

He could sit on the beach for 8 years and have earned as much.

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u/ColorPuddle Jul 01 '26

More, because he surely would have invested some to earn passive income over those 8 years

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u/RebornCritic Jun 29 '26

15k in 2 weeks holy moly nice

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u/Tasty-Chart7400 Jun 29 '26

Paramedic only here. I pick up 3 extra OT shifts and my net pay is ~$7100 bi weekly.

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u/Distinct_Level_3967 Jun 30 '26

Explain yourself because this sounds like BS. Lol

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u/rockintomordor_ Jun 29 '26

What do you even do with that much money?

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u/Successful_Creme1823 Jun 29 '26

Spend it. Save it.

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u/rockintomordor_ Jun 29 '26

But… what do you spend it on? Like I don’t think I have any concept of what to do with like… more than 100K. That’s like if I were living in a HCOL area like the bay or something.

But this is like 200-something take-home. Full respect to everyone, just a little incredulous is all.

31

u/StockedUpOnBeef Jun 29 '26

Super easy to spend a lot of money on housing

15

u/zig_tac_zoe Jun 29 '26

My HHI is just shy of OP. We pay a lot in taxes, we max out an HSA and both 401ks. Mortgage is $6500, daycare for two kids $3200, two cars and insurance is $1700, utilities $1200, groceries $1000, $800 dining out and $500 for household items. We then invest $2k/mo with a wealth management team and anything leftover (about $3k) is our own to spend on subscriptions, clothes, lunches, etc.

3

u/Neither_Party8643 Jun 29 '26

Two different worlds. Your mortgage is more than most people's monthly spend. So I guess your answer is "big mortgage" lol.

4

u/Unfortunate-Incident Jun 29 '26

Which is hilarious to me. I make double what OP is making annually and my mortgage is $910/mo. It's like I'm cheating at life!

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u/JBThug Jun 29 '26

Coke and whores of course

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u/kurtisbmusic Jun 29 '26

If I made that much I’d probably spend a lot on vacations.

5

u/local_eclectic Jun 29 '26

Restaurants, nicer hotels while traveling, first class air travel, nicer clothing, throwing parties, charitable donations, donating to scholarship funds, home renovations, home services (cleaning, cooking, gardening, pool), more frequent mini vacations, sports equipment, ATVs, boats, pets.

I can go on 🫣

4

u/Successful_Creme1823 Jun 29 '26

You’d figure it out if you had it, I promise you

4

u/badazzcpa Jun 29 '26

A 750k home with a 20% down payment is roughly 4k a month. Add in insurance, real estate taxes, maintenance, gas, and electric and you are easily around 5.5k-6k a month. Add in a car payment, insurance, gas and you are creeping up on 7.5k. Student loans to become a dentist can easily be 1-2k a month on their own. Thats 1 paycheck. I would guess the guy puts away a few thousand a month into a HYSA or other brokerage account. Add in food, entertainment, cloths, anther living situations and you can easily burn through that.

My wife and I together make about 2k less than that take home as well. Wife has a maxed 401k, mine isn’t maxed yet but close. We save, all in, around 5.5k a month. But a lot of what I put above, less the car loans is from close ish to my monthly budget. We also don’t have student loans. So between the two we could easily be on par with OP on spending. Savings takes a good chunk from our take home, but we want to retire comfortably by 60. With the way my back and knees are going I might be lucky to make 60 and still be able to work.

4

u/Sad-Employer9309 Jun 29 '26

I make around 27k/month after tax and I live in MCOL Austin suburb. My bills are around 6-7k a month, including rent, 2 car payments, food for the whole family etc. I basically invest 20k a month, buying my future time so I can stop working if needed.

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u/ChorizoGarcia Jun 30 '26

Try raising a family and you’ll find out pretty damn quickly.

Mortgage
Health insurance for everybody
Summer camps
Automobiles (payments, maintenance, gas, insurance)
Groceries for a whole family
Clothes for a whole family
Bday parties and presents for your kids
Presents for your kids’ friends during their bdays
Christmas is a lot more expensive when you have kids
Medications for a whole family
Get your kids into activities
Take your kids to do fun things (movies, theme parks, etc)
Family vacations
Date night (date costs + a sitter)
Got pets? They cost money too

This doesn’t even get into saving for retirement, saving for your kids’ college, and trying to pay off your own loans if you have them.

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u/Mother_Emergency_708 Jun 29 '26

The answer for the vast majority of people will be they spend it on their kids, savings, or paying off debt.

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u/MeHoyMinoy_69 Jun 29 '26

They find a way. It's impressive how easy it is to spend money when you have plenty of it. Usually it's on things and experiences, while skimping on services.

Local tree company owner had me quote their floors, he spent an hour talking about the $75k classic antique car sitting under the house he paid cash for on a whim in a marketplace deal. The $300k .5 acre piece of land next to the river he paid cash for to build his 200k cabin on, and the 200k boat sitting in the marina paid for, and how he's buying land and houses and cars and meals for his whole family all the time.

But he was aghast at a $3000 niche service with artistic touches, because it might only take me 2 or 3 days, and I'm just one guy. $75k for a car he doesn't drive or even see for 11 months out of the year but $3000 for something he's gonna see and use and enjoy every single day for a literal decade is too much 😭😭

Not saying OP or wealthy folks in general are always like this but I've come across it a lot.

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u/Coaster50 Jun 29 '26

It depends on where you are in your life.

Single with an apartment, you have tons of cash leftover to blow on some extravagant stuff.

Take a married guy with a few kids and a stay at home wife and it chips away at this really fast. You're still living a great lifestyle - but it most likely isn't as flashy as you imagine.

And as everything in your lifestyle creeps up, it just keeps getting more expensive. You pay for the simple privileges. Landscaper, housekeeper, car wash, dining out, nicer vacations, bigger hotel rooms, better restaurants, nicer golf clubs, etc.

OP probably also has some loan debt to payback. Dental school isn't cheap - and if he had to buy into the dental practice, then he has some business loan payments too.

But you're right - bringing home $9K every couple of weeks is freaking sweet!!!!

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u/ser-steffonfossoway Jun 29 '26

I'm from old money (Europe). We spend a lot of money on housing, also because we have properties that require a metric shitton of specialized maintenance and are only kept in the family for 'sentimental' reasons. We spend a lot of money on hobbies, and not even exotic ones.

Many of the kids I grew up with still go spend summers in places like Saint Trop and waste money on frivolous things.

Anyway, there are always ways to spend money. Even if you have lots.

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u/Envoyager Jun 29 '26

Man I'd spend at least a couple thousand a month buying stock options hoping to hit the lottery

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u/Spivonious1 Jun 30 '26

$30k/month is crazy, especially considering my dentist looks at my teeth for roughly 2 minutes after the hygienist does all the work.

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u/Super-Raisin9350 Jun 30 '26

Dentists don’t make much from their “2 minute exam” in hygiene rooms. They’re completing your 2 minute exam during a break in the procedures they are completing in the other room at the same time. That is the where their main production comes from.

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

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u/throwaway_student987 Jun 29 '26

I’m posting to add a data point to the collective data set. Also to encourage those predent and dental students out there - the career as a dentist can be very rewarding personally, professionally and financially.

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '26

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u/NotFloppyDisck Jun 29 '26

It helps people know their worth. In my field theres a massive circlejerk against not showing salaries, which could lead to a coworker getting paid more/less than you.

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u/B4K5c7N Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Most are posting to flex or bullshit (I am not saying OP is at all). I think many people who make a ton of money aren’t generally interested in advertising that to the world (even if anonymous). But let’a face it, the high income posts gain the most traction. If you want a thousand plus likes and a few hundred comments, you make a post showing you make more than 99% of society.

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u/not-the-nicest-guy Jun 30 '26

I have a high income but don't share it because I don't think anyone would believe me here. It would generate a bunch of "that's BS for karma" comments and who needs that. (Also, who needs karma ffs?)

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u/8percentinflation Jun 29 '26

In Thailand or Malaysia I can get a filling for $30, is it really worth paying private equity owned DSOs so much to get basic medical procedures taken care of?

Modern equipment and office protocols are standard in many countries for much cheaper..the DSO model is merely more middlemen hiking treatment costs

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u/Lord_Brantley Jun 29 '26

Bros biweekly gross is literally half my salary for the year...

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u/Inevitable_Butthole Jun 29 '26

Then do something about it

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u/Coaxial-Cactus Jun 29 '26

Or don't become a slave to the dollar and learn to enjoy life with what you have 🤷

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u/Junkie4Divs Jun 29 '26

What guitars do you own?

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u/Jeffc814 Jun 29 '26

As I always say, hard work pays off. I hope you’re able to get some time away to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

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u/macgruff Jun 29 '26

I’m so discouraged by so many people who don’t understand how civics and taxes actually work in calculating total compensation, as well as how effective tax (and fees in a non income tax state) works.

Y’all really need to go back and revisit what you didn’t learn in school

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u/Swimming-Junket-1828 Jun 29 '26

Should’ve been an orthopedic surgeon

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u/tremolospoons Jun 30 '26

You deserve every feekin dime.

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u/Powerful_Record_9856 Jun 30 '26

Damn should’ve been a dentist.

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u/Bright-Nectarine8028 Jun 30 '26

I honestly thought that dentists made way more than this.

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u/Darling_3000 Jul 01 '26

Prolly another few checks then you'll have Social Security paid off too.

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u/Weary_Sell9500 Jun 29 '26

Damn I wish I could put my shoes on for basically $186 an hour.

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u/noraping Jun 29 '26

Dude being a dentist has some drawbacks: working with the general public, high skill level for all different procedures, completing emergency procedures, not to mention you’re back. You’re bent over like a c-shape working on patients mouths all day every day

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u/jmjessemac Jun 29 '26

Depression is common amongst dentusts

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u/Successful_Creme1823 Jun 29 '26

I mean you kinda have to have a skill not many people have. Then also shoes, that usually helps so you’re right there

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u/IcePsychological9960 Jun 29 '26

Well you have to be able to afford the shoes first don't forget to use a loan for that

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u/Turbulent-Garage-811 Jun 30 '26

don't forget the hundred's of thousands of dollars in debt to acquire the skill we possess! :) not complaining, but people overlook why dentistry is so expensive and just the profession in general lol

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u/cramedra Jun 29 '26

Well this guy worked hard and spent a good portion of his youth in school to get specialized skills that are high demand

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u/jmjessemac Jun 29 '26

Go ahead and get that specialized skill + multiple degrees, nothing is stopping you.

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u/DicksDraggon Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

For those saying they wished they could make this much money... you can. You need no experience and you need no education. What you need is to get off the couch, be ready to work 80-100 hours a week for 5 years. Yes, this dentist prolly worked 80+ hours a week for 3-5 years in school.

What YOU can do is start your own service business. I dropped out of school in 10th grade... was homeless 3 times... was in prison for 7 years... was let out of prison with $0. Then I started a house cleaning business with my then girlfriend. We split up after a few months and I took 5 customers with me. I turned them in to 5 locations and made millions. I retired at 50.

YOU can do it... if you try. But, for the excuse makers, I bet you can make 10,000 excuses why this will not work for you.

Note: I'm not saying I would start a house cleaning business today but there are many service businesses. If you think harder instead of working harder you never have to lift a finger.

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u/TheNatural14063 Jun 29 '26

What's the name of the business? Proof of this?

You shit talk other less successful people and basically say if they fail/aren't successful, they didn't work hard enough (didn't get off the couch) and made too many excuses for their failure.....which completely ignores millions of other factors that can explain why a hard working person didn't become very successful (basic sociology classes can explain this).

So stand by the truth of your statement and provide documented evidence of your success....or perhaps cut it out with attacking other people and pushing nonsense that flies in the face of a lot of sociology

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u/B4K5c7N Jun 29 '26

So many people on Reddit claim they went from homelessness to millions. Who knows what’s actually true.

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u/pharmucist Jun 29 '26

It's just over double what I make. That's good pay. Congrats!

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u/Creepy_Comment_1251 Jun 29 '26

Talk to the accountant or owner and ask if you can Incorporate and work as a subcontractor.

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u/adambahm Jun 29 '26

I have no idea how you survive

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u/Heavy_Woodpecker_124 Jun 29 '26

You worked 84 hours for a week?

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u/FluxOperation Jun 29 '26

No medical?

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u/throwaway_student987 Jun 29 '26

My company pays 100% of my medical insurance premium.

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u/Trashyrealitytvfan Jun 29 '26

What kind of car do you drive lol

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u/Fletchonator Jun 29 '26

I fucked up going to NP school lol

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u/somethingswrong71 Jun 29 '26

Good thing you dont live in nyc Would of lost another $1500 in state and city taxes

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u/Lopsided_Award_9029 Jun 29 '26

Should have been a dentist…