Is your job sustainable? As in will you be the first to go in a recession? Does your company make profit? Are you in a position where you're producing the value the company makes?
These things bother me as you may be paid a lot, but your company might making $250M losses every year and has no plans on turning profit.
Are you counting that your income might go away and never to return? In which case the threshold might still be too low ;-)
I contract. So if that dries up, I'm screwed. But luckily I have an interest in something that is highly valued in the modern world; software development. So it's incumbent on me to make sure I can get work, and, so far, it's been OK.
I think I said in my original comment that threshold is 'to support the lifestyle one expects' - I purposefully left it open ended. My expectations are a result of my upbringing in a middle class household etc. Also, my point is about low income earners - the majority of the world.
I agree that if your goals in the economic game are to be in a position where you don't have to rely on a salaried income then I'm doing it all wrong. I've made the decision that enjoying the things I can do with the money I have now is worth more than saving more of it for some other end. One has to make choices. I might die tomorrow. Who knows? That said I do make plans for the future.
Highly valued is temporary. Your consultant/agency job is tied to those billion dollar startups that suck up engineering without any profit. It's hard pill to swallow and I hope someone proves me wrong.
It's like the real estate bonds that mixed CCC and AAAs together.
In reality, most S/E jobs are highly volatile and incredibly temporary. I don't see doctors in the same situation.
These things bother me as you may be paid a lot, but your company might making $250M losses every year and has no plans on turning profit.
Are you counting that your income might go away and never to return? In which case the threshold might still be too low ;-)