Living Paycheck to Paycheck As A Sign of Success?

According to a Tweet from Unusual Whales, the majority of people making $50,000 live paycheck to paycheck with the implication being they don't make enough to save money and that they have not accumulated savings previously. The way things are today, $50,000 is not a high income for a household. Both partners in a couple making about that much seems pretty good to me but please comment if you disagree.

I write all the time about the importance of making just a couple of good decisions in your 20's as being the difference maker for how easy life can be in your 40's, 50's and beyond. These boil down to spending less than you make (results in saving a lot of money) and taking care of your health (this has both quality of life benefits and financial benefits).

Following number 2 on this list, it's not a stretch to get to 50 or so, be 3/4 of the way to where you think you need to be for whatever your idea of retirement is, your kids are now on their own and you have paid off your mortgage. With no mortgage and being in good health, your monthly overhead might be pretty low.

It is common to burn out or otherwise lose interest in what you've been doing for work over the last however many years, maybe your entire adult life. In this situation would you rather have more options or fewer options?

If you made good financial decisions early on and you're most of the way to having what you need to retire then fully replacing your income becomes far less important which gives you many more options.

That income probably won't replace the income from your primary career but it wouldn't take much if the mortgage is paid, you don't need to save for retirement and your expenses are for the most part just food, utilities and various insurances.

In this scenario living paycheck to paycheck, that is the paycheck from your secondary career covers the bills while your retirement accounts to continue to grow untouched.

If you're not yet eligible for Medicare (starts at 65) and you've moved on to a more fun or fulfilling vocation that pays much less money, a nice added perk to this situation is that the cost for health insurance might go way down. Look into it where you live but through various government access points a $50,000 income will pay a lot less for health insurance than a $150,000 income.

I repeat all the time how being in your 50's with your health and little money in the bank is a great place to be. Today's list ties directly into this idea. You can go do what you want physically and emotionally with no adverse financial consequence.