[Singularity77]

Just curious … if this is all worth it!

What is the highest CPA’s salary that you know of?

What does the highest-earning CPA you know of earn, per year?

I am not talking about a CPA that ends up doing something other than CPA career stuff…

Thanks!

[Pandarama]

Singularity77 – I'm also from NJ and you sound like you live near me with those salary numbers for cops and superintendents, lmao. The audit firm I work for audits towns and schools. We are always making fun of how we went in to the wrong field and should've become a lawyer or engineer because of the ridiculous rates they charge (the worst part is the rates are lower than they would be for the general public).

BEC - 80
AUD - 64, 75 - credit lost, 90!!
REG - 73, 74, 83
FAR - 61, 72, 85

Feels good finishing on my best note. Time to watch the mailbox.

[san4596]

I really believe there is a problem today with people mismanaging their income. There are many mistakes that you can make such as buying things that you cannot afford, and wasting money on going out to eat all the time.

Example: I knew a family of 4 with an income around $110K that went bankrupt, which was a higher middle class income in my area. I was a sever at the resturaunt they always ate at around 4 times a week or more considering my days off. He always had the new state of the art phone, brand new vehicles, and the bill was always $30-$40 for just two. They did it to themselves.

My advice: Make an excel spreadsheet on what you spend over the next three months, and actually look at the results! This is what I had to do with my wife who always wanted to go out to dinner instead of cooking at home. I showed her that we were spending on average $450-$550 just by going out to eat! That is a months worth of groceries where I am! Look at if you need to cut back on your cell phone bill, cable bill, or any other bills to make life more comfortable. All about managing your money, and most do not these days.

CPA EXAM: DONE!!!!
Ethics Course: Passed
Application Mailed: 3/16/15
Professional Conduct Exam: 97
Certification Date: 4/2/15!!!

[iddyrashy]

Location matters, for instance I have 5 years experience and am at 100K without CPA. If I manage to get the CPA, I can get 30% increase overnight.

But that is in Texas were Oil and Gas shower the employees with cash.

However, it's doesn't matter how much you making if you don't have a good spending habit. I have zero debt, no mortgage no car finance no credit card. I save 30% of my net income and leave a very comfortable life. My wife doesn't work and a son going private school.

AUD 89 (07/06/14)
REG 83 (08/27/2015)
FAR 78 (04/27/2015)
BEC 75 (11/13/2015)

TEXAS 2016

[samdiegoCPA]

@OneStep@aTime I'm not attacking, I am just baffled. I've replied on her a few times saying “Not offending anyone or not trying to start anything” and figured it was just standard being on this forum with professionals that no one is personally attacking anyone.

@san4596 I use an excel spreadsheet for all my finances up to 5 months in advance. It has three different areas that show me how much I can pay on this or that CC each paycheck, how much I can donate to charity and if I can bring any others on, the fact that I still can't afford $100/mo cable but can watch everything online for free anyway, how much to save for travels, etc. It has changed my life!

My student loans start in Sept and I am crying about it already. I've paid off my first degree, but not the second one. Hopeing to find my CEO husband before then who would love to pay them off with one check 😉

AUD: 84
REG: 84
BEC: 79
FAR: 83

[Iron_Victory]

I just want to contribute that if you are “just getting by” on income of over $100K then you got some BEHAVIORAL problems in play. All the increase in salary in the world won't solve that.

AUD - (74),78
BEC - 85
FAR - 86
REG - 84

[Anonymous]

Many people try to live the most lavish lifestyle they can within the limits of their paychecks. This leads to “just getting by” – despite a very comfortable salary and lifestyle. Having a 100k salary and pretending you only make 80k would solve just about any money issues someone may have.

[fuzyfro89]

I suppose at some point it is relative. I remember 5 years ago in my first summer internship getting paid $17.50/hr and thinking it was great!… until I saw how much was eaten up by taxes. Of course at that point I was also trying to save some money to help pay my tuition and fees for the upcoming year so it was hard. My next internship was at $23/hr, and it was a lot better! Still, between commuting/rent/expenses it was tough (though I did manage to save enough to pay for my entire last semester's costs).

Then started my first full time job making the salary equivalent of $24/hr. More, but now I was fully independent and paying for everything. This was tough! After raises I left that job at salary-equiv. of $27/hr, and then got an even bigger raise when I switched companies. Today, it's tough to imagine going back to my first full time salary, and nearly impossible to imagine my first internship salary today. I suppose things change, but even today I manage to stick away around 1/4 of net earnings into savings/investments. It's a priority for me, though, since I'm a little paranoid by nature and want to have a big cushion.

[Keely]

OP, you are probably right that $150K in NJ with a wife and two or three kids is just barely making ends meet. My dad made about $200K per year in rural VA, but with two kids and a wife who didn't work, we could afford to do a lot, but nothing lavish. He did save a lot of it, though, and paid for my college with no loans. But the perception that we were rolling in the dough, with three people who didn't work, is really inaccurate.

The point is, I make $60K a year and I am able to save almost 25% of my paycheck. Why? I choose not to have any children at the moment, and I certainly don't want to support another adult. Why not plan on living in a two-income household? Save your pennies together, then maybe someone can stop working for a few years to raise children. I just see absolutely no point in having multiple kids if you can't afford them.

With the (lack of) knowledge I have, for the hours I work, I think my salary is fair. In today's world, people come out of college with a degree and start out at $25K. Be thankful that's not going to be you. It is completely possible to live within your means as a CPA. There shouldn't be an excuse for otherwise.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[tomq04]

I hear Jeff Elliott makes about $1,000,000/day running this place.

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[oilgaslb]

I'll chime in with a simple fact – the more you make, the more you spend, creating the illusion that you never have as much as you “need”.

Prime example: less than 2 years ago I was making 47K in Denver, renting a house for $1,300, and living comfortably, but not lavishly.

Fast forward to now, I make 70K in the same neighborhood, mortgage of $1,300, and living comfortably, but not lavishly. I am able to save a bit more, but not much each month. The more comfortable you are, the more you spend, it's human nature.

Now before you ask, yes, I have sat down with spreadsheets and budgeted and figured out where most of my money has gone (food, food, food). I cook a lot and spend nearly $150 a week on groceries, when I used to spend $80, etc. When we are saving for something in particular, or paying off a credit card, or now, saving for our wedding, we are able to consciously put more away and spend less. But it is a conscious decision that needs to be made. Our “permanent” expenses are not extravagant; it is when those cars, homes, etc. are excessive is when people have trouble allocating their money elsewhere or holding back and saving when they need to.

Money is relative.

[MustPass1988]

I don't understand how any couple that has a dual income of $130K, with no kids and no mortage could even remotely not be making enough. My husband and I, combined, make $135K and we have no kids but we do have a mortgage and a small portion of his student loans. I'll be completely straightforward and say that I suck at budgeting…we literally do not have a budget other than, we both route $500 from our paychecks to a high interest savings account. We also both contribute over

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[MustPass1988]

15% to our 401k and have over 20k in savings. We don't “cut down” anywhere..I buy clothes all the time, we suck at buying groceries, we have people clean our house for Gods sake…I do not understand how anyone could not make enough on 130k with no kids and no mortgage. That seriously blows my mind.

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[Fanalyst]

I'm probably getting way off topic here, and maybe I listen to too much Dave Ramsey, or maybe I just haven't had enough life happen yet, but can someone explain why you would ever put more than a minimum amount in savings (including retirement) while you have consumer debt? Seems so counter-intuitive to me that you would put money away in an account (maybe it outperforms, maybe it doesn't) while you allow interest to accrue on a car note/credit card/etc. I guess it just doesn't make sense to me to NOT pay off consumer debt as fast as possible.

I can wrap my head around mortgages, student loans, medical debt because the “asset” you get in exchange for the debt should increase in value. I just can't fathom putting $500 in a savings account every month while I have a car/credit card balance of $10,000.

[Anonymous]

One reason to finance something versus paying for it in cash is because it builds your credit when you finance something, even for 6 months, and pay it off without missing or having a late payment. If it is a small enough interest rate it is totally worth financing versus paying in cash.

[Lindrobe]

Fanalyst, always remember, “cash is king.” I have a perfect example for you. My brother-in-law works in NC in the Nascar industry. This industry is not very stable for various reasons (drivers change teams all the time, teams lose sponsors, etc). My brother-in-law could not stand the thought of having debt and would buy new cars, boats, etc. and pay crazy amounts each month to get these loans paid off. When I say “crazy,” I mean like $1500 per month on a run of the mill Toyota Corolla or Toyota Forerunner. He has lost his job 3 times now and been left with little money in his savings account to fall back on. He has finally learned that he needs to have an extra $20k-$30k in savings since he works in an industry that is so unstable. I do not think that it is a bad idea to pay some extra money on consumer debt, but you do NEED to have money in a savings account for emergencies.

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[Author]

Replies