{"id":355,"date":"2021-12-06T13:02:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T13:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/personal-finance-optimization-on-a-lower-income\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T16:51:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T16:51:52","slug":"personal-finance-optimization-on-a-lower-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/personal-finance-optimization-on-a-lower-income\/","title":{"rendered":"Personal Finance Optimization with a Lower Income"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Before we get into the meat of today\u2019s post, there are two things that I feel like I need to address explicitly:<\/p>\n<ul data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Sometimes the phrase \u201clower income\u201d can carry negative connotations because it\u2019s (sometimes) used pejoratively. Today, know that the classification of \u201clower income\u201d is being driven by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2017\/4\/20\/15343720\/housing-income-limits\" target=\"_blank\">this Department of Housing chart, as seen in this handy-dandy interactive version on Vox.com for housing income limits<\/a>, and that it\u2019s different depending on where you live. For example, \u201clow income\u201d for one person in San Francisco is $73,750, while you\u2019re considered \u201clow income\u201d in Dallas, TX if you make less than $41,100. #LocationMatters<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">We could devote an entire economics and ethics blog to the issue that some of society\u2019s most valued participants for sustaining day-to-day life (teachers, grocers, caretakers, etc.) are paid <em>way<\/em> less than suit-wearing executives who send emails all day.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">For the purposes of today\u2019s post, we\u2019re not going to lament (much) about how late-stage capitalism has thrown a monkey wrench into society\u2019s pay scale. Instead, we\u2019re going to talk about how those teachers, grocers, and caretakers (and also, entry-level advertising professionals) can make their money go the furthest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">This is <strong>Low Income Optimization 101.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Because maybe those music teachers, artists, and professional dog groomers don\u2019t <em>want<\/em> to have a highly paid fake email job. I\u2019ve written in the past about how it\u2019s perfectly fine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneywithkatie.com\/blog\/what-if-your-dream-job-isnt-lucrative\" target=\"_blank\">if your dream job isn\u2019t lucrative<\/a>, because the entire point of finding a super high-paying job (in my neck of the woods) is to save as much money as possible so you <em>don\u2019t have to do it anymore<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">If you like what you do, you\u2019ve already won. Liking your job is the cheat code, people!<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">That said, you can like what you do and <em>still want to make sure you\u2019re going to be able to retire someday. <\/em><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Saving Money on Lower Income<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Today, I\u2019m going to focus on three major facets of optimizing for low income:<\/p>\n<ol data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Leveraging Roth contributions<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Picking your housing &amp; transportation wisely<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Becoming an excellent chef (ok, that last one might be a bit of a joke, but you\u2019ll see)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The major takeaway, for me, is that it\u2019s abundantly possible to live a beautiful (and optimized) life on a lower income, but it requires kissing the \u201cKeeping Up with the Joneses\u201d mentality goodbye and getting a few, big structural things right. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">In my zip code, a family of two living on $49,200 would be considered low income (this is interesting, because for one person, it said $43,050 \u2013 I guess it\u2019s assuming only discretionary expenses would go up by adding a second person?).<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">For the purposes of today\u2019s exercise, I\u2019m going to use these numbers: $49,200 for two people.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">First thing\u2019s first: Let\u2019s talk about taxes<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Generally speaking, the tax code is pretty favorable to married couples making a taxable income of less than $81,050 (2021).<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">For our example couple with $49,200 of income each year, they\u2019ll take the standard deduction ($25,100) and be left with a taxable income of $24,100 \u2013&nbsp;meaning they\u2019ll only be taxed on $24,100 of income: <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">10% on the first $19,900<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">12% on the next $4,200<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">= <strong>$2,494<\/strong> of taxes due annually, or about $208\/mo. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">That\u2019s a pretty low tax bill, right? An effective tax rate of 5%. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">(And yes, I just <em>know<\/em> someone out there in the wings is biting their tongue with a quip about how Bezos paid less, but remember, this isn\u2019t a criticism of late stage capitalism\u2026 yet.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">So right off the bat, we know that 5% of our income goes to taxes. Let\u2019s tuck that little factoid away. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The low tax liability makes a lower income person (or couple) the perfect candidate(s) for the Roth IRA. <\/p>\n<h3 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Why the Roth IRA is especially great for lower income<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The Roth IRA is effectively the most magical tax school bus available because any money that goes into it is <em>never taxed again<\/em>. It grows completely tax-free. No tax drag. If you start early, the Roth IRA can compound for many, many decades and become one of the most powerful tools out there. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Because you fund it with post-tax income, your marginal tax rate <em>really<\/em> makes a difference for how sweet the Roth IRA proposition is.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Each (earning) member of the couple can contribute up to $6,000 per year, for a total maximum contribution amongst the couple (in two different Roth IRAs, to be clear) of $12,000 per year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">To reiterate: You can only contribute to a Roth IRA if you have earned income. For example, if you make $4,000 per year, you could only contribute $4,000. You must have <em>at least<\/em> $6,000 of earned income reported to the IRS to fund your Roth IRA to the gills.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">For people who pay a marginal tax rate of 24% on their contribution (married filing jointly with $172,000+ income), the Roth IRA is still nice \u2013&nbsp;but it creates a larger tax bill. Twice as large, to be accurate. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Our $49,100 family will only pay their <em>12<\/em>% marginal rate on the contribution, and that\u2019s why the Roth IRA is a really incredible option for them. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">We know 5% of our $49,100 will go to taxes. If we contribute the maximum to one Roth IRA ($6,000), that\u2019ll account for another 12%. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">You can <a href=\"http:\/\/www.betterment.com\/moneywithkatie\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">open a Roth IRA with Betterment<\/span><\/a>, fund it with cash, and answer a few questions about your goals and desired timelines \u2013 and they\u2019ll do the rest. No investing knowledge needed.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Pause: Taxes and (the first round of) savings is done<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">5% has gone to pay taxes, 12% is set aside for our Roth IRA contribution (for a 12% save rate,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/246268\/personal-savings-rate-in-the-united-states-by-month\/#:~:text=Monthly%20personal%20saving%20rate%20in%20the%20U.S.%202015%2D2021&amp;text=In%20June%202021%2C%20the%20personal,saving%20to%20disposable%20personal%20income.\" target=\"_blank\">already doing better than the national average of 9.4% in May 2021<\/a>), and now, it\u2019s time to switch gears to picking housing and transportation wisely. <\/p>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Second: Get the structural expenses right<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">This is one that\u2019s <em>really<\/em> going to vary by region of the country. Allow me to offer two schools of thought:<\/p>\n<ol data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><strong>Option #1: <\/strong>Buy a conservative home in the \u2018burbs and a conservative, reliable car to get you to and from work every day. <\/p>\n<ol data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><em>Pros<\/em>: You\u2019re going to build equity in a home over time, and if you buy conservatively, your unrecoverable costs (property taxes, insurance, maintenance, mortgage interest) hopefully won\u2019t be too high. Eventually, the home will be another valuable asset that you can sell. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><em>Cons<\/em>: Buying a home opens a can of worms with potentially expensive and unpredictable repairs, and experts say 1% of the property value should be set aside every year for maintenance. Depending on how much your home costs, this could eat into your annual income significantly. Owning a car and driving a commute introduces another potentially hairy collection of costs to the picture, and should be weighed based on location. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><strong>Option #2<\/strong>: Rent a conservative apartment near your work and take a bike or public transportation if it\u2019s safe and feasible where you live.<\/p>\n<ol data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><em>Pros<\/em>: While your entire rent payment will be unrecoverable, it\u2019s a known quantity that you can commit to upfront without any \u201csurprise\u201d expenses that need to be accounted for. Biking or using public transportation takes the expense of a car out of the equation, and if you\u2019re close to work, you\u2019ll cut down on commute time.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><em>Cons<\/em>: Depending on where you live and work, this may not be possible. Some places have effectively no public transportation (thanks, America) or the weather is too gnarly to use a bike. And as we noted, your entire rent payment will be unrecoverable, so no portion of it will build equity in another asset.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">See why location seems to matter a lot here? Some housing markets will make this impossible \u2013&nbsp;while other rental markets will make it prohibitively expensive. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">If you still work in an office, hospital, school, etc. (a physical location), buying <em>or<\/em> renting conservatively near your place of employment is likely the best option.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">So how much should our hypothetical couple spend? <\/p>\n<h3 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">House\/apartment<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">We don\u2019t want any more than roughly <strong>28%<\/strong> of our gross annual income to go toward the roof over our head, lest we feel absolutely #HousePoor. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">That equates to roughly $1,145 per month. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">I know, I know \u2013 it doesn\u2019t sound like a ton. But this is where living in an affordable zip code makes a difference (and the reason why San Francisco\u2019s \u201clow income\u201d is up in the mid-$70,000 range). <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Using national averages, a $200,000 home would generate a PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance) payment of roughly $955 per month after $40,000 down, getting us comfortably below our $1,063 limit. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">If we assume $2,000 per year (1% of the property value) will be set aside for maintenance, that adds another $166 per month, for a total of roughly $1,121. We\u2019re right about in line with our goal. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Now, to find a house that costs $200,000\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Just kidding, kind of \u2013&nbsp;the housing market is really on some next-level bullshit right now, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m personally a fan of renting. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">So you get the picture: Putting the legwork into finding a housing situation that enables you to live on roughly 28% of your gross income will help the first major, structural puzzle piece fall into place.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Pause: Taxes, savings, and housing is done<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">5% has gone to pay taxes, 12% is set aside for our Roth IRA contribution (for a 12% save rate,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/246268\/personal-savings-rate-in-the-united-states-by-month\/#:~:text=Monthly%20personal%20saving%20rate%20in%20the%20U.S.%202015%2D2021&amp;text=In%20June%202021%2C%20the%20personal,saving%20to%20disposable%20personal%20income.\" target=\"_blank\">already doing better than the national average of 9.4% in May 2021<\/a>), and 28% has gone to housing. That means we\u2019ve used 45% of our income so far, and have about 55% left. <\/p>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Third: Curating a lifestyle that your grandmother would be proud of<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">I always channel my Grandma Jean whenever I think about money and food \u2013&nbsp;she and my Papa John (rest in peace) were so poor when they got married, they <em>literally<\/em> shot squirrels in their backyard, cooked them, and ate them for dinner. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Every time I order Uber Eats for lunch, I look to the sky and say, \u201cPapa, please forgive me, for your granddaughter is a weenie little b**** with very few home economics skills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">In all seriousness, I\u2019ve taken a great deal of inspiration from the resourcefulness of my parents and grandparents \u2013 and you don\u2019t have to be \u201cpoorer than a church mouse,\u201d as Grandma Jean says, to curate your lifestyle resourcefully.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">While my parents were better off than their parents, they still made (really delicious) homemade meals every night. We <em>rarely<\/em> ate out for dinner (and I mean rarely), going out maybe once or twice a month. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Embracing the ability to cook delicious food at home using fresh groceries is, in some ways, way <em>more<\/em> luxurious than eating out. Cooking is a lost art, and becoming good at it is one of the best money (and health) hacks out there. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">So let\u2019s say we\u2019re not going to eat out very much \u2013&nbsp;maybe $100 per month for meals out \u2013&nbsp;and the rest of the time, we\u2019re going to cook at home. We need healthy groceries for two to make delicious meals:<\/p>\n<ul data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">$100 per month ($1,200\/year) for dining out<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">$600 per month ($7,200\/year) for healthy groceries<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">That\u2019s a total food cost of $8,400 per year, or 17% of our overall figure. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">While suggesting restaurants are worth cutting may feel a little too Dave Ramsey-esque, hear me out: I\u2019m not suggesting cutting them out because they\u2019re life\u2019s finest joy and you don\u2019t deserve that. I\u2019m suggesting cutting it out because I actually think <em>dining out is quite overrated<\/em> for how expensive it is. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The other week, I got groceries with my husband \u2013 $84 for 6 days of food for the two of us. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">I also had one meal out, got a beer at a brewery, and an iced coffee and scone. $35.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">My half of the week\u2019s groceries was $42, but a subpar chicken sandwich, Miller Lite, and cold brew was $35? It\u2019s hard to justify.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">My mission in life is to get \u201cTreat yourself <em>at home<\/em>\u201d poppin\u2019. Make yourself your favorite meal for a small fraction of the cost, and enjoy it <em>way<\/em> more often.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">It leads to a richer life, not an emptier one, when done right.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">How did we do?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Well, we\u2019ve got taxes, saving, housing, and food accounted for:<\/p>\n<ul data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Taxes: 5%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Saving: 12%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Housing: 28%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Food: 17%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">That leaves us with 38% left, or $18,658 per year (roughly $1,554 per month). <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Now, there are likely expenses not mentioned here, like:<\/p>\n<ul data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Healthcare<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Clothes\/personal care<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Pet care<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u2026and more<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The key point is: On $49,100 per year, if you get those few puzzle pieces correct (the Roth IRA, the conservative housing choice, and the food), it\u2019s <em>much<\/em> easier to slide the other puzzle pieces into place. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Let\u2019s pretend you spent the rest&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;for a total of <strong>$40,645 <\/strong>spent per year (the rest went to your taxes and Roth IRA).<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Assuming your income went up by 3% each year with inflation, your spending went up by 1% per year, and your average returns were 7% annualized\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ScreenShot2021-10-01at50121PM.webp\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">You could be financially independent after 27 years with $1.37M.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">You can see the way it plays out \u2013 the annual salary bumped up by 3% each year for inflation, the after tax monthly income growing as a result, and your annual spend increasing by roughly 1% each year. The rest gets saved (read: invested) and compounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">If you start at 30 years old, you could be retiring as a millionaire by age 57 \u2013 assuming you continued to maintain a similar lifestyle.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Conclusion: It\u2019s not all about the money<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The obvious thing that I feel the need to state explicitly? It\u2019s undoubtedly easier to save money when you <em>make<\/em> a lot of money. That\u2019s hard to argue, because, <em>Yeah, we live in a world where things cost money<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">But if you\u2019re doing something you love that doesn\u2019t generate a crazy six-figure income, you still have a lot of options at your disposal that can help you <em>still become a millionaire<\/em> before you\u2019re old and gray. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">That\u2019s the power of time and a little strategy, my friends!<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Now, I\u2019ll leave you with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/07\/01\/this-65-year-old-retiree-left-us-for-mexico-and-spends-160-per-month-on-eating-out-and-shopping.html\">this article about a teacher from California who retired to Mexico<\/a> instead and lives an <em>amazing<\/em> beachside life. The ex-pat route feels like an entirely different exploration. Maybe we\u2019ll explore that next time\u2026.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The fine print, since we\u2019re talking about investing<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Hypothetical examples are for illustrative purposes only. All events, persons and results described herein are entirely fictitious and amounts will vary depending on your unique circumstances and factors not necessarily accounted for here, such as market volatility, inflation, advisory fees, reinvestment of dividends or earnings, etc.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Investing involves risk of loss and performance not guaranteed. Just my opinions, not advice. #sponsored.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Any links provided to other websites are offered as a matter of convenience and are not intended to imply that Betterment or its authors endorse, sponsor, promote, and\/or are affiliated with the owners of or participants in those sites, unless stated otherwise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before we get into the meat of today\u2019s post, there are two things that I feel like I need to address explicitly: Sometimes the phrase \u201clower income\u201d can carry negative connotations because it\u2019s (sometimes) used pejoratively. Today, know that the classification of \u201clower income\u201d is being driven by this Department of Housing chart, as seen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178814,"featured_media":2421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"si-template-single-post-401-k-s-and-iras.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[47,45],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spending-and-saving","tag-401ks-and-iras","tag-everyday-spending-and-budgeting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Personal Finance Optimization with a Lower Income - Money with Katie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/personal-finance-optimization-on-a-lower-income\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Personal Finance Optimization with a Lower Income - Money with Katie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Before we get into the meat of today\u2019s post, there are two things that I feel like I need to address explicitly: Sometimes the phrase \u201clower income\u201d can carry negative connotations because it\u2019s (sometimes) used pejoratively. 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