So, you’ve recently heard someone say they are making $45000 per year and you’re not quite sure what this means.

Or maybe you noticed they were quite happy and you don’t understand why. It’s not like they became a millionaire, right?

But … is $45,000 per year a good salary? Can you afford a nice apartment and go out every once in a while?

Or is it the kind of salary that forces you to live with roommates and eat instant noodles every night?

Well, if you’re here to find out whether or not $45k per year is good, you’re in the right place! Also, we will take a look at how you can make $45000 per year with (or without) a job.

$45000 A YEAR IS HOW MUCH AN HOUR?

In order to understand if $45,000 per year is enough for 1 person, we first need to break it down:

• Monthly: $3.750 (45.000 / 12)
• Weekly: $865 (45.000 / 52)
• Hourly: $21.6 (40 hours per week)

Before you go ahead and apply for $45,000 per year jobs, there is something else you need to factor in. The taxes.

Yes, daddy government will take a cut from your salary. Therefore, the numbers above don’t really reflect reality.

For the sake of this article, I will assume that the government from your country will take about 25% of your salary per month. That’s because 25% seems like a realistic number for most places.(1)

So, if you’re planning to get a $45,000 with a job, the numbers below are more realistic.

Monthly: 25% out of $3750 = $937

Net Salary: $2813 per month ($3750 – $937)

Weekly: 25% out of $865 = $216

Net salary: $649 ($865 – $216)

Hourly: 25% out of $21.6 = $5.4

Net salary: $16.2 ($21.6 – $5.4)

“In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes”. Unfortunately this saying is true. Taxes will always exist and we need to deal with it.

The numbers above are realistic assuming that you you’re planning to make $45.000 per year with a job. If you’re planning to build an online business, you will have the opportunity to pay less taxes (more on that later).

IS $45,000 PER YEAR A GOOD SALARY?

An average worker from the United States makes almost $95k per year. However, keep in mid this includes transportation, housing and all the other benefits.

This seems like a lot, but remember that not all US cities are the same. $95k per year in Los Angeles is definitely not that much. But if you make $95k in Alabama you can live like a king.

Saying that $45,000 per year is a bad salary would be a lie. That’s because it all depends on what lifestyle you’re used to, as well as where exactly you live.

If you’re used to making $25,000 per year, then yes, a $45,000 per year salary will seem like a lot. On the other hand, if you’re used to making $95,000 per year and you suddenly start making only $45k, you will feel like you’re getting a bad deal.(2)

Also, if you live in Miami, $45,000 is really not that much. You will probably need to rent a studio apartment and carefully calculate your groceries. However, if you live in Texas, you will be able to afford a nicer apartment and eat out every once in a while.

Whatever amount of money you make, the best thing you can do in order to improve your financial situation is to save money in order to start your own business.

Let’s be honest: if you stay at your job until you need to retire, you will not be financially independent. Relying on the government to pay your pension is a very bad financial plan.

The government doesn’t really care about you. Therefore, you need to take care of yourself. Try saving around 10% of your monthly income.

Also, you should get some skills in the meantime in order to make your transition more smooth (more on that later).

WHAT IS A BUDGET?

You will need to track all your income and expenses. Kind of like an accountant.

The best way to do this is on a piece of paper, so that you can easily write down everything you spend money on.

Such expenses like food or transportation need to be included, so you can have a better idea on what you’re money is being spent on.

Most people don’t bother tracking their expenses, and that’s why they remain poor. If you’re not responsible with your money, you will have a hard time improving your financial life.

Also, don’t get scared if you think you can’t afford saving money. You will not need to save thousands of dollars every month.(3)

Just start with whatever you can and slowly progress. This week might be $10, next week $12 and so on. You will be surprised to see how fast you can build up a savings account.

START A SMALL SIDE HUSTLE

At some point, you will feel like you want to save more money. Unfortunately, there’s only so much you can do from your job salary.

That’s why you can try a small side hustle by getting some gigs. We are actually so lucky to live in the technology era.

Nowadays, you can sign up for Fiverr and make money from your home. You will just need to rent your skills for a price that you set.

There are a ton of things you can do. For example, if you love designing logos, you can do that for $10-$15. Also, if you speak multiple languages, you can translate texts.

The best part about this is that you can do it in your spare time. Meaning that it doesn’t affect your job income in any way.(4)

This works very well especially when you don’t have responsibilities like children. However, even if you have children you could still find some time to work on a side hustle.

You can realistically work an extra 10-12 hours per week on Fiverr and make some extra money. Try finding something you enjoy doing so it doesn’t feel like you’re sacrificing your precious free time.

START YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Once you save some more money, it will be a good idea to build a proper online business.

I know it might sound scary and unrealistic, but it’s really not as complicated as people make it seem. Also, you don’t really need a ton of money to get started.

In the physical world, you will need to invest tens of thousands of dollars for employees, rent, taxes and so on. In the online world, you can bypass all of that by automating everything.

Also, the taxes will be much lower if you have a business, as opposed to having a job. You can set up an LLC and that’s it. This process is quite easy and fast.(5)

So … what businesses can you realistically start with little money? Here are my favorite 2 ways:

1. BLOGGING

Starting a blog is one of the go – to ways for beginners. That’s because it’s very cheap and anyone can do it.

You will just need to find a hosting service, like Bluehost and that’s about it. It all comes down to about $4 per month.

After that, you need to start writing articles around a certain topic. Once you start getting traction, you can monetize your blog with affiliate marketing and display ads.

You will be surprised to find out that there are marketplaces out there (like EmpireFlippers) where you can sell your blog for more than 40x the monthly income.(6)

Meaning that if you manage to build a blog to the point where it’s making $1000 per month (which is not very difficult), you can sell it with around $40.000!

2. SALES FUNNELS

Building sales funnels can be one of the most profitable things you can do online. That’s because you can optimize them for whatever you want including opt-ins to your email list or sales.(7)

Most successful entrepreneurs realized that sales funnels are what will guide the online marketing world from now on and jumped in. Also, the cool part about it is that you don’t even need to start from scratch.

You can just use someone else’s funnel template that is proven to work and just change the words and include your links.