# Pete the Planner on why Americans feel broke at $150,000 a year

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ibj-podcast-with-mason-king-881104/pete-the-planner-on-why-americans-feel-broke-at-150-000-a-year
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ibj-podcast-with-mason-king-881104/pete-the-planner-on-why-americans-feel-broke-at-150-000-a-year.md
Podcast: [The IBJ Podcast with Mason King](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ibj-podcast-with-mason-king-881104)
Published: 2026-06-01T01:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ANAIA7585618453.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ANAIA7585618453.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ibj-podcast-with-mason-king-881104/episodes/pete-the-planner-on-why-americans-feel-broke-at-150-000-a-year
Duration seconds: 2855

## Resource

Hitting six figures in household income is a powerful milestone. You are situated comfortably in the middle class, which in the U.S. is currently defined as making $56,000 to $168,000 per year. If we want to zoom in on Indiana, the parameters for the middle class are $48,000 to $144,000 per year. We all know that the cost of living is rising faster and higher than anyone wants, but doesn’t it seem like you should be able to make it work on six figures per year? Over the last couple of years, a national conversation has been brewing online about why some people who make as much as $150,000 per year feel like they’re barely getting by. And consumer sentiment just last week hit its lowest point in at least 50 years. Pete the Planner isn’t here to judge. His computations show how easy it can be for the finances for a $150,000 household to go off the rails. One unexpected blow to your budget for housing, transportation, child care or essentials like food can make it feel like the ceiling is caving in. At the same time, we need to consider whether the expenses we believe are necessary are actually the result in our culture of normalizing overconsumption. Pete is our guest this week to explain the math behind the financial struggles for $150,000 households and provide some guidance – with a dose of straight talk – about reducing expenses.

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## Transcript

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