Do you have a second income or can you live on what you make?
Posted By: Justme on 2008-07-24
In Reply to: I am happy.........sm - Country MT
I can't live on 2K a month. If that is what you are making, then it is not enough for most of us. Hope you are making more, though since it would give me hope.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
I don't know where you live but where I live foreclosures are rising and there are no jobs -- non
I worried about my employer for part of the winter as my accounts grew sparse. I had plan to switch to being an employee with benefits but dared not make the switch in this economy (this was last year this time, got it?)
I figured keeping my seniority was worth whatever security it afforded.
My accounts have rebounded some and I can pay my bills.
By economizing seriously, I have paid off my credit card and put some money aside, just in case. I'm breathing easier, thanks.
So, all in all, I'm not complaining. This last winter was brutal, but I had a job and I paid my bills. When employment rebounds and/or national health goes into effect, people will go to the doctor again and we will be busy.
My part of the world is like a ghost town -- everyone who could left to find work in the city -- many apparently leaving their homes to the banks. Several houses in my vicinity have been on the market more than 4 years.
Forgive me my loyalty ... it pays the bills.
What does yelling at the rest of us do for you?
No outside income
I do support myself and my child on my MT pay only. I work for a wonderful company, which I will not name because a lot of people on here always have bad comments to make about them, paid by the gross line and can do about 2600 lines in 6 hours. It is just a matter of finding the right company and, for me, having the right attitude. I know comments are going to be made that no one can produce that many lines in 6 hours but remember, they are gross so you have to take away 25-30% of the total line for cpl.
income
I have not made that little of money since the first year I got started doing MT. You consider that good money??? If I made anything close to under $30 an hour I would consider it a very bad production day... I am not trying to brag either. I am just amazed that in this day and age and for what we have to deal with day in and day out, that $24 is good money.
My income is way, way down
due to lack of work, and I see so many people in management resigning and I am worried.
MT IS THE ONLY JOB WHERE INCOME...SM
decreases on a yearly basis, as opposed to other industries where your salary is supposed to increase with each year of experience.
It depends on where you live. If you live in their
service area it would be cheaper than outside their service area. I only have rates for out of service area and medical is 139.13 for family or 168.42 depending on what plan you choose. Dental is 20.85 for family, vision is 5.13. These are per pay period.
Individual coverage would be 44.79/54.21 medical, 7.99 dental, and 1.71 vision.
I opted out of insurance as we have through my husband's job. I believe the cheaper insurance is a 70/30 plan and the more expensive an 80/20, not sure about co-pays. Deductibles are $2000 for family, not sure about individual.
income the first year
So true. I have been saying that for the last two years! All we heard about in class is how much money we could make and how many jobs there were. They forgot to mention that those figures pertained to experienced transcriptionists. I just completed my first year working for a local practice and will probably make about $10,000 after countless hours in front of the computer. The truth is you go to school for a year or two, and when you get out, you will continue to be schooling for quite some time. It's several years of investment to actually start earning a real income. I am just ready now to feel confident about taking on additional work, and my goal is to double what I did this year by this time next year. More would be great, BUT I have learned to be realistic. I wish the schools would be honest about the investment involved. I like what I am doing, and I feel like I am at a crossroads where I am choosing to continue to go forward, but it's been hard to hang on financially to get to this point. I have other work that I do that I actually thought I would have been in a position to give up quickly after school. Students should be given a realistic picture of the time and investment involved, so they can make an educated decision about going forward with the course. But, I doubt that will happen. I think enrollment would drop substantially.
Umm, sales tax is different from income tax
sales tax is a tax added onto goods sold. Income tax, Social Security, Self-Employment tax is different from sales tax.
Six figure income??? sm
 Billers and Coders post says six figure income......yea, right!!! Same post several times.......looks suspicious to me. Maybe if you owned the company, you could get six figures....
60K middle income?
Heck, I work for a small community hosp as employee making $35K, which is middle income in rural WI.
Isn't there an income limit that you
can make and after that you have to pay in?
My gram worked after she started drawing, and I'm pretty sure there are income limits on this kind of thing.
did you mean to say state income tax instead of sales tax?
taxes for the people who live in those states. I believe all other states require income tax to be withheld for the state it is earned in IF the employer meets the qualifications of the employee's state of residence.
Another good reason to ask a tax specialist.
Never mind. I see that they don't as Florida has no income tax. nm
s
Average annual income!
They all have lines and Keystrokes and little formulas but the average annual income tells it all.
Take out 25% of your gross income every week. sm
As an IC, your tax base is usually 25-30% of your gross income. That should cover all taxes, including state, Federal, and FICA.
Been an IC for 20 years now.
You are 100% correct, my income is "extra"
therefore I am in a position that allowed me to decline a job that doesn't work out for me. That is not a slap in the face to you! I hope you were not accusing me of not caring for others because I declined a job. They can have it, I declined, remember? People are really getting off the point here.
Not correct. I have to report the income of my ICs to the IRS. I need either a SS# or a tax payer
ID#, the ICs choice, but that income has to be reported somehow. I am sure not going to claim it as my income.
I left Amphion for TT and doubled my income
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You file a Schedule SE on your profit income.
and you pay social security and medicare tax . While you have to pay the full amount on the social security tax and medicare you can deduct half that amount to your adjusted gross. I really need to find out more about this because if I have been paying too much on my social security tax I really want to know. Does anyone else know about this? Are there any IC contractors who are not paying social security tax or only paying 7% as you would as an employee and not an independent? Perhaps it has to do with how you set yourself up. Thanks for any info....
How is workload at Futurenet and income potential? sm
I will soon be starting with Futurenet and I wanted to hear from some of the current Futurenet MTs. Thanks for all the information. You may e-mail me privately if you wish.
Do you find that you are able to earn a good income with them?
Do you have ample work, or do you often have to resort to MT work to fill the time?
I wasn't bragging about a 2 income household
I was simply pointing out that the MT profession is not the only ones who are taking paycuts. Wow! It seems every post is picked apart here! 
I have to. Hubby is unemployed and it's our only income right now...can't survive on unemploym
x
But still, sales tax has not bearing on State tax or Income Tax. Big difference! nm
x
60-thou a year is lower middle income if -
:(
I just filed 2007 taxes for gross income of $52,341.
NM
YOG before MQ -- lots of work and good income back then. nm
xxx
Another Crushed United States Income Source
x
Dont you just love how these offices screw around with your income. It is very annoying and I
sometimes wonder if they get the full implication of what they are doing to our paychecks because they are stupid enough to believe you can do all hospitals exactly the same which of course you cant.
It's not very good. I sold Avon for a year to supplement my MT income
and I didn't make squat. They are the worst. They shorted at least half my orders, you have to pay to ship back items that customers stiff you on. MT is better than selling Avon.
These people making combined income of over $100,0000 crack me up! sm
They act like it is petty cash. Then again, maybe it is to them, but I sure would like a chance to have that kind of money.
Just marry a guy who has a great income, that was my solution, who wants to work that hard!!
//
You have no idea what you are talking about. My income tax return says I am making a good living
:+
I love MT, but I am also so glad hubby has steady income and excellent benefits!
He retired with 20 years in the air force and has a retirement check from that, as well as standard and very basic benefits that we can use without paying a whole lot. He has worked full time since retiring from the air force (he was 40 when he got his 20) with excellent pay and awesome benefits that we pay a very low premium for. I used to make excellent cash as an MT when being paid on a gross line, but now I make maybe 20K a year with no benefits of any kind from my job. Now my income just supplements his and is for the extras we enjoy.
This job is only good for extra pin money for people that have other regular income coming in.
It may end up being a good job for people that are experienced and on social security and have other investments now for some extra money. Would never want to have it to pay all bills. No way.
I doubt you will make enough money in 5 hours a week to make
nm
I make 4 cents a line, work part and make
over $500 a week on part.
Great post! I make 0.085 at Keystrokes and make more than at any sm
other company in the last 5 years. Why? Because there is always work for me. I love starting work each day, knowing that the company I work for appreciates me and has plenty of work. Transtech and Keystrokes sound very similar; those of us that work for either can count our blessings that we are not part of the cesspool or huge corporate mess that makes up the biggest few companies. We do not have to worry about our jobs getting sent overseas and we see a future in this business!!!
i live in NC. Where is this sm
company at. I am thinking about changing employers.
Yes, I used to live near them.
There was a recent post at this link. http://forum.mtstars.com/company/v/1/7698.html
And a post from 2004 stating that they were disorganized.
They don't live up to their name...nm
x
don't know but u live elsewhere than me....sm
When I go soliciting more private work (rarity), I expect exactly what I charge today and for the past 10 years; have never raised my rates. I chose my rate by what was/is usual and customary in the area where I live and what other fellow MTs charge. No complaints thus far, but I live in and around a couple of huge cities, and I do charge 12 cpl, promising 24-48 TAT, with close to 3 decades experience. Best luck to you !! 
Anyone here live in PA???
 side of the state and wondering if anyone could tell me of some good neighborhoods to move into; anywhere between Stroudsburg and Philly. Thanks everyone!
Where I live
pretty much all jobs require a background check and the potential employers pay for them. I have had to have a background check for every job I have applied for here. It really wasn't a big deal.
if that is all it is, i can live with that;
I will just remember to get it in on time.
I believe you have to live near SM
the hospital to reap the full benefits of the insurance.
Others have stated they cannot use the hospital insurnance and that there is little work, due to over-hiring.
I live in s/m
NW Arkansas (Wal-Mart country). There are craft fairs and festivals just about every weekend. Near Eureka Springs where the whole town is made up of gift shops and tourism is about their only industry. Lots of wealthy tourists willing to pay $5000 to $10000 for a quilt. Yes, I meant to add that many zeros. Nice gourd birdhouses they'll pay $150 or more for. 30% commission still leaves a nice hefty profit.
Where do you live?
and what sort of experience is your 14 years in? I work for a hospital that is looking to hired experienced MTs right now... some leads, but still some possible openings. What state/city are you in?
I worked for a service, then for a hospital. My hospital experience is totally positive. I wouldn't go back. Just my 2 cents worth. Hope you find something!
Where do you live?
maybe it depends where you live,
it was in the regular mail. Corporate is in the northeast and so am I. Maybe that's why I got mine and you are waiting.
live s/b life (nm)
|
