Successful entrepreneur who is making it despite being a single mother Lynn Terry got some good news when she reviewed the US Annual Income Ranking stats. As found in the article Where Do You Stand On America?s Wealth Spectrum? you can check how you rank as compared to the average median income.
| Income level (percentile) | Median income (rounded) |
| Level VI (90 to 100) | $170,000 |
| Level V (80 to 89.9) | $99,000 |
| Level IV (60 to 79.9) | $65,000 |
| Level III (40 to 59.9) | $40,000 |
| Level II (20 to 39.9) | $24,000 |
| Level I (less than 20) | $10,000 |
When reading the chart, you always have to consider how the results may not reflect an ideal situation. For instance, are the “Level VI” survey participants commuting 4 hours a day to big cities for 16 hour workdays? Are they in debt up to their eyeballs? Have they exaggerated their bottom lines?
I thought this was interesting:
“If you and yours are bringing in $40,000 a year, you’re doing better than half the households in America.”
I am the only wage earner for my household while Kim get her second degree – only 6 months left!! Currently, I fit somewhere in-between Level V and Level V 
… I thought it might be in the 90 percentile. But, I had read recently that the “target income” for yuppies went from $100,000 to $200,000. So this would jive right on with the stats above.
My philosophy on what income to shoot for is a two pronged equation.
1. Do what you love doing
2. Earn the maximum amount from doing what you love.
If you are working for money only, the money will cease to satisfy you. Whatever major profit you accumulate will be lost to high spending to compensate for a miserable work life.
