Reply #82: We've made less than that, too.

[knitter4democracy]

Our first 7 years of marriage, we were below the median. Our first three years of marriage, we made less than $20K a year. We've put in our time. We don't come from rich families at all, we never had a fancy car or nanny or parent-paid condo or even any help with med school bills of any kind. We come from the middle class, and so our families couldn't help us much. I taught, he studied, and when I got pregnant, we found out that my job would barely have paid the daycare bills, so I stayed home while he took out more in med school loans.

In residency, he never made more than $44K a year. That's with 120 hour work weeks (no union, no hours restrictions then), two babies at home, and a sick wife. We have put in our time, and that's why we donate as much money as we can afford, take food constantly over to the local food bank, and help out families we know personally as much as we can with food and other needed items. Others helped us when we didn't know where the next rent payment was coming from, and so we help others.

I'm not sorry Hubby's finally making the real money of an attending. He's put in his time, and this is his reward. He works damn hard to earn every penny, and our family makes a lot of sacrifices for his job. The money doesn't come close to making up for the times he hasn't been there for us, but at least we're able to host Thanksgiving and pay my medical bills.