If you have just started a job with an annual salary of $38000 a year, you may be thinking, $38,000 a year is how much an hour. If you breakdown it down into an hourly rate, it translates into $18.27 per hour, working 40 hours per week for 52 weeks a year.
Money is a great motivation to many workers and heightens the euphoria that emanates from the heart of people upon receiving their appointment letter after a long search for a job.
Trust me; the salary is the first thing most people look out for in an appointment letter. This article will analyze an annual gross salary of $38,000 in terms of its monthly, weekly, and hourly equivalents.
Let us dig deeper and find out what monthly and weekly income you will make on $38,000 a year.
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$38,000 a year is how much an hour?
If you are paid $38,000 per annum, your hourly rate is $18.27. A year has 52 weeks; in most countries, the standard hours of any official economic engagement are 40 hours per week, representing eight hours a day for five working days.
Therefore, the hourly rate is calculated by dividing the annual salary by the total working hours in the year, as seen below.
Total working hours in a year: 8 hours x 5 days x 52 weeks = 2,080 hours
Hourly rate: $38,000 per year ÷ 2,080 hours in a year = $18.27 per hour
$38,000 a year is how much monthly?
For a monthly salary, $38,000 per year will be divided by 12 months to give us $3,166.67. This figure represents your gross base salary – without deductions or bonuses. The calculation is very straightforward;
Monthly Salary: $38,000 ÷ 12 months = $3,166.67
$38,000 a year is how much weekly?
$38,000 per annum will amount to $730.77 a week. Since we have 52 weeks a year, we divide your annual salary by 52 weeks to arrive at $730.77. You could also arrive at this figure using the hourly rate for your computation. That is;
Weekly Salary: $18.27 per hour × 8 hours × 5 days = $730.80
Or
Weekly Salary: $38,000 ÷ 52 weeks = $730.77
The difference in the decimal points is a result of the approximations.
For example, $38,000 a year is how much biweekly?
If your annual salary of $38,000 is to be paid biweekly, you will earn $1,461.54. This figure was arrived at by multiplying your weekly wage by two.
In effect, biweekly salary = $730.77 per week × 2 = $1,461.54 bi-weekly
How much is $38,000 a year after tax?
We did all our calculations using the gross figures in the previous analysis. That is the full salary without any tax deductions. But assuming you will pay a 20% per annum tax on your income of $38,000, your net annual salary will be $30,400.
If you live in a country where incomes are taxed, it would be wrong to assume that your total earnings will be paid to you without the central government taking its share.
Hence, for a flat tax rate of 20% on $38,000, the calculations are as follows;
Gross Annual Salary: $38,000
Net Annual Salary: $38,000 x (1 – 0.2) = $30,400
How much $38,000 a year is after tax weekly, monthly, and biweekly?
Based on our adopted 20% tax rate on the gross salary of $38,000, the monthly net pay is $2,533.33, while the weekly and biweekly net wages are $584.62 and $1,169.24, respectively.
The following calculations will help you understand how the figures were deduced.
Net Annual Salary: $30,400
Net Monthly Salary: $30,400 ÷ 12 months = $2,533.33
Net Weekly Salary: $30,400 ÷ 52 weeks = $584.62
Net Biweekly Salary: $584.62 x 2 = $1,169.24
Can you live on a $ 38,000-a-year salary?
Living on a $ 38,000 salary is possible. But, first, you must accept that your net pay will be lesser than the gross. Then, plan and adjust your monthly net wage by reducing the major expenditure items that take a chunk of your salary.
Your location is part of the factors that influence the possibility of surviving on $38,000. Though global inflation rates are high, some cities are costly. If you are resident in any of such places, you should consider relocating if your income cannot support the cost of living.
How to live on a $ 38,000-a-year income comfortably?
The following strategies will help you live a comfortable life irrespective of how small your income is. The rule is to spend parsimoniously.
Rent a small house
You cannot avoid paying rent unless you have your own house. You are advised to rent a small house or room if you are single. If you have a family, just rent what will be enough to contain your family size. Because the more significant the residential facility, the higher the rent.
Avoid impulse buying
Make a list of all the items you intend to buy before shopping. This will serve as a guide to avoid impulse buying. Anytime you are attracted to purchase something, give yourself a day to think carefully before you buy it.
Make price comparison
It is best to do some window shopping to compare prices before you buy. This will help you get the lowest price for the same quality product or service.
Find cheaper alternative ways of doing things.
There are many ways of achieving the same results at a cheaper cost. For example, you can travel by train instead of taking a flight; you can fly economy instead of first class; rather than visiting a friend, you can have a zoom or WhatsApp video call.
Do it yourself (DIY)
There are many things you can do on your own to save money. For example, instead of going to the laundry, you can wash your clothes, prepare your pizza, cook your meal or clean your own house instead of going for the services of a cleaning company.
Take good care of your health.
You need to have enough sleep, eat well and drink a lot of water to stay healthy. If you don’t take good care of your health, you may fall sick and lose income and spend on medical bills.
Is $38,000 a year poverty?
No, $38,000 a year is not poverty, though it is not too good an amount. Location is a significant determinant of how good or bad a salary is. The general economic conditions prevailing in a country or state can render even a six-figure salary deficient.
According to World Vision, “essentially, poverty refers to lacking enough resources to provide the necessities of life—food, clean water, shelter, and clothing. But in today’s world, that can include access to health care, education, and even transportation.”
Therefore, though you might not be able to afford all the luxuries you desire with $38,000 per annum, you are not poor.
How to earn more?
You can earn additional income to augment the $38,000 annual salary by undertaking any of these side businesses.
If you are looking to earn some cash instantly, check out these websites:
Survey Junkie
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Inbox Dollars
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Get creative and develop your talents.
You might consider developing your talents to become a musician if you can sing very well. Then, you can join forces with some instrumentalists to play live bands at functions and earn money.
If you can draw very well, you might consider developing the talent to be a professional artist. If you are good with musical instruments like the organ and guitar, you can organize a class for pupils and teach them for money.
Part-time driving
If you have a car, you can register with ride-sharing companies such as Uber, Taxify, and bolt and use your vehicle for commercial services after your daily 8-hour work.
Agriculture
If you have a piece of land, you can consider vegetable or fish farming to augment your salary. Vegetables and fishes take a shorter time to grow so that harvesting can be done, and the cycle is repeated about two times a year. You may also consider poultry farming and selling their eggs or meat.
Online Businesses
The internet has enormous opportunities for anyone who wants to take advantage of it. You can own an online shop and make money out of it. There are data entry jobs you can subscribe to and earn some cash. You can write articles, proofread, and do online surveys to make money.
App Development/Computer Repairs
If you are an IT person working for a company, aside from your routine 8-hour job, in your free time, you can develop apps for people, repair broken-down laptops, or run software installations for money. You can even install CCTV cameras for people for cash if you have the skill.
We have the answer $38,000 a year is how much an hour. It translates into $18.27 an hour, depending on 40 hours of work weekly.
I hope this blog post helps you break down your hourly income of $38,000 a year into monthly, weekly, and hourly rates.
