i'm curious as to what kind of income most hobbyists have. i'm sorry if this kind of question is not appropriate to ask here. mod, if that is the case, please do not approve it.
based on the single person rate in 2007 (let's all use single person rate, just so that the result is more consistant)
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=164272,00.html
based on the single person rate in 2007, i am at 25%. ideally i'd like to be with somebody once a month. so that'd be around 4000/year for me. (note, i am still a hobby virgin, so i don't know if i would spend 4k/year in this hobby. and i do have OTHER hobbies that cost $$$$ so... oh, and i also have been heavily considering breaking my hobby virginity so... ya.)
This is a totally inapproriate question.
It's none of your business what any hobbyist or provider earns.
And asking the question makes you look like an immature ass.
I don't know that it's so "totally inappropriate" since it's asked to a group instead of pointed to anyone specifically. And besides, it's not like our real names are on the board. Also, he did offer for the moderator to NOT APPROVE the question IF it was INAPPROPRIATE. Well, obviously it got approved...
Now, having said all that. I'm not surprised that no one is jumping in with specific answers. And I kind of agree with your subject line; it is "none of your business". However, I don't feel taken aback by the question. Not the same as my older sister, who's asked me how much I make, how much my wife makes, how much my house costs? I pretty much had to dance around all of those, but wasn't ballsy enough to tell her "nun ya". She topped it off after my somewhat evasive answers by declaring, "I really want to know how you afford this house?"
But more to the point; I find this a BORING question! IF the masses jumped in and answered seriously and honestly, would anyone be surprised at the results? Also this has been the subject of one of TER's polls, and may still be researchable. I care SO LITTLE that I'm not wasting any time to look it up.
-- Modified on 8/30/2007 10:17:13 AM
This is really a silly question.
We all support this hobby by budgeting what we can, when we can.
It is not a question of what we make, but, how we allocate what resources we have.
As a newbie, if he can't afford "once a month" then that's out of his range and he needs to adjust his plans.
But, you are correct, Carrie.
That is really an inappropriate question and none of his business.
Some of us make a lot of money and use it wisely.
Some of us don't make a lot of money and also, use it wisely.
We spend what we can afford on a hobby we enjoy.
BTW, some day, I hope to get back to the UK, Scotland specifically, and get a chance to meet you.
But, in line with this thread, it's not financially possible right now.
Just my opinion...
B
My attitude has always been that, as long as you don't spend the milk money, hobbying is a leisure time activity. I don't play golf or gamble and I don't really spend much money on myself other than on beautiful women. I hobby guilt-free and I think it is possible to do that in any tax bracket.
I've hobbied my way through the 10%, 15%, 25% and 28% brackets. I'm in the lower side of the 33% bracket and think it will be a while before I see the 35% bracket.
At all levels my philosophy has been the same (and very much like BostonGuy's)...the milk money never found its way into the hobby budget, ever. Att all levels of income the bills, investments, 401K, etc. always get done first.
Outside of travel, the hobby is my only real indulgence of financial impact. The "big boys toys" such as boats, flashy cars, etc.. aren't all that important to me.
Naturally, the rise through the tax brackets has brought a proportionate rise in my hobbying. Once a month became bi-weekly, then weekly, then two hour appts being the norm, then up to twice a week (on occasion even more).
It seems as though most hobbyists in NY are 33% or 35%. However, in NY, that's not a lot of money (on that income, you could barely afford a small 2 bedroom apartment). So, your question may have more meaning if asked in a local forum.
For the record, my tax bracket has been hovering around the 0% rate for most of the last several years. In spite of that, the last 7 years (except for the year I took off) have been my highest earning years of my career, and I can assure you that I've done nothing illegal, well, at least not as it relates to taxes, LOL.
See, you're confusing taxable income with disposable income. They are very often linked, but it's not a given, and we can only spend what we can get at.
I'm not sure why Carrie and others took offense to this question. Maybe it's because she's British, and she isn't used to our ridiculously complicated tax code, and she just got flustered trying to determine what her taxable liability would be here in the States LOL.
Besides, I know what you are really trying to find out: are hobbyists rich on average, or poor on average, or somewhere in between? Let me spare you the suspense. First, let's define who exactly is a "hobbyist." In this context, a hobbyist is anyone who pays a woman for her personal, sensual time and companionship in any context. So, I'm not limiting my definition of "hobbyist" solely to TER members. Here's one thing that I personally believe: the average income of the providers is higher than the average income of the hobbyists. Just do the math. Assume the average provider is charging $200/session, three sessions/day, she works 5 days/week, 36 weeks/year. She'd be pulling in over $100,000/year at that rate.
Now consider the hobbyists. Believe it or not, rich, successful men usually don't need to pay for sex. They just don't. Many women are attracted to successful men, and they can get an abundance of sex for free. So, as ironic as it sounds, the people who can most easily afford this hobby are probably the least likely to engage with frequency. Are there exceptions? Yes, of course there are many exceptions. But I would bet most of the hobbyists are either working class, or perhaps low-level white collar, and most are probably not making more than $100,000/year.
Now, here's the problem with my "analysis." The hobbyists who frequent THIS website are probably more educated, and therefore probably wealthier, and with higher incomes, than the average hobbyist. They have to be relatively tech-savvy just to discover this site to begin with. And posting threads and reviews also demonstrates a higher-than-average education level, I believe. At least, higher than the average hobbyist who chooses his ladies based on ads in the Village Voice LOL.
So any responses would be somewhat skewed to the upside because of all the middle- and upper-middle-class members of TER, which is not necessarily representative of hobbyists as a whole.
We wish we were all making 100 grand a year... 
Most girls aren't doing 3 dates a day. More like 3X a week to help feed the kids, make the car payment. or cover tuition.
And I don't know about other places but in San Diego the median regional income is $60,000 a year and it takes 120G to buy the average home which is 500G.
And then there was my handsome rich ex-neighbor in Newport Beach. He'd buy his girlfriend a new Mercedez and about 3 months later she'd dump him. I'll bet the poor guy has spent 400 grand on cars.
So I guess money can't buy happines but it can sure ease the pain...
Giggle,
TS Jamie
No offense, Jamie, but you're a Transsexual, which means that you're probably not making the kind of bucks that some of the "biological women" are in this business. As Vince Vaughn so memorably said in the movie "Made," "If I was a fag, I could get laid on the subway." Seriously, some of these women are pulling in some insane crazy money. And, of course, some aren't. But I still believe that the average provider is more highly paid than the average hobbyist (the rich pervs on TER notwithstanding LOL).
advertisting, clothing, hair and beauty parlor, medical exams, condoms, toys, hotel rooms and/or apartment rent, utilites, baby wipes, oils and lotions, linens and laundry, TER dues, driver expense, cabs, car expenses, cell phone, internet service, website provider, legal expenses, accounting, child care....
It really adds up. I wouldn't be surprised if 50% of the gross is eaten up by the above; and to say nothing of the non-billable time spent:
emailing, returning calls, posting on boards, screening, dealing with jerks, showering and applying makeup, networking with other providers, etc.
It ain't sitting around all day eating bon-bons and watching Pinky Lee on the TV.
This is true, but many of the expenses you mention are normal and routine for ANY business (advertising, legal, accounting). Some of the others are what you might call "redundant" expenses that most people have to incur regardless of their career (rent, utilities, linens and laundry, car expenses, internet service, child care). And still others are normal expenses associated with being a woman (clothing, hair and beauty parlor, medical exams, condoms, etc.).
But your point is well-taken. Obviously, providers have to purchase many of these things with somewhat more frequency due to the particulars of career. No one said that revenue was equal to the bottom-line, in this or any other business. And that sword swings both ways. We hobbyists have expenses in our daily businesses or careers that eat into our take-home income as well. By the way, a 50% margin is pretty impressive, even for a service industry.
My salary is six figures.....If you count both sides of the decimal point.
Thank You
2007=27
That darn Carrie is so smart.
I am sorry - but I have to ask after reading all the threads and so called analysis! Why did we start this discussion! You are either in the game or not! If you think it costs too much - then how much does everything else cost - like golf or even dinning and other entertainment! I found I spend too much going to clubs and less here and btw - I am getting more out of it! So it is about what decision do you want to make - and if money gets in the way - then I would say - find another hobby! And to Carrie's point - who cares! We lead different lives! That would beg the question - should a provider ask for your financial profile before seeing you? I get the sense that that is were is going! Sorry - but let's move on!
See the poll archives and you'll get some idea.
So I can spend all my income on bitches.
I figure I am forgoing a BMW 5 series. Instead I drive a buick.