Family of Breadwinner

• If you bring home all of the income for your family, this means that your family is dependent on your salary. In this case, the phrase means that if you suddenly stopped making money, their basic needs would no longer be met. In this situation, the wise choice is to purchase life insurance so your family would have something to fall back on and no longer be completely dependent on your salary. You should also have an emergency fund with enough money to pay for six months of necessary living expenses.
  
  

Qualifying for Perks

• Many benefits available for people are dependent on your salary. For example, when applying for financial aid when your children begin college, many of the grants are partially dependent on your salary. The less money you make, the more likely you are to receive the grants. Public assistance programs are also largely dependent on your salary. On the other end of things, being able to afford to spend a month traveling the world and staying in five-star hotels is also dependent on your salary.
  
  

Salary vs. Investments

• People earn money in two major ways. The first is to earn it by working, in which case you are dependent on your salary. The other main way to get income is to invest money in ways that will generate returns, in which case you could be dependent on your investments. The one you are dependent on is the one that generates the money that pays for most of your basic living expenses.
  
  

Lifestyle

• When you are dependent on your salary, your lifestyle and happiness would completely change if you were to stop getting that salary. On the other hand, if you have no debt, few expenses and are able to happily get by on just your savings for a while, you are not as dependent on your salary. The main tension in this interpretation of the phrase is how important your salary is to your happiness.