Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
financialsamurai.com
Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
1–10 of 97 posts
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#2I’m not middle class but if you are thrifty and can prioritize freedom over needless expenses ie $5 cup of coffee it isn’t hard to live very comfortably in many parts of the usa. I understand owning property at all can be much more challenging in europe than it is in much of the usa mainland.
Coastland and island living is going to be more expensive for various reasons.
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#3Because this article completely misdefines "middle class"? Being middle class doesn't mean you can afford absolutely everything you want. It just means you're financially secure enough not to have to choose between food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare with every paycheck, and to be able to save up a buffer in case of emergency.
Example: $2100/mo to feed 3 people is ridiculous. Instead of buying prepared foods, cook meals. You can feed 3 people on $750/mo. If you're spending $300/wk on date night dinner, find something less expensive to do for date night.
Similarly for some of the other budgets. Drive a used Honda instead of a new Volvo. Find less expensive ways to entertain yourselves. If you insist on living in an expensive housing market, accept that middle class family living in a dense city means (and has always meant) a (cramped to midwestern suburban sensibilities but quite livable) 2BR without outdoor space, not a house with a lawn; and consider renting instead of buying.
Middle class living means making compromises. If you're not making compromises, that's upper class living. And yeah, that can cost $300k/yr easily.
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#4Because this article completely misdefines "middle class"? Being middle class doesn't mean you can afford absolutely everything you want. It just means you're financially secure enough not to have to choose between food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare with every paycheck, and to be able to save up a buffer in case of emergency. Example: $2100/mo to feed 3 people is ridiculous. Instead of buying prepared foods, coo…
Agreed. Also, start with: don't live in one of the most expensive cities in the world and expect luxuries not typically associated with urban living, such as two cars, a spacious home, etc.
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#5Because this article completely misdefines "middle class"? Being middle class doesn't mean you can afford absolutely everything you want. It just means you're financially secure enough not to have to choose between food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare with every paycheck, and to be able to save up a buffer in case of emergency. Example: $2100/mo to feed 3 people is ridiculous. Instead of buying prepared foods, coo…
> Instead of buying prepared foods, cook meals.
He acks that in the article,
> When you are a dual job household with a baby, there’s little time to cook. > However, food is where this family can cut expenses if they start feeling a little tight.
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#6Because this article completely misdefines "middle class"? Being middle class doesn't mean you can afford absolutely everything you want. It just means you're financially secure enough not to have to choose between food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare with every paycheck, and to be able to save up a buffer in case of emergency. Example: $2100/mo to feed 3 people is ridiculous. Instead of buying prepared foods, coo…
You’re not wrong. But you’re also attributing choice to things that may not be choice. In your description, if a tech worker wants a cheaper lifestyle and larger living space then they should move away from basically the only places they can find those highest paying careers. There are exceptions, but they are not numerous enough to dismiss that current prices exceed many explanations and leave many people wanting.
Also, long commutes to work (longer than 20 minutes) do a great harm to the world. Both in opportunity cost from being able to do other things through to things like climate change.
Edit-Also, I want to live in a world where spending the morning in a coffee shop with a scone is affordable on at least a weekly basis for people. Cafes, restaurants, and other such places are cultural bases. We should be insulating them from destruction.
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#7Because this article completely misdefines "middle class"? Being middle class doesn't mean you can afford absolutely everything you want. It just means you're financially secure enough not to have to choose between food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare with every paycheck, and to be able to save up a buffer in case of emergency. Example: $2100/mo to feed 3 people is ridiculous. Instead of buying prepared foods, coo…
300 k is ridiculous, but in the coastal regions I would not be surprised if a family of 4 needs 200-250 to feel financially secure.
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#8I think we should come up for a new term for working high income households, something like a "City class".
They make between 250-699k. They have mostly what they need but work very hard and aren't the leisure or power class that is associated with the upper. They don't have or really identify with the same money problems as the true middle class but they certainly don't have enough to spend frivioisly. They give up some things compared to the middle class in low cost cities though like yards and larger homes. They also have to pay expenses that other single income lcol dwellers don't like nannies.
This seems to draw a real.line between the nonworking rich and the working well off.
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#9My idea of middle-class existence is a thrifty but relatively happy family life with an emphasis on education. The budget could vary enormously depending on how this is implemented.
Re: Households Need to Earn $300,000 a Year to Live a Middle Class Lifestyle
#10Because this article completely misdefines "middle class"? Being middle class doesn't mean you can afford absolutely everything you want. It just means you're financially secure enough not to have to choose between food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare with every paycheck, and to be able to save up a buffer in case of emergency. Example: $2100/mo to feed 3 people is ridiculous. Instead of buying prepared foods, coo…
$2100/mo to feed 3 people is ridiculous. You can feed 3 people on $750/mo.
$700/mo/person is $7.65 per meal, which is quite reasonable. $250/mo/person is about $2.70 per meal, which is not.
"In 2005, sociologists William Thompson and Joseph Hickey estimate an income range of roughly $35,000 to $75,000 for the lower middle class and $100,000 or more for the upper middle class."[0]
In 2018 dollars, that's $44,800 to $96,000 for lower middle class and $128,000 for upper middle class.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_middle_class#Income