How do middle class people afford international vacationing?

[marmasatt]

Doctors are middle-class

Holy crap. Really? What the hell is the matter with some of you people. People are really struggling out there....In RI, one in 5 people are on food stamps....

 

[Eureka]

False. Middle class is 40-60k. Calling doctors middle class is just laughable. This is the reason why so many are completely out of touch with society today.

Laugh at it all you want, but to think $60k is enough to provide for a "middle-class" life for a family 3 is out of touch with reality. Using salary to define class is also kind of sketchy anyway (how many workers per household/how many people in the household). Class should be dependent on your role in society, the salary is a ballpark figure based on what you can earn while working that role.

A doctor is still middle-class, like it or not. Most doctors aren't influential enough to pull income outside of their office. They make a salary and pull in long hours. The responsibility is high and so the salary is high.

Holy crap. Really? What the hell is the matter with some of you people. People are really struggling out there....In RI, one in 5 people are on food stamps....

What's the matter with you? Why do you think that a family of less than $100k has to be middle class? If you can't live comfortably with your salary, maybe you should re-define what it means to be middle-classed.

I grew up in a household of 3 with both parents making a combined 50-60k. I would have never considered ourselves middle class. They both worked in the service industry, the jobs weren't glamorous and our house was in a sketchy neighborhood. To think that 60k for a household of three is enough to live a middle-class life is entitlement and of course you'll be disillusioned.

 

[Leros]

Holy crap. Really? What the hell is the matter with some of you people. People are really struggling out there....In RI, one in 5 people are on food stamps....

Middle class is a wide range and most doctors make less than people think.

 

[ponyo]

A doctor is still middle-class, like it or not. Most doctors aren't influential enough to pull income outside of their office. They make a salary and pull in long hours. The responsibility is high and so the salary is high.

So if you make over one million dollars a year but have very little savings, you're middle class? Because I know people like that and they spend pretty much everything they make and don't save. They're driving around in Ferrari's and Maserati and going on $25-$50k vacations. But by your definition they're middle class.

 

[Leros]

So if you make over one million dollars a year but have very little savings, you're middle class? Because I know people like that and they spend pretty much everything they make and don't save. They're driving around in Ferrari's and Maserati and going on $25-$50k vacations. But by your definition they're middle class.

The income range for middle class differs depending who you ask. I've seen some places say 100k+ is upper class and I've seen places say $500k+ is upper class. I happen to agree with the latter. You still have the same lifestyle decisions whether you make $100k or $200k. You live comfortably, but you still have to think carefully about how you spend money.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Laugh at it all you want, but to think $60k is enough to provide for a "middle-class" life for a family 3 is out of touch with reality. Using salary to define class is also kind of sketchy anyway (how many workers per household/how many people in the household). Class should be dependent on your role in society, the salary is a ballpark figure based on what you can earn while working that role.

A doctor is still middle-class, like it or not. Most doctors aren't influential enough to pull income outside of their office. They make a salary and pull in long hours. The responsibility is high and so the salary is high.



What's the matter with you? Why do you think that a family of less than $100k has to be middle class? If you can't live comfortably with your salary, maybe you should re-define what it means to be middle-classed.

I grew up in a household of 3 with both parents making a combined 50-60k. I would have never considered ourselves middle class. They both worked in the service industry, the jobs weren't glamorous and our house was in a sketchy neighborhood. To think that 60k for a household of three is enough to live a middle-class life is entitlement and of course you'll be disillusioned.

You have zero idea what middle class actually is. Educate yourself.

 

[sze5003]

Where I live 50-60 is middle class. Anything here over 70k and you are considered upper middle class. 90-100k and they consider you higher.

 

[AViking]

Depends on where you live. End of story. 100K family income in West LA is middle class. 50K family income is living in Compton. Totally different story if you live in the middle of Texas.

Regardless. If you have a family of 4 and you want to go on vacation every year you probably need to put aside at least $10,000. Who can do that? A family pulling in $50k? In some parts of the US sure. In other parts no. Need I point out however that a family of 4 pulling in $50K is probably two people not getting any vacation anyways so it's kinda a moot point unless one of them is not working.

 

[HeXen]

Anyone that Has to work for a living is somewhere within the middle class. Doctors are usually upper middle class but some of them may have several hundred thousand dollars of debt from school and maybe loans to start a practice.

Obviously how well you can live with any particular amount of income falls directly on where you live. 60k a year in my area isn't too bad if you don't have kids.
The cheapest vacation I had was a 6hr trip to smokey mountains. 4 days including gas,eating out and thrifting and some tours only cost me around $1000.

 

[JoeKing]

the flight over is the most expensive part. Keep a lookout at ticket prices several months out and keep track of prices. Buy off season and buy low.


vrbo.com

rent people's apartments anywhere around the world, I used it a bunch while living in europe and it's so much cheaper and better than hotels.

And eat off the beaten path. Ask the locals where they like to eat. The tourist places are often overpriced and subpar. To get a true taste of the country, eat where the locals eat.

And pick up a few phrases to the country of you destination. This effort goes a long way when your asking for something. Things like "Hello" "Good Evening" Pardon be, do you speak english?" Things like that.

 

[gorcorps]

If I didn't spend so much on guns and ammo, and eating out, and having a brand new car, and satellite TV, and a bunch of other stuff I could fly anywhere I wanted. Some people have different priorities and budget for them. I have no desire to give up any of that and I'm perfectly happy not being able to fly across the planet.

 

[Kaido]

My wife comes from a family that would travel internationally quite often, so I've been feeling guilty and pricing out vacations (for reference, growing up we'd only vacation domestically other than one trip back to my parent's homeland, and I didn't go to Europe until I could afford it on my own) - trip packages to Euro destinations for a couple are in the $5,000 - $9,000 range!

Now most of my peers make a similar salary range yet they all seem to travel like crazy, it's something I wonder about - how are they dropping upwards of 10% of their annual income often times multiple times a year (in NYC, where rent is already up to 50% of your income) - is everyone going into massive debt (my friends aren't huge savers based on the amount they spend dining and drinking out), or is there something I'm not getting? My wife's not demanding anything by the way, I just feel bad and am starting that jar.

Heck, a full-on Disneyworld trip costs $5,000 to $6,000 these days. Two of my friends just with with their families, I couldn't believe how much it cost! That's a pretty nice used car right there! So yeah, it's either savings or debt. Most everyone has money available, but they spend it in other places - cigarettes, drinking, buying computer parts, eating out at restaurants & fast-food, etc. The average American spends $10,000 a year eating out. Smoking can be like $2,000 a year. etc. etc. And there are ways to reduce the trip cost, as have been mentioned - plan out your own vacation instead of buying a package, stay in a less ritz hotel, etc.

 

[KoolAidKid]

If I didn't spend so much on guns and ammo, and eating out, and having a brand new car, and satellite TV, and a bunch of other stuff I could fly anywhere I wanted. Some people have different priorities and budget for them. I have no desire to give up any of that and I'm perfectly happy not being able to fly across the planet.

Yup, exactly. My priorities are mostly the opposite, my wife and I make travel a BIG priority. Just decide what's worth spending your money on.

 

[gorcorps]

Yup, exactly. My priorities are mostly the opposite, my wife and I make travel a BIG priority. Just decide what's worth spending your money on.

Yup, it's all fun money. Just depends what you think is fun

 

[Exterous]

Fluff! It lasts longer. Vacations are just fading memories.

There are a fair number of studies that show that vacations make you much happier than buying stuff and improves your productivity and creativity at work - which is something that stuff won't do (generally)

We used to think like that and chose stuff over vacations. After we took our first real vacation in 5 years we realized what a mistake we had made. Now we choose vacations over a lot of that stuff

 

[Fingolfin269]

Here's the answer...

Double Income, No kids, No debt (other than house)

I guess that's not 'the' answer. Just our answer.

 

[JMapleton]

Doctors are middle-class. I would consider a household income (with multiple salarys) under 100k lower class. You can make 40k a person in the service industry, that's not what I consider middle class.

No serious economist or sociologist would consider your statement any where near accurate.

Doctors are nowhere near middle class. With a $300k salary, in my city, you could buy a 10,000 square foot house and drive a Ferrari. Do you consider that a middle class lifestyle?

Even in NYC, a doctor can usually afford a luxury class apartment/condo, as long as they stay out of the upper east side. At the very best, in places like LA or NY, doctors are upper middle class.

You're confusing upper class with the High-net-worth individuals ($25m+ net worth), which is how most banks classify them.

Most doctors are well into the upper class in the country, except maybe the lower paid doctors like pediatricians and family medicine. But with time and some wise investments, even those doctors retire upper class.

 

[JMapleton]

A doctor is still middle-class, like it or not. Most doctors aren't influential enough to pull income outside of their office. They make a salary and pull in long hours. The responsibility is high and so the salary is high.

Most doctors live on a fraction of their income, investing the rest. I work in finance and I see people's bank accounts everyday. I see doctors putting $10k a month into their retirement accounts from their paycheck. Is this considered middle class activity?

 

[Fingolfin269]

Most doctors live on a fraction of their income, investing the rest. I work in finance and I see people's bank accounts everyday. I see doctors putting $10k a month into their retirement accounts from their paycheck. Is this considered middle class activity?

Not all doctors are middle class.

 

[sze5003]

Most doctors live on a fraction of their income, investing the rest. I work in finance and I see people's bank accounts everyday. I see doctors putting $10k a month into their retirement accounts from their paycheck. Is this considered middle class activity?

I agree I also work in the finance area and most doctors that invest at my company are considered high net worth clients. I program an advice platform where many of them fork over so much money and let the analytics and simulations of the software invest their money.

Of course there is little money in family medicine. Which is why my friend is specializing in surgery or emergency surgeon/medicine. He figures he will owe about 240-300k if not more in loans when he is done. But when you make 8-10k a month after taxes paying loans back at 2k a month isn't that bad. At least that's what he calculated his payments/salary would be.

 

[gorcorps]

Wrong thread

 

[Red Squirrel]

lol at 100k+ being considered middle class. Only on atot.

Doctors and lawyers here all live in the rich area, Mostly all half a mil and higher homes. That ain't middle class.

 

[Fingolfin269]

lol at 100k+ being considered middle class. Only on atot.

Doctors and lawyers here all live in the rich area, Mostly all half a mil and higher homes. That ain't middle class.

What would you consider to be middle class combined household income?

 

[FallenHero]

My wife and I plan and simply save. Takes some planning throughout the year to make sure we hit our saving plan, but its worth it not putting a dime on the credit card.

 

[Leros]

What would you consider to be middle class combined household income?

It varies so much by region. The house I live in would cost $100k in some places and $500k in other places. It's almost dumb to even try to have this argument online with people all over the world.