govt can print or borrow unlimited monies what do u expectYou would be a fool to NOT work for the government today if you're an average Joe. Everyone I know who has a government job has great benefits and makes $100,000 a year with overtime.
This was not true before but today? Three month training courses and $65,000 starting salaries? They were hiring at my local police station for as high as $6000 a month starting. When I was in LA they police officers made as much as $90,000. None of that with overtime.
I see the Rich Republicans in here blaming Obama.
What exactly did he personally do to cause this?
Nothing is impossible, FDR moved fucking mountians and he was an elite. Obama is just bought and sold like a good house ni**er
Not for a household. That's only 65k each.
Not for a household. That's only 65k each.
That's more than twice the median household income.
n May, AAA estimated it would cost $11,039 a year to own one four-wheel-drive sport-utility vehicle.
This is such a first world problem article. 17,000(~1500\month) in extras. Car payments\costs ~1k\month. Food at over 1K\month. A fully invested 401k at 17,500.
I can say this is truely an American "dream". And yes most people cant afford it for the very reason it is a dream.
and why is it wrong? current president should shoulder all of the blame for that which happens while they are in office no?
properly funding you are savings accounts is very expensive. That's how the baby boomers ended up having the historically high wealth as a generation, yet ended up having very little for retirement savings.
Nitpicking gets beyond the point.
Food? You're absolutely right you can lower that budget however most people are not cooking with raw ingredients every day, are not just eating rice and chicken, are eating out, and are spending a fair penny on it. A grand for 4 people is not that far off the mark if you're either cooking expensive and good ingredients or are eating lots of processed foods. Generally that's where most of us are. Take a couple hundred bucks off but that's not that big of a deal.
Most people are also not getting the best insurance rates. Remember insurance rates are dependent on your FICO score and most of America took a beating these last few years. Gas prices fluctuate by as much as 10% depending on where you live. Maybe more.
Raising children has got to be the biggest slap in the face. Holy crap has that gotten expensive. Unless of course you're not going to pay for their education and are wealthy enough to not need daycare since one of you is a stay at home parent. When you add up how much money you need to get through the pregnancy, maternity leave, day care, education, and so on it is a financial nightmare. Who is in love with paying $800 a month for part time daycare? Not me. Your kid get into a car accident? Grats your insurance just rose by a fortune. Everyone I know has a kid that wrecked a car unfortunately.
The American dream is dead. I'm in the top percentiles but even I recognize that. What we have done as a country is unsustainable and as salaries get lower, costs get higher, and bubble after bubble keeps appearing the middle class is getting hammered out of existence.
So where do my GF and I fall?
Combined income just above 80k gross.
We just bought a 250k house.
She put herself though school.
I am putting myself through school.
I am 27 she is 25.
We live a very comfortable life. If I am not middle class, then I can't wait to get there because life is good.
Neither of us come from wealthy families but we both live better than our parents. I know that I could not live this life without someone splitting the bills, but I'm not even considered middle class and life is good.
It's interesting, I'm going to assume you put down more than 20% on the home? If not then I'd say the not being middle class would be realized when you start adding kids, home repairs/upgrades, new car purchases on top of your current mortgage payment. At 20% down you are probably paying 1,600-1,700 a month on the payment. That's not exactly leaving a lot of wiggle room for vacations, children, home repairs etc.. Not to mention savings on top of everything.
I gross more than that and I'm comfortable with your payment but even then I wouldn't be living the same lifestyle if I had children to pay for on top of it all.
You are very much middle class. In fact, you're on the upper end of the spectrum. Average household income is around lower fifties. I earn that and as a single earner family we live just fine. Our house is paid off, our cars are paid off (even one 4x4 SUV, although a four seater Chevy Tracker convertible might not qualify), my motorcycle is paid off, in fact we don't owe anyone anything and we live pretty well. I'm living the American dream; you are living the American dream. Those who believe they need $130k per year to live the American dream are either in very expensive areas or suffer from stupidity or bad luck.So where do my GF and I fall?
Combined income just above 80k gross.
We just bought a 250k house.
She put herself though school.
I am putting myself through school.
I am 27 she is 25.
We live a very comfortable life. If I am not middle class, then I can't wait to get there because life is good.
Neither of us come from wealthy families but we both live better than our parents. I know that I could not live this life without someone splitting the bills, but I'm not even considered middle class and life is good.