What do you suppose the Salary is for middle class? (1 Viewer)

[andrew markworthy]

Another Brit-American difference. You would never find well-brought up Brits discussing how much they earn. Height of bad form, old boy, don't you know. The reason isn't primarily reluctance to boast (though that's part of it - the legendary Brit reserve) but a fear that by talking about salaries you may embarrass someone into admitting that they earn less than you supposed.

I should perhaps add that I'm not defending the Brit obsession with class - I find it tedious and oppressive. I judge people by what they say and do, not whether they've got the 'right' job or accent (remember that accent is a major class identifier in the UK, far more than in the USA). However, the trouble is that we all have a tendency to gravitate towards people with similar behaviour and attitudes, and in somewhere as stratified as the UK that almost inevitably means that most of my friends are middle class.

 

[MarkHastings]

I wish my brother understoof this Whenever he sees my nice car, he says something like "It must be nice to afford a car like that" yet he doesn't see the fact that I haven't been outside my state (for vacation) in over 3 years, whereas he goes to Vegas and Florida at least 2 twice a year.

I commute 100 miles per day, so I've invested money into my car, so I balence that out by saving cash in other areas like not going on vacation.

And I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but those who have great HT setups also save money by not going to the movies (or out in general). Instead of going to the bars and drinking my money away, I stay home watching movies, which help me save up to buy DVD's and nice equipment.

 

[Law]

I guess since I'm new to this financial responsibility thing (I'm 26 and never really thought about it before), I'll jump in.

I'm a graphic designer and my fiancee is in medical research. Combined we make about $70,000 a year, we just bought our first house with $10,000 down, and our 99 Protege is completly paid off.

Our monthly bills including the mortgage payment usually total about $2100, which is fine, that's less then half our monthly net, but what bugs me is I still think about money a lot of the time. The first thing I learned about being a home owner is there is ALWAYS something I didn't plan for. Things like, last month I had to buy a vacuum for like, $150 or so, and I thought, well, I'll have more cash next month cause, how many vacuums will I need? Turns out, only one, but this month I need a damn lawnmower and next month it will be something else.

Makes it tough to get that bike, or new kitchen counter tops, or new hardwood floors (I had the HT completed before the fiancee was in the picture).

I guess my advice is, before you buy a house, make sure you think about all the little expenses that go with it because they bite you in the ass.

 

[DustinLC]

Are you guys really the same HTF folks that own all those expensive equipments and seem to be buying all those TV boxed set ?

All these years I've been on the forum, I thought I was one of the poorest with the exception of those college students that tell us they're still in school.

So what am I:

Household income 140K/year

Each month after all the necessary expenses (4K), we have 2.5K to toy around or save. Yet, owning a 10K FP or a plasma tv is something I don't think I can afford to spend money on.

My wife and I are in the early 30's and we have a 1.5yr old child. I consider us middle class. If I was in the upper class, I could by what some of you own .

 

[MickeS]

It's all about different priorities. You can certainly afford a 10K plasma TV with your $30,000 dollars spending money that you have this year, but that would cut into other spending. Different choices, that's all.

/Mike

 

[Ricardo C]

As someone who's been mulling over the idea of migrating to North America, this thread has been a real eye-opener.

And hey, the tips for living well on a "low" yearly income were great too Especially considering some of the people I've consulted regarding this matter have told me I can't possibly expect to afford a middle class lifestyle while making less than $50k a year. Nice to see it isn't necessarily true.

ps-- LaMarcus, have you looked into CRT projectors? Buying one used (and thus saving thousands over the cost of a new digital PJ) could really help your HT budget. Over at AVS, this one guy took a spare room in his home and remade it as a dedicated HT. He spent under four grand, including speakers, seating, carpeting, etc. No Berklines with that budget, but a very nice theater nonetheless. I'll try to find the thread, it's a goldmine of ideas for those of us trying to build a dream HT on a budget.

EDIT: Here it is. The ultimate theater on a budget

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Dan, I know exactly what you are talking about. I graduated from K-State in December and just received a 6th grade science position. With being an assistant basketball coach, I will make a little under $32,000. To me, that is a TON of money. The most I've ever made in a year is ~$7000. I am do have school loans and more credit card debt than I should, but it won't take long to pay it off if I continue to live like I have for the past 8 months. I spend about $20/week on groceries, never buy new clothes, haven't bought a DVD in over 6 months, and stay in my apartment as much as I possibly can. After living like this, I know I can continue that and be able to pay off my loans/cc within two years, while still saving for our honeymoon.

The good thing is that my fiance, when she graduates from Occupational Therapy school, will start out making at least $40,000. $70,000 if she wants to work in a nursing home. In other words, she's my suga-momma!

 

[Brad Porter]

Here's a few quotes from a Washington Times article from last November:


I've always been convinced that a large portion of the lower portion of the distribution is populated by part-time workers who are working their way through college. By their income alone, they are poor, but it is not a condition of long-term poverty.

Brad

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Holy Shit I'm poor!

Guess I shouldn't have just paid $600 for an SVS.

 

[andrew markworthy]

But the median is 42k? Isn't there rather a skewed distribution here? [Apologies if I've got the wrong end of the stick here, I'm in a bit of a rush].

 

[Todd Hochard]

Holadem- your "rim" comment reminded of the latest Chris Rock special on HBO.

That's exactly right. I often say to people "I don't have any money" when asked to do things (eat out for the 3rd time this week, take a spur-of-the-moment cruise, etc). I once made the mistake of leaving my Quicken open when I let a family friend burn a CD (for archival purposes, of course ). She says, "WTF, you're broke alright.:rolleyes" So, now I say, "I don't have any money... for THAT."

One thing I see here, is how we tend to seemingly value high income over high net worth, here in the US. A showy lifestyle, with the biggest house, the most expensive car, the "trophiest" vacation, the best private school education, etc. Most seemingly would choose this over making a more modest income (with fewer hours worked) and having a substantial savings in the bank. I used to fall into the former. Somewhere in the last ten years I eased over to the latter, intentionally so. I'm glad I did, for now while I occasionally worry about whether I'm doing the right thing with my savings, I don't worry about having enough.

Some of you may want to read "The Millionaire Next Door."

Todd

P.S. I have the Home Theater, and the old car hobby. Double trouble.

 

[LaMarcus]

Well I'll put it like this when me and my g/f were both working at the same time, grossing about 75k a year. I thought life was really good. We bought what ever we and always had a couple thousand in the bank. But now since she's going to school full time (not working). Life is ok, but the spending money how every you want has ceased and money in the bank is under a grand. SO, I feel at 70+k a year(house hold) in my area is very nice and livable.

 

[BrianB]

A great suggestion.

 

[Brad Porter]

Possible explanations:
1. The "family" definition in the first quote is not equal to the "household" definition in the second quote.
2. The distributions in the first quote are not from the same time period as the value in the second quote.
3. The person who wrote the article confused median with mean.
4. 10% of the population is making between $40k and $42k per year. We could definitely call these people the "middle class". This is probably not the correct explanation.

Brad

 

[Z28]

Dude you are exactly right on people thinking all they have to pay is 20 bucks a month. Are people seriously that dumb or do they not care about the future. It seems to me most people don't look ahead.

I just bought my second car at 22 and paid cash for $9,800 and I only make about 15k a year. I use to make about 24k a year and I could seriously had a house by now, a really nice one on a lake. I guess I'm really materialistic and I have to have nice things, so I save and save and then I save more. I guess that's how I get by. To me it's not fair that you guys make 80k a year. I know you pay more for housing, but say a car or a tv is so much cheaper for you guys. The prices for consumer goods is about the same for everyone. Anyone else notice this? You can buy a c6 z06 vette in a year easy, I'd have to save up for one of those for like 8-9 years.

 

[Mike Heenan]

You should get a different job that pays more or another job to add more income then...

I used to have huge credit card debt, nearly $30K (mostly due to the expensive hobby of film collecting) and lived with my parents past the normal age of leaving. So by not having to pay rent, no kids, etc, I just got further and further in debt. Then about 3 years ago I discovered I love travelling alot after my first Europe trip, so I decided to start saving up for a round the world trip. I got totally serious in a selling mode on ebay and with a little extra work managed to pay off that debt and now have enough for my trip. It'll mean quitting my jobs but there'll always be something around when I get back.

 

[PhillJones]

As somebody caught right at the sharp end of the middle class squeeze. Where fixed outgoings which are rent, healthcare and childcare eat up the vast majority of our combined income, we stay well clear of credit cards. It's just too dangerous.

I too am in need of a better paying job. This academic researcher malarky is only just putting food on the table.

 

[jss8422]

Academic-related jobs (i.e. teaching, subbing, professorial, etc.) are some of the most under-payed jobs out there. Kind of ridiculous.

 

[JonZ]

When I was growing up, I always thought 60 and up was upper class.

I make more than my parents combined when they raised me and I have to live with my brother to get by.


My mother remarried someone with a plumbing business. He made about 80k a year and people(my friends and most of their families) thought he was rich.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

A single wide in California didn't used to cost $450,000 either.