6 figures used to be ‘you made it money’. Like if you were making $100k a year, you were decidedly upper class. Now this puts you probably right smack in the middle of middle class, especially if you have kids.
I’d say that ‘made it’ threshold is now probably around the $300k a year mark, if not higher.
Affording a house in California on $300k is challenging. Mortgages are $10k. Government will take half your income. Paying $10k/month for housing will take most of the rest.
Your biggest expenses as an adult tend to be kids(daycare/food/etc) then housing, so yeah its no suprise people making 60-70k who dont have to worry about those would be able to do real well.
And I presume you’re asking because maybe you’re suggesting I have a big house and fancy cars and spend my money wildly. I don’t. I live frugally., and I budget my money accordingly.
But my pay is stagnant (NC hasn’t passed a budget in a couple of years, so no pay raises for us state employees), my car and mortgage insurances are rising, as are grocery and gas prices. Kids are expensive, especially as they get older.
I also stopped buying Starbucks and eating avocado toast. I’m still waiting for those millions to pour in as a consequence. 🙄 /s
Well shit there you go, kids is the answer. You can’t say “I make over 100K a year and I’m barely scraping by” and then not mention you have done -the single most expensive thing you could have done-
100k is so more than enough. Is it enough to own a house and raise kids while the other spouse stays at home? Also yes, just less so.
Your take is delusional, my dude, and reeks of unacknowledged privilege.
This suggests that only the wealthy should be able to have kids, this is a pretty bad take.
There are plenty of lifestyle choices that can earn judgement, but having a kid or two should be a realistic option in life for people if we have a vaguely decent society.
I mean, people should be a little smarter about kids. There doesn’t need to be a law or anything of course, but I know way too many idiots that have 0 money and are having kids. I feel bad for them.
I enjoy my time and money and doing whatever I want, so none for me thanks.
No, I’m suggesting that it’s insanely expensive to raise kids in the United States, because it 100% is. It’s morally repugnant, ethically evil, and absolute bullshit, but it’s the truth.
Having kids in the US (as in multiple children), you need both parents working, or one partner making at least $100k per year.
Coming on here and pretending that 100k is barely enough for you is some performative bullshit, unless you give the full story. My wife doesn’t work, we have 3 kids, we live in a really nice part of town… etc. etc. These are hugely expensive and unnecessary things to do. Live in a worse house in a worse part of town while your wife works, and that income sets you up like a godamned king.
My cousins live in bumfuck kentucky, and raise children on FAR less. Go tell them you’re having such a hard time “scraping by” with your pitiful 100k+ salary 🙄
He never said anything about his wife, or if 100k is combined household income or that he lives in a really nice part of town.
As long as we are inventing circumstances, colud have an elder parent that needs a great deal of life care and medical care. Or they are otherwise trying to take care of poor relatives. Lot’s of circumstances can evaporate $100k despite very reasonable lifestyle choices.
As a coincidence, I also have some folks living on far less in the family. Their strategy is inherited housing. At least in my rural family, if not for inherited land they would be screwed. If they didn’t directly inherit land, they find a vaguely viable trailer and have it towed onto a cousin’s land and plug into their power, well, and septic. For one of the poorer cousins, their strategy for child rearing was “dump their kids on the wealthy cousin” (thankfully not me).
I just don’t think lamenting that a reasonably modest house for a family and indpendent living burns through $100k is “performative bullshit”.
Ehh, regional cost differences are crazy. It may be that to live within a reasonable distance of his job the cost of living far exceeds averages in the rest of the state. That 1500 sqft house might be $3500/month versus $1000 somewhere else. That extra 30k/yr cost makes 100k+ drop out of “luxury money” into “enough to live near I work” money, which is far from a windfall.
Unfortunately that’s not the same flex it used to be given our current economy. I get paid six figures and I’m scraping by.
There are too many zeros on those bills, and not enough coins.
6 figures used to be ‘you made it money’. Like if you were making $100k a year, you were decidedly upper class. Now this puts you probably right smack in the middle of middle class, especially if you have kids.
I’d say that ‘made it’ threshold is now probably around the $300k a year mark, if not higher.
Affording a house in California on $300k is challenging. Mortgages are $10k. Government will take half your income. Paying $10k/month for housing will take most of the rest.
Depends where you are and your housing situation. I know people with no kids who inherited houses and make $30-35/hour and live like kings.
Your biggest expenses as an adult tend to be kids(daycare/food/etc) then housing, so yeah its no suprise people making 60-70k who dont have to worry about those would be able to do real well.
Even then, location matters a hell of a lot for housing prices.
My 2b2b 1200sqft house in small town Texas cost me $110k in 2018, and the value really hasn’t changed a ton since (I think it’s up to 150 now).
At the time, a comparable house in Houston was at least twice that.
How big is your house?
1500 sqft.
And I presume you’re asking because maybe you’re suggesting I have a big house and fancy cars and spend my money wildly. I don’t. I live frugally., and I budget my money accordingly.
But my pay is stagnant (NC hasn’t passed a budget in a couple of years, so no pay raises for us state employees), my car and mortgage insurances are rising, as are grocery and gas prices. Kids are expensive, especially as they get older.
I also stopped buying Starbucks and eating avocado toast. I’m still waiting for those millions to pour in as a consequence. 🙄 /s
Well shit there you go, kids is the answer. You can’t say “I make over 100K a year and I’m barely scraping by” and then not mention you have done -the single most expensive thing you could have done-
100k is so more than enough. Is it enough to own a house and raise kids while the other spouse stays at home? Also yes, just less so.
Your take is delusional, my dude, and reeks of unacknowledged privilege.
This suggests that only the wealthy should be able to have kids, this is a pretty bad take.
There are plenty of lifestyle choices that can earn judgement, but having a kid or two should be a realistic option in life for people if we have a vaguely decent society.
I mean, people should be a little smarter about kids. There doesn’t need to be a law or anything of course, but I know way too many idiots that have 0 money and are having kids. I feel bad for them.
I enjoy my time and money and doing whatever I want, so none for me thanks.
No, I’m suggesting that it’s insanely expensive to raise kids in the United States, because it 100% is. It’s morally repugnant, ethically evil, and absolute bullshit, but it’s the truth.
Having kids in the US (as in multiple children), you need both parents working, or one partner making at least $100k per year.
Coming on here and pretending that 100k is barely enough for you is some performative bullshit, unless you give the full story. My wife doesn’t work, we have 3 kids, we live in a really nice part of town… etc. etc. These are hugely expensive and unnecessary things to do. Live in a worse house in a worse part of town while your wife works, and that income sets you up like a godamned king.
My cousins live in bumfuck kentucky, and raise children on FAR less. Go tell them you’re having such a hard time “scraping by” with your pitiful 100k+ salary 🙄
He never said anything about his wife, or if 100k is combined household income or that he lives in a really nice part of town.
As long as we are inventing circumstances, colud have an elder parent that needs a great deal of life care and medical care. Or they are otherwise trying to take care of poor relatives. Lot’s of circumstances can evaporate $100k despite very reasonable lifestyle choices.
As a coincidence, I also have some folks living on far less in the family. Their strategy is inherited housing. At least in my rural family, if not for inherited land they would be screwed. If they didn’t directly inherit land, they find a vaguely viable trailer and have it towed onto a cousin’s land and plug into their power, well, and septic. For one of the poorer cousins, their strategy for child rearing was “dump their kids on the wealthy cousin” (thankfully not me).
I just don’t think lamenting that a reasonably modest house for a family and indpendent living burns through $100k is “performative bullshit”.
Ehh, regional cost differences are crazy. It may be that to live within a reasonable distance of his job the cost of living far exceeds averages in the rest of the state. That 1500 sqft house might be $3500/month versus $1000 somewhere else. That extra 30k/yr cost makes 100k+ drop out of “luxury money” into “enough to live near I work” money, which is far from a windfall.
You got me. You know everything about my life, and how privileged I am from two comments. Good job.
~Go touch grass.~
same. CT prices. My past does involve misspending as a way to “fix” depression. So i’m working on THAT but yeah. Trim.