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Post by Merge on May 17, 2017 22:55:32 GMT
We farm and ranch. Medium size family farm. Just DH and I. My expense totals last year for the farm (not personal stuff - just farm and livestock expense) was just under 1,040,000. That's one million forty thousand. Give or take a bit. That is how much we had to spend to keep farming and running cattle. Makes you kind of shit your britches. There is no guarantee of profit, but we did come out in the black. So 500K wouldn't even get our crop in the ground. Yeah, but you're running a business, not just living your life on that amount.
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Post by tracyarts on May 17, 2017 23:55:18 GMT
I can't bring myself to read the story, it would be too depressing. The answer would be yes! One time there was a thread where a pea said they felt bad for people who make a certain amount of money a year. That's what my husband makes. I thought we were doing okay. I know. Someone described us as "low income". We're right at the median household income for our county. There are literally millions of households earning less than us in the area. We're firmly in the middle class demographic. Middle class is the new poor I guess. But when you measure our middle class lifestyle against the typical blogosphere middle class lifestyle, we really are just one step above HUD housing and food stamps.
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Post by refugeepea on May 18, 2017 1:01:59 GMT
Middle class is the new poor I guess. But when you measure our middle class lifestyle against the typical blogosphere middle class lifestyle, we really are just one step above HUD housing and food stamps. It's hard to know what to go by. According to this link, I am middle class, BUT I don't think so if I lived in an urban area. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/05/11/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/Yeah, the blogosphere is a weird thing. It seems like the popular "middle class" get lots of free deals to promote though.
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kate
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,533
Location: The city that doesn't sleep
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 3:30:05 GMT
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Post by kate on May 18, 2017 1:44:58 GMT
I agree - they are NOT just getting by. They are paying for all of their needs AND WANTS (vacations, lessons, charitable giving, and that 10k slush fund?!) AND they have 7500 left over. What more do you want? I applaud them for living within their means - not everyone does, especially here in NYC.
If they want to start college funds, they can start with the $7500, and add in whatever's left from the slush fund at the end of the year.
I get the car thing. I have friends who drive instead of take the train because they have dumb commutes - one friend can get to work on public transport (2 trains and a bus), but it takes an hour. She can drive it in 20 minutes. Her partner has a car because work is in another borough. DH has a car (a beater). His mom lives in assisted living outside the city, and we consider it necessary that he be able to get to her.
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Post by ~summer~ on May 18, 2017 1:58:46 GMT
Nothing seems unreasonable - I think most people in that situation skip the fancy cars (now a days why do you need a fancy car other than brand status? Seems all cars are so nice now - not like it was 20 years ago) and 3 fancy vacations if you were still paying off loans.
Food to me seems totally reasonable.
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Post by megop on May 18, 2017 2:08:26 GMT
Lose the 401K contributions temporarily and pay off or get rid of one or both cars. My experience in NYC has been cars are a huge pain in booty anyway.
Take savings of that approx $45,000 (will need transportation expense if no car) and reduce vacations by $6,000. Place $51,000 + current $32,000 toward student debt which based on 10 year loan would be resolved in approx a little more than 4 years.
Sorry, with a BMW, Land Cruiser, three vacas a year, I'm thinking they are living a lifestyle they expect and not what their budget allows.
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zella
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,884
Jul 7, 2014 19:36:30 GMT
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Post by zella on May 18, 2017 2:11:30 GMT
I saw nothing on there for healthcare; did I miss it?
My dh doesn't make anywhere near this, but we are in the top 5% and while we don't struggle, we don't have that much extra each month. It costs a lot to live in the Seattle area.
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 26, 2014 18:51:17 GMT
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Post by perumbula on May 18, 2017 2:14:26 GMT
I choked at their need to spend $9600 on clothing. Sorry. That's completely and utterly ridiculous. If you can spend that much on clothes you aren't just getting by. Yes, lawyers need nice suits to impress people, but they don't need a new suit every month. And I wonder what "no fancy bags, shoes, etc." means to them? To me a $100 bag is fancy. I'm thinking to this family Kate Spade is slumming it. Don't get me started on 18K a year for vacations. My husband and I have been married for over 20 years and we haven't spent 18k on vacations total for our entire marriage honeymoon included. Yeah. poor babies.
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huskergal
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 25, 2014 20:22:13 GMT
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Post by huskergal on May 18, 2017 2:29:37 GMT
I don't know how they are considered to be just getting by. As others said, they have a slush fund and money left over. They take 3 expensive vacations a year. They can easily cut expenses with vacations and the cars they choose to drive.
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Post by scrapmaven on May 18, 2017 2:33:00 GMT
Oh, poor poor them. Really? 3 vacations per year, luxury cars, childrens mega activities? I think we're a bit entitled and not nearly grateful enough. I can't stand when people who have plenty complain that they're poor. Budget more and whine less.
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 26, 2014 0:30:34 GMT
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Post by finaledition on May 18, 2017 3:16:05 GMT
They made some poor choices up front-2 expensive cars and an expensive home Kind of stuck with the vehicles without losing a lot of money. Also, living in a very expensive area myself is I'm finding friends who wish to downsize, but housing prices have increased so much that they would have the same mortgage so it's not worth it.
Also, with their monthly expenses (which I find high, particularly food) they should be charging those on a card that should be able to contribute to mileage for flights or points for hotels. We like to travel ourselves, but not every vacation needs to be expensive to be nice-they can rent a cozy cabin and have a nice enough vacation.
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Post by betty on May 18, 2017 3:43:48 GMT
I saw nothing on there for healthcare; did I miss it? I was just about to post the same thing. Because of Obamacare increases we now pay more for insurance/healthcare than we do mortgage each year and we make nothing close to their income. There doesn't seem to be any mention of health insurance or medical costs in their list. That family isn't scraping by. They are keeping up with the Jones.
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scorpeao
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Posts: 4,521
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Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on May 21, 2017 15:02:09 GMT
My friend lived in NYC and she and her husband made combined $120k year. Their apartment was 800 sq, they didn't have a car, and they had one child for whom they hired a nanny. They got by just fine. Sorry, these people could do it they just don't want the lifestyle that comes with ACTUALLY scraping by.
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Post by anxiousmom on May 21, 2017 16:37:35 GMT
You know, here is the thing.
Sure, I know that because their income levels are such that they have different spending priorities than I do. I get that. I really do and there are rarely times in my life that I feel judgement-I am reasonably happy with my lot in life and don't spend a whole lot of energy being jealous about what I don't have...
...but for the here and now? My gross pay is 1/25 their gross pay. Literally ONE TWENTY-FIFTH. My annual gross pay is only a sneeze more than what they pay annually for food. Sure, I made different life choices and my current income is the result of those choices but damn. It is difficult for me to put myself in their position to claim that they are barely scraping by. I would challenge them to consider that if they would like to see what life is like in the 'barely scraping by' category, come walk in my shoes for a while. Perhaps it would help them with some perspective.
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