Being lower middle class and living well

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there is something to be said for living within your means and being appreciative for what you have, but OP is living like most of us did in our early to mid 20s.

I got married at 28, bought a house at 29, and will be 30 when my first baby is born in a few months. Instead of a third tier law school, I went to a top 25 law school with no loans thanks to a good GPA and high LSAT. Now I can afford a decent lifestyle, have money for savings, and can invest in the stock market. I don't know if she posted her age, but I'm guessing she's around the same age as me, maybe a couple years younger. Good for her for living within her means, but I can't say I'm inspired by her life choices.

If she's not working at a prestigious nonprofit and/or doesn't have a way to lateral into a higher paying job, I don't know that she's doing that well since plenty of people without law degrees make more than her.

This post started out well but ends so disappointingly, as it concludes that making more than someone else is doing better than them.

OP, 'tis folly to be so confident about the future and things you know little about - life with real stress and responsibilities (caring for children or your elderly parents) apart from choosing what's on netflix and which dirty dozen produce to avoid. Best to keep your head down, keep doing what you're doing, and avoid the fatal flow of over-confidence and judgment. As the quoted PP says, many of us spent our 20s living as you did.

[Anonymous]

What are your billable requirements? What kind of work do you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, most of the people who complain on this form about struggling on a middle class salary are families with kids.

The cost of healthcare for a family is more than a single person.

Add in daycare, college savings, buying things like diapers/stroller/crib set, etc. If you can't breast feed, formula is crazy $$. It costs a lot to live in a good school zone and you're not going to be in group housing. Oh and if you need to take any unpaid maternity leave, that will cost. Don't forget about upping your life insurance and possibly some disability insurance.

Oh and pray that you, DH, and your kids don't become ill with cancer or something awful. A lot of bankruptcies in this country are due to medical catastrophes.

It's great to live frugally, but I don't think you can judge families who are finding it tough to stay in the middle class here. You are judging something you have no experience with ... most middle class families I know are not blowing all their money on things like expensive vacations and steak dinners.

Exactly. OP, you have no clue what life is truly like for middle class families, which are most of the people on this forum.

[Anonymous]

$600/month is exactly what I paid when my son was a baby/toddler (so that was 2005-2008). He is 9 yrs old now. This was a licensed in home daycare. I rent a basement apartment is a nice area in Montgomery County. Don't say it can't be done when people are doing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is something to be said for living within your means and being appreciative for what you have, but OP is living like most of us did in our early to mid 20s.

I got married at 28, bought a house at 29, and will be 30 when my first baby is born in a few months. Instead of a third tier law school, I went to a top 25 law school with no loans thanks to a good GPA and high LSAT. Now I can afford a decent lifestyle, have money for savings, and can invest in the stock market. I don't know if she posted her age, but I'm guessing she's around the same age as me, maybe a couple years younger. Good for her for living within her means, but I can't say I'm inspired by her life choices.

If she's not working at a prestigious nonprofit and/or doesn't have a way to lateral into a higher paying job, I don't know that she's doing that well since plenty of people without law degrees make more than her.

This post started out well but ends so disappointingly, as it concludes that making more than someone else is doing better than them.

OP, 'tis folly to be so confident about the future and things you know little about - life with real stress and responsibilities (caring for children or your elderly parents) apart from choosing what's on netflix and which dirty dozen produce to avoid. Best to keep your head down, keep doing what you're doing, and avoid the fatal flow of over-confidence and judgment. As the quoted PP says, many of us spent our 20s living as you did.

I'm the PP. I wasn't trying to say that making more money means you're doing better than others. Just that OP seems rather cocky about how wonderful her life choices are and I have to question whether going to law school, which in itself is a 3 year loss of income, was a great choice considering people without law degrees can make more money.

FWIW, she has made her life choices and has to live within her means like all of us do. So I really don't get the point of this post and the people patting her on the back for doing what most of us had to do early on in our careers. And like you said, over confidence is not a great thing for her right now, especially when she's young and has not yet been faced with any family, financial, or health hardships yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$600/month is exactly what I paid when my son was a baby/toddler (so that was 2005-2008). He is 9 yrs old now. This was a licensed in home daycare. I rent a basement apartment is a nice area in Montgomery County. Don't say it can't be done when people are doing it.

I live next door to a licensed in-home daycare in an outside the beltway neighborhood that charges $1,400/month. The next cheapest daycare for infants I have found is church run and costs $1,300/month. Childcare costs have gone up a ton since 2008. And a lot of us would like to have more than one child, so we could not make having a family work on your salary.

It's great that you've managed to make things work for you with that salary, but the average family that wants to own a home and have more than one child could not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$600/month is exactly what I paid when my son was a baby/toddler (so that was 2005-2008). He is 9 yrs old now. This was a licensed in home daycare. I rent a basement apartment is a nice area in Montgomery County. Don't say it can't be done when people are doing it.

I live next door to a licensed in-home daycare in an outside the beltway neighborhood that charges $1,400/month. The next cheapest daycare for infants I have found is church run and costs $1,300/month. Childcare costs have gone up a ton since 2008. And a lot of us would like to have more than one child, so we could not make having a family work on your salary.

It's great that you've managed to make things work for you with that salary, but the average family that wants to own a home and have more than one child could not.

Right. She isn't planning on having a child on her salary! She said she isn't having children yet. I assume she will have a husband and not be a single mom at her age!! Do you not get they will have two salaries which will be combined when and if they marry? And that they should make more money over time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$600/month is exactly what I paid when my son was a baby/toddler (so that was 2005-2008). He is 9 yrs old now. This was a licensed in home daycare. I rent a basement apartment is a nice area in Montgomery County. Don't say it can't be done when people are doing it.

I live next door to a licensed in-home daycare in an outside the beltway neighborhood that charges $1,400/month. The next cheapest daycare for infants I have found is church run and costs $1,300/month. Childcare costs have gone up a ton since 2008. And a lot of us would like to have more than one child, so we could not make having a family work on your salary.

It's great that you've managed to make things work for you with that salary, but the average family that wants to own a home and have more than one child could not.

Right. She isn't planning on having a child on her salary! She said she isn't having children yet. I assume she will have a husband and not be a single mom at her age!! Do you not get they will have two salaries which will be combined when and if they marry? And that they should make more money over time?

Actually she's saying she doesn't understand why families complain when she, as a single woman living with 4 roommates, is doing just fine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$600/month is exactly what I paid when my son was a baby/toddler (so that was 2005-2008). He is 9 yrs old now. This was a licensed in home daycare. I rent a basement apartment is a nice area in Montgomery County. Don't say it can't be done when people are doing it.

Also the basement apartment was likely illegal and it is possible to lose custody for not providing a livable space for a child. So, sure, it's possible and it's possible for a child to be taken away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$600/month is exactly what I paid when my son was a baby/toddler (so that was 2005-2008). He is 9 yrs old now. This was a licensed in home daycare. I rent a basement apartment is a nice area in Montgomery County. Don't say it can't be done when people are doing it.

I live next door to a licensed in-home daycare in an outside the beltway neighborhood that charges $1,400/month. The next cheapest daycare for infants I have found is church run and costs $1,300/month. Childcare costs have gone up a ton since 2008. And a lot of us would like to have more than one child, so we could not make having a family work on your salary.

It's great that you've managed to make things work for you with that salary, but the average family that wants to own a home and have more than one child could not.

Right. She isn't planning on having a child on her salary! She said she isn't having children yet. I assume she will have a husband and not be a single mom at her age!! Do you not get they will have two salaries which will be combined when and if they marry? And that they should make more money over time?

Actually she's saying she doesn't understand why families complain when she, as a single woman living with 4 roommates, is doing just fine!

+1, yes that was exactly what I got out of it. Apples to oranges

[Anonymous]

Glad you are living your dream but you are unnecessarily smug- I, for one, wouldn't want your lifestyle. I can't imagine having FOUR roommates. So live your life, but don't assume anyone wants to emulate it.
And btw, HTC is a smartphone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$600/month is exactly what I paid when my son was a baby/toddler (so that was 2005-2008). He is 9 yrs old now. This was a licensed in home daycare. I rent a basement apartment is a nice area in Montgomery County. Don't say it can't be done when people are doing it.

I live next door to a licensed in-home daycare in an outside the beltway neighborhood that charges $1,400/month. The next cheapest daycare for infants I have found is church run and costs $1,300/month. Childcare costs have gone up a ton since 2008. And a lot of us would like to have more than one child, so we could not make having a family work on your salary.

It's great that you've managed to make things work for you with that salary, but the average family that wants to own a home and have more than one child could not.

Right. She isn't planning on having a child on her salary! She said she isn't having children yet. I assume she will have a husband and not be a single mom at her age!! Do you not get they will have two salaries which will be combined when and if they marry? And that they should make more money over time?

Seriously bff Internet defender, do you wear a cape and have super powers besides jumping to OP's defense with lots of exclamation marks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$600/month is exactly what I paid when my son was a baby/toddler (so that was 2005-2008). He is 9 yrs old now. This was a licensed in home daycare. I rent a basement apartment is a nice area in Montgomery County. Don't say it can't be done when people are doing it.

I live next door to a licensed in-home daycare in an outside the beltway neighborhood that charges $1,400/month. The next cheapest daycare for infants I have found is church run and costs $1,300/month. Childcare costs have gone up a ton since 2008. And a lot of us would like to have more than one child, so we could not make having a family work on your salary.

It's great that you've managed to make things work for you with that salary, but the average family that wants to own a home and have more than one child could not.

Right. She isn't planning on having a child on her salary! She said she isn't having children yet. I assume she will have a husband and not be a single mom at her age!! Do you not get they will have two salaries which will be combined when and if they marry? And that they should make more money over time?

Seriously bff Internet defender, do you wear a cape and have super powers besides jumping to OP's defense with lots of exclamation marks?

No cape. When I'm not busy as a bff internet defender, I'm focusing on my job which pulls in close to 200k (no student loans or kids!) And keeping my husband satisfied.

[Anonymous]

^^^ get a cape, your husband will love it. Your welcome

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ get a cape, your husband will love it. Your welcome

It is you're not your.