I am the squeezed middle class.

[Anonymous]

OP, in biomedical research, DH has an MD and a PhD, could work 80 hours a week and get paid less than $100K. He choose to work less and get paid EVEN less because he wants to see his children grow up. I stay home because my salary in the same field with a graduate degree barely covers daycare.

All I can think of when I read your post is that you are lucky your work hours are valued in this way.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are hilarious! On what planet is $255K "middle class" income?

BTW, private school doesn't cost $45K per child. Even if you send both children to the poshest school in DC, it still would "only" be $60K per year, leaving you $30K for the wonderful vacations you so richly deserve!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are hilarious! On what planet is $255K "middle class" income?

BTW, private school doesn't cost $45K per child. Even if you send both children to the poshest school in DC, it still would "only" be $60K per year, leaving you $30K for the wonderful vacations you so richly deserve!

I think the OP is talking about college, not high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even in DC this is not "common income." This is only common in your circle. You chose the career you have. You can choose to do something less demanding and have those holidays and weekends to yourself, but you can not blame other people who choose not to work as demanding a schedule. I imagine you still live a far grander lifestyle than most people, even if private school is such a stretch for you.

i think you are all missing the point of OPs message. She states that she works extremely long hours and her brother works the bare minimum. Yet, her brother expects that people like the OP to be taxed ridiculously so that people like her brother can work the bare minimum and receive finanical assistance for his children. Why should people like OP work such demanding hours and be required to pay for those who choose a less stressful lifestyle. What are the incentives for working such hours and educating oneself if you can barely enjoy the fruits of your labor. I would venture that with the hours OP is clocking she is not enjoying the fruits of her hardwork. Her taxes are allowing those less motivated to enjoy the fruits of her hard work.

According to the original post, the BIL is not talking about financial aid for his child, but social programs for the poor. I doubt the BIL considers himself "poor." As a PP mentioned, the BIL's kid would probably not get a free ride based on income anyway. I understand the larger point of working hard and paying more in taxes, but the reality is the OP lives a better material lifestyle than the majority of people out there. I would argue that the OP probably has a less fulfulling personal life with family, friends due to work hours, but again, that is a choice. I support the rich paying more in taxes. The rich have choices, the poor do not.

[Anonymous]

I have absolutely zero sympathy for OP. Like other PP's have said, you made a choice to have your career. Other people choose less demanding careers with less monetary compensation. I could not handle the OP's work schedule, plus a family, so kudos to her for managing all that, but to complain about being the squeezed middle class? Nope, sorry.

The squeezed middle class are worried about losing their jobs and homes, not about whether they can pay $90K a year to send their kids to private college. And also, with an income like that, you haven't been saving and investing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even in DC this is not "common income." This is only common in your circle. You chose the career you have. You can choose to do something less demanding and have those holidays and weekends to yourself, but you can not blame other people who choose not to work as demanding a schedule. I imagine you still live a far grander lifestyle than most people, even if private school is such a stretch for you.

i think you are all missing the point of OPs message. She states that she works extremely long hours and her brother works the bare minimum. Yet, her brother expects that people like the OP to be taxed ridiculously so that people like her brother can work the bare minimum and receive finanical assistance for his children. Why should people like OP work such demanding hours and be required to pay for those who choose a less stressful lifestyle. What are the incentives for working such hours and educating oneself if you can barely enjoy the fruits of your labor. I would venture that with the hours OP is clocking she is not enjoying the fruits of her hardwork. Her taxes are allowing those less motivated to enjoy the fruits of her hard work.[/quote]

According to the original post, the BIL is not talking about financial aid for his child, but social programs for the poor. I doubt the BIL considers himself "poor." As a PP mentioned, the BIL's kid would probably not get a free ride based on income anyway. I understand the larger point of working hard and paying more in taxes, but the reality is the OP lives a better material lifestyle than the majority of people out there. I would argue that the OP probably has a less fulfulling personal life with family, friends due to work hours, but again, that is a choice. I support the rich paying more in taxes. The rich have choices, the poor do not.

I agree with this and it is something that my husband says all the time. It is almost as if she is being penalized for working hard and making a lot of money and her BIL is being rewarded for slacking. I don't think the OP is talking about people who make a little money, but work very hard. It sounds to me like the OP is frustrated with how little her BIL works for a pretty decent salary and the fact that he may be rewarded for that when his child applies to college.

[Anonymous]

Don't think trolls save and invest much.

[Anonymous]

Echo PPs. You are making a CHOICE to send your kids to private school. You could save the $90K and send your kids to a good public and save more than enough for college. With your income, you could actually afford to live in a neighborhood with good public schools.

I think the OP was saying that the $90K is what it WOULD cost to send the 2 kids to private colleges, not that they're spending that NOW on private elementary (or middle or HS).

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry OP, but you should know by now that everyone hates rich people.

[Anonymous]

Why didn't OP save some money so she could affrord to send her kids to college on her meager $255K? Those of us that know we will not be able to pay for college out of pocket when the time comes are saving for that event.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry OP, but you should know by now that everyone hates rich people.

I don't hate rich people (I say that as someone who really is middle class). I just hate when people whine about it.

And hey, let's face it, some people have jobs where they make a decent salary but don't (appear) to work hard. So her BIL chose a 40 hour week, where he has weekends and holidays off? Good for him, he will likely never be rich (unless he saves and invests wisely), but it doesn't sound like that is his priority. And if his kid is able to get loans/grants/scholarships/financial aid? Well, that's what it's there for.

[Anonymous]

Private college times 2 IS 90K, at least. I think Wash U is 55K per year after all is said and done.

The take home on 255K is about 125K, that is after taxes and medicare are paid. Then there is retirement savings. It would mean that the income to live on would be less than 30K if tuition is paid. It is doable, that would have to cover all the bills and so on. Unless you have been making this much for a long time, you can't save a lot. But it is only for 4 years. More taxes are coming.

The equivalent income on 40 hours would be about 120-130 K. Few jobs at that income level allow for the 40 hour work week. Once you get above 100K expectations are that you work until the job is done.

[Anonymous]

Something seems off to me too... Gratitude.

Rejoice in your good fortune and give till it hurts!

If you are unhappy, change.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have about the same income as you and in NO WAY do I consider myself middle class. I am not quite sure how you figure that. I also agree with your BIL and think that we should be taxed and the money used towards more social programs. If you are concerned about being middle class and having enough to send your kids to private school/college...then perhaps you should truly live your life as a middle class person would...with little extravagance.

Most of my friends are middle class and they work their asses off. My friend who is a nurse is grossly under paid, yet she loves what she does and that is what is most important to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private college times 2 IS 90K, at least. I think Wash U is 55K per year after all is said and done.

The take home on 255K is about 125K, that is after taxes and medicare are paid. Then there is retirement savings. It would mean that the income to live on would be less than 30K if tuition is paid. It is doable, that would have to cover all the bills and so on. Unless you have been making this much for a long time, you can't save a lot. But it is only for 4 years. More taxes are coming.

The equivalent income on 40 hours would be about 120-130 K. Few jobs at that income level allow for the 40 hour work week. Once you get above 100K expectations are that you work until the job is done.

My parents sent 2 kids to private colleges on one fed salary and one part-time teacher's salary. They did it by living VERY frugally (although we never went without things we needed and had plenty of things we wanted) and investing. They NEVER had to live on a portion of their salary while we were in college, because those tuitions were paid through investments.

Yes, I realize the market has been crap. But if my parents could do it on income that now would be about equivalent to $100,000, someone ought to be able to manage on 2.5 times that. Oh, and while I mentioned the 2 kids, the third kid who went public on scholarship got his "tuition money" to buy a house. So essentially they sent 3 kids to private colleges.

I'm taking this thread way too personally, but I just can't stand the entitlement of the OP. Tons and tons and tons of people work hard, work as many hours a week, and don't make that kind of money.