Solidly middle-class people, please come in!

[Anonymous]

83K take home pay 2 FT Working parents with one kid and we take care of an elderly parent as well. Our income deductions include health and life insurances, FSA for daycare and FSA for healthcare, max retirement and pension. My retirement is paid out yearly in a large sum which gets invested. FSA fund reimbursement is directed into the savings account so at the end of the year its a minimum 7500 in savings per year.

Just bought our first house a year ago. We have one paid off car and will be paying off the second car this year. We will drive them into the dirt.

Combined we pay:
- $1020 student loans per month ($715 is private so not a huge savings during the pandemic)
- 1100 for FT preschool (currently 980 due to 3/5 time)
- our mortgage is uncomfortable at 2500 but we had to buy a house with a first floor bedroom and full bathroom in a very specific area due to our jobs being at opposite ends of DMV ( think N Va and Columbia)

That leaves 2200 for:
food and household goods (800-1000 per month)
gas (200 pre-pandemic, now its 50-75)
car payment 200/mo
car insurance (200/mo)
utilities (avg 375/mo for water, TV, Internet, gas, electric)
cat and dog food/vet/meds (100/mo)
cell phone 60/mo

So 1800-2100 per month with 100-300 remaining for additional savings and clothing/shoes/gifts/etc. We cut our own hair. We buy stuff on sale only. Groceries are expensive because we have 2 dietary limitations (ex. 1 person is celiac and the other allergic to dairy). We only have one personal computer, no Iphone just $150 Samsung phones, we have a mini-gym at home (squat rack, kettlebells, peloton app membership), I buy most toys 2nd hand. The decrease in daycare cost, student loan payments and gas have given a bit more breathing room but some of that is offset by additional utility cost since we have 3 adults home FT.

Income should increase by 600/mo this year which is additional breathing room due to grade increase. We apply for student loan credits from MD to assist with student loan payments. Our tax returns usually go towards saving or in this year, finish paying off the HVAC (0%) and windows/insulation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Up until a few years ago, we were a family of 6 with a HHI of $150ish living in the burbs with two working parents. Now our HHI is $250ish. Same house out in the burbs. Same public schools. Not much has changed aside from feeling like we have more breathing room.

It’s very expensive in MoCo.

I wish we had more money to update our home and travel more.

The issue is 4 kids.

The sense of entitlement I have seen in complaining people with 3-4 kids is unbelievable,

?

I’m the poster with 4 kids.

Where did I complain or show entitlement?

And, I don’t think 4 kids is “a problem.”

We didn’t really have childcare costs (thanks to the grandparents providing it), so we went for a 4th.

Adding a fourth really didn’t increase day to day costs. The real cost is down the road for college.

According to dcum, my HHI is the “problem.” So many posters kvetch about $250k+ salaries with just 2 kids.

Lastly, we’re lucky. Our mortgage is only $2k for a 5 bedroom colonial in the burbs (mostly due to timing when we traded up from our starter home).

The post is for real middle class. You make at least 2-3 times as much as a middle class person and a middle class person cannot afford a $2K 5 bedroom house.

?

Was I MC when our HHI was $150k with 4 kids?

You say real MC people can’t afford a $2k mortgage on a 5 bedroom colonial. Well, we did...and our HHI when we traded up was more like $140.

Real MC are making 1/2 of your income and it would be a tight stretch to have a $2K mortgage plus utilities and other house expense on $85K.

[Anonymous]

According to the Pew calculator that determines MC vs UC using your income, location and # of family members, $150 for a family of 6 in MoCo is MC. $250 is UC.

Everyone should use the Pew calculator instead of just guessing/assuming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:83K take home pay 2 FT Working parents with one kid and we take care of an elderly parent as well. Our income deductions include health and life insurances, FSA for daycare and FSA for healthcare, max retirement and pension. My retirement is paid out yearly in a large sum which gets invested. FSA fund reimbursement is directed into the savings account so at the end of the year its a minimum 7500 in savings per year.

Just bought our first house a year ago. We have one paid off car and will be paying off the second car this year. We will drive them into the dirt.

Combined we pay:
- $1020 student loans per month ($715 is private so not a huge savings during the pandemic)
- 1100 for FT preschool (currently 980 due to 3/5 time)
- our mortgage is uncomfortable at 2500 but we had to buy a house with a first floor bedroom and full bathroom in a very specific area due to our jobs being at opposite ends of DMV ( think N Va and Columbia)

That leaves 2200 for:
food and household goods (800-1000 per month)
gas (200 pre-pandemic, now its 50-75)
car payment 200/mo
car insurance (200/mo)
utilities (avg 375/mo for water, TV, Internet, gas, electric)
cat and dog food/vet/meds (100/mo)
cell phone 60/mo

So 1800-2100 per month with 100-300 remaining for additional savings and clothing/shoes/gifts/etc. We cut our own hair. We buy stuff on sale only. Groceries are expensive because we have 2 dietary limitations (ex. 1 person is celiac and the other allergic to dairy). We only have one personal computer, no Iphone just $150 Samsung phones, we have a mini-gym at home (squat rack, kettlebells, peloton app membership), I buy most toys 2nd hand. The decrease in daycare cost, student loan payments and gas have given a bit more breathing room but some of that is offset by additional utility cost since we have 3 adults home FT.

Income should increase by 600/mo this year which is additional breathing room due to grade increase. We apply for student loan credits from MD to assist with student loan payments. Our tax returns usually go towards saving or in this year, finish paying off the HVAC (0%) and windows/insulation.

Gross pay is all that should count. Take home is meaningless. In NYC for a while 200k NYS income and up lost rent stabilization. All at once folks maxed 401k, maxed 529k, max flex spending. One guy took a pay cut at work asked for larger 401k match, more differed comp, all t and e. Real folks do it based on gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to the Pew calculator that determines MC vs UC using your income, location and # of family members, $150 for a family of 6 in MoCo is MC. $250 is UC.

Everyone should use the Pew calculator instead of just guessing/assuming.

I went to this Pew calculator https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/23/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/ Entered my info, which put me in the MC (no surprise). I got curious at which point the calculator would label us LC and UC, and found that MC for a family of 5 in VA, Washington/Arl/Alexandria metro area stretches from $74K-$221K. I feel like that is a huge range and that life at $74K would be incredibly different from life at $221K. So like everything, take it with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the Pew calculator that determines MC vs UC using your income, location and # of family members, $150 for a family of 6 in MoCo is MC. $250 is UC.

Everyone should use the Pew calculator instead of just guessing/assuming.

I went to this Pew calculator https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/23/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/ Entered my info, which put me in the MC (no surprise). I got curious at which point the calculator would label us LC and UC, and found that MC for a family of 5 in VA, Washington/Arl/Alexandria metro area stretches from $74K-$221K. I feel like that is a huge range and that life at $74K would be incredibly different from life at $221K. So like everything, take it with a grain of salt.

They only use lower, middle and upper. Most people break up that “middle class” range into 3 tiers (LM, M, UMC). Somewhere below 74k is working class and then poor. The $221+ you also subdivide into affluent, wealthy, 1%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the Pew calculator that determines MC vs UC using your income, location and # of family members, $150 for a family of 6 in MoCo is MC. $250 is UC.

Everyone should use the Pew calculator instead of just guessing/assuming.

I went to this Pew calculator https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/23/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/ Entered my info, which put me in the MC (no surprise). I got curious at which point the calculator would label us LC and UC, and found that MC for a family of 5 in VA, Washington/Arl/Alexandria metro area stretches from $74K-$221K. I feel like that is a huge range and that life at $74K would be incredibly different from life at $221K. So like everything, take it with a grain of salt.

They only use lower, middle and upper. Most people break up that “middle class” range into 3 tiers (LM, M, UMC). Somewhere below 74k is working class and then poor. The $221+ you also subdivide into affluent, wealthy, 1%.

what are the ranges for affluent, wealthy and 1%?