Why is $275k hhi now so poor?

[Anonymous]

I can’t imagine how rich I would feel at $275k and no kids.

You’re doing something wrong if you feel poor.

[Anonymous]

We live in a crappy house inside the beltway with two kids and have never gotten close to $150k HHI. We don't max out retirement, save enough for college nor have a comfortable emergency fund. Medical bills derail our financial situation for years at a time.

But, it's OK. We're not poor and our kids have never gone hungry. I devalue most of what the OP says when they use words like "so poor" to describe their situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, thank you for working hard and pissing away all your hard earned money. Economy is doing well because of people like you.
Rich people see possibilities with any left over money; poor people see what they can't have - an Audi in this case. You lost me at the Audi. I just bought a new Mazda at 0% putting half down from my older car.
I don't put my money in 401k to rot, but I did double my money inside Roth accounts in under 6 months. I'm trying to do it again the next 6 months, so twice a year.
I do budget down to a dollar as I like it so much.
I work two days a week usually. I also took the whole summer off. Seems like my earned income will be $20k a year as it has been the last 25+ years.
Work smarter, not harder.

Oooohhhhh ooooo. I'm so impressed. Congrats, you'll either be the wealthiest corpse in the graveyard or a millionaire crapping in a diaper while you let life blow by with zero enjoyment and repaing the rewards of your labor while younger.

Lame.

[Anonymous]

This is the millionth thread on the same topic. Move on

[Anonymous]

ITT: boomers on fixed income, chomping at the bit to get trolled by a "millennial dink" with spending problems.

[Anonymous]

Have some perspective OP. Yes our first house (tiny, not renovated townhouse) was $500k, but interest rates were over 6% (in 2007) and our household income was $140k. The only difference was that we didn’t feel poor - on the contrary we were excited and hopeful. We didn’t expect to be rich or have luxury cars at 30. Have patience and get out of your own head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have some perspective OP. Yes our first house (tiny, not renovated townhouse) was $500k, but interest rates were over 6% (in 2007) and our household income was $140k. The only difference was that we didn’t feel poor - on the contrary we were excited and hopeful. We didn’t expect to be rich or have luxury cars at 30. Have patience and get out of your own head.

Yet another irrelevant Gen X post. Wow, you could survive on $80 per week for groceries back then too. Car insurance rates and home insurance back then were also half the price. Student loan bills were probably half as much as they are now too. A stupidly simple car back then also wasn't $40-50k like they are now too. I bet Chipotle and McDonald's didn't cost $15 per meal back then too. 2007 was 17 years ago. You are living in a delusion world from almost 2 decades ago. $275k is such a mediocre and near poor income now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a troll for sure; however I do feel their sentiment. You still need to budget and think about saving on 275k, it’s definitely middle class and not luxury (although it’s not “just getting by”). With kids though it probably is bare minimum for middle class, especially with 2 in daycare or needing a nanny.

275k is not the minimum for middle class. This is absurd. My family has a HHI around 300k. Even after paying for health benefits and retirement, we bring home a little over 14k/month. We have 3 kids and still manage to do stuff like a travel sport, nice camps, a few domestic vacations per year, housecleaners every 2 weeks, etc.

Things were tight during the childcare years (especially with 2 in daycare at for a couple years overlap). So I do think there is a pretty big systemic failure on affordability of childcare for anyone who doesn’t quite reach a category of wealthy. I also think housing is a systemic failure right now with not enough pressure on foreign investors and secondary homes. A 300k income doesn’t get you a nice SFH in the most desirable zip codes. But I would hardly call 275k the entry to MC. There’s no way a 150-250k income is lower class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t tell if this is a troll post or someone really is this delusional.

$275k for 2 people is fantastic income. It’s what we make with an elementary kid and I feel extremely well off. We contribute $20k each to 401k/403b, $6k each to Roth IRA, put $10k a year into a college fund, and just bought a brand new car (admittedly a Honda sedan, but I don’t know why that’s a shameful thing). We are able to go on regular vacations, do the hobbies we enjoy, and I don’t have to budget for groceries. We do not have any student loans and our mortgage is only $3k so that helps a lot!

I understand being underwhelmed by what $275k gets you, but implying you are anything other than well off is silly.

+1

Nobody is entitled to an "Audi". If you want that you need to budget and save. Hint: you could easily afford one, if you prioritize it.

Nothing wrong with a Toyota/honda. They are great cars, lower insurance, lower maintenance, and last 8-10+ years easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, thank you for working hard and pissing away all your hard earned money. Economy is doing well because of people like you.
Rich people see possibilities with any left over money; poor people see what they can't have - an Audi in this case. You lost me at the Audi. I just bought a new Mazda at 0% putting half down from my older car.
I don't put my money in 401k to rot, but I did double my money inside Roth accounts in under 6 months. I'm trying to do it again the next 6 months, so twice a year.
I do budget down to a dollar as I like it so much.
I work two days a week usually. I also took the whole summer off. Seems like my earned income will be $20k a year as it has been the last 25+ years.
Work smarter, not harder.

Oooohhhhh ooooo. I'm so impressed. Congrats, you'll either be the wealthiest corpse in the graveyard or a millionaire crapping in a diaper while you let life blow by with zero enjoyment and repaing the rewards of your labor while younger.

Lame.

DP, but I really don’t think driving a Mazda instead of an Audi and only working 2 days/week with summer off is letting life blow by with zero enjoyment.

I drive a minivan and love my sliding doors and fold down seats. Anyone who thinks being able to buy an Audi is the key to a good life is someone I feel sad for. But then again I live in a walkable area near metro and can go days at a time without driving my car. If I had to spend so much time in my car that they type or car I drive was of importance to me I would be pretty depressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop blowing smoke up my arse trying to claim $275k hhi is just fine and dandy these days. It is not. We are friggin dinks with virtually no debt except our mortgage on a very modest $625k home. We rake in $275k and are super middle class, it’s insane. Right now driving an 8 year old cheap Mazda 3 bought for $20k snd is paid off. I dread the day we need a new car, because a new car payment will place huge strain on our finances. I think we can only afford a Toyota sedan next. You’d think dinks making almost $300k could afford an Audi these days, but nope. Car insurance, home insurance, taxes, groceries……all of it demolishes you. We only take 1 vacation too per year.

Ok, we might tread water, I’ll give you that. But we aren’t THRIVING. I feel like you’ll only thrive on a $500k income these days. And that’s only from a DINK perspective! I dunno how everyone else who is poorer AND has kids survives. You all survive on malk and beans? Who knew the American dream for family people meant a life of brittle bones and cutting coupons, lol. Prices are so outta control. It is bonkers.

We earn less than you AND have two kids and a more expensive home recently purchased with a high mortgage rate. Still consider ourselves solidly middle class, dine out occasionally, take a couple vacations.

You don't have kids to pay for and you think you're not thriving at that income?

Shut up. Literally, please shut up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a troll for sure; however I do feel their sentiment. You still need to budget and think about saving on 275k, it’s definitely middle class and not luxury (although it’s not “just getting by”). With kids though it probably is bare minimum for middle class, especially with 2 in daycare or needing a nanny.

Ummm...for DINKS, it's definately UMC/well off. Median NoVA family income is $140K. They are almost double that and have NO KIDS

Even with kids, it's still UMC. Don't kid yourself. That is better than 90% of people even in NoVA.
Learn to budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m guessing you eat out all the time and constantly getting Starbucks and boba without even thinking. You have multiple streaming accounts and order from Amazon whenever you need or want something without thinking.
You get your hair and nails done every 6 weeks and buy expensive clothes. It doesnt matter how your house and car is, this
kind of spending adds up fast!

Yup---you must learn to budget and recognize the differences between needs and wants. It's easy to blow $100/week at Starbucks and another $300 on eating out (lunches and dinner/drinks).

[Anonymous]

Yeah OP DH and I make the same amount, have a SN kid in daycare and therapies and activities, max out 401ks and IRAs, and we do not stress about money at all. I have no idea what tf you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Hi Hannah,

Car insurance and home insurances increases don't amount to any more then 5K a year MAX for your Mazda and 625K house. Also Chipotle isn't $40 for 2 unless you're ordering DoorDash or UberEats, are you?

Do both of you have astronomical student loans? Have you renovated or spent a lot more on the house or furniture? What's your travel budget? What's your grocery budget and how much do you eat or drink out? Do you belong to clubs or gyms? Are you deferring a lot to savings and just feeling the squeeze because of that?

Calling yourself poor is completely uncalled for and un-selfaware. I could sort of see how you might not be where you want to be, but get a grip.

-Jen