Reply to Study shows that 350k/year is barely scrapping by as middle class

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Have we mentioned yet that they save 50k per year off the bat? And yes, they stretched to far on housing once you consider PITI.[/quote]

And they're also paying $53,000/year for preschool plus childcare.  Hey, here's a new rule . . . when your childcare expenses nearly equal the medial *salary* for the country, you ain't middle class.

It is appalling that (i) this has to be said, and (ii) some dimwits will disagree with it.  [/quote]

How much is childcare for middle class?[/quote]

Say $100,000 is solidly middle class.  Assume, after taxes (but not including health care and retirement savings, they take home $80,000.  $53,000 in childcare is more that 66% of their take-home.

It's less than that.  [/quote]

Middle class families use in-home childcare, frequently unlicensed.  They leverage friends and family for childcare.  They work offset schedules to avoid having to have childcare (e.g. dad has a regular 9-5 job and mom works 3 12hr night shifts a week as a nurse).  They stop paying for afterschool care when their kids are still in ES.  They don't send their kids to summer camps or, if they do, it's the cheap program at the church or at a county park.
[/quote]

Yes, I have friends who are middle class.  Mom is a GS-12 and Dad works a blue collar job.  They make about $140K combined.  They live in PG County.

They have their older kid in full-time pre-school at a church and pay about $525 per month for him.  They have their younger one in daycare 3 days a week (same church) for $300/month.  The Mom works a flex schedule of 4 10-hour days and takes Fridays off and has the younger kid.  Grandma watches the younger child one day a week.  Mom drops kids off at school, then goes for her long days.  Dad goes to work early and leaves early enough to pick them up from preschool/daycare.

So, daycare costs about $825/month or about $10K for two children per year.  A far cry from $53K for one child.
[/quote]

$525 a month for full time preschool?! We are an interfaith family in MoCo and visited both our local synagogue and church for tours. Both are about 1700-1800 to send one child full time! And neither is "fancy" or anything...[/quote]

It's in Hyattsville.  As I said, they (and I) live in PG County.  That said, I used centers and it was about $1000/month per child 2 years ago, again, in PG County.  You also pay an UMC up-charge for MoCo.  Lots of things are much more expensive in MoCo than in PG or Charles Counties.

[url]https://www.mystandrew.org/preschool/[/url][/quote]

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