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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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. [/quote]

Try rolling up your sleeves and doing some actual work instead of outsourcing everything. No doubt you have a housecleaning service, lawn service, and pay contractors for even the simplest of home improvement tasks (e.g., putting on a new roof).

DH and I both work, have two kids, have an HHI of $250K, and have no issues saving 30% of our gross HHI while also setting aside $1K net per month for college savings. We just added a new 1000sqft composite deck, 300sqft screened porch, and 2000sqft of hardscaping and water features in NOVA for only $60K. Contractors wanted $250K for the same.

Don’t be so useless and lazy and you’ll find that $275K is plenty. [/quote]

Sure Susan.  Let me just go replace my roof after watching some YouTube videos, lol. Absolutely nothing could go wrong working on a home repair like that with a bad spine and multiple tons of shingles to haul up 20 feet. And all alone.

I bet allmof the quality of your DIY projects are trash, and you probably violated multiple building codes that will make it difficult to unload your garbage house. Have fun! [/quote]

The roof example was ridiculous, but lots of the other points are valid.

OP, you seem to have a very warped view of what constituted middle class.  I am 52, and the child of two public school teachers - pretty much the definition of middle class.  Adjusting for inflation, they made a lot less that $275.  A lot of the things you apparently believe were middle class stables just weren't.  My parents moved 50 miles away form my father's job in order to afford the house that they wanted in an area where they wanted to raise kids.  My father drove 100 miles a day for three decades, and brought a thermos of coffee (and his lunch) every day.  I didn't get on a plane until I was in high school, and the first time I flew more than once in a year I was 26 years old.  I never went on an international vacation with my parents.  We changed the oil in our (very old) cars ourselves, and my parents didn't buy a new car until they retiremed.  I didn't get food delivered until I was in college.   My mother never had a housekeeper or cleaner in her life.  The list goes on.

Now, our life was good - don't get me wrong.  And also, a lot of the things that they did aren't really options now, and there are significant expenses now that weren't necessary back then (everyone in the family having a cell phone, for example).  And today's planned obsolescence culture means that you have to replace expensive items that 4 decades ago could be fixed, and used for much longer.  I get all that.

But the point is that you have this picture of a middle class lifestyle that really isn't accurate, and it is affecting your perception of how well you are doing, and how well you should be doing.  [/quote]

Agreed!  
MC meant you lived in a basic home, if you were lucky there were 2 bathrooms and maybe AC.  You took your lunch to school daily (or had to use your allowance/babysitting money to pay for your lunch yourself).  My parents always took their lunches/snacks to work.  We ate out maybe once every 2 weeks, and that was take out pizza or Sizzler (where each person had unlimited food for $5-6).  Our vacations were always driving with the popup camper where we used the public facilities.  My parents never flew, except for a job interview (we moved a lot).  I think their first flight for Pleasure trip was for my siblings wedding when they were 50+.  
Their first color TV was when I was 25 (I'm the baby).  They never had cable or any luxuries.  I got a clothing budget of $100/year and had to make it last.  I usually added to it with the $25 I got for my bday and xmas so I had $150 to spend.  I had 1 pair of shoes for school and 1 pair of dress shoes for church and that was it, unless I spent my own money.   I can recall having a "party phone line" when we lived in a rural area.  I was in college before my parents had anything other than a rotary dial phone (it was cheaper) 
The list could go on and on.  But point is what many consider "needs" today are really wants and many MC people don't have them.

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