Reply to Down and Out on $250K/year....

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Here's the thing.  The amount of money is not really relevant when people talk about this.  Really, its not.   Its the lifestyle that people are looking at.  Look at this scenario, which I understand will not describe every single person on this board, but it will describe most who grew up in an average American family 30 to 40 years ago.  Most of our parents worked hard at middle class jobs.  Again, the exact amount doesn't matter.  They probably had the same kind of job you and I have or even a job was less 'affluent'.  Our parents graduated from college, paid their school loans, bought homes and cars, saved for college (often for more children) and for retirement.  They got the new microwave at some point in the late 70s or 80s and also that new answering machine thingy and maybe even the cordless phone.  When you were a teen you may have begged for that new call waiting feature.  Your family may have had an Atari on your console TV.  They took us on modest but honest to goodness vacations.  They had hobbies and interests that they persued.  They retired at 60 or 65 and are living comfortably now.

Now look at the same Average family today and here in the DC area will need to make waay more than our parents did, adjusted for inflation, to have that 'average American lifestyle".  Saving adequate amounts of money for retirement and college has become the domain of the well heeled whereas before it was just part of an average American budget.  Mostly our parents did not live paycheck to paycheck.  They bought cars.  They got the newest gadgets either sooner or later.  They subscribed to cable eventually.  But they didn't not need to fall into the top 5% of national income to do so.

The thing is, our standard of living in this country has crashed but nobody seems to want to say it.  You must now be a top income producer to live in the same manner that the average income producer lived 40 years ago.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, sucks hard.  
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You pretty much described my family as well.  But here’s the thing . . . many of the people who are whining on this board that $250k isn’t rich THINK they’re living the same lifestyle as their parents, but they’re deluding themselves.  Their monthly expenses are far in excess of those of our parents.  Our parents didn’t live in 3500 sq. foot McMansions, or in smaller houses in some of the best neighborhoods in the city (upper NW, Arl., MoCo.).  The housing costs are the biggest driver, but it’s all the little things as well – cell phone plans, new cell phones every two years, gym memberships, Direct TV plans, etc.  There are so many more little things to spend money on – not just the Atari, Microwave, Cordless Phone, second phone line for the kids, and VCR with the “remote” that was connected to the unit by a wire.  The microwave didn’t have a monthly subscription fee, either.  Since we feel entitled to these things, we associate them with middle class, without recognizing them for the luxuries they are.

Look at it another way – those middle-class parents you talk about – they weren’t in the top 3% of earners in the country.  Not even close.  Those families still exist, you know – two teachers, an accountant and a secretary, a middle manager and a SAH parent, all with 2 kids.  And they’re still middle class, and if you make $250K you make a LOT more than they do.

Yes, it’s more difficult these days, what with the demise of defined benefit retirement plans and the explosion of health care costs and health insurance premiums – plus, all those new expensive health care technologies will keep us alive for longer, when will require more retirement savings . . . aargh.  But it’s more expensive for everyone.

Finally, to the pp who complained that there wasn’t a lot left after private school and nanny and mortgage and insurance – stop it.  Just stop.  Listen to yourself.  A nanny?  Private school?  Look back at all those middle class families growing up – how many had nannies?  Not a lot.  How many sent their kids to private school?  Even fewer.  2 kids in private school and a nanny is not middle class – it’s rich.  I’m sorry if you don’t feel that way, but as another pp said, once you start making choices – really expensive ones – based on lifestyle preferences, you’re rich.  
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