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

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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]We have 350K HHI  now, but this was not how we started 30 years ago. Infact till we were 30 we had no savings but what was being deducted for  SS.  We had no equity, no house, no kids, no savings. We also had no debt but also nothing worth selling. We were H1B visa holders who were in limbo for years.  We were unable to have a side-gig because we were legally in this country.  Anyhow, as soon as we got the GC, our salary doubled.  We continued to live as if we were making 35K, saved in our 401K and took the match,  and started to save for a down payment on a house. 35K in one year, enabled us to buy a 300K house.  We had our 2 kids but we knew that we were lagging behind significantly in our retirement and savings.   In another decade (when we were 40), we had saved for college for both the kids and started to save aggressively for retirement investments.  I stopped working after saving  every single cent I earned for a decade, for my kids education.

350K is a lot of money.  In our 50s, we now have 4 years of state college paid for both the kids and 1/2 million each for both of them. We have a 3 million term life insurance. No debts except for the house payment. A retirement that will give us at least 200K per year after taxes and inflation-adjusted, and two million in investments.

Going from living paycheck to paycheck, to a life style that allows us to take foreign vacations with our kids at least once or twice a year, have cleaning service twice a week, be able to pay for tutors and expensive EC activities etc, have nice cars etc - without looking at the price,  is a huge luxury.

I think that not having any saving for 8 years of our lives and living in H1B limbo land, with minimal pay - is in the same category as having student debt and childcare cost - at the very least.  Where we managed to come out ahead was choosing a DMV area where we could get a SFH for 300K.  The schools are not that great, but we were able to bypass the private school costs by working with our kids from the very beginning and giving them an enriched learning environment at home. They were able to be in the magnet programs in the public school system.  Of course, my being a SAHM helped because I was able to manage the needs of my family and we did not have daycare costs -  but it also meant that we were a single income family and my financial contribution was not measurable in dollar terms or through a 401K contribution.

My kids will however get a leg-up in life that we did not have - no student debt, a car, some cash, no cost for their wedding. We are and will be well-off till the end of our lives if the world is not overtaken by zombies etc.

So, for anyone who is making 350K in their 30s and feeling middle class on this forum, I think that it could be a fair complaint. You have a lot of expenses, but you also have lots of savings in your 30s.   Hopefully, when this decade is over and your kids are in school., you will be feeling very rich because you will certainly be rich.  Take it from us - we  made 350 in our late 40s,  played catch up with our retirement.  In our 30s, we had no savings and certainly not the lifestyle you are enjoying in your 30s.

Hopefully, you will not feel middle class in your 50s, and instead will feel very wealthy and rich. Because you are. Truly. [/quote]

You are way too rational for this thread. [/quote]

No they a) bought a house cheaply 20 years ago b) had an educated SAHM mom who could provide both childcare in early years and school support (bet that also helped the husband's career) c) have been lucky not to retain the high salary into their 50's (many don't).

Sorry OR, but being on H1B visa after college does not remotely compare to having student loans and childcare costs. Everyone makes peanuts the first 5-6 years of their careers and most $300K households here are DUAL income, there just aren't that many $300K jobs.[/quote]

I don't think so. Some of these are  economic choices -

Cheaper houses that are an hour away from DC, and with less than stellar public schools are available in DMV, but people want homes closer to their work as well as with great schools.  Yes, probably having a SAHM helped with the kids going to magnet schools in this particular case, but kids of WOHMs go to magnet public schools too. And having a SAHM is no guarantee that a kid will get into magnet programs.  Having a SAHM helped with childcare and school homework and it probably helped with DH's career as well....but being a SAHM also meant that there was no second pay-check.  Most WOHMs make enough money to pay for childcare as well as contribute to household expenses and retirement.

Not having kids for 7-8 years of marriage until you are settled is an economic choice. Not having pets is an economic choice.  If you have not lived on a subsistence salary of H1B visa for years then you have no idea of why it is worse than having student debt. Anyone can payoff student debt in several years if they live on 40-50K per year.  As mentioned above, not being able to afford having kids, no house, 1 cheap car, no cable, no eating out...these are economic choices that was made in the lean years that lasted for 10 years.

So to have a family that is making 350K in their 30s, with a house, two cars, paying into pension fund, paying into college funds, going for vacations and with a high food budget...these people will be very wealthy and will be able to set their kids up very well in life. [/quote]

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