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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]TOTALLY depends on when/if you bought a house and student loans and number of children and where you live.

If you bought a house in 2012, have no student loans, two pre-schoolers, and work from home, you can live in Clarksburg or Manassas and have a nice life on $150K, maybe less. (And don't give me $#&^ about "bUt ThEn YoU HaVe To LiVe iN....." because that is rude and elitist.)

If you have yet to purchase a home, have student loans, two pre-schoolers, and work in downtown DC, you are going to want to make $300 to feel like you aren't treading water most months. Maybe more. [/quote]

I think $300k is still very high... "reasonable" is subjective, though.  I could reasonably stay at a Super 8 while others would scoff and say that's totally unreasonable.  I don't have tons of money, but I prioritize what is important to me and I am never stressed about money.

- $250k, own townhouse close in, work downtown, full pay for private school (which is as much as two daycares), paid off loans, still have plenty for domestic travel and dining out[/quote]

agreed- this is not $17k a month gross.
It is high but check this out:

In 2023, a 300K salary will take home 212K. That's 17K a month

Monthly:
$5-6,000 housing (including tax, insurance, repairs)
$1,500 student loans
$3,500 daycare
$2,000 on food and household items, including restaurants (this isn't a lot of takeout or restaurants)
$500 on car payment and insurance and any transit like Uber or Metro
$750 on utilities and tv etc...
Reasonably for two working professionals, $1,500 on miscellaneous (kids need shoes, new brakes for the car, Christmas tree, new shirt for party, vet visit, etc..)
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That leaves $2,500 - $3,500 for savings (which this family should be direct depositing), travel, miscellaneous, and BIG emergencies like a new roof or a new furnace or unexpected medical expenses.

It's a comfy middle class life but not without stress.

You can trade off by living far out or renting an apartment or choosing a less-than house or a less-than school district. But that's also not without stress.

Having a $3,000 mortgage or no childcare expenses or no students loans are all A HUGE GAME CHANGER. 
[/quote]
 
A few things that jump out.[b] A middle class person is not spending that on a mortgage. [/b]Also a middle class person is not YOLO their money, 300k gross , minus 40k in retirement savings, minus 11k in health insurance brings it to 15k/mo net.[/quote][/quote]

I don't know how the economists define "middle class," but one way to think about what it means to be "middle class" is to come up with a list of items that a "middle class" family can afford.  That might include owning a home in a reasonably safe neighborhood with decent schools.  If that costs $5-6k/month (I really don't know what the actual number is for this area), then that's part of what it costs to be "middle class."  On this way of thinking, it is getting it backwards to say "middle class" families can't afford $5-6k for a mortgage.  If that's what it costs and a family cannot afford it, then they are not "middle class."  This is why you see articles about "the shrinking middle class," because fewer and fewer people can afford these things.
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