Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 06:23     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is sadder are all the DC area people in households that have a $400k annual income who claim to be just middle class and struggling to get by. So. Out. Of. Touch.


Forgot to add Exhibit A:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1277318.page


+1. It is amazing that these people making so much money lack common sense.
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 06:20     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
The flaw with the entire pew calculator is that middle income in middle class are not the same thing. I just looked it up because it’s too early to be using my brain to formulate response

Scope:
"Middle class" is a broader social category, while "middle income" is a more narrowly defined economic category.
Factors considered:
"Middle class" considers various factors beyond income, while "middle income" focuses primarily on income.
Subjectivity:
"Middle class" can be subjective and self-identified, while "middle income" is based on measurable income data.
In essence: While the terms are often used interchangeably, "middle class" is a more multifaceted concept encompassing various social and economic factors, while "middle income" is a more straightforward definition based on income level

Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 06:17     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A younger couple at $250k with two kids in day care is a heck of a lot different than a $250k couple with teens who have the advantage of savings and house appreciation. It is two completely different worlds.


Um, teens are much more expensive than little kids in daycare

How so? My teen is pretty cheap right now. In two years, he will break the bank as a college student but right now, not many costs.




Maybe their kids are elite gymnasts or figure skaters or something? Because otherwise I agree, genuinely trying to understand how someone is spending more on activities in the teen years than they did on childcare!
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 06:09     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A younger couple at $250k with two kids in day care is a heck of a lot different than a $250k couple with teens who have the advantage of savings and house appreciation. It is two completely different worlds.


Um, teens are much more expensive than little kids in daycare

How so? My teen is pretty cheap right now. In two years, he will break the bank as a college student but right now, not many costs.


Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 03:57     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A younger couple at $250k with two kids in day care is a heck of a lot different than a $250k couple with teens who have the advantage of savings and house appreciation. It is two completely different worlds.


Um, teens are much more expensive than little kids in daycare




It really depends- mine aren't, but they don't do lots of fancy expensive activities or travel sports. IMO that type of discretionary spending is more of a choice than childcare in the early years.


Mine are but we choose cheaper housing to support their activities and pay for college. That’s unfortunate you don’t as there are lower cost activities.


?? The point is that my kids do lower cost activities. When they were both in daycare we were paying $30k+ in childcare. They do a lot but we don't come close to spending that now. We've always saved for college, even during the early years. We bought a house we could afford to begin with so no need to downsize to support exepnsive extracuricullars. Glad its working for you though. But I still counter that it is absolitely not a given that teens are more expensive than daycare, that is your choice.


Of course it was a choice. One of you could have stayed at home or worked an alternate shift to save on day care. There is also financial help for some more expensive activities. Yes, its more meaningful to spend the money when they are teens and will remember it.
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 03:23     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A younger couple at $250k with two kids in day care is a heck of a lot different than a $250k couple with teens who have the advantage of savings and house appreciation. It is two completely different worlds.


Um, teens are much more expensive than little kids in daycare




It really depends- mine aren't, but they don't do lots of fancy expensive activities or travel sports. IMO that type of discretionary spending is more of a choice than childcare in the early years.


Mine are but we choose cheaper housing to support their activities and pay for college. That’s unfortunate you don’t as there are lower cost activities.


?? The point is that my kids do lower cost activities. When they were both in daycare we were paying $30k+ in childcare. They do a lot but we don't come close to spending that now. We've always saved for college, even during the early years. We bought a house we could afford to begin with so no need to downsize to support exepnsive extracuricullars. Glad its working for you though. But I still counter that it is absolitely not a given that teens are more expensive than daycare, that is your choice.
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 02:57     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Just my two cents- people often calculate their HHI after taxes/retirement/insurance is removed. We are at about that income when we’ve maxed out retirement, it can sometimes feel tight if there’s a big repair expense. People forget how much they are savings snd concentrate on the monthly bill amount.

Also, our housings costs are much lower than normal, but SN kids and medical costs are very expensive. Sometimes it’s not overspending on housing.


Truer words were never spoken. We felt UMC before we realized that DC had SN and needed the therapies. Yes, we have an IEP, but it’s not going to get DC completely functioning by 12th grade. Supplementing the gap is ruinous, but I cannot put him out in the world without at least trying.


Yup, I have no idea how people with lower incomes handle the medical costs and tuition- reality is they aren't able to and their kids don't get the needed services. We can thankfully handle one private school tuition, if our other kid was SN also, no way we could do it.


Real low income are on Medicaid and that pays for services.
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 02:55     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A younger couple at $250k with two kids in day care is a heck of a lot different than a $250k couple with teens who have the advantage of savings and house appreciation. It is two completely different worlds.


Um, teens are much more expensive than little kids in daycare




It really depends- mine aren't, but they don't do lots of fancy expensive activities or travel sports. IMO that type of discretionary spending is more of a choice than childcare in the early years.


Mine are but we choose cheaper housing to support their activities and pay for college. That’s unfortunate you don’t as there are lower cost activities.
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 02:49     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A younger couple at $250k with two kids in day care is a heck of a lot different than a $250k couple with teens who have the advantage of savings and house appreciation. It is two completely different worlds.


Um, teens are much more expensive than little kids in daycare




It really depends- mine aren't, but they don't do lots of fancy expensive activities or travel sports. IMO that type of discretionary spending is more of a choice than childcare in the early years.
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 00:57     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:250k is not much money at all in the DC metro area. Literally around 20% of households make this much or more in the DC metro area.


Yes, because the DC area has a good chuck of the wealthiest counties in America


$250K is wealthy, even for the DC area
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 00:52     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:News flash- upper middle class is still middle class.


News flash

$250K is upper class, not upper middle class.
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 00:49     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:A younger couple at $250k with two kids in day care is a heck of a lot different than a $250k couple with teens who have the advantage of savings and house appreciation. It is two completely different worlds.


Um, teens are much more expensive than little kids in daycare


Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 00:46     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:This calculator is odd apparently 250k is the same class at 2m lol


You don't have to worry about housing, food, savings or education funds at $250K

So yes, that puts you into upper class, even if you don't have a yacht or private jet
Anonymous
Post 06/09/2025 00:41     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:The median family income in DC is around $150,000. $250,000 for a family would be around the upper bound of middle class for DC.

But this a stupid discussion because $250k in the DMV is not rich even though it would be in Peoria.

https://www.incomebyzipcode.com/districtofcolumbia



By your logic, a family making $50K in DC is the bottom end of midfle class.

Your math ain't mathin"

$250K is upper class, even in DC
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2025 23:46     Subject: PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class
Anonymous wrote:250k is not much money at all in the DC metro area. Literally around 20% of households make this much or more in the DC metro area.


Imagine having more money than 80% of people in your community while complaining that it's "not a lot" just because it's less than 10% of people in your community.