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unless you're a small business owner or can write it off, leasing is for the nouveau riche. It's tacky. Even though cars are ever-decpreciating assets, I'd rather own mine.
And tell all the people in 15 yr old diesel Mercs in Old Brookville that old cars are for poor people. If they function, they are for prudent people.
That said, I wouldn't be seen in anything but an audi :P
My feelings precisely.
And as soon as the Camry acts up, I've got my sights on a late model Audi S5 as well!
To live in Nassau county in a safe neighborhood with good schools if married with two kids and absolutely zero family or inherited wealth starting from scratch buying at today's prices you need to make $500k a year pre tax to be upper middle class in my opinion. At this salary you could save for retirement, save for college, afford the 15k property taxes, save for down payment, two nice cars, vacation on a plane once a year, make mortgage payments and still have discretionary income left over for fun, meals out, etc. $500k is the new $200k. $250k is the new $100k. Again these numbers are if you are married with two kids starting today with no family help.
I was having a discussion with friends and this topic came up. We had widely different opinions! What household income (HHI) range would you classify as upper middle class (UMC)?
There is an obvious caveat that anyone at any income can fail to live within their means and end up overleveraged. So we're not discussing lifestyle as much as hypothetical -- how much income do you need to live comfortably on LI?
We can ALL have different opinions on this. Do you rent, condo, own a home, kids, college, ect.....
Bottom line: Its not what you make, its what you save. Many make 500K+++ and have ZERO saved.
Others make 75K and have money put away.
As long as ALL the bills are paid, 10% is being saved into retirement (as mentioned) NO Debit just a MTG & maybe a car payment, A vacation 1-2 times per year, IM GOOD. Im not "Upper Middle Class"
If you're pulling down $250K+, you are doing well for yourself.
The median income on LI is what $85K - if you are making 3x plus, you have significant disposable income to do as you please.....
For example, a household income of $150k will get you MUCH MUCH further on the South Shore of Suffolk than it will on the North Shore of Nassau County. The number of kids also matters.
Normally, I consider upper middle class on LI to be a household income of $150k or more.
(My family has a household income of ~90k and we lived pretty decently in SW Suffolk; so your lifestyle also plays a major role in things too. I read articles about people making over 200k in LI&NYC who are still struggling and I wonder what the hell they're doing with their money, lol.)
They are being taxed to death. If you're pulling down $200K and own a place in LI or NYC, chances are you have to pay AMT (call that a tax upon regular taxes) and that can be pretty substantial (5K+ extra), NYC has a 9.45% tax bracket (NYS + NYC) and the federal taxes are about 33% if you are single, or 28% if married. At the end of the day, you come home with half with which you then have to pay rent, mortgage, food, what have you.......
If we taxed your 90K at the same rate, you'd be outside shaking a can saying "got any change"
They are being taxed to death. If you're pulling down $200K and own a place in LI or NYC, chances are you have to pay AMT (call that a tax upon regular taxes) and that can be pretty substantial (5K+ extra), NYC has a 9.45% tax bracket (NYS + NYC) and the federal taxes are about 33% if you are single, or 28% if married. At the end of the day, you come home with half with which you then have to pay rent, mortgage, food, what have you.......
If we taxed your 90K at the same rate, you'd be outside shaking a can saying "got any change"
Paying a federal effective tax rate of 19% on HHI of $280k, for 2012. That includes $4k of AMT. Could be worse I suppose. It's the property taxes that are more annoying to me.
Well I would also add a little bit of rainy day $$ in a savings account if you are a home owner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spanky25
We can ALL have different opinions on this. Do you rent, condo, own a home, kids, college, ect.....
Bottom line: Its not what you make, its what you save. Many make 500K+++ and have ZERO saved.
Others make 75K and have money put away.
As long as ALL the bills are paid, 10% is being saved into retirement (as mentioned) NO Debit just a MTG & maybe a car payment, A vacation 1-2 times per year, IM GOOD. Im not "Upper Middle Class"
Paying a federal effective tax rate of 19% on HHI of $280k, for 2012. That includes $4k of AMT. Could be worse I suppose. It's the property taxes that are more annoying to me.
Those property taxes are what puts you into AMT la-la land. AMT disallows the deduction of those property taxes thereby raising your overall income and causing you to pay an additional 4K on top of your regular tax liabiity. If you have kids, your exemption amount gets reduced by AMT, raising your tax liability once again and just wait until the 2013 taxes get done - O b a m a is going to be reaching deep into your pocket for even more money.
It could be worse though, you could be out of work
Those property taxes are what puts you into AMT la-la land. AMT disallows the deduction of those property taxes thereby raising your overall income and causing you to pay an additional 4K on top of your regular tax liabiity. If you have kids, your exemption amount gets reduced by AMT, raising your tax liability once again and just wait until the 2013 taxes get done - O b a m a is going to be reaching deep into your pocket for even more money.
It could be worse though, you could be out of work
I buy it for the new car smell. Have you ever experienced that? Its like a drug.
I cant imagine the smell from your 10 year old car. You know, after a while, the car picks up all your odors, food smells, other unmentionables.
I like a new car...its clean, its crisp, its refreshing.
Research has shown that "New Car Smell" is filled with volatile organic compounds which has been shown to cause cancer. Go ahead and google it to find out more.
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), NYC has a 9.45% tax bracket (NYS + NYC) and the federal taxes are about 33% if you are single, or 28% if married. At the end of the day, you come home with half with which you then have to pay rent, mortgage, food, what have you.......
