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I think for a cushy or comfortable life in the middle income category is at least 100K salary. This translates to around 2,400.00 after taxes every 2 weeks or 4,800.00 for the month. With the ridiculousness in rising rents and pre-war red brick buildings starting to charge 1,800 a month for a 1 bedroom and offers no amenities except flights of stairs to walk up. One can expect the majority of 1 paycheck to go to rent with around 600.00 left over before the next pay period. 600 to drag out for 2 weeks seems reasonable.
Now 100K is just an example if 1,800.00 was the rent and that individual is debt free meaning no credit card or school loans outstanding. I think with that in mind, the person should live a nice and comfortable lifestyle and splurge on lavish things every once in awhile.
If 100K is what you have in mind for an individual, how much do you think for a family?
If anyone has stable rent or passed down housing from family. Any salary north of $80k is perfectly doable in NYC. NYC salaries are good when cost of housing is not a big problem. The people who just got here are the ones that are struggling to find place to live that they can float with their salary.
I know people that are making $50k and living just fine in Brooklyn because they live with the family.
YODEL, I think each individual should be making 150K to 175K each to survive comfortably with one child. 2 kids is a different story. Combined, the family should be earning around 350K to live comfortably.
If not, they can still survive, but the child won't really have nice things or high end things. But that doesn't really matter because when a child is young, name brands don't matter till they're in their teens.
YODEL, I think each individual should be making 150K to 175K each to survive comfortably with one child. 2 kids is a different story. Combined, the family should be earning around 350K to live comfortably.
If not, they can still survive, but the child won't really have nice things or high end things. But that doesn't really matter because when a child is young, name brands don't matter till they're in their teens.
350k is probably approaching upper middle class.
To live a middle class life style in NYC prob requires somewhere close to 250k household income. 70-100k for spending, 70k-100k for housing and the rest for saving (401k, Kids' college, etc). 250k should be enough for a modest 1 mil single family detached house outside of Manhattan in a place with good schools (assuming the person has two or three hundred thousand saved for down payment) or decent Condo close to Manhattan. But there are sacrifices to be made living close to Manhattan. You'll have to send your kids to bad schools since you may not be able to afford private school on that salary.
With 350k it's a 1.4 mil McMansion in an area with good schools (assuming the person has three or four hundred thousand saved for the down payment) or nice 3 bd lux condo near Manhattan, two BMWs, decent vacations, some nice lux cloths/products, private college tuition fund. In this scenario living close to Manhattan is fine for those with kids since you should be able to afford some sort of private school tuition assuming you adjust the rest of your budget accordingly.
To live a middle class life style in NYC prob requires somewhere close to 250k household income. 70-100k for spending, 70k-100k for housing and the rest for saving (401k, Kids' college, etc). 250k should be enough for a modest 1 mil single family detached house outside of Manhattan in a place with good schools (assuming the person has two or three hundred thousand saved for down payment) or decent Condo close to Manhattan. But there are sacrifices to be made living close to Manhattan. You'll have to send your kids to bad schools since you may not be able to afford private school on that salary.
You can live for less while having a middle class lifestyle in NYC if your willing to seek housing in the co-op apartment market (2 br apartment or converted 1 bedroom into 2br), which a lot of people do.
I don't think you're factoring in how high payroll taxes are at that income level.
With 250k in income assuming 47% goes to taxes you still have 11k a month in after tax money. If you spend 4k on everyday expenses. 4k on a mortgage plus utilities that still leaves you with 3k to save on. With two kids and a large mortgage you should also be getting around 10k+ in tax refunds. So that brings you to 12k a month. How is that not enough for a middle class lifestyle? Also if you're on dual income you can shift some of the saving via maxing two out 401Ks @ 36k a year and save another 10k+ in taxes. The only situation where I don't see this working is if someone didn't save a dime up until the point they decide to start a family or have an exorbitant amount of student loans to pay off.
Last edited by bumblebyz; 05-29-2015 at 03:43 PM..
You can live for less while having a middle class lifestyle in NYC if your willing to seek housing in the co-op apartment market (2 br apartment or converted 1 bedroom into 2br), which a lot of people do.
If you need to convert a 1 br to a 2br with a family either you're a cheapo or you do not earn enough to afford something better. That is not living a middle class lifestyle. In that case you can make 200k and live in a box under a bridge and would still be earning a middle class income albeit living like a homeless person and not a middle class lifestyle lol.
We don't wear "designer" clothes, but husband needs to wear suits. We get kids clothes as inexpensive we can find, often Old Navy or similar.
I can't answer your big question, but on this item, had to say: my husband also had to wear a professional type wardrobe. He got onto Ebay, bought expensive suits and blazers in a somewhat larger size with top quality fabric, took them to a tailor, and came out looking better in a custom-fitted suit than anyone. He'd get 7-fold silk ties that cost $100 for less than $20. and those always fit. We saved a ton of money every year.
Also look for kids clothing and shoes on Ebay, under "new with tags" if you can't adjust to used clothing.
I think 100K pre-tax is about right for one person to really be comfortable. I define that as:
Adequate space in a good location, reasonable commute
Go out to eat twice a week
Go out on the weekends
Yearly vacation
Ability to save towards retirement
Tough to make a go of it on much less, especially for a newcomer.
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