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I think that up to forty percent of couples are making this type of income in many small to midsized lower cost commmunities and they still have money for smokes and tattoos. The people who say this type of income is so bad need to get out more.
Where has anybody said that's a bad income? It is what it is, and, clearly many people make it work. What other choice do they have? I don't understand why you've gotten your dander up about this issue. We all have to live within our means one way or another, whether it's $20k or $2M.
I agree, many areas of the US are affordable at that wage, unless they have substantial debt and expenses. My husband and I when we first married were working full time jobs in grocery and in banking, both paying under or around $10 an hour. My husband moved up and got good promotions to being a department manager but before that, we both lived just fine. We had a mortgage($600) and 2 cars, one with a loan at that time. We always saved money, I contributed to my 401k at work and we still were able to enjoy life - vacations, movies, dining out Ect. Many friends and family get paid around these wages here and also live well.
A friend of mine and his wife is living in Spokane Washington in a very nice two bedroom apartment which only costs $700 a month. He and his wife work in low wage retail and are both earning about $10 an hour or $20K a year apiece. ($40K) total. They pay about 15% of their income in taxes which leaves them $34,000 a year in net pay. They pay about $10K a year in rent and utilities and that leaves them $24K for everything else. A good relatively comfortable lifestyle most of the people in the world would love to have.
What am I missing?
Most people in the world live in rather poor third world countries. That's not a good benchmark for a couple in the U.S.
Considering that the couple has to pay for healthcare and has to save for retirement, I wouldn't call it a "good relatively comfortable lifestyle".
Median rent in my county in small metro Florida is $1100 no utilities included, and for a house with that kind of PITI mortgage payment, you're talking either a bad area, a home that needs a lot of work (and has a relatively huge homeowner's insurance premium) , or 40 or so miles from job centers where you're going to be burned when gas prices go up again.
A friend of mine and his wife is living in Spokane Washington in a very nice two bedroom apartment which only costs $700 a month. He and his wife work in low wage retail and are both earning about $10 an hour or $20K a year apiece. ($40K) total. They pay about 15% of their income in taxes which leaves them $34,000 a year in net pay. They pay about $10K a year in rent and utilities and that leaves them $24K for everything else. A good relatively comfortable lifestyle most of the people in the world would love to have.
A friend of mine and his wife is living in Spokane Washington in a very nice two bedroom apartment which only costs $700 a month. He and his wife work in low wage retail and are both earning about $10 an hour or $20K a year apiece. ($40K) total. They pay about 15% of their income in taxes which leaves them $34,000 a year in net pay. They pay about $10K a year in rent and utilities and that leaves them $24K for everything else. A good relatively comfortable lifestyle most of the people in the world would love to have.
What am I missing?
What about child care? What about saving for retirement, 529 plan for kids? Emergency fund in case of job loss? etc..
What about child care? What about saving for retirement, 529 plan for kids? Emergency fund in case of job loss? etc..
It is not a long term lifestyle but can be expected for young couples starting out before they gain more experience and offer more to employers.
But I think most couples could still afford a kid or two on $40K a year in many US Communities if they cut out the smokes, drinks, fancy meals out and tattoos.
57% of married couples are childless. So no, "most couples" do not have kids. Without immigration and the high birthrate of the permanent underclass in the bottom 20%, the US would be seeing the same big population contraction of Japan, South Korea, and Northern Europe.
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