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That being said, the teachers unions here in Ca have raped and pillaged the hell out of the system, outrageously high salaries and incredible benefits, pensions that are unmatched in the private sector... screw'm... I don't wanna hear any whining from them, at least the ones here... every couple of years it's another ballot measure trying to get more money from the tax payers claiming its for the kids. My MIL is the biggest hardcore toe-tag liberal democrat and she is even getting pissed off about this issue here.....
I think it would have been interesting if the women who answered the OP's question with a $number$ had also told us where they live, so we had an idea for cost of living.
$100k would have you living the high live in some areas, but wouldn't allow you to buy a starter home, in others.
150k here in So Cal gets you a decent middle class living. Can it be done on less, yeah, but it gets tougher and tougher...
Since a lot of people don't make 150k on a single income, most of the time both spouses have to work, which is sad, imho. I think a parent should be home when the kids are younger. Later on, I think it's fine to have both parents work.
Seriously, a surprise? Have we not taken biology - it's less of a surprise, and more of a well, we know this could happen so now we have to make another choice.
I know the biology... I just sure as hell didn't see that one coming. The third child was one hell of a surprise to me. After years of correctly using birth control and using two forms at once, I saw it as more of a hypothetical possibility.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrmlyBklyn
You're just average as are the vast majority of us. The super-rich I don't need to work are far and few between. Don't worry, it's not all that it's cracked up to be.
We're comfortable. Aside from the mortgage, we're debt free and we keep a budget. That's enough for me. I just don't like it when people assume that homes with a sahp are rich. We did have to make adjustments to make this work.
Average household income for my region outside Toronto is $88k. Average house price is $520k.
I live in the NY/NJ region, the above could fit my town, with the exception that real estate taxes on average are $10K+. A home valued at $525+ will pay on average $12K+ in real estate taxes, state taxes approach 8%, fed taxes are 25% + not including Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment taxes. Like I said, most of the folks in my region owning homes are working class folk - it's definitely not anything close to lifestyles of the rich and famous even for those here who do make above the avg. HHI.
I live in the NY/NJ region, the above could fit my town, with the exception that real estate taxes on average are $10K+. A home valued at $525+ will pay on average $12K+ in real estate taxes, state taxes approach 8%, fed taxes are 25% + not including Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment taxes. Like I said, most of the folks in my region owning homes are working class folk - it's definitely not anything close to lifestyles of the rich and famous even for those here who do make above the avg. HHI.
I grew up in London (well moved a lot, but lived there too), same thing there. Yeah the wages are high, but there's a HCOL. It looks like a lot of money on paper. But it's not the high life.
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I just don't like it when people assume that homes with a sahp are rich. We did have to make adjustments to make this work.
