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People making 250k should never be living paycheck to paycheck and if they are, the are doing something wrong.
We are paying all the taxes and getting no tax credits that the bottom feeders qualify for. We are in zone that gets no favors from the government. To get a high income, you need to live and work in a market that has expenses that eat up most of it.
We are paying all the taxes and getting no tax credits that the bottom feeders qualify for. We are in zone that gets no favors from the government. To get a high income, you need to live and work in a market that has expenses that eat up most of it.
Strange I’m over 250k, pay my taxes and I’m doing more than fine without favors. Are those bottom feeders as you call them the folks that rely mostly or entirely on SS or SSDI for income? Aren’t they disabled vets? Who makes up that bottom feeder group? If a couple makes 40k a year and pays no federal income tax, I’m okay with that, they still pay sales tax, ss and Medicare so how much do you think the bottom feeders should pay?
I think he means 250K combined for a couple,then possibly high mortgage payment and student loan for 2 (not 1),2 car payments with insurance,property tax,HOA,clothes,drycleaning,haircut,eat out.
I think he means 250K combined for a couple,then possibly high mortgage payment and student loan for 2 (not 1),2 car payments with insurance,property tax,HOA,clothes,drycleaning,haircut,eat out.
Who are you responding to? It might be more helpful to actually quote someone when you reply to give at least some context
Childcare and housing costs eat up a ton of money.
For instance, I live in the Boston area. Since I was not lucky enough to buy 5 years ago - or even 2 years ago - an average starter home an hour from work is at least $500,000 - and realistically, probably more like $600,000. Let's say you're a 2 income family (because, let's face it, most families would need 2 incomes to afford even a starter 3 bed/1 bath house). For argument's sake, let's say one person works from home and one person needs to commute into Boston. From one of the areas where you can buy a starter home for as cheap as $500,000 a month, you'd be looking at $350ish a month in commuter rail costs and an additional $100 in parking at the commuter rail station. You could also drive in, but monthly parking passes for lots in the city are around $450 a month plus the cost of commuting.
Now let's say you have kids. Daycare for one infant in my area (and I'm not particularly close to Boston) starts at $2500 a month if you can find a daycare that will take a 3 month old. For older kids, you can get in around $2000, or maybe a bit lower.
So monthly expenses just for the basics:
Housing: $3500 (10% on a $500K starter home with no HOA)
Utilities: $500 (averaging out heat - and oil heat can be PRICEY- and electricity, internet, water)
Commuting: $450 (just parking & train pass, not counting gas, insurance, tolls, car payments, or maintenance)
Daycare for 2: $4000 (this is on the low end)
Total: $8450
So that's already more than 100K a year before even touching things like car payments, gas, food, toiletries, household goods, diapers (if needed), medical costs, clothing, laundry, home maintenance, student loan repayment, pet costs, etc. It also doesn't include savings, and I suspect many high income earners take money out for savings (at least retirement) before seeing it so that might be something that is also factored into the feeling of living paycheck to paycheck.
And if you have two car payments - even modest payments, two sets of car insurance, and 2 sets of student loan payments, you could be looking at $2-3K just for that. Throw in one more child and the associated daycare and other costs, and it becomes much tighter. There's a reason why my doctor, who I loved dearly, quit being a PCP to stay at home with 3 kids. Granted, she could not have done that with her loans if her husband wasn't a plastic surgeon.
Now, there still should be a lot of wiggle room left over at that salary level, but my guess is that people are overspending on homes because they're trying to get into good school districts or shorten the commute. If I wanted to be within half an hour of work and buy a single family 3 bed/1.5 bath house today, I'd be looking at least at 3/4 of a million to a million dollars. That's not some glamorous home, but something basic and relatively small.
I've said before that I couldn't afford both rent on my 1 bedroom apartment that was an hour from my previous work (now an hour and a half each way) and daycare for 1 infant on a 100K salary. I would have less than $1000 left over a month for savings, food, clothing, laundry, utilities, commuting/car, and medical costs and, for me, that wouldn't be enough. And I don't even have any debt - no car payment, no student loans!
All true. I'd just note that the childcare front will be temporary. In Massachusetts, isn't there universal pre-k? This cuts down the need to pay for daycare and the such years before children in many other states are eligible for school. And that's even if you have children!
Massachusetts, like many states I've looked at childcare options for, does seem to have pretty expensive options. But those are generally for the larger, highly-staffed locations. I've generally found that many areas (not sure about Massachusetts) have far cheaper options in the form of "mom and pop" day care centers where locals have secured a license. Now, folks will have to weigh the pros and cons (to include history/track record of a location), but I just point this out to say that there are often cheaper options.
Perhaps its the having of children thingy. You know giving birth and such. Sending the crumb snatchers to college perhaps. Pesky kids.......
I'm kidding of course. However, raising children these days can unfortunately be very expensive.
Well the entire college aspect certainly doesn’t have to be paid for by parents, sure you can but that’s just another choice parents can make and burden themselves if they want
If MA has universal pre k this is the first I'm hearing of it. I think certain public schools might offer it but not all. Our public school charges for pre k and kindergarten...
Boston public schools might offer universal pre k but bps is pretty bad.
If MA has universal pre k this is the first I'm hearing of it. I think certain public schools might offer it but not all. Our public school charges for pre k and kindergarten...
Boston public schools might offer universal pre k but bps is pretty bad.
You're correct. I misread something I found online. I'm reading that 5 cities have universal pre-k (to include Boston). And that there is a statewide program that is tied to socioeconomic status, so it wouldn't cover everyone.
All true. I'd just note that the childcare front will be temporary. In Massachusetts, isn't there universal pre-k? This cuts down the need to pay for daycare and the such years before children in many other states are eligible for school. And that's even if you have children!
Massachusetts, like many states I've looked at childcare options for, does seem to have pretty expensive options. But those are generally for the larger, highly-staffed locations. I've generally found that many areas (not sure about Massachusetts) have far cheaper options in the form of "mom and pop" day care centers where locals have secured a license. Now, folks will have to weigh the pros and cons (to include history/track record of a location), but I just point this out to say that there are often cheaper options.
No universal Pre-K, and, even worse, no universal kindergarten either. I was *shocked* when I moved here and a coworker mentioned that she had to pay for full day kindergarten. Of the 312 school districts in Massachusetts, only 224 districts offer tuition-free, full-day kindergarten. More kindergartens have gone full time and free in the past decade, but it's still not what I would expect from the state.
Since I hit my mid 30s, I've been calling local daycares to figure out the cost and situation so I will be prepared. At-home daycares in my area don't tend to take infants, largely because the ratios make it difficult. I'm sure there are some out there, but in most cases the child needs to be at least 1. At-home daycares are absolutely an option for me, especially since many are run by immigrants who speak in their native language (where I am, mostly Portuguese) to the kids which I find an asset. But it's not that much cheaper - still at least $2000, at least after the pandemic.
At my old work, there was an on-site daycare with a sliding scale. At 100K, I was expected to pay $2800 a month for an infant (and that wasn't in the highest bracket). That was more than half of my monthly check for one child! At my new job, the on-site daycare is $3000 a month for an infant. Of course, on-sites tend to be a bit pricier but both still have waitlists!
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This cuts down the need to pay for daycare and the such years before children in many other states are eligible for school. And that's even if you have children! 
