Oh this is hilarious
"It’s no surprise that working couples in big cities are struggling to raise children while paying off mortgages and student debt. What is surprising is that they’re lumped in with the so-called “wealthy” if they jointly earn $250,000 a year."
"The bottom line: It’s not exactly easy street for our $250,000-a-year family, especially when they live in high-tax areas on either coast. "
"Some of the expenses incurred by couples like the Joneses may seem lavish — such as $5,000 on a housecleaner, a $1,200 annual dry cleaning tab and $4,000 on kids’ activities. But when both parents are working, it becomes nearly impossible to maintain the home, care for the kids and dress for their professional jobs without a big outlay."
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After covering taxes and only essential expenses for housing, groceries, child care, clothing, transportation, and the dog, the Joneses would still be in the red by $1,787 in Huntington."
Is $250,000 a Year Rich? Let's Break It Down
A few of the annual necessities
- A $750,000 house near the best school.
- $5,000 for house cleaning
- $2,600 for gasoline tax (not sure how that works out, my wife and I spend less than that on gasoline alone in the past year).
So their hypothetical scenario leaves $175k after taxes, minus $50k mortgage is $125k.
How on earth do you spend $125k on "essentials" only including "groceries, childcare, clothing, transportation & the dog". Oh right, I forgot the $34k put in the IRA, which is almost as much as what the typical family earns to begin with!
Damn, let's play this game with the couple earning $1m. Let's say they pay $400k in taxes, then they're only left with $600k.
- Elite private preschool for the kids: $100k
- House in a "decent" neighborhood: $150k
- Personal chef: $100k
- Chauffer/Transportation: $75k
- Nanny: $100k
- Gardener: $30k
- Travel/clothing: $70k
Holy crap after just the essentials of childcare, food, clothing and housing there's not even any left over to save for retirement even with such a seemingly large income as $1m.