PrinceofWands
Lifer
- May 16, 2000
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Originally posted by: oddyager
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
He's not insane, you're out of touch. 30k a year can do everything you named, EASILY. The VAST percentage of people in America earn that or less.
You are confusing that this VAST PERCENTAGE is solvent. Many are struggling paycheck to paycheck with no debts.
I'd like to see your math on how $20-35k can support 3+ people with a nice place, new cars and the like
And yet, huge percentages of the country do it, and have always done it. I did it, my friends and family did it...it's just not that hard. You just have to avoid ever paying a percentage (so no credit purchases), make reasonable life choices (value shopping), stay out of spendy areas (live in the other 99% of the country), etc.
You have not answered the question.
Saying your family...what is that? Your parents 20 years ago?
Show us the math were even with living in a NICE house, 30k can support 3 people with new cars and ammenities and living a great life.
It's impossible.
Just because the average income is a certain amount in our country does not mean people are living well at it.
Please break it down for us.
I'm in a different situation now, since I own my home outright. I'm 36, so that should give you an idea on time frame for reference.
Rent/mortgage for a nice place in a good neighborhood was about $700. It hasn't gone up much since I last paid (according to friends family who are still paying). Throw in property taxes, insurance, and such and you're at about $850.
Phone, internet, cable, water/sewer/garbage, & electricity are about $200/mo now, but they have increased substantially in a short time. Used to be barely half that.
Car insurance is about the same price as it was; say $50-75/mo. Gas is more expensive. We spend about $100-150/mo. That's about double what I used to pay.
Food is way more now than it was a few years ago, but we still eat for about $400/mo.
Other monthly stuff (clothes, housewares, etc) may run us $150 a month.
So there's everything you need for less than $2000/mo. If you save the rest (from a 30k/yr salary), you can buy a new car outright with no problem every 2-3 years. If you're good to your vehicles you can keep them 5-10 years in great condition, so that means vacations, entertainment, etc.
Things have gotten more expensive, definitely. I imagine if I were 20 right now doing it all over again it would be MUCH tighter living...might have to be in an apartment instead of a house, skip the extras, smaller vacations and Christmases, etc. However we'd still do it, as all of our friends and family do.
My own anecdotes are irrelevant however. Just go into any small (under 50k pop) town not a suburb of a major metropolis. Find a good area (clean, low crime, etc). Out of every 10 homes in that area, 7 are kept up by people with the income we're talking about (under 50k). And the funny thing is, most people live with credit, which SEVERELY hurts their lifestyle. If those same people would go cash only they'd have even better lifestyles than they do.
Utilities for under $200 per month? That's incredibly low.
You're right, my math was bad. Call it $250.
We pay about 85 for phone/internet/cable. W/S/G is 135 every two months, but is up about $40 from 5 years ago (city is replacing water infrastructure). Electricity used to be $75/mo, but is up to about $100.
