Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchkin03
No, not really. I see far more than 20% of my paycheck deducted each month, and I don't make 250K. If you do make that much, it's more like 33%...so, that ends up being about $13K a month. For 6 people (4 kids!), that's not that much. Also, don't forget:
-insurance premiums/deductions
-pre-tax deductions for retirement
-state/local taxes
-Social Security
-any other pre-tax deductions (for example, I get one for public transportation)
Also, you have to factor in regional costs of living. What's "comfortable" in Michigan is "middle class" in NYC/SF, and "honking wealthy" in Mississippi.
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If you take your $13,000 a month figure thats still a yearly income of $156,000 and would allow each member of the 6 person family $26,000 to live off of. In my mind cost of living is factored in automatically I live in Ct where the median cost of a home is $300,000 not as high as say orange county, Ca but still it's not cheap to live here. Granted i don't have children and i live with a family member so rent and utilities are not something in my current budget. But I live on max $100 a week for groceries gas and general spending and most weeks i don't spend all of that.
Maybe im just lost because im only 21 and don't have a family or mortgage or those kinds of responsibilities but i just cant accept the fact that $13,000 is not enough money to live comfortably.
But then again maybe my definition of comfortable is different than yours and thats where the problem lies.