“These People Have No Idea What Struggle Is”: Twitter Mocks Article Explaining The Struggles Of Those Earning $400k Annually
The use of the word “rich” really boils down to perspective. A poor person may see someone from the middle class as rich, though that same middle class someone might not see it the same way and consider the upper class rich.
However, there’s also a threshold—a very objective one—whereby you can’t but say “yeah, (s)he’s rich.” Many would without a doubt say that an annual salary of, let’s say, $400,000 is definitely one that would define a rich person or household.
Well, turns out, for some, that amount of money isn’t all that much, and Twitter disagrees with such a statement wholeheartedly.
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This Twitter user recently pointed out an online article that claims $400k isn’t “exactly living large”
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In particular, how a family of four living in a metropolitan city wouldn’t really have that much money left over after all of their taxes and expenses
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A CNBC article from October 2020 has recently resurfaced online. The article discusses Biden’s definition of wealth, in particular progressively taxing those with a $400,000 annual salary. However, it considers it from a different perspective—one where $400k isn’t actually deemed “rich.”
It argues that, if you’re someone who has a spouse, two kids, and lives in a major city, $400k isn’t “exactly living large,” especially considering all of the taxes and possible expenses based on FinancialSamurai.com’s calculations.
The article based its arguments on Financial Samurai’s calculations found below
Image credits: Financial Samurai
According to them, monthly net income for someone earning $400,000 is almost $22,000. Deduct the expenses—everything from daycare, preschool, mortgages, and insurance to food, gas, car payments, savings, and other necessities—and you’re left with $3. So, does that really mean someone’s rich?
Well, computer scientist and politics enthusiast Dr. Mansa Keita brought up the $400k isn’t rich statement on his Twitter, saying “I’m convinced these people have no idea what struggle is like,” leading tweeters to start debating the issue.
Well, Twitter reacted by calling it ridiculous and arguing that $400k actually is the definition of rich
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While opinions and perspectives differed, many of them did agree that it’s ridiculous to say that $400,000 is not rich. Some argued that this kind of wealth still entails that though, at the end of the day, you don’t have much money left, you still end up buying nice things, like 2-million-dollar houses and brand new cars.
Others pointed out that some of the calculations do include overspending, like the $2,000 monthly food budget. Yet others say that there are expenses that can be eliminated, like less shopping or less charity. And think of all the money you’ll save once kids leave daycare and preschool.
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Also, driving a Toyota as a family of 4 seems more sensible than driving a Lamborghini. Sure, it would be cool, but highly impractical when picking up kids from school.
Though there were some who confirmed that, for example, it is quite realistic for a family of 6 to spend as much as the table claims a family of 4 spends on food, making it quite plausible in their opinion.
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Others said that the mentioned $2M home could quite likely end up being just a 1,500-square-foot affair on a tiny lot with no yard and originally built five decades ago—nothing rich about it. But, the overall consensus is that it could have been mitigated by simply being smarter with the money.
The tweet ended up garnering nearly 40,000 likes with thousands of retweets. It also made some headlines on the internet.
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You can read more replies by checking out the tweet replies. But before you go, tell us what you think about this in the comment section below!
This is ridiculous. The problem with people like this is that they're already living beyond their means, and unwilling to budget a reduction in their luxurious lifestyle to pay taxes. (1) You don't need a car in a metro area, never mind a gas guzzling, high end SUV. Use public transportation. (2) Your savings plan clearly includes 16 years of private schooling for two children. Send your kids to public school. (3) If you're spending $65/day on food, cut back on restaurant meals and takeout. (4) Don't buy a $2M house, then bitch that you can't afford it. (5) No one needs a 20G/month data plan unless they're streaming porn all day long. (6) If you're taking three vacations a year, STFU. You ain't poor. (7) If you can afford to give $3G to charity, GTFO of here with your whining about money.
Also, I have four kids who are now teens and adults and have never ever spent anywhere close to $200 per month for clothes even for the entire family and even when they were constantly growing out of everything. That's just nuts.
That's what discount stores and thrift shops are for, lol. I'd kill to be able to spend $200/month on clothes. Not to mention the $2000/MONTH they spend on groceries!!! Is their food covered in gold?!? No one in that family is pouring water on their cereal because it's a few more days until grocery day and the milk's already gone...
Right! Oh no they would have to shop at the Gap! Dude shopping at the Gap is splurging, I've only gone there to buy Christmas gifts and even then it's always sale items.
Yes however from my parents who only make about 200k a year spend a lot on clothes because seasons change and we are always growing or evolving how we dress so yes you may not have spend over 200$ but thats not the case for everyone
A Toyota Highlander is a very expensive vehicle. Maybe not Lamborghini expensive, but definitely not equivalent to a second-hand Corolla.
And they complain about us eating avocados. Sheesh.
I lived in SF up until a few years ago. The four of us lived in a 1 bedroom apartment, and couldn't afford to chuck 1-2 mill for a house (the normal for a 2 bedroom home in SF) . Also, schooling sucks in SF. The majority of people (lower middle class and above) send their children to private schools, however, some are more expensive and unnessesary than others. But we made less than 400k, and still were able to pay taxes, and still lived a pretty decent life. Although context matters, people making 400k should still have to pay taxes. Even if you live in a city, that's upper middle class. If you can't afford it, move out of the city.
Also, maybe the public schools wouldn't suck so bad if the government made more money in taxes...
Number one is slightly ignorant. Some people do need a car. Not all metropolitan areas have an efficient and sufficient public transportation system. I live in Phoenix which is the 5th largest metro area in the U.S. Our transportation system is a nightmare. It takes almost 4 hours to travel from one end of the metro area to the other. That’s without traffic. Not to mention, you could be stuck waiting up to 45 minutes for a bus in 115F (45C) degrees during the summer. We have a light rail system but it’s only one line and all the stations are in business and college districts so it’s not an option for people living in the suburbs.
If your transportation system is a nightmare, wouldn't that mean you should get involved and try and turn that around? Write letters, petition, etc? Because the people who HAVE to use that system don't get the option of buying a car and bailing on the whole issue..
my mobile phone bill is £5 every 4-6 months :D I just use all the free WiFi hotspots that are pretty much everywhere nowadays rather than using 4G data.
ANd in 20 years, they'll want more retirement money b/c they won't have savings, but my gramps who was a carpenter and had 7 kids ------ he saved and lived off his savings from reitrement till his death at age 90, never using his Soc Security.
This isn't a commentary on how the "rich" live. It's simply a commentary on how expensive it is to live in an "expensive metropolitan area". Yes, you could live very well indeed on that amount of money most places in suburban or rural America. There's no problem with (in your words) "people like this", people should be free to spend their money however they see fit. Honestly given the circumstances, it's a morally good decision to spend some of your income on your children's future. The data just illustrates that in an "expensive metropolitan area" 400k doesn't go as far as most all of us would assume, and of course, the remedy for that is to move away from expensive cities.
But yes, Robert, it does go that far. They are GIVING AWAY $3000 a year ALONE for pete's sake! Not to mention over $60 a day on...checks notes...food??? Not one, not two...but three vacations a year at over a grand a pop....hundreds a MONTH on clothing? Even in an expensive area, those are ALL things that are hardly needed, but are nice to have. They can easily get by without spending hundreds of dollars every 30 days on clothing, for instance. Sure, they are "free to spend their money how they see fit"...the issue is their having the gall to whine about 'struggling" to those making a quarter of that and not able to afford to just give thousands away to charity as they can, or spend hundreds on "entertainment" every month.
Where they will not earn $400K/year. Job salaries for identical jobs are one thing in Podunk, another in SanFran or NYC.
I have a 15G data plan/month. I do not stream anything and regularly pass my limit.. (Instagram helps me mostly to achieve that)
(2) Or better yet, hold off on having children until you've paid off your student loans.
I find it interesting that whenever there's an article about young/lower income people, and how they spend their money, it's always focused on how they need to be better about budgeting, and prioritizing what's important...needs over wants. You know, less avocado toast, and Starbucks, more cook at home, and save, save, save, but you NEVER see that in reports like this. They want to criticize those making $40,000 a year for eating out once a week, but not the people making 10 times that, who seem to be eating out everyday?!?! And if you're pulling in 400k a year, then I'm guessing you have a job with good benefits, and retirement package, those of us on the lower end probably don't have either, so an illness has the potential to bankrupt us, or cost our jobs for missing work to deal with it. And don't get me started on the vast improvements to ones mental health there are, when you don't have to worry about putting food on the table everyday. I realize $400,000 is different, depending on where you live, but this idea that they're struggling too, is absolute nonsense. Just eat out less, vacation closer to home, and downsize subscription services, if it's the supposed "cure all" for our money woes, it can work for them too. God, this reeks of the "rich people are just like you" propaganda bs we see pop up when they don't want to pay their fair share, and I for one am tired of it.
Seriously. These people put almost my annual income into a 401K every year, so cry me a river. I know they aren't the same level as wealthy as people like Bezos and Bezos should be taxed even more, but they are still well-off and it's factually wrong to act like they only have $34 left to pay for miscellaneous expenses. Let's be generous and say they need the mortgage and need the pricey daycare. They still spend a lot of money on variable expenses like recreation, vacation, and oh yeah AVOCADO TOAST or take-out. (Also, I'm not sure why the daycare and pre-school have overlapping times unless it's the price for one of the kids to be in daycare and the other one to be in pre-school.) I wasn't aware that nearly $4K on zoo trips and Netflix was an essential expense. Not to mention, when it comes to younger people, the complaints are that we do too much take-out or Starbucks but that we're bad for killing Applebee's or other chain restaurants. Like pick one.
I absolutely agree with you. Everyone could be smarter with their money, especially if you make a so consistent amount of money. They have a lot of possibilities for saving and spending less with that budget.
To pick up on the food bill. The chart states a family of 4 spends $2000 on food, including regular deliveries. For comparison, the average UK family of 4 spends (at current exchange rate) $861. That includes what is defined as "food prepared outside the house". Either the US is massively ripped off when it comes to food prices, or this family of 4 is massively, and unnecessarily, spending on food/groceries. This spreadsheet reads as someone who is *very bad with money*! It makes my budgeting brain itch.
This has really bothered me. So I checked the details of a program called Rich House Poor House. (not exactly a reliable source, but the numbers involved are still revealing, even if I'm blowing my credibility!) The families involved are in the economic top and bottom 10%. One of the latest episodes had the Rich family (of 4 - so still comparable) spending $1,785 a month on groceries. That's at a farm shop, not a supermarket (even a high-end one). And for reference, nearly all of the top 10% families who feature on the show are millionaires. If they spend less than what a family on half their income "budgets" for on food - I know why they're millionaires! This spreadsheet is a work of fiction worthy of Hemingway!
I spend between 1 and 2G a month on groceries for 2 adults and 2 toddlers but that is mainly because I can't cook dinner right now and food costs in my country, especially fresh food, is much higher than America. Whenever I go back to the states to visit, I'll spend about $500 a month on groceries and eat like a king. These people suck are trying to keep up with millionaires in an expensive city.
Suck at budgeting**
Our weekly grocery bill for two people is close to $250.00 a week. And I'm not going to apologize for it, either. I grew up missing meals because I didn't have money. I'm never doing that again.
You do you. Unless you also take 3 vacations AND say you struggle to make ends meet, you shouldn't apologise.
You should not apologize...is your house at 2 million, do you give away thousands and spend hundreds every 30 days on clothing...and then complain of struggle?
This is ridiculous. The problem with people like this is that they're already living beyond their means, and unwilling to budget a reduction in their luxurious lifestyle to pay taxes. (1) You don't need a car in a metro area, never mind a gas guzzling, high end SUV. Use public transportation. (2) Your savings plan clearly includes 16 years of private schooling for two children. Send your kids to public school. (3) If you're spending $65/day on food, cut back on restaurant meals and takeout. (4) Don't buy a $2M house, then bitch that you can't afford it. (5) No one needs a 20G/month data plan unless they're streaming porn all day long. (6) If you're taking three vacations a year, STFU. You ain't poor. (7) If you can afford to give $3G to charity, GTFO of here with your whining about money.
Also, I have four kids who are now teens and adults and have never ever spent anywhere close to $200 per month for clothes even for the entire family and even when they were constantly growing out of everything. That's just nuts.
That's what discount stores and thrift shops are for, lol. I'd kill to be able to spend $200/month on clothes. Not to mention the $2000/MONTH they spend on groceries!!! Is their food covered in gold?!? No one in that family is pouring water on their cereal because it's a few more days until grocery day and the milk's already gone...
Right! Oh no they would have to shop at the Gap! Dude shopping at the Gap is splurging, I've only gone there to buy Christmas gifts and even then it's always sale items.
Yes however from my parents who only make about 200k a year spend a lot on clothes because seasons change and we are always growing or evolving how we dress so yes you may not have spend over 200$ but thats not the case for everyone
A Toyota Highlander is a very expensive vehicle. Maybe not Lamborghini expensive, but definitely not equivalent to a second-hand Corolla.
And they complain about us eating avocados. Sheesh.
I lived in SF up until a few years ago. The four of us lived in a 1 bedroom apartment, and couldn't afford to chuck 1-2 mill for a house (the normal for a 2 bedroom home in SF) . Also, schooling sucks in SF. The majority of people (lower middle class and above) send their children to private schools, however, some are more expensive and unnessesary than others. But we made less than 400k, and still were able to pay taxes, and still lived a pretty decent life. Although context matters, people making 400k should still have to pay taxes. Even if you live in a city, that's upper middle class. If you can't afford it, move out of the city.
Also, maybe the public schools wouldn't suck so bad if the government made more money in taxes...
Number one is slightly ignorant. Some people do need a car. Not all metropolitan areas have an efficient and sufficient public transportation system. I live in Phoenix which is the 5th largest metro area in the U.S. Our transportation system is a nightmare. It takes almost 4 hours to travel from one end of the metro area to the other. That’s without traffic. Not to mention, you could be stuck waiting up to 45 minutes for a bus in 115F (45C) degrees during the summer. We have a light rail system but it’s only one line and all the stations are in business and college districts so it’s not an option for people living in the suburbs.
If your transportation system is a nightmare, wouldn't that mean you should get involved and try and turn that around? Write letters, petition, etc? Because the people who HAVE to use that system don't get the option of buying a car and bailing on the whole issue..
my mobile phone bill is £5 every 4-6 months :D I just use all the free WiFi hotspots that are pretty much everywhere nowadays rather than using 4G data.
ANd in 20 years, they'll want more retirement money b/c they won't have savings, but my gramps who was a carpenter and had 7 kids ------ he saved and lived off his savings from reitrement till his death at age 90, never using his Soc Security.
This isn't a commentary on how the "rich" live. It's simply a commentary on how expensive it is to live in an "expensive metropolitan area". Yes, you could live very well indeed on that amount of money most places in suburban or rural America. There's no problem with (in your words) "people like this", people should be free to spend their money however they see fit. Honestly given the circumstances, it's a morally good decision to spend some of your income on your children's future. The data just illustrates that in an "expensive metropolitan area" 400k doesn't go as far as most all of us would assume, and of course, the remedy for that is to move away from expensive cities.
But yes, Robert, it does go that far. They are GIVING AWAY $3000 a year ALONE for pete's sake! Not to mention over $60 a day on...checks notes...food??? Not one, not two...but three vacations a year at over a grand a pop....hundreds a MONTH on clothing? Even in an expensive area, those are ALL things that are hardly needed, but are nice to have. They can easily get by without spending hundreds of dollars every 30 days on clothing, for instance. Sure, they are "free to spend their money how they see fit"...the issue is their having the gall to whine about 'struggling" to those making a quarter of that and not able to afford to just give thousands away to charity as they can, or spend hundreds on "entertainment" every month.
Where they will not earn $400K/year. Job salaries for identical jobs are one thing in Podunk, another in SanFran or NYC.
I have a 15G data plan/month. I do not stream anything and regularly pass my limit.. (Instagram helps me mostly to achieve that)
(2) Or better yet, hold off on having children until you've paid off your student loans.
I find it interesting that whenever there's an article about young/lower income people, and how they spend their money, it's always focused on how they need to be better about budgeting, and prioritizing what's important...needs over wants. You know, less avocado toast, and Starbucks, more cook at home, and save, save, save, but you NEVER see that in reports like this. They want to criticize those making $40,000 a year for eating out once a week, but not the people making 10 times that, who seem to be eating out everyday?!?! And if you're pulling in 400k a year, then I'm guessing you have a job with good benefits, and retirement package, those of us on the lower end probably don't have either, so an illness has the potential to bankrupt us, or cost our jobs for missing work to deal with it. And don't get me started on the vast improvements to ones mental health there are, when you don't have to worry about putting food on the table everyday. I realize $400,000 is different, depending on where you live, but this idea that they're struggling too, is absolute nonsense. Just eat out less, vacation closer to home, and downsize subscription services, if it's the supposed "cure all" for our money woes, it can work for them too. God, this reeks of the "rich people are just like you" propaganda bs we see pop up when they don't want to pay their fair share, and I for one am tired of it.
Seriously. These people put almost my annual income into a 401K every year, so cry me a river. I know they aren't the same level as wealthy as people like Bezos and Bezos should be taxed even more, but they are still well-off and it's factually wrong to act like they only have $34 left to pay for miscellaneous expenses. Let's be generous and say they need the mortgage and need the pricey daycare. They still spend a lot of money on variable expenses like recreation, vacation, and oh yeah AVOCADO TOAST or take-out. (Also, I'm not sure why the daycare and pre-school have overlapping times unless it's the price for one of the kids to be in daycare and the other one to be in pre-school.) I wasn't aware that nearly $4K on zoo trips and Netflix was an essential expense. Not to mention, when it comes to younger people, the complaints are that we do too much take-out or Starbucks but that we're bad for killing Applebee's or other chain restaurants. Like pick one.
I absolutely agree with you. Everyone could be smarter with their money, especially if you make a so consistent amount of money. They have a lot of possibilities for saving and spending less with that budget.
To pick up on the food bill. The chart states a family of 4 spends $2000 on food, including regular deliveries. For comparison, the average UK family of 4 spends (at current exchange rate) $861. That includes what is defined as "food prepared outside the house". Either the US is massively ripped off when it comes to food prices, or this family of 4 is massively, and unnecessarily, spending on food/groceries. This spreadsheet reads as someone who is *very bad with money*! It makes my budgeting brain itch.
This has really bothered me. So I checked the details of a program called Rich House Poor House. (not exactly a reliable source, but the numbers involved are still revealing, even if I'm blowing my credibility!) The families involved are in the economic top and bottom 10%. One of the latest episodes had the Rich family (of 4 - so still comparable) spending $1,785 a month on groceries. That's at a farm shop, not a supermarket (even a high-end one). And for reference, nearly all of the top 10% families who feature on the show are millionaires. If they spend less than what a family on half their income "budgets" for on food - I know why they're millionaires! This spreadsheet is a work of fiction worthy of Hemingway!
I spend between 1 and 2G a month on groceries for 2 adults and 2 toddlers but that is mainly because I can't cook dinner right now and food costs in my country, especially fresh food, is much higher than America. Whenever I go back to the states to visit, I'll spend about $500 a month on groceries and eat like a king. These people suck are trying to keep up with millionaires in an expensive city.
Suck at budgeting**
Our weekly grocery bill for two people is close to $250.00 a week. And I'm not going to apologize for it, either. I grew up missing meals because I didn't have money. I'm never doing that again.
You do you. Unless you also take 3 vacations AND say you struggle to make ends meet, you shouldn't apologise.
You should not apologize...is your house at 2 million, do you give away thousands and spend hundreds every 30 days on clothing...and then complain of struggle?