Someone Tries Proving How A Family With A $350k Yearly Income Is Still Struggling By Posting This Expenses Chart, Gets Roasted
Interview With Expert
Different people have different concepts of what struggling with money really means. Some people are thankful that they earn enough to cover their rent, utilities, and food expenses for the month. Others are glad that they have enough to buy one solid meal a day. While still others earn millions, can buy anything and everything their hearts desire, but feel as though they never have enough.
Twitter had a field day making fun of a supposedly financially struggling family that had an annual gross income (that’s before taxes) of 350,000 dollars. Twitter users were ruthless with their jokes, stating how the only thing that family might be struggling with is probably math, while others criticized the family’s flamboyant lifestyle. Scroll down for Bored Panda’s in-depth and enlightening interview with Financial Samurai’s founder Sam Dogen who explained that MarketWatch was the one that mentioned that a family with such an income would be ‘struggling.’
This claim about how earning $350k a year is supposedly ‘struggling’…
Image credits: MarketWatch
It all started with an article and a tweet published by MarketWatch, which used data collected by Sam Dogen on the Financial Samurai blog, about how a budget shows that an annual 350,000 dollar salary “barely qualifies as middle class.”
The budget that Dogen created has some strange things in it, like three weeks of vacation, spending 400 dollars a month on clothes from Old Navy, and dropping 2000 dollars a month on preschool. This, to most people, doesn’t look like the budget of a ‘struggling’ family that’s barely getting by.
“Unfortunately, despite making $350,000 a year, this couple will be unable to retire before 60 because they aren’t building an after-tax investment portfolio to generate passive income,” Dogen writes on his blog. “In order for this couple to achieve financial independence, they need to accumulate a net worth equal to at least 25 times their annual expenses — or 20 times their annual gross income.”
…caught Twitter users’ attention, including that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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Whatever your financial situation at home, there’s always something you can do to save money for a rainy day, pay off debt, and save for college. Discover suggests that families focus on food costs by planning in advance, buying what’s on sale, and having a very clear cash limit.
Another way to save money is to make important events like birthdays a simple affair, like a day at the beach or having a sleepover with pizza and cake. Then there’s the question of clothes. Most parents want their kids to wear the very best brands, but it makes little sense to buy expensive clothes that your kids will grow out of in a matter of months. It’s worth considering going for second-hand clothing. Do you have any advice on saving money, dear Readers? Share the tips that have worked for you in the comments.
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Bored Panda interviewed Dogen about his insights into savings, finances, and education
Bored Panda reached out to Dogen, the founder of the Financial Samurai blog, to talk about finances, savings, and the reaction of Twitter users.
“I was inspired to come up with the 350,000 dollar budget number because, according to the latest California Association of Realtors report, a household now needs to earn $343,000 to buy the median-priced ~1.6 million dollar home in San Francisco as of Q2 of 2019. Then the household needs to come up with a 320,000 dollar, 20 percent down payment!”
“Based on my original article on CNBC, which MarketWatch riffed off, I really tried to be thorough and analyze all the costs and see where this household could save and could not save. I didn’t say this hypothetical couple was “struggling,” MarketWatch did,” Dogen highlighted.
“I wanted to highlight that living in an expensive metropolitan city can be very difficult for families who want to maintain a traditional middle-class lifestyle. Due to the cost of childcare, surging real estate prices, and the desire to send kids to private school, budgets get eaten up quite quickly, even if you are making multiple six figures. Then if you add on rising healthcare costs, people are forced to work longer than they may really want.”
“My wife and I both decided to stay out of the workforce in order to be full-time parents from the time our boy was born in April 2017 until Sept 2019. The lost income hurt as we missed out on over $1 million in lost income. But it was our choice,” he continued.
Financial Samurai thought that the reactions on Twitter were fair
“I think the reactions by readers on Twitter are very eye-opening and fair. I tried to make the budget a little humorous and poke fun at U.S. consumerism with lines such as “Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover” and “Old Navy instead of Gucci.”
“I understand 350,000 dollars is a top 2% household income level. Therefore, most people will thumbs down the budget. But I think we are all very lucky to live in the United States, no matter our income. I grew up overseas for 13 years in Zambia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and other emerging countries, and living in America is truly great in comparison.”
“I also realize there is a great divide in America in politics and finances because people fail to see the other side’s perspective. Around half the population live on the expensive coasts and in big cities such as Chicago, Honolulu, and Houston. I thought it would be interesting to highlight how one particular family archetype lives.”
“Finally, my ultimate goal is to encourage people to stay on top of their finances and achieve financial freedom sooner, rather than later. I also want folks to question their never-ending desire for money and status. The best way to get people to review their budgets, save more aggressively, invest more prudently, and plan for retirement is to start a discussion,” Dogen told Bored Panda.
Dogen explained that financial education is incredibly important
According to Dogen, the biggest barrier for people to becoming rich is the lack of education: “We learn things like chemistry, geology, and English in high school and college, but there are no mandatory courses on personal finance. For example, if more people thoroughly understood their mortgage contracts before signing, the housing crisis between 2008 – 2010 may not have been as deep. In another example, if more people knew they could negotiate a severance instead of quit with nothing, more people would have a more comfortable financial runway to take their time and find a new job or start a new business that is truly meaningful to them. The more people are empowered with financial knowledge, the better financial decisions they can make to ultimately live the lives they desire.”
“One of the key mantras I tell my readers is this: If the amount of money you’re saving each month doesn’t hurt, you’re not saving enough! Too many people go through life, paying no attention to their finances. Then they wake up 10, 15, 20 years from now and wonder where all their money went. Always pay yourself first. By paying yourself first after each paycheck, and making it hurt a little to change your spendy ways, only then will you know whether you are saving enough.”
“Despite more mouths to feed, large families also have synergies that can save them money. Use hand-me-down clothing and shoes for all children with occasional aesthetic adjustments between boys and girls if desired. Buy food in bulk. Send kids to a preschool co-op where they require parental involvement usually once a week. Send your kids to public school and forget about the ridiculous cost of private school tuition. Enjoy the free parks and libraries. Have kids share rooms to save on buying a larger house. But the two most important things are having one parent who works to help subsidize healthcare costs and avoiding private schools.”
According to Financial Samurai, raising kids is a huge financial responsibility
Dogen once again noted that he never personally said that a family earning 350,000 dollars a year was ‘struggling.’
“Marketwatch used that word in their tweet. I simply wanted to highlight how quickly a multiple-six-figure income can go if a couple is trying to raise a family in an expensive metropolitan area. Due to inflation, it’s requiring a higher and higher income to live a middle-class lifestyle today.”
“Having children is a huge responsibility that comes at great cost. My hope is that more people think deeply about their finances and their current situations before having children. We owe it to them to have our stuff together beforehand. If more of us do, I think we’d have much happier kids and better-adjusted adults.”
“I started Financial Samurai in 2009 during the middle of the financial crisis when I lost about 35% of my net worth in six months despite thinking I had done everything right. It was a wakeup moment for me to try harder and analyze my blind spots.”
“After 10 years of a bull market, I feel that many people, especially those aged 35 and under have gotten a little too complacent — like they just can’t lose. I’m hoping that the more we can have a discussion about our personal finances, the better prepared we will be for the next inevitable downturn.”
Financial Samurai also had this to add: “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went to Boston University, where Boston University says it will cost a family 72,000 dollars a year to attend. A 350,000 dollar a year earning household with the budget I created has no chance of sending their kid to such a private university because they need to make 100,000 dollars in gross income to afford one year of attendance, and they have two kids. I hope people see the irony in AOC’s tweet. They would have to take on a large amount of student debt, which is one of the big problems in America today.“
Other people expressed their opinion without any reservations
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Bored Panda also reached out to Generic White Guy to hear his thoughts on the topic. In his opinion, “it obviously depends on your family situation, but I’d say about 50,000 dollars a year is the beginning of the middle class. I’m not sure of the upper limit but probably 150,000 dollars a year.
Generic White Guy also shared his tips on how to save money. “The best way to save is to consistently put aside money every month. Be that 50 dollars, 100 dollars, or more. Having a large family probably makes it really difficult to do that. Although I think it’s better to still consistently put that money into a savings account even if you pull out some or all of it to help pay bills later.”
“Cutting costs is also huge, and it’s easier to get good deals in bulk. One of the biggest things that would help, though, is the implementation of a Medicare-for-All system which takes away a large portion of the financial burden that healthcare and health insurance puts on citizens. It’s also the morally right thing to do. Our current healthcare system is criminal,” Generic White Guy criticized the current healthcare system in the US.
According to him, the largest barrier that prevents people from becoming wealthy is that “extremely wealthy people are able to hoard their wealth and continue to amass it through exploitation of workers.”
“A wealth tax would be awesome as well, and also makes a lot of sense. Money works when it flows, it’s destructive when it’s hoarded,” Generic White Guy shared his opinion.
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hello! id be eating healthy everyday and not hitting sonic for .99 cent corndogs
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Just googled this; The 2017 nominal median income per capita was $31,786. The mean income per capita was $48,150. Real median household income was $61,372. Some news orgs see 350k as normal, while the same news orgs go to "the heart-land" to interview the "real americans", that don't even make 30k to ask them what they think. I'm not sure there is any other "civilized" country in the world who so obviously screws their gen pop over all time, like the US does...
Exactly! They are stuggling so much....that they manage to simply give away money ($300) every month to charity...most people who are struggling are NOT giving away money, even if they wanted to!
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Those people need to live in my world for a while. I'm the sole support of a family of 3. Making $40K a year. Hello reality!!!
I'm getting the GoFundMe account ready as we speak 'Upper middle class need help ' now" if we don't fix this now it will spell doom for the rest of us as this is not how trickle down economics is suppose to work
But trickle-down economics is doing exacly what the upper class wants it to do. They never wanted to get more income to anyone else but them.
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STRUGGLING was eating squirrel and weeds against hunger. STRUGGLING was going without food to afford gas to get to work. STRUGGLING was fighting rats for the cereal box in the morning b/c tupperware cost too much. This? This is whingey privileged brats. IMHO.
It's so far from reality that you start to wonder how on Earth they have the brain capacity to make that money.
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The other 99% of Americans would LOVE to share their problem. Thoughts and prayers...
Thoughts and prayers indeed. For their brain to start acknowledging reality.
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I am on low income but I manage well and don't have to have so much. I spend 300 on food and misc items along with cat food. 70 bucks sounds like they are just eating out instead of home. I fed four people once it only cost me 8 dollars.
Good on you Rissy! My dad was a game warden in TN and never made above $60k a year. Yeah, $60k is pretty good especially in rural TN, but that was the last 5 years or so of his career. For most of my life it was between $35k - $55k. Anyway, with a stay at home mom and 3 kids he managed to send us all to college with no debt and retire to live comfortably. He's not rich by any means, but he worked hard on paying off their mortgage and not keeping unnecessary debt. I get there is excess poverty that needs to be addressed, but a lower income isn't a death sentence. I'm a wildlife biologist and don't have a huge salary. I know some of my counterparts who have gone on to research positions making 6 figures, but I love what I do and I make enough to take my family on vacations and have a hobby.
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I'm not mad that they make that much money a year. I make around 22,000 a year and it's not the easiest but it could be worse I guess. I'm just so tired of how disconnected people are. how can you live a life where you have all of your finances covered and take vacations and have a family and just not be grateful.
They put away in savings, almost twice as much as the average Joe earns PA. Struggling. LOL
“My wife and I both decided to stay out of the workforce in order to be full-time parents..." This is an interesting person to take financial advice from.
Who has saved enough to take 12 years off? Did I read that wrong?
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The Bored Panda comment "Whatever your financial situation at home, there’s always something you can do to save money for a rainy day, pay off debt, and save for college," is absolutely not true. That was written by someone who thinks there isn't a lower limit to what you need to survive without going homeless. At one point, I counted toilet paper squares, laid my clothes on the carpet to dry, only used shampoo once per week, walked most of the time (to the grocery store 2.5 miles away which is a pain in the behind the day after a snow), though I did have a car worth about $75 dollars I would drive once in a great while. I would scrimp to pay for everything and save so that I could buy one 55cent can of pop every 4-5 weeks. I used so little electricity that my bill was usually under $10. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying, if I'd tried a little harder (turned off the fridge, didn't use the stove), I might have been able to save $2 a month, max.
You had a FRIDGE!?!? According to Fox News, you're not poor! Just kidding of course. I hope you're doing better today. I've had to use the foodbank in the past in order to make ends meet. It's not fun.
Load More Replies... Infant day care in the San Francisco Bay Area can be $1300-$2600 per month. Still worth it if you have a six figure income but those costs drive a lot of people (usually women) to leave the workforce.
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I agree that the majority of us are getting screwed and politicians either don't have a clue or don't care. To be fair though this isn't a real family, just something a blogger threw out there for the usual attention getting blogger reasons.
This seems like something the onion would post. But I do know people like this. They’re like things are really tight around here. But they just dropped 4K on Christmas gifts and all their kids go to private school. Like no money is tight bc you live well. Pet peeve is people complaining about money but spending sooooo much on gifts to keep up appearances.
Maybe the point was that it doesn’t matter how much money you make, you can still live pay check to pay check if you live beyond your means. (Still really insensitive though.)
The ever-widening income gap coupled with the fact that today's social media reach means that the rich can more easily influence the less well off simply by buying the information/misinformation that reaches the bulk of the population. Manipulation has never ever been as easy to pull off as today - provided that you have the cash to pay others to do it for you. In the meantime, the rich can play-pretend that they are not nearly as well off as they are. The only thing you have to do is to opt for spending large amounts of money on expensive stuff. You still will only have a roof over your head, a car, the kids in school, and a stomach that is not growling with hunger when you go to bed in the evening. As my brother says: "Oh yeah, the one who has the most gadgets when he dies, wins...!" There is a British TV serial called Rich House, Poor House (you can find it on Youtube) where two families swap homes for a week and get to live in the shoes of the host family, I recommend it.
They screen that here: I always appreciate that the children of the rich family get an experience of what money means, it's such an important life lesson at that age
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with working hard, earning a great income and living in a nice home. Isn't that what most people aspire to? But to have no common sense about spending and then complain that you're struggling is insane. If you're too stupid to manage your own money, there are professionals who can advise. If this is a true portrayal of this family's financial situation, they are morons.
Struggling?!?! Wow! Outrageous! if you take in consideration all the billions of people who literally have nothing to eat, no money, no home. That is what I call struggling. What such a family has is called: " rich and nice life".
I wouldn't k ow what to do with $14k a month. 😒 It must be nice if this is how they "struggle."
Listen, I make maybe 11,000 a year on my own, I have clinical mental illness (which literally impacts my walking ability)/other medical problems, I help take care of the house expenses before/after my mother died, and I help take care of my autistic sibling. I some how never landed a full time job, just part times and seasonal. I am about 55,000 in debt from college loans (thanks a lot higher education...for nothing) for which the government is about to take wages, because i can't afford to pay it off. (There's been back to back to back hardships for me and the family) It seems like I am being picked on for being in this particular mix of just can't get right. So, it is very difficult for me to find sympathy for these $350,000 a year earners, when I have worn holes in my jeans that are about 10 years old. They can't be sewn any longer. Forget Old Navy expenses 😆
kids don't need clothes every month - ever heard of hand-me-downs? you don't need starbucks everyday. Grocery shop once a week, buy in bulk and make meals for the week, on one day. If you are struggling, you don't go on vacation, and certainly not three times a year. Don't need netflix, and don't need to go out all the time for entertainment. Stay home and spend time as a family doing a puzzle, for example. These people have obviously never experience hard times.
Remember when Mitt Romney's wife said she could appreciate the struggle because when they were first married they had to sell some stock? Many people would kill for that "problem."
I make minimum wage plus tips and driving money. I have to share my delivery vehicle with my older sister. I was denied by SNAP that I make to much to get food stamps. I have a lot of health problems but no insurance and my biggest splurge in the past few months was a new clothes basket. I think people who post things like these people did are beyond ridiculous. I don't know anyone who has $70 to eat off everyday let alone $400 dollars a month at Old Navy. These people need to wake up from whatever dream they are having and enter the real damn world. They don't know what struggling really is.
How could they ever survive in a smaller house? Impossible.
Load More Replies... If you're paying 3900/mo for a mortgage, then on a 30 year mortgage, you're essentially buying a home that will cost you 1.4 million dollars. (3900 x 12 = 46800...46800 x 30 = 1,404,000). A family of four can find a home that costs less than a third that price and still live very comfortably. So either you are irresponsible with money....or you were taken advantage of by the bank. Which means, you are irresponsible with money because you would shop around for a bank loan that makes more sense than that kind of cost.
The only way 350K is a low income is if you live in Manhattan or San Francisco where the cost of living is outrageous. If you can't find comfort in your income, then you need to find ways to make it comfortable. Cut back on vacations. Stop buying high-end and go for store-brand or more generics where you can. If you're trying to live the life of a celebrity on an income that is less than a celebrity's, you will feel like you're struggling.
There is a lot of criticism of these “people” without acknowledging that they’re not real. The guy who posted said it was a tongue-in-cheek hypothetical, albeit it an inept one, to show how one might spend nearly all of a $350K income in slightly more responsible ways than putting all of it toward hookers and blow.
Found the problem. San Fran CA. See what happens when you apply that budget in a place with somewhat sane property costs.
The GREAT AMERICAN COMPLAINT is "inconvenience."/// I"m guessing there are housekeeper(s), lawn and garden care, and someone to pick up dog poo (and probably dog walking and grooming), shovel snow and rake leaves.
Imagine eating 70 USD worth of food in a day! That'd be a dream. A box of cereal is like max 5 usd and that can last 4 people at mininum 4 days.
I really have no idea who can afford most new cars. Probably because I don't know anyone who could afford to take on hundreds of dollars per month for 6 or 7 years.
Waah, waah, waah. Life is so-o-o hard. I have never even been to an Old Navy store, I have, though, seen the labels at the thrift shops I shopped at to raise three kids!
This looks fake. First, the calculated Net Income is wrong. How does $288,000 - 92,100 equal $223,000. Also, the property insurance is way to low for a $1.8M house. My house cost $209,000 and I pay 2,800 annually. This looks like it was made up. However, there are idiots out there that make more than this and complain. Yet they still vote Republican.
My only real problem with this is that they used the word ‘struggling.’ Because struggle inherently implies conflict, discomfort, and worry. Struggling is not knowing where your next meal is coming from, not being able to afford the medical treatment you need, or not being able to secure a job because you don’t have transportation. It’s not having to buy a slightly less expensive car or not shop high end designer clothing labels.
Are you complaining or bragging? Been married 39 years... no vacation. EVER! date night is normal food in fancy plates... at HOME. no extra costs. 350k a year? Try that with 35k a year. You are not struggling. You are an attention seeker.
To those criticizing people making money, how about get a better paying job? Get higher education and work in a competitive field instead of complaining about what others can afford. If you have student loans after 5 years of working and still not making enough money, it's on you for being a loser.
The $300 a month they give to "charity" is more than I can afford to spend on groceries per month - for 2 people. I think these people are more o (not so) humble-bragging than truly complaining. Shameful.
This is very indecent and shocking, when so many people live either in their car or camping cars. These people are the working POOR, if they have one meal a day that could be the maximum sometimes. In the 70's I worked for Head Start in San Jose, California. The hispanique familles lived in dire conditions, no access to clean water, rats out numbered the humans, cockroches, dirty dusty roads, no garbage disposal, and theirs housings were made of cardboard boxes and what free materials they could find. Their children were left all day alone while the parents worked to make America great. The children hadn't never seen least ate grapes, organges, or vegetables. Nowadays nothing has changed for these working poor! To this day I still deeply saddened for these brave people and will never ever understand why they are treated like slaves? American has never been a great nation, only a country where the rich get richer by the second! Without Hispaniques are necessary for your economy
Since you brought up facts, could you please state where you found those you're referring to? No YouTube videos or Fox "News" links. Independent sources please.
$2000 a month on babysitting a 2 year old? Maybe they mean fulltime daycare?
Did anyone read the article itself? The financial advisor used a hypothetical family and a hypothetical budget. This family doesn't exist. The site (MarketWatch), chose the word 'struggling', not the financial advisor. What do we gain from always being pissed off?
how is tv entertainment $6000 a year? That's insane. in Australia we have over 30 free to air tv channels and Netflix is $14 a month.
The easiest thing here to fix is the food budget . I fed a family of 4 on $500 a month and we ate VERY WELL! They are over $2000. Do they eat Lobster & Filet every night? Second thing, get a cheaper house.
What is an umbrella policy? Also most people are not in the financial situation where they can save money; it all goes to rent, transportation, food and utilities.
$500 a month for entertainment? I have Netflix and Amazon Prime for my entertainment, and going to movies, concerts or a baseball game is something I do very rarely because of the prices and I need save up the cash to go to one baseball game or concert. I would love to be able to go on trips but I have more pressing financial issues like a mortgage.
If I had $18,000 a month income Id be able to save $15500 every month, with my current expenses, and I live relatively comfortably
I qualify for pretty well-off. It wasn't that I made a lot of money except for one windfall investment which gave me a cushion anyone would envy. I made it a point to be able to do as much of what needed to be done as I could. This included plumbing and electrical in the house, everything, not most. Tough to learn?? Not if you're determined. I also learned quickly that " deluxe " usually meant excess price for more junk. Basic was usually more reliable. I also cleaned and adjusted my own oil burner. I'll bet the majority of readers have already given up. Yeah, you really have to want to be independent. With my woodworking shop, my metal-working shop, and welding equipment, all of which I learned to use by reading, watching others, and just practicing. I was close to 100% independent. No $90/hr plumbers, electricians, heating system experts. I even put in my own well system ( except digging ). Anybody out there want to follow me? WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? At least learn something.
Wtaf? I feel very comfortable on. £95k! I know lots of people who have to manage on far less than me! These people are ignorant and entitled!
They have no idea. My household income is £90k and I would consider ourselves very comfortably off, we have a nice house, two cars and we have a couple of cheap holidays every year, including one trip abroad to see family. I consider us very very lucky, as I know lots of families struggling on far less than us. These people are clearly very ignorant and entitled!
I'm confused....do they buy a new stroller play pen and crib every month? Cause a 2 year old should not need that much stuff put towards them. In fact, at 2 years old, they should be thinking about potty training, which drops this category to almost $0/ and $70 a DAY for food??? That's my budget for 2 weeks to feed a family of 5 adults!
The most sickening thing in their budget is the measly one percent to charity!
I have so many issues with this list, but the most surprising one is their property tax. They have a 1.8 million dollar property insured for $1,500 a year?? My house is insured for around $250k and it's just over $1,300 a year. I'd like to know the name of their insurance company. Based on their rate, I should be paying only $200/year.
Shoot, not property tax, I meant property insurance. This site won't let me edit my comment.
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The only value that seems low to me is the amount of spending allocated for vacations. Only $7800 for a family for 4 to travel to 2 destination vacations. My vacation to Italy last year cost me about $6000 as a single person. Vacations are very expensive and $7800 does not accurately reflect what a family for 4 with an annual income of $350,000 would spend on even one destination vacation. Over all the budget shown in this example does not seem to reflect the spending habits of a real of family of four with $350k income. The families that I know that make similar income are actually pretty thrifty with their money and are able to make more money in investments and real estate. They are not struggling, which I guess would go against showing how a family could have a tight budget on $350k annual income.
A Highlander instead of a Range Rover, boo hoo. Why does a child need a $24k a year preschool? Our county offers many free/low cost preschool programs.
F**k the experts and their ways that already financially comfortable people can be 'more' comfortable. If you are low to medium income and you really want to know how to create a workable budget at almost any income level, talk to a single mom worked her way from welfare to home ownership and a retirement account.
You do know she was bartending to make ends meet before she became a congresswoman.
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He is a financial advisor... what do you expect from his post anyway? They put in big numbers, create uncertainty and make you doubt on your own spending habit and voila, now they show you their saving / investment plans, honey-coat it with all nice words like financial freedom, passive income, monthly returns and etc..... so you sign up with their services.
Absolutely no sympathy. When one of their spoiled kids screws up, they're going to need that money to bail out and cover up.
Avocados are not even that expensive. I just bought 4 today at Dollar General at 50 cents each.
Depends where you live, in Australia avocados cost on average $2 - $5 each depending where you get them from and the time of year.
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Omg! My salary is in another currency because I live in South America and let me tell you, this is just a joke for me,!! if this is bizarr for you even doing the math in USD,...OMG... you dont even know how many lines you can buy with my salary (I am professional, I have a career) Spoiler alert : ONE. LOL.
My rent is $1000 a month and I make $24,000 a year. If I can live comfortably, they sure as f**k can.
If this is struggling then I should be living under a damn bridge and I only make 60k a year (with maxing out overtime - otherwise it's 46k a year) This family is pathetic. Come live my life and everyone else's on here (unless you're rich then you don't count) Even though my bills are paid and I'm happy you'd cry. lol
hello! id be eating healthy everyday and not hitting sonic for .99 cent corndogs
Load More Replies... Just googled this; The 2017 nominal median income per capita was $31,786. The mean income per capita was $48,150. Real median household income was $61,372. Some news orgs see 350k as normal, while the same news orgs go to "the heart-land" to interview the "real americans", that don't even make 30k to ask them what they think. I'm not sure there is any other "civilized" country in the world who so obviously screws their gen pop over all time, like the US does...
Exactly! They are stuggling so much....that they manage to simply give away money ($300) every month to charity...most people who are struggling are NOT giving away money, even if they wanted to!
Load More Replies... Those people need to live in my world for a while. I'm the sole support of a family of 3. Making $40K a year. Hello reality!!!
I'm getting the GoFundMe account ready as we speak 'Upper middle class need help ' now" if we don't fix this now it will spell doom for the rest of us as this is not how trickle down economics is suppose to work
But trickle-down economics is doing exacly what the upper class wants it to do. They never wanted to get more income to anyone else but them.
Load More Replies... STRUGGLING was eating squirrel and weeds against hunger. STRUGGLING was going without food to afford gas to get to work. STRUGGLING was fighting rats for the cereal box in the morning b/c tupperware cost too much. This? This is whingey privileged brats. IMHO.
It's so far from reality that you start to wonder how on Earth they have the brain capacity to make that money.
Load More Replies... The other 99% of Americans would LOVE to share their problem. Thoughts and prayers...
Thoughts and prayers indeed. For their brain to start acknowledging reality.
Load More Replies... I am on low income but I manage well and don't have to have so much. I spend 300 on food and misc items along with cat food. 70 bucks sounds like they are just eating out instead of home. I fed four people once it only cost me 8 dollars.
Good on you Rissy! My dad was a game warden in TN and never made above $60k a year. Yeah, $60k is pretty good especially in rural TN, but that was the last 5 years or so of his career. For most of my life it was between $35k - $55k. Anyway, with a stay at home mom and 3 kids he managed to send us all to college with no debt and retire to live comfortably. He's not rich by any means, but he worked hard on paying off their mortgage and not keeping unnecessary debt. I get there is excess poverty that needs to be addressed, but a lower income isn't a death sentence. I'm a wildlife biologist and don't have a huge salary. I know some of my counterparts who have gone on to research positions making 6 figures, but I love what I do and I make enough to take my family on vacations and have a hobby.
Load More Replies... I'm not mad that they make that much money a year. I make around 22,000 a year and it's not the easiest but it could be worse I guess. I'm just so tired of how disconnected people are. how can you live a life where you have all of your finances covered and take vacations and have a family and just not be grateful.
They put away in savings, almost twice as much as the average Joe earns PA. Struggling. LOL
“My wife and I both decided to stay out of the workforce in order to be full-time parents..." This is an interesting person to take financial advice from.
Who has saved enough to take 12 years off? Did I read that wrong?
Load More Replies... The Bored Panda comment "Whatever your financial situation at home, there’s always something you can do to save money for a rainy day, pay off debt, and save for college," is absolutely not true. That was written by someone who thinks there isn't a lower limit to what you need to survive without going homeless. At one point, I counted toilet paper squares, laid my clothes on the carpet to dry, only used shampoo once per week, walked most of the time (to the grocery store 2.5 miles away which is a pain in the behind the day after a snow), though I did have a car worth about $75 dollars I would drive once in a great while. I would scrimp to pay for everything and save so that I could buy one 55cent can of pop every 4-5 weeks. I used so little electricity that my bill was usually under $10. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying, if I'd tried a little harder (turned off the fridge, didn't use the stove), I might have been able to save $2 a month, max.
You had a FRIDGE!?!? According to Fox News, you're not poor! Just kidding of course. I hope you're doing better today. I've had to use the foodbank in the past in order to make ends meet. It's not fun.
Load More Replies... Infant day care in the San Francisco Bay Area can be $1300-$2600 per month. Still worth it if you have a six figure income but those costs drive a lot of people (usually women) to leave the workforce.
Load More Replies... I agree that the majority of us are getting screwed and politicians either don't have a clue or don't care. To be fair though this isn't a real family, just something a blogger threw out there for the usual attention getting blogger reasons.
This seems like something the onion would post. But I do know people like this. They’re like things are really tight around here. But they just dropped 4K on Christmas gifts and all their kids go to private school. Like no money is tight bc you live well. Pet peeve is people complaining about money but spending sooooo much on gifts to keep up appearances.
Maybe the point was that it doesn’t matter how much money you make, you can still live pay check to pay check if you live beyond your means. (Still really insensitive though.)
The ever-widening income gap coupled with the fact that today's social media reach means that the rich can more easily influence the less well off simply by buying the information/misinformation that reaches the bulk of the population. Manipulation has never ever been as easy to pull off as today - provided that you have the cash to pay others to do it for you. In the meantime, the rich can play-pretend that they are not nearly as well off as they are. The only thing you have to do is to opt for spending large amounts of money on expensive stuff. You still will only have a roof over your head, a car, the kids in school, and a stomach that is not growling with hunger when you go to bed in the evening. As my brother says: "Oh yeah, the one who has the most gadgets when he dies, wins...!" There is a British TV serial called Rich House, Poor House (you can find it on Youtube) where two families swap homes for a week and get to live in the shoes of the host family, I recommend it.
They screen that here: I always appreciate that the children of the rich family get an experience of what money means, it's such an important life lesson at that age
Load More Replies... There is absolutely nothing wrong with working hard, earning a great income and living in a nice home. Isn't that what most people aspire to? But to have no common sense about spending and then complain that you're struggling is insane. If you're too stupid to manage your own money, there are professionals who can advise. If this is a true portrayal of this family's financial situation, they are morons.
Struggling?!?! Wow! Outrageous! if you take in consideration all the billions of people who literally have nothing to eat, no money, no home. That is what I call struggling. What such a family has is called: " rich and nice life".
I wouldn't k ow what to do with $14k a month. 😒 It must be nice if this is how they "struggle."
Listen, I make maybe 11,000 a year on my own, I have clinical mental illness (which literally impacts my walking ability)/other medical problems, I help take care of the house expenses before/after my mother died, and I help take care of my autistic sibling. I some how never landed a full time job, just part times and seasonal. I am about 55,000 in debt from college loans (thanks a lot higher education...for nothing) for which the government is about to take wages, because i can't afford to pay it off. (There's been back to back to back hardships for me and the family) It seems like I am being picked on for being in this particular mix of just can't get right. So, it is very difficult for me to find sympathy for these $350,000 a year earners, when I have worn holes in my jeans that are about 10 years old. They can't be sewn any longer. Forget Old Navy expenses 😆
kids don't need clothes every month - ever heard of hand-me-downs? you don't need starbucks everyday. Grocery shop once a week, buy in bulk and make meals for the week, on one day. If you are struggling, you don't go on vacation, and certainly not three times a year. Don't need netflix, and don't need to go out all the time for entertainment. Stay home and spend time as a family doing a puzzle, for example. These people have obviously never experience hard times.
Remember when Mitt Romney's wife said she could appreciate the struggle because when they were first married they had to sell some stock? Many people would kill for that "problem."
I make minimum wage plus tips and driving money. I have to share my delivery vehicle with my older sister. I was denied by SNAP that I make to much to get food stamps. I have a lot of health problems but no insurance and my biggest splurge in the past few months was a new clothes basket. I think people who post things like these people did are beyond ridiculous. I don't know anyone who has $70 to eat off everyday let alone $400 dollars a month at Old Navy. These people need to wake up from whatever dream they are having and enter the real damn world. They don't know what struggling really is.
How could they ever survive in a smaller house? Impossible.
Load More Replies... If you're paying 3900/mo for a mortgage, then on a 30 year mortgage, you're essentially buying a home that will cost you 1.4 million dollars. (3900 x 12 = 46800...46800 x 30 = 1,404,000). A family of four can find a home that costs less than a third that price and still live very comfortably. So either you are irresponsible with money....or you were taken advantage of by the bank. Which means, you are irresponsible with money because you would shop around for a bank loan that makes more sense than that kind of cost.
The only way 350K is a low income is if you live in Manhattan or San Francisco where the cost of living is outrageous. If you can't find comfort in your income, then you need to find ways to make it comfortable. Cut back on vacations. Stop buying high-end and go for store-brand or more generics where you can. If you're trying to live the life of a celebrity on an income that is less than a celebrity's, you will feel like you're struggling.
There is a lot of criticism of these “people” without acknowledging that they’re not real. The guy who posted said it was a tongue-in-cheek hypothetical, albeit it an inept one, to show how one might spend nearly all of a $350K income in slightly more responsible ways than putting all of it toward hookers and blow.
Found the problem. San Fran CA. See what happens when you apply that budget in a place with somewhat sane property costs.
The GREAT AMERICAN COMPLAINT is "inconvenience."/// I"m guessing there are housekeeper(s), lawn and garden care, and someone to pick up dog poo (and probably dog walking and grooming), shovel snow and rake leaves.
Imagine eating 70 USD worth of food in a day! That'd be a dream. A box of cereal is like max 5 usd and that can last 4 people at mininum 4 days.
I really have no idea who can afford most new cars. Probably because I don't know anyone who could afford to take on hundreds of dollars per month for 6 or 7 years.
Waah, waah, waah. Life is so-o-o hard. I have never even been to an Old Navy store, I have, though, seen the labels at the thrift shops I shopped at to raise three kids!
This looks fake. First, the calculated Net Income is wrong. How does $288,000 - 92,100 equal $223,000. Also, the property insurance is way to low for a $1.8M house. My house cost $209,000 and I pay 2,800 annually. This looks like it was made up. However, there are idiots out there that make more than this and complain. Yet they still vote Republican.
My only real problem with this is that they used the word ‘struggling.’ Because struggle inherently implies conflict, discomfort, and worry. Struggling is not knowing where your next meal is coming from, not being able to afford the medical treatment you need, or not being able to secure a job because you don’t have transportation. It’s not having to buy a slightly less expensive car or not shop high end designer clothing labels.
Are you complaining or bragging? Been married 39 years... no vacation. EVER! date night is normal food in fancy plates... at HOME. no extra costs. 350k a year? Try that with 35k a year. You are not struggling. You are an attention seeker.
To those criticizing people making money, how about get a better paying job? Get higher education and work in a competitive field instead of complaining about what others can afford. If you have student loans after 5 years of working and still not making enough money, it's on you for being a loser.
The $300 a month they give to "charity" is more than I can afford to spend on groceries per month - for 2 people. I think these people are more o (not so) humble-bragging than truly complaining. Shameful.
This is very indecent and shocking, when so many people live either in their car or camping cars. These people are the working POOR, if they have one meal a day that could be the maximum sometimes. In the 70's I worked for Head Start in San Jose, California. The hispanique familles lived in dire conditions, no access to clean water, rats out numbered the humans, cockroches, dirty dusty roads, no garbage disposal, and theirs housings were made of cardboard boxes and what free materials they could find. Their children were left all day alone while the parents worked to make America great. The children hadn't never seen least ate grapes, organges, or vegetables. Nowadays nothing has changed for these working poor! To this day I still deeply saddened for these brave people and will never ever understand why they are treated like slaves? American has never been a great nation, only a country where the rich get richer by the second! Without Hispaniques are necessary for your economy
Since you brought up facts, could you please state where you found those you're referring to? No YouTube videos or Fox "News" links. Independent sources please.
$2000 a month on babysitting a 2 year old? Maybe they mean fulltime daycare?
Did anyone read the article itself? The financial advisor used a hypothetical family and a hypothetical budget. This family doesn't exist. The site (MarketWatch), chose the word 'struggling', not the financial advisor. What do we gain from always being pissed off?
how is tv entertainment $6000 a year? That's insane. in Australia we have over 30 free to air tv channels and Netflix is $14 a month.
The easiest thing here to fix is the food budget . I fed a family of 4 on $500 a month and we ate VERY WELL! They are over $2000. Do they eat Lobster & Filet every night? Second thing, get a cheaper house.
What is an umbrella policy? Also most people are not in the financial situation where they can save money; it all goes to rent, transportation, food and utilities.
$500 a month for entertainment? I have Netflix and Amazon Prime for my entertainment, and going to movies, concerts or a baseball game is something I do very rarely because of the prices and I need save up the cash to go to one baseball game or concert. I would love to be able to go on trips but I have more pressing financial issues like a mortgage.
If I had $18,000 a month income Id be able to save $15500 every month, with my current expenses, and I live relatively comfortably
I qualify for pretty well-off. It wasn't that I made a lot of money except for one windfall investment which gave me a cushion anyone would envy. I made it a point to be able to do as much of what needed to be done as I could. This included plumbing and electrical in the house, everything, not most. Tough to learn?? Not if you're determined. I also learned quickly that " deluxe " usually meant excess price for more junk. Basic was usually more reliable. I also cleaned and adjusted my own oil burner. I'll bet the majority of readers have already given up. Yeah, you really have to want to be independent. With my woodworking shop, my metal-working shop, and welding equipment, all of which I learned to use by reading, watching others, and just practicing. I was close to 100% independent. No $90/hr plumbers, electricians, heating system experts. I even put in my own well system ( except digging ). Anybody out there want to follow me? WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? At least learn something.
Wtaf? I feel very comfortable on. £95k! I know lots of people who have to manage on far less than me! These people are ignorant and entitled!
They have no idea. My household income is £90k and I would consider ourselves very comfortably off, we have a nice house, two cars and we have a couple of cheap holidays every year, including one trip abroad to see family. I consider us very very lucky, as I know lots of families struggling on far less than us. These people are clearly very ignorant and entitled!
I'm confused....do they buy a new stroller play pen and crib every month? Cause a 2 year old should not need that much stuff put towards them. In fact, at 2 years old, they should be thinking about potty training, which drops this category to almost $0/ and $70 a DAY for food??? That's my budget for 2 weeks to feed a family of 5 adults!
The most sickening thing in their budget is the measly one percent to charity!
I have so many issues with this list, but the most surprising one is their property tax. They have a 1.8 million dollar property insured for $1,500 a year?? My house is insured for around $250k and it's just over $1,300 a year. I'd like to know the name of their insurance company. Based on their rate, I should be paying only $200/year.
Shoot, not property tax, I meant property insurance. This site won't let me edit my comment.
Load More Replies... The only value that seems low to me is the amount of spending allocated for vacations. Only $7800 for a family for 4 to travel to 2 destination vacations. My vacation to Italy last year cost me about $6000 as a single person. Vacations are very expensive and $7800 does not accurately reflect what a family for 4 with an annual income of $350,000 would spend on even one destination vacation. Over all the budget shown in this example does not seem to reflect the spending habits of a real of family of four with $350k income. The families that I know that make similar income are actually pretty thrifty with their money and are able to make more money in investments and real estate. They are not struggling, which I guess would go against showing how a family could have a tight budget on $350k annual income.
A Highlander instead of a Range Rover, boo hoo. Why does a child need a $24k a year preschool? Our county offers many free/low cost preschool programs.
F**k the experts and their ways that already financially comfortable people can be 'more' comfortable. If you are low to medium income and you really want to know how to create a workable budget at almost any income level, talk to a single mom worked her way from welfare to home ownership and a retirement account.
You do know she was bartending to make ends meet before she became a congresswoman.
Load More Replies... He is a financial advisor... what do you expect from his post anyway? They put in big numbers, create uncertainty and make you doubt on your own spending habit and voila, now they show you their saving / investment plans, honey-coat it with all nice words like financial freedom, passive income, monthly returns and etc..... so you sign up with their services.
Absolutely no sympathy. When one of their spoiled kids screws up, they're going to need that money to bail out and cover up.
Avocados are not even that expensive. I just bought 4 today at Dollar General at 50 cents each.
Depends where you live, in Australia avocados cost on average $2 - $5 each depending where you get them from and the time of year.
Load More Replies... Omg! My salary is in another currency because I live in South America and let me tell you, this is just a joke for me,!! if this is bizarr for you even doing the math in USD,...OMG... you dont even know how many lines you can buy with my salary (I am professional, I have a career) Spoiler alert : ONE. LOL.
My rent is $1000 a month and I make $24,000 a year. If I can live comfortably, they sure as f**k can.
If this is struggling then I should be living under a damn bridge and I only make 60k a year (with maxing out overtime - otherwise it's 46k a year) This family is pathetic. Come live my life and everyone else's on here (unless you're rich then you don't count) Even though my bills are paid and I'm happy you'd cry. lol
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