Are you middle class? (student loan, student, debt)

[rathoras]

Thank you for the links. I am trying to compare the cost of middle class life in the two cities to see what salaries it translates to..not necessarily exactly same things I have in singapore but that's a natural reference point for me.

[Armyvet1]

I can afford my home and pay my bills so I would say I'm in the middle. I'm not rich nor ever will be but I'm self efficient and do good.

Personally I don't really care about all this class bs in the first place. I am grateful to be able to make a decent salary, support my family, and have a few nice things. The greatest wealth is true happiness and I feel blessed to have found it.

[skytop]

there is no middle class any more, just rich, poor and people who generally get by. I get by.

[BrownstoneNY]

Originally Posted by rathoras

BrownstoneNY thank you. That's helpful and kindof what I was looking for. But on deductions front I was told by someone American, not New Yorker that after deducting taxes, social security, 401k, medical, etc. one can expect to get about 55% of gross pay net in hand.
Will look at some tax threads here for clarity.

Thanks again.

From a n asian perspective , private housing is 3rd most expensive in Singapore after Tokyo and Hong Kong within Asia

Just under 40% is taxes at that income level.

15% for 401(k) and health insurance is extremely high for that level of income. For one, I'm not sure how 401(k) and other tax-deferred retirement plans work for non-citizens. However, the maximum tax-exempt 401(k) contribution amount is $17,500 annually per adult, so even if you're contributing the maximum it can't possibly be more than that. Similarly, health insurance is going to depend on your employer and how expensive a plan you buy, but it's not going to be more than $300/month, or about $3,500/year, at least for an individual (maybe $500/month for a couple).

You are presumably speaking to someone thinking of an actual middle class family. The full $21,000 in 401(k) and health insurance payments (which are all pre-tax) would be closer to 20% of an actual middle class income of about $80k, accounting for the tax benefits, which combined with taxes could get you close to 55% of gross income (though I'd think it would be more like 50%). But, on a $250,000 annual income, it's a much smaller percentage--only about 5% once you account for the tax benefits. And in any case I wouldn't consider those to be any different from something like housing or food, they just happen to be withheld from your paycheck instead of paid post-tax.

[rathoras]

Thank you all, very helpful.

[Kefir King]

Originally Posted by skytop

there is no middle class any more, just rich, poor and people who generally get by. I get by.

Amen.

The phrase "middle class" is meaningless babble promulgated by politicians who want to talk about income without saying anything.

[mathjak107]

yep the term means nothing at all. in reality our country consists of over 1500 individual local economies that see and react to things very differently. 1539 seperate economies and labor markets make up this country.

middle class in one may resemble poverty level in another. middle class here can be lower upper class in tennesee or ohio.

we don't even know what the term means or is supposed to buy. today even the term millionaire is a far cry from what it meant.

retiring in nyc with no pension and 1 million bucks would leave you with about a 40k income pretax and social security. hardly more than a 40k pension would give you and zero savings. certainly a far cry from the rolls and butler it meant at one time. if you are lucky it is a leased civic .

yep we are down to just words with no meaning anymore.

[mathjak107]

here is a fun calculator based on real data that is fun to play with to see how you measure up. if you were with 100 people the percentile you score is how many of that 100 would have less than you do.


age 18-100 i got 97%.

for those that get off on this stuff the trick is keep playing with the max age until you find a group you measure up well against ha ha ha

as an example if you use 93-100 just having 1.25 million puts you squarely in the 99% catagory. but at 55-100 you need 11 million to be in that catagory.

i got 100% for 18-20 ha ha ha

95% just for my age alone

Net worth Percentile Calculator | Shnugi

[Kefir King]

Here's my fave (From the Cradle Index)



Percentage of people who consider themselves part of the 1%: 13%

[MemoryMaker]

I make $36k a year (I live ~30mins outside of NYC limits). I would say i'm comfortable but only b/c I have special circumstances..

Live with parents paying zero rent in addition to having no kids IS MY SAVING GRACE!!

I take home $2,130/mo:

- $500/mo for student loans (btw, I owe a total $22,000 in student loans not including interest)

- $600/mo for car insurance and car note (I am a young male driver who requires full coverage due to a financed vehicle, $330 car note+$500/mo car insurance (which my parents cover the rest). I REALLY regret getting a car note so young and with questionable credit, DON'T DO IT!!)

- $110/mo for gas

Car maintenance expenses usually come up which can range anywhere from $100/mo to $500/mo.

On average, I end up saving between $420/mo(bad month) to $820/mo (good month).