Do you think $250,000/year is wealthy?

[CAMom]

I agree, 250k is relative to where you live, but the areas that are more expensive are so because more people want to live there (NYC, SF, LA, CH, etc). The services, arts, schools, almost everything is better than say South GA. Even if you took 50% and left one with 125k, they still would be doing better than most, have many more options and avenues. I can't speak for Colleen, but I'm not angry.. just stating an opinion, that I personally would rather make 250k and pay more taxes and live in say... Seattle than make 80k and live in Atl. It's all about location.

 

So, is there tax driven discrimination based on where a person lives? Kind of shoots a hole in the fairness thing.;)

 

I'm stuck here right now. So, because I have three ill relatives and my husband happens to make a good living, I should pay more taxes?

Edited October 16, 2008 by CAMom

[Scarlett]

I think Colleen is being misunderstood here. She can correct me if I am wrong, but I understood her point to be... if someone can pay for all their basic needs, put aside money for savings and investments, have lots of extras... and still feel discontented with that amount of money, that is sad. And if so, I agree with that point. I would not envy a person who had all of that, and yet felt that they were still lacking-- I would feel sorry for them, that they had so much and didn't realize it.

 

Erica

 

That was what I got out of it too. And I agree with her. I am shocked at the attitudes expressed here about money. I think we so often just spend what we make that one day we wake up making $250K and can't figure out where it is all going. Although my dh doesn't make that much (yet) his salary is MUCH higher than the median household income for my county in my state. I know that because I looked it up recently to prove to my dh that he is making a lot of money. He is never content.....and I pity him for that.

 

I honestly don't know how far 250K goes in NYC, SF or LA....but I do know that for MOST of the country 250K is seen as a very wealthy yearly income. HOW that gets spent is an entirely different subject IMO. I believe as someone else mentioned student loans can be avoided at every income level....and other expenses and needs can vary widely...some can be avoided and some can't.

 

Oh, and Drama Mama---thanks for looking up so many stats! Very interesting.

[mommaduck]

Ronette, I'm of the mind that you earned it, it's your's. But then, I have a problem with many of taxes anyhow ;)

[CAMom]

Ronette, I'm of the mind that you earned it, it's your's. But then, I have a problem with many of taxes anyhow ;)

 

That's good to know.;)

 

The concern is that if we start drawing the "wealthy" threshold, we are putting those who earn that amount in danger of being overtaxed as well as causing them to be looked upon in disdain by those who are not "wealthy."

 

Like Colleen, that's my opinion and that's the way I see it going.

[Scarlett]

That's good to know.;)

 

The concern is that if we start drawing the "wealthy" threshold, we are putting those who earn that amount in danger of being overtaxed as well as causing them to be looked upon in disdain by those who are not "wealthy."

 

Like Colleen, that's my opinion and that's the way I see it going.

 

OOOOOHhhhh.......now I get it. My friends say I have blonde roots.

[CAMom]

OOOOOHhhhh.......now I get it. My friends say I have blonde roots.

 

As I said many times, $250K is not equal in all areas. Plain and simple. So, IMO, you can't label it "wealthy" across the board.

[Surfside Academy]

That's good to know.;)

 

The concern is that if we start drawing the "wealthy" threshold, we are putting those who earn that amount in danger of being overtaxed as well as causing them to be looked upon in disdain by those who are not "wealthy."

 

Like Colleen, that's my opinion and that's the way I see it going.

 

You know what you've just described? Class Warfare!

[Surfside Academy]

That's good to know.;)

 

The concern is that if we start drawing the "wealthy" threshold, we are putting those who earn that amount in danger of being overtaxed as well as causing them to be looked upon in disdain by those who are not "wealthy."

 

Like Colleen, that's my opinion and that's the way I see it going.

 

I didn't really make it clear but I totally agree with you! :D

[lovemyboys]

 

You wouldn't? All that and a person's still not wealthy? I'm stumped. Truly.

 

Well, that describes a number of people that I know. They make less than 100K a year (combined), some quite a bit less, but they can and do afford much of the above. Dbil definitely carries credit card debt as do some of the others, but a couple of our friends probably don't have much (cc debt) to hear them talk.

 

Yes, they have many things from a material perspective, and as I said, they would be considered very wealthy from a global perspective.

 

But -- we here in the US put many of these things in the necessities category. That was my point about the concept of "wealth." When dh and I were lower income, we had a tv, freezer, washer/dryer, vacuum, two cars and took the occasional vacation and saved a little money too. We were comfortable and considered ourselves fortunate. My response was to her laundry list of what wealthy people have when I realized that most "average" Americans have all of that too. Despite economic woes, we as a whole are a fortunate country.

 

Hope things are looking up for you and that the vacation duldrums are over.

[Jenny in Atl]

So, is there tax driven discrimination based on where a person lives? Kind of shoots a whole in the fairness thing.;)

 

I'm stuck here right now. So, because I have three ill relatives and my husband happens to make a good living, I should pay more taxes?

 

Why do you see it as discrimination? It's all about demand. The more popular a place, the more it costs to live there. The more people who live there, the more likely taxes are higher to support the "needs" of the people. When I lived in NY with my folks, they paid 10k a year in property taxes (1970's) but we had the 3rd best school system in the US, great libraries, etc. When we moved to GA, they paid about 1k a year and the schools were and still are awful, a tiny local library with a few coloring bks, and a laughable local government. We had moved to Atl before its boom. It was a skeleton of a city, lacking in the arts, culture, and had an awful crime rate. Atl has come a long way in the last 30 years, and yes.. taxes have gone up too. We now have a few more libraries with more than just coloring bks. We have better arts, and a little more culture, but it's still is super cheap to live here compared to my old town in NY... why, because it's not 15 miles from NYC.

 

I don't understand this want to make the playing field even. I'm beginning to wonder who whines more, the so-called poor in the US or the so-called rich.

[Peela]

I haven't read many of the responses.

Wealthy is when you feel you have abundance, plenty, enough, or more than enough.

We earn much less than that and feel wealthy but we don't earn enough to buy a house in the city we live. We live well though, but we know the secret- not to live for money, to appreciate what you have, and not to spend your whole life earning money so you can enjoy life later. Enjoy it now.

I know people who have much more income than us but choose to live differently, and feel poor because they compare themselves to others, and live for retirement.

Wealth is such a subjective thing.

[JudyJudyJudy]

This is a neat website that compares cost of living indices:

 

http://swz.salary.com/costoflivingwizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

 

Since Jenny in Atl mentioned S. Georgia, I compared Los Angeles to Albany, GA (no, I wouldn't live in Albany if I had a choice, and I hope I don't offend anyone here by saying that). $250K in LA would be the equivalent of $153,797 in Albany. I could live like a queen in Albany on that amount of money! Why wouldn't I want to live there? Besides the horrible crime rate, as Jenny pointed out:

 

I agree, 250k is relative to where you live, but the areas that are more expensive are so because more people want to live there (NYC, SF, LA, CH, etc). The services, arts, schools, almost everything is better than say South GA. Even if you took 50% and left one with 125k, they still would be doing better than most, have many more options and avenues.

 

Basically, $250K in LA would actually give you far more benefits than $153K in Albany, yet $153K in Albany is still a whole lot of money.

[RoughCollie]

This is a neat website that compares cost of living indices:

 

http://swz.salary.com/costoflivingwizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

 

 

In many, many places in the U.S., the cost of living is significantly lower than it is in Boston. Friends of ours moved to Kansas City, KS, and their standard of living is much higher than it was here. It's no wonder, because the cost of living there is 37% lower than here, and their income is higher than it was there.

[Erica in PA]

I think what needs to be realized is that not everyone who makes $250K has all of that.

 

But don't you think that, barring unusual circumstances, in our country a person who makes wise financial decisions *can* have all of that on a salary of $250,000? I mean, really, there are people who are able to have all of that on much less than $250,000 per year, because of the good decisions they make. Of course we all make choices with our money that can limit our options as well. There are people who make much more than $250,000 who still don't have those things, often because of bad decisions. (Again, I'm not talking about people who have unusual situations.)

 

I'm not throwing stones, because the same is true of my family-- we don't live as well as we *could* on our salary, because of bad choices we've made. Student loans take up almost a quarter of dh's monthly salary. We have credit card debt. We choose to live in a nice apartment complex, and in doing so spend more than the absolute minimum cost we could be spending on housing. Etc. etc. Someone could make the same amount that we do, and have a better standard of living. The fact that we all might make choices that limit our disposable income doesn't change the fact that $250,000 is wealthy.

 

It seems to me that some people are saying that it isn't "wealthy" mainly because they don't want the connotations that they think go with that term. But the fact that you are wealthy doesn't mean, imo, that people should have a grudge about you, or that the government should lay a heavy tax burden on you. To me, it means acknowledging the degree to which God has blessed you financially. It's not bragging, it's just being truthful.

 

It's also respectful of others with less to acknowledge that, imo. If a person from a third world country came to our apartment, and looked around at wonder at our home, at our computers, all of our food in the cupboards, tv, etc., etc., and told us how blessed we were to be so wealthy, I wouldn't say, "Well, actually, when you live here in the US, this is NOTHING!!!" I would acknowledge that yes, by most of the world's standards, God has blessed us greatly, and that we are blessed to be so wealthy.

 

Erica

[Scarlett]

But don't you think that, barring unusual circumstances, in our country a person who makes wise financial decisions *can* have all of that on a salary of $250,000? I mean, really, there are people who are able to have all of that on much less than $250,000 per year, because of the good decisions they make. Of course we all make choices with our money that can limit our options as well. There are people who make much more than $250,000 who still don't have those things, often because of bad decisions. (Again, I'm not talking about people who have unusual situations.)

 

I'm not throwing stones, because the same is true of my family-- we don't live as well as we *could* on our salary, because of bad choices we've made. Student loans take up almost a quarter of dh's monthly salary. We have credit card debt. We choose to live in a nice apartment complex, and in doing so spend more than the absolute minimum cost we could be spending on housing. Etc. etc. Someone could make the same amount that we do, and have a better standard of living. The fact that we all might make choices that limit our disposable income doesn't change the fact that $250,000 is wealthy.

 

It seems to me that some people are saying that it isn't "wealthy" mainly because they don't want the connotations that they think go with that term. But the fact that you are wealthy doesn't mean, imo, that people should have a grudge about you, or that the government should lay a heavy tax burden on you. To me, it means acknowledging the degree to which God has blessed you financially. It's not bragging, it's just being truthful.

 

It's also respectful of others with less to acknowledge that, imo. If a person from a third world country came to our apartment, and looked around at wonder at our home, at our computers, all of our food in the cupboards, tv, etc., etc., and told us how blessed we were to be so wealthy, I wouldn't say, "Well, actually, when you live here in the US, this is NOTHING!!!" I would acknowledge that yes, by most of the world's standards, God has blessed us greatly, and that we are blessed to be so wealthy.

 

Erica

 

I wish I could rep you. :tongue_smilie:

 

For this--

 

>>The fact that we all might make choices that limit our disposable income doesn't change the fact that $250,000 is wealthy.>>>

 

And this---

 

>>It seems to me that some people are saying that it isn't "wealthy" mainly because they don't want the connotations that they think go with that term. >>

 

And most of all this---

 

>> I wouldn't say, "Well, actually, when you live here in the US, this is NOTHING!!!" >>

[Kelli in TN]

[

For those living in a high cost of living area, with a large family, helping to take care of an elderly relative or two (assisted living or nursing care is not cheap), etc. it's not the same amount of money as for other people.

 

There are just too many variables to classify wealthy at that threshold.

 

:

 

But here is the way I see it, and I am no economists so take it with a grain of salt, but even if you live in an area where living expenses are high, and even if you do have more responsibilities than the average person, having $250K to take care of your family is better than having 80K which is better than having 25K. By comparison, the family with the 250K is still wealthy. Their wealth does not go as far is it would if they lived in Frogjump Tennessee, but it is still the highest salary in my little make-believe sample group. But neither do salaries of the 80K family or the 25K families. By comparison the 250K family is still the lucky one.

 

I don't see why it bothers people to admit that they are far wealthier than the lady who scanned their groceries yesterday or the man who wakes up at all hours of the night to find out why Bob-the-drug-dealer's electronic monitoring system says he is out of his house. I am not ashamed that we live well and that we have choices for our family.

[Nicole M]

I wish I could rep you. :tongue_smilie:

 

For this--

 

>>The fact that we all might make choices that limit our disposable income doesn't change the fact that $250,000 is wealthy.>>>

 

And this---

 

>>It seems to me that some people are saying that it isn't "wealthy" mainly because they don't want the connotations that they think go with that term. >>

 

And most of all this---

 

>> I wouldn't say, "Well, actually, when you live here in the US, this is NOTHING!!!" >>

 

Ditto.

[Mommyfaithe]

Oh Come On!!! You have GOT to BE KIDDING!!! Of course 250,000 a year is well-off or wealthy if you want to call it that! YEESH!!! Where have we come to. People are not ENTITLED to live in big ol' beautiful houses with manicured lawns and 2 or 3 or 4 cars. Do people have these things? YES. Do people work for them?? Sometimes. Do they get used to their lifestyle and expect those of us who work 80-90 hours a week plus and live in not so great houses and worry about health care and grocery money to feel badly that they can't afford to run their pool heater?? And when they should have bought a $150,000 house and then built on or renovated...they just HAD to have the $750,000 house and the new SUV in the better neighborhood because that is how they grew up...and they are professionals and need to make a good appearance and the WE are the ones who have to bail them out of their failed investments..

 

I say SHEESH!!!!

 

You have GOT TO BE KIDDING!

 

Faithe (who also thinks it is absolutely ludicrous that it costs $26,000 per student in our school system to watch the kids fail simple exams and graduate not being able to read, think or know their constitution.Then the teachers who make $85,000 a year to work 10 months with all holidays off complain they are not making enough money is another can of worms. We need to GET REAL in this country and start running things within our means...lala land was nice...but when being asked if making $250,000 a year is a good living?? YEESH!

[Kelli in TN]

Oh Come On!!! You have GOT to BE KIDDING!!! Of course 250,000 a year is well-off or wealthy if you want to call it that! YEESH!!! Where have we come to. People are not ENTITLED to live in big ol' beautiful houses with manicured lawns and 2 or 3 or 4 cars. Do people have these things? YES. Do people work for them?? Sometimes. Do they get used to their lifestyle and expect those of us who work 80-90 hours a week plus and live in not so great houses and worry about health care and grocery money to feel badly that they can't afford to run their pool heater?? And when they should have bought a $150,000 house and then built on or renovated...they just HAD to have the $750,000 house and the new SUV in the better neighborhood because that is how they grew up...and they are professionals and need to make a good appearance and the WE are the ones who have to bail them out of their failed investments..

!

 

 

In all fairness, not everyone who makes that is living that way and I recognize that. For some people that salary won't go far because the living expenses where they live and work eat up the wealth.

 

On the other hand the high living expenses eat up the wealth of the convenience store worker too. So the wealthy is still wealthy by comparison.

 

But I don't think it is fair to say that someone making 250K is always able to afford all that you listed.

[Renee in NC]

On the other hand the high living expenses eat up the wealth of the convenience store worker too. So the wealthy is still wealthy by comparison.

 

Thanks, Kelli. One sentence sums up how I feel.

[HRAAB]

Can you elaborate on that? I have a son heading to college (possibly) next year. I'd like to do it without loans if you can share the info.!!!

 

I'm not the OP, but my girls - if they stick to the plan - will leave college debt free. They chose to attend the local state university so no out of state tuition. They have been working part-time jobs since they were 15 and saving their money. My one dd worked 3 jobs last summer. That savings along with what little money was available to them is paying the bill. My oldest did move out, but she makes more money than her younger sister. Everything after living expenses goes towards college, and she's paying as she goes. Her younger sister lives at home and will probably stay here for at least another year until she has more money saved. Both of them are doing it debt free.

 

My sil's 3 children have all graduated from college debt free. They stayed in state and worked and saved.

 

It is possible although I admit it limits your options, but mine chose not to pick the option that would incur debt.

 

Janet

[HRAAB]

But don't you think that, barring unusual circumstances, in our country a person who makes wise financial decisions *can* have all of that on a salary of $250,000? I mean, really, there are people who are able to have all of that on much less than $250,000 per year, because of the good decisions they make. Of course we all make choices with our money that can limit our options as well. There are people who make much more than $250,000 who still don't have those things, often because of bad decisions. (Again, I'm not talking about people who have unusual situations.)

 

I'm not throwing stones, because the same is true of my family-- we don't live as well as we *could* on our salary, because of bad choices we've made. Student loans take up almost a quarter of dh's monthly salary. We have credit card debt. We choose to live in a nice apartment complex, and in doing so spend more than the absolute minimum cost we could be spending on housing. Etc. etc. Someone could make the same amount that we do, and have a better standard of living. The fact that we all might make choices that limit our disposable income doesn't change the fact that $250,000 is wealthy.

 

It seems to me that some people are saying that it isn't "wealthy" mainly because they don't want the connotations that they think go with that term. But the fact that you are wealthy doesn't mean, imo, that people should have a grudge about you, or that the government should lay a heavy tax burden on you. To me, it means acknowledging the degree to which God has blessed you financially. It's not bragging, it's just being truthful.

 

It's also respectful of others with less to acknowledge that, imo. If a person from a third world country came to our apartment, and looked around at wonder at our home, at our computers, all of our food in the cupboards, tv, etc., etc., and told us how blessed we were to be so wealthy, I wouldn't say, "Well, actually, when you live here in the US, this is NOTHING!!!" I would acknowledge that yes, by most of the world's standards, God has blessed us greatly, and that we are blessed to be so wealthy.

 

Erica

 

I'd rep you, too, if I could.

 

Janet

[mommaduck]

I think Scarlett nailed it.

[Renee in NC]

I'm not the OP, but my girls - if they stick to the plan - will leave college debt free. They chose to attend the local state university so no out of state tuition. They have been working part-time jobs since they were 15 and saving their money. My one dd worked 3 jobs last summer. That savings along with what little money was available to them is paying the bill. My oldest did move out, but she makes more money than her younger sister. Everything after living expenses goes towards college, and she's paying as she goes. Her younger sister lives at home and will probably stay here for at least another year until she has more money saved. Both of them are doing it debt free.

 

My sil's 3 children have all graduated from college debt free. They stayed in state and worked and saved.

 

It is possible although I admit it limits your options, but mine chose not to pick the option that would incur debt.

 

Janet

 

If they were going to go to grad school (for engineering as an example), med school, business school, or law school, how would they pay for that?

[Tracey in TX]

I'm not the OP, but my girls - if they stick to the plan - will leave college debt free. They chose to attend the local state university so no out of state tuition. They have been working part-time jobs since they were 15 and saving their money. My one dd worked 3 jobs last summer. That savings along with what little money was available to them is paying the bill. My oldest did move out, but she makes more money than her younger sister. Everything after living expenses goes towards college, and she's paying as she goes. Her younger sister lives at home and will probably stay here for at least another year until she has more money saved. Both of them are doing it debt free.

 

My sil's 3 children have all graduated from college debt free. They stayed in state and worked and saved.

 

It is possible although I admit it limits your options, but mine chose not to pick the option that would incur debt.

 

Janet

Not all state colleges are created equal. There is only one state college in Texas worthy of a degree (University of Texas). It's also painfully difficult to get into (top 10% of each school guaranteed. Few beyond that get accepted.). Depending on the desired degree a state university might not be in child's best interest. DH & I had student loans and are doing everything in our power for children to avoid them. But it isn't always possible. It's a great goal to aspire, but depending on the major and credit hours taken might not be doable.

[Kelli in TN]

I believe as someone else mentioned student loans can be avoided at every income level....and other expenses and needs can vary widely...some can be avoided and some can't.

.

 

This has not been our experience. Our two oldest needed loans to cover what scholarships did not cover. Our current senior will need a loan to cover expenses she will have even if she wins one of the big-enchilada scholarships.

[Tracey in TX]

If they were going to go to grad school (for engineering as an example), med school, business school, or law school, how would they pay for that?

DH just finished his MBA. Most of it was out of pocket, but we did take out student loans for 1 or 2 semesters. Quite frankly, that's a huge accomplishment to leave school with such little debt.

[HRAAB]

If they were going to go to grad school (for engineering as an example), med school, business school, or law school, how would they pay for that?

 

Neither of them have those plans. If they did, it would change things obviously.

 

Janet

[HRAAB]

Not all state colleges are created equal. There is only one state college in Texas worthy of a degree (University of Texas). It's also painfully difficult to get into (top 10% of each school guaranteed. Few beyond that get accepted.). Depending on the desired degree a state university might not be in child's best interest. DH & I had student loans and are doing everything in our power for children to avoid them. But it isn't always possible. It's a great goal to aspire, but depending on the major and credit hours taken might not be doable.

 

True. Someone asked how it could be done, and I answered with what my older two dd's have done. They could have chosen to go somewhere else, and it would be a different story. Those choices again.

 

Janet

[MgoBlue]

I'd have to answer yes ...haven't read all responses...but as I told my pilot friend...I could spend your money so fast! It's all relative...the more you make the more you spend...unfortunately.

[Scarlett]

If they were going to go to grad school (for engineering as an example), med school, business school, or law school, how would they pay for that?

 

Use their 4 year degree to work and save the money for it. I would not incur debt for advanced degrees.

 

Also, how MUCH debt students are getting themselves in to varies widely. I think most kids who end up with student loans aren't living like real students (read-poor) while they do so.

[Scarlett]

True. Someone asked how it could be done, and I answered with what my older two dd's have done. They could have chosen to go somewhere else, and it would be a different story. Those choices again.

 

Janet

 

 

Exactly.

[Scarlett]

DH just finished his MBA. Most of it was out of pocket, but we did take out student loans for 1 or 2 semesters. Quite frankly, that's a huge accomplishment to leave school with such little debt.

 

Yes it is and you should be very proud of yourselves. Especially since it is so easy to get those loans....and everyone is doing it and everyone (nearly) is calling it 'smart' and 'good debt.' Ha!

[HRAAB]

Yes it is and you should be very proud of yourselves. Especially since it is so easy to get those loans....and everyone is doing it and everyone (nearly) is calling it 'smart' and 'good debt.' Ha!

 

Is there really such a thing as 'good debt'. My dh and I have always viewed debt as undesirable, even bad, although sometimes unavoidable. Our dd's are our dd's. No wonder they want to avoid debt at all costs.

 

Janet

[bkpan]

If they were going to go to grad school (for engineering as an example), med school, business school, or law school, how would they pay for that?

 

My dh is a mechanical engineer, PE, who put himself not only through a state university to earn an engineering degree, but then went on to a private university to earn his MBA. He did this by saving since he was a young teen, paying as he went, and he did not borrow one cent! His dad is a welder and his mom stayed at home. His dad helped him to purchase his first car (a fixer-upper), but beyond that they could not help with his education.

 

My dh did not have scholarships, but he is the hardest worker I know. And frugal (annoyingly so, sometimes, lol!).

 

Again, choices.

 

Kim

[TXMomof4]

Not all state colleges are created equal. There is only one state college in Texas worthy of a degree (University of Texas).

 

AWWWW - did you have to go there?

 

A&M is really a very good school. I didn't go there, but if I had it to do over again, I would have. Tech is really coming up as well, especially in the science fields.

[bkpan]

But don't you think that, barring unusual circumstances, in our country a person who makes wise financial decisions *can* have all of that on a salary of $250,000? I mean, really, there are people who are able to have all of that on much less than $250,000 per year, because of the good decisions they make. Of course we all make choices with our money that can limit our options as well. There are people who make much more than $250,000 who still don't have those things, often because of bad decisions. (Again, I'm not talking about people who have unusual situations.)

 

I'm not throwing stones, because the same is true of my family-- we don't live as well as we *could* on our salary, because of bad choices we've made. Student loans take up almost a quarter of dh's monthly salary. We have credit card debt. We choose to live in a nice apartment complex, and in doing so spend more than the absolute minimum cost we could be spending on housing. Etc. etc. Someone could make the same amount that we do, and have a better standard of living. The fact that we all might make choices that limit our disposable income doesn't change the fact that $250,000 is wealthy.

 

It seems to me that some people are saying that it isn't "wealthy" mainly because they don't want the connotations that they think go with that term. But the fact that you are wealthy doesn't mean, imo, that people should have a grudge about you, or that the government should lay a heavy tax burden on you. To me, it means acknowledging the degree to which God has blessed you financially. It's not bragging, it's just being truthful.

 

It's also respectful of others with less to acknowledge that, imo. If a person from a third world country came to our apartment, and looked around at wonder at our home, at our computers, all of our food in the cupboards, tv, etc., etc., and told us how blessed we were to be so wealthy, I wouldn't say, "Well, actually, when you live here in the US, this is NOTHING!!!" I would acknowledge that yes, by most of the world's standards, God has blessed us greatly, and that we are blessed to be so wealthy.

 

Erica

 

:iagree: As I said before, we are a family of 8 living on less than half of that, and we ARE wealthy. It is hard to understand the perception of one that a quarter of a million annual income is not "wealthy". A wealthy person can still spend every dime they make - but they still enjoy the "wealth" to spend.

 

This has probably been the most eye-opening thread I have read in my years on this board. I am understanding more and more why our country is where we are.

 

Kim

[rafiki]

This is a neat website that compares cost of living indices:

 

http://swz.salary.com/costoflivingwizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

 

Since Jenny in Atl mentioned S. Georgia, I compared Los Angeles to Albany, GA (no, I wouldn't live in Albany if I had a choice, and I hope I don't offend anyone here by saying that). $250K in LA would be the equivalent of $153,797 in Albany. I could live like a queen in Albany on that amount of money! Why wouldn't I want to live there? Besides the horrible crime rate, as Jenny pointed out:

 

 

 

Basically, $250K in LA would actually give you far more benefits than $153K in Albany, yet $153K in Albany is still a whole lot of money.

 

 

We got burnt by doing just that. They told us where we moved from is comparable to where we currently live (were considering at the time). We moved inter-state, only to learn instead of paying $2,400 a year in property taxes, we now pay $10,990 a year! Break that down a month and ouch, it's a BIG difference and every month we have to live with our mistake. So lesson learned, do not rely on the cost of living calculators, they are not always accurate.

[TraceyS/FL]

We got burnt by doing just that. They told us where we moved from is comparable to where we currently live (were considering at the time). We moved inter-state, only to learn instead of paying $2,400 a year in property taxes, we now pay $10,990 a year! Break that down a month and ouch, it's a BIG difference and every month we have to live with our mistake. So lesson learned, do not rely on the cost of living calculators, they are not always accurate.

 

Our property taxes are also higher here in FL than we were paying on our house in CA that was assessed higher. Insurance is close to the same. I found property taxes the most frustrating thing to get out of my realtor. Even when i called the one town we were considering they couldn't tell me much - or at least explain how it worked.

 

I also found it interesting that in the almost 5 years awe have been here here in FL, the COL compared to where we were in CA is closer - about 4% less, but wages are wayyyy less here. It goes with a few things DH and I have talked about in recent times.

[Tammyla]

Our property taxes and state taxes here are extremely high. My property tax just went up...again. I could use about 250k about now.:glare:

[CAMom]

...And when they should have bought a $150,000 house and then built on or renovated...they just HAD to have the $750,000 house and the new SUV in the better neighborhood because that is how they grew up...

 

Do we all realize what $750K will get you in certain areas of the country? Before the bubble burst in my area, it would get you *my* house. I live in a 1500 sq foot 3 bedroom house. Not a mansion. Even now, it will get you about 2000 sq feet with 4 bedrooms (I just checked the listings yesterday.) Oh, I'm blessed!

 

BTW, I actually did grow up in this exact house.;) My mother bought it when I was 10 years old for $97K. My dh and I bought it from her.

[SheilaZ]

Multiple posters have brought up student loans.

Here's my question:

If you have the years of experience needed to make $250,000 a year....why do you still have studnet loans.

 

I'm assuming that you need at least 5 or so years of work to get to $250,000...minimally. Why would someone with that many years out of school still have college loans?

 

I'm not dissing the college loans. Heck, I had $20K worth of student loans. But my loans were paid off within 6 years or so. (Granted we did pay off the last few thousand in a lump sum. But I wasn't even working for the last three years. I was a SAHM at that point.)

 

Do people have hundred of thousands of dollars in studnet loans? Do they defer them for mulitple years? Do they make tiny little payments on them?

How are they at the point in their career that they can draw a salary fo $250K but still have so few years of work experience that they still have student loans?

 

healthcare costs...I understand those. We had to pay for personal insurance one year and it was crazy expensive. And $250,000 isn't so much after an almost 50% tax

[mo2]

Yes, I consider that wealthy. If it's not, then we are REALLY dirt poor. :)

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree: I could go on, but what would be the point?

[Renee in NC]

Multiple posters have brought up student loans.

Here's my question:

If you have the years of experience needed to make $250,000 a year....why do you still have studnet loans.

 

I'm assuming that you need at least 5 or so years of work to get to $250,000...minimally. Why would someone with that many years out of school still have college loans?

 

I'm not dissing the college loans. Heck, I had $20K worth of student loans. But my loans were paid off within 6 years or so. (Granted we did pay off the last few thousand in a lump sum. But I wasn't even working for the last three years. I was a SAHM at that point.)

 

Do people have hundred of thousands of dollars in studnet loans? Do they defer them for mulitple years? Do they make tiny little payments on them?

How are they at the point in their career that they can draw a salary fo $250K but still have so few years of work experience that they still have student loans?

 

healthcare costs...I understand those. We had to pay for personal insurance one year and it was crazy expensive. And $250,000 isn't so much after an almost 50% tax

 

If you look at my analysis in the early pages, you would see that the taxes are nowhere near 50%.

[Kelli in TN]

Multiple posters have brought up student loans.

Here's my question:

If you have the years of experience needed to make $250,000 a year....why do you still have studnet loans.

 

I'm assuming that you need at least 5 or so years of work to get to $250,000...minimally. Why would someone with that many years out of school still have college loans?

 

I'm not dissing the college loans. Heck, I had $20K worth of student loans. But my loans were paid off within 6 years or so. (Granted we did pay off the last few thousand in a lump sum. But I wasn't even working for the last three years. I was a SAHM at that point.)

 

Do people have hundred of thousands of dollars in studnet loans? Do they defer them for mulitple years? Do they make tiny little payments on them?

How are they at the point in their career that they can draw a salary fo $250K but still have so few years of work experience that they still have student loans?

 

healthcare costs...I understand those. We had to pay for personal insurance one year and it was crazy expensive. And $250,000 isn't so much after an almost 50% tax

 

:iagree: We tell the kids that when they graduate and line up that job we hope will be there for them, the first thing they do is retire that debt. Do that before they get a mortgage or a shiny new car or a new wardrobe or new electronics or whatever.

[CAMom]

But here is the way I see it, and I am no economists so take it with a grain of salt, but even if you live in an area where living expenses are high, and even if you do have more responsibilities than the average person, having $250K to take care of your family is better than having 80K which is better than having 25K. By comparison, the family with the 250K is still wealthy. Their wealth does not go as far is it would if they lived in Frogjump Tennessee, but it is still the highest salary in my little make-believe sample group. But neither do salaries of the 80K family or the 25K families. By comparison the 250K family is still the lucky one.

 

I don't see why it bothers people to admit that they are far wealthier than the lady who scanned their groceries yesterday or the man who wakes up at all hours of the night to find out why Bob-the-drug-dealer's electronic monitoring system says he is out of his house. I am not ashamed that we live well and that we have choices for our family.

 

I agree, Kelli, I really do. I have no problem admitting that I'm "wealthy" compared to the rest of the country or the rest of the world at large. I'm not "wealthy" compared to the people where I live.

 

I have a problem with labelling wealth as one number across the board because of the social ramifications that will come with it. Our society is indoctrinated into thinking that the "wealthy" owe the rest. They should pay the higher taxes. They are to be despised. They are to be judged on how they spend their money. Etc.

 

BTW, I was the lady earning the grocery scanner's salary not too many years ago.:)

[SheilaZ]

If you look at my analysis in the early pages, you would see that the taxes are nowhere near 50%.

 

I didn't read the early pages and I was going by what I know about our tax rate including FICA and all that other stuff. Even taxed at our rate (with all the extra stuff) it still doesn't make you stinking rich.

Well off, yes.

Wealthy...maybe.

[TraceyS/FL]

Do we all realize what $750K will get you in certain areas of the country? Before the bubble burst in my area, it would get you *my* house. I live in a 1500 sq foot 3 bedroom house. Not a mansion. Even now, it will get you about 2000 sq feet with 4 bedrooms (I just checked the listings yesterday.) Oh, I'm blessed!

 

BTW, I actually did grow up in this exact house.;) My mother bought it when I was 10 years old for $97K. My dh and I bought it from her.

 

I think we need a thread on what $150,000 will buy for a house in your zip code.

 

I did it on another board - and i have 2 people that have NOTHING listed. NADA. Not even up to $175,000 could one come up with a listing.

 

We bought my parents house in CA ("custom" 1800sf, 7500sf lot). They paid $90k for it in 1980, we paid $160k for it in 1994, sold it for $378k in 2003. in 2005 we could have gotten $478k+, the houses in the neighborhood i saw online this morning are in the $378k range.

 

Our house here in FL is "worth" more than double what we paid for it in 2004 - we bought right before prices went insane here. I bought 2800sf and 1.25 acres, today that same $$ (ok, 20k more) would get me 1300sf and 1/4 acre.

[Alaska Mom]

No, in a CAPITAL market $250,000 is NOT wealthy.

In a socialist economy, YES it is, because not everyone can achieve it.

Purely from a small business perspective, why would anyone risk mortgaging their home and personal assets to start a business if their wealth tops out at $250,000? There is SUBSTANTIAL risk in starting a small business, thus, there must be the hope for SUBSTANTIAL reward. That's how a capital market works.

 

A free enterprise capital market system doesn't work that way to redistribute wealth. It doesn't stimulate small business, it hinders it, it doesn't stimulate jobs, it cuts jobs by cutting the source of the jobs. It's socialism.

[chaik76]

Use their 4 year degree to work and save the money for it. I would not incur debt for advanced degrees.

 

Also, how MUCH debt students are getting themselves in to varies widely. I think most kids who end up with student loans aren't living like real students (read-poor) while they do so.

Um....I was quite poor in college. I worked almost full-time and still ended up with 30,000 in student loans. We (dh and I) were quite poor in grad school. We did not have extras. We lived in married student housing because it had the cheapest rent, etc. We came out of school with $100,000 in student loans. I think your statement is a gross overgeneralization.