A staggeringly unrealistic article recently came out entitled "This Is The Income A Family Needs To Live Comfortably In Every U.S. State."
As expected, certain high cost-of-living states dominated the list, such as California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, etc. In these states, the income necessary for a "comfortable" lifestyle can top $300,000.
So of course, the first thing I looked up is the income necessary for a comfortable lifestyle in Idaho. And do you know what income allegedly is? $226,000!!!!!
My outraged comment to Don was, "On what planet?"
Seriously, I know no one – literally no one – whose income even remotely approaches that ballpark, yet the vast majority of us are able to live "comfortably" (though unquestionably a little more income for most people would be welcome).
These stats are based on two working adults with two children. According to the article, the numbers are "based on the familiar 50/30/20 budget: 50% for necessities, 30% for discretionary spending, and 20% for savings or other goals. These aren’t bare-minimum survival numbers – they’re what it takes to live pretty well while still putting money aside."
That's fine and dandy, but I guess what isn't clear is how they define "comfortable." Perhaps it's the economic point where people don't have to think about or worry about money? The trouble with this definition is it doesn't account for lifestyle creep: Those whose earnings approach the "comfortable" level often opt for more expensive cars, homes, goods, services, etc., and then complain they can't "afford" everything they want.
Within reason – I'm not talking about those living in poverty or mired in medical debt – it seems to me it's far better to be grateful that we can afford the daily comforts we take for granted.
By that definition, the vast majority of people are already "comfortable."
Comfort comes less from income than from state of mind. A person who quits pining for what he sees on Instagram and YouTube, who resists getting hot and bothered by whatever CNN and government toadies claim is the latest Disaster in the Making, will find himself far more comfortable than the guy making $300K a year.
ReplyDeleteI will say--I have made more than that in the past and in the NYC burbs it's shockingly easy to spend that much a year. Property taxes: 24K a year. Heating oil (big old house): 12K a year. Landscaping, car insurance, a cleaning lady once a week ($500 a month), travel hockey, horseback riding, private skating lessons, music lessons, gifted-kid summer camp, vacations, and on and on. I know it sounds ridiculously privileged and it is and was and we loved it but in a wealthy area it just didn't seem excessive. Now the kids are adults and we've downsized everything is cheaper but still shockingly expensive in some cases. Sigh. I don't regret it; I afforded my kids a wonderful upbringing.
DeleteAll my life I have lived "on the edge", short on all things, income, jobs, adequate housing, which is dependent upon ones definition of "adequate", food, transportation, etc. I have Never had everything I've wanted, but I have always had everything I Needed. There it is. Needs and Wants are different. Thank you Lord for that.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they are assuming the couple has just bought a new house for $Xxx,xxx, has incredibly high day care costs, new SUVs every couple years and so. Obviously the vast majority of middle class Americans are not in this exact demographic.
ReplyDeleteIf the definition is including children- well, children are just expensive. It's easy to say "they just need love and a caring home" but my mother is raising my special-needs niece and wants to provide her a rounded childhood experience with some sports activities, music lessons (which she seems to have some aptitude for), etc. My mom is 69, still working, and can't do this stuff herself. Thank goodness my stepfather still works also and can afford it. This stuff costs money and they aren't trying to provide extravagance. So the "comfort" of being able to have your child in extracurriculars, pay for therapies, pay the mortgage, etc- and they don't pay for cable or restaurants or stuff like that, don't have car payments- you'd be shocked at their monthly expenses having a 5 year old. There's no good answer.
ReplyDelete$223K in New Mexico? Wow. I know very few that break $80K. And so many more who live pretty good on $50K.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patrice for that story. You find things I would never come across! We are entirely happy and contented on a tenth of that!! We did the Dave Ramsey plan before we retired and thus no debt, no mortgage, 10-year old reliable cars, and a nice garden. We do most of our own home maintenance and believe in simple pleasures. Wow. I wouldn't know what to do with that kind of money!
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Smartasset.com is the source. They are trying to sell their financial advisor services. I trust this article as much as I do, AI. Not at all!!! This leads to dissatisfaction, longing, jealousy, and greed. Don't read this baloney!
ReplyDeleteMost people I know live on $35-50k a year in southern Idaho, as there are just no jobs available and the pay sucks. With Covid the pay rate increased but in the past couple years, most businesses dropped their wages to pre-covid levels, literally cutting current employee's paychecks. But so many people are moving here from out of state that can afford expensive houses, so that has driven up the cost of housing and everything else, so it has literally priced the locals out of everything. Now houses on average that are not in a sketchy part of town start at around $300k, something that a person on a $50k a year income cannot get approved for. We lucked out as we bought our home over 15 years ago before everyone decided Idaho was a great state to move to, but if we had to purchase a house now, it would not be doable in this region. Rent here starts at $1200-1500 for a 1 bedroom apartment, which is hard for most people to afford when you calculate in all the other bills. Cars have become very expensive, even used cars, so many people have to buy even used cars on payments. Plus the increase in property tax, most places are increasing it the max amount allowed each year, it's crazy. Many people I know do not want to use credit cards or make payments on stuff and they do not blow money on useless stuff, it's the shear fact that they just cannot afford to buy stuff on their income, even working several jobs it is hard to survive here with the increased fuel costs, food costs, and medical costs. So in my region I can easily see that for a family to live comfortably you would need a much higher income. Then if you happen to have medical problems, that just makes it that much harder to survive, as hardly anything is covered under work insurance or Medicaid anymore. So in my opinion, if you already own your home and a vehicle, you can survive on a low income; but if you are just starting out, there is no way you can afford to live in this area, it's why so many local people have to move out of state, it's too expensive to live here now.
ReplyDeleteWhat cracks me up is they say that 50% of this amount is for necessitities. In our state that would be about $120K. And yet, here with are with three kids, one in an expensive to most private college, with a self employed husband who makes 1/2-2/3 the necessity amount and we live very well, with me home with the kids. We have a paid for home, three paid for vans (one with abou 275K miles, one with 320K miles, and the other rapidly catching them, but all are in good working order), and maxed out Roth IRAs every year. This chart is crazy!
ReplyDeletePeople forget that the liberal media is hard at work before the midterm elections. Liberals want everyone mad at the current administration so they push this garbage out for naive enough to believe it. The graph said my state needed $197,000 to be comfortable. Most working families in my state live on less than $90K and the lower economic families live on $50K or less.
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