Re: OT : what is middle class poverty?

Posted by Brian in NY on January 11, 2007 at 06:10:20 from (12.149.100.21):

In Reply to: OT : what is middle class poverty? posted by Dave from MN on January 11, 2007 at 05:04:21:

Well, a 100k combined income is not middle class.
75k combined is upper middle class.
Middle class is anyone living above the poverty line up to the breakoff for upper class.
I believe the poverty line is 26k, but it varies based on how many people are in your family, and where you live.
You have heard of the working poor. What that involves is two people working, both making decent wage but saddled with college loan debt, a mortgage(often not anything more than a modest home), and costs associated with raising children, etc.....and just barely making ends meet at the end of the month, or maybe even using credit cards to pay other bills...basically just digging themselves into a deeper and deeper hole.
Could the average person spend a little less? Maybe....but there has to be some reward for working hard....I don't begrudge anyone from spending a little money on themselves to make their lives enjoyable.
The average middle class American has a job that they don't enjoy, work for a boss who is an idiot, and just needs some kind of release.
Listen to the country music on the radio...Country music is gaining popularity because it is the anthem of the working stiff.
Personally, I am smack in the middle of middle class. Wife and I make between 55 and 60k per year together. We live comfortably, have some debt, but is manageable.

We live in a modest house, I drive a 8 year old truck, she has a new SUV--but we bought it the right way and have equity in it already. I have toys, but I get by with older things so I don't have to be held hostage by a payment. Yes I could pay off my mortgage earlier but I owe a very modest amount on the property already, have a low interest rate and my money is better leveraged elsewhere. I think life is too short to just save, save, save and wait for the day you have no debt to have some fun. I could die tommorrow and what good would it do to be out of debt but bitter because I never got to enjoy life?
Yes I am thinking of my kids...I don't do anything if I can't include them in it. They love snowmobiling, riding fourwheeler, etc. I have an very good life insurance policy so that my debt will be erased if I die and there will still be some $ left for them.

Just my opinion, and all are entitled to their own. Just seems that if one has more money than they really need, it becomes much easier to pass judgement on those whose belt is a little tighter.

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