Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?
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They're saying $136K where we are with two kids, but $30K of it is child-care, and Mrs. Phibes did it for free (God, I hope she doesn't read this)
What does $23K of taxes include? Our property tax is only about $5K - not sure what that number is supposed to reflect.
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@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
49k for two people, no children in my area. I assume that's take home pay, after all deductions.
Maybe, but doubtful...
May I ask what county?
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@LuFins-Dad said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
49k for two people, no children in my area. I assume that's take home pay, after all deductions.
Maybe, but doubtful...
May I ask what county?
None. We don't have counties.
“Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion.
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Modest yet adequate… Those are the key words… Ax titled it as middle class but that phrase is wide open to interpretation…
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@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@LuFins-Dad said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
49k for two people, no children in my area. I assume that's take home pay, after all deductions.
Maybe, but doubtful...
May I ask what county?
None. We don't have counties.
Okay, Parish, smart ass…
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@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@LuFins-Dad said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
49k for two people, no children in my area. I assume that's take home pay, after all deductions.
Maybe, but doubtful...
May I ask what county?
None. We don't have counties.
Parish the thought.
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@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@LuFins-Dad said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
49k for two people, no children in my area. I assume that's take home pay, after all deductions.
Maybe, but doubtful...
May I ask what county?
None. We don't have counties.
Seriously...That would be North and Central Louisiana, or maybe most of the state north of I-10, excluding the metropolitan areas.
I've never figured out why we don't aggressively recruit retirees. We have Homestead Exemption, which keeps property taxes low or nonexistent. We have a state income tax, but it doesn't apply to state pensions, federal (I think) pensions or Social Security. We do have a fairly high sales tax. In the more economically poor areas of the state, you can still find land reasonable...Right now, I know of a 3/2 brick veneer for $650,000...With barn, outbuildings and 80 acres of mixed woodland and improved pasture.
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I think the disagreement has a lot to do with our own definitions of "Middle Class" as Ax described it or "modest yet adequate" as expressed by EPI. This isn't perfect, but it's light years ahead of the Federal guidelines used in legislation...
My wife grew up in Brown County, Ohio. These are the numbers from EPI:
Brown County, OH
HOUSING $738
FOOD $725
CHILD CARE $1,131
TRANSPORTATION $1,215
HEALTH CARE $1,068
OTHER NECESSITIES $530
TAXES $517
MONTHLY TOTAL $5,924
ANNUAL TOTAL $71,090So let's start with housing since that's likely to be the biggest variable...
I used $750 just to make things easier calculations. Most online calculators using $750 as a base payment with 20% down came up with a housing price of between $165K to $190K as being in that budget. $180K gets me - https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1205-S-2nd-St-Ripley-OH-45167/78963340_zpid/
I'd say that's modest but adequate.
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“Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion.
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@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
I would agree.
Picked at random - Beauregard Parish, LA
MONTHLY COSTS
2 adults and 2 children
Beauregard Parish, LA
HOUSING $725
FOOD $787
CHILD CARE $643
TRANSPORTATION $1,272
HEALTH CARE $1,545
OTHER NECESSITIES $548
TAXES $603
MONTHLY TOTAL $6,122
ANNUAL TOTAL $73,462https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/107-N-Division-St-Deridder-LA-70634/106017626_zpid/ That's actually pretty nice...
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@LuFins-Dad said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
I think the disagreement has a lot to do with our own definitions of "Middle Class" as Ax described it or "modest yet adequate" as expressed by EPI. This isn't perfect, but it's light years ahead of the Federal guidelines used in legislation...
Exactly, the primary reason I share it here is because I think the EPI's method is more useful than the Federal guidelines.
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Hey, D'Evereaux is for sale... Comes with 12 acres...
https://www.trulia.com/p/ms/natchez/160-devereaux-dr-natchez-ms-39120--2155767171
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“Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion.
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@George-K said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
Yeah, but it's bigger than your condo...
Taxes are probably lower, LOL.
ETA: They are!
And you would have space for a workshop!
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@Klaus said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
And you would have space for a workshop!
Yup!
But...
It's Mississippi.
(@klaus probably won't get this)
Q: Why does Alabama exist?
A: To keep Georgia from getting its border dirty.
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@George-K said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
Yeah, but it's bigger than your condo...
Taxes are probably lower, LOL.
ETA: They are!
You want low taxes? You want character?
https://www.trulia.com/p/la/alexandria/222-florence-ave-alexandria-la-71301--2203390894
“Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion.
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@Jolly said in Middle Class? How much income needed to live modestly and adequately?:
You want low taxes? You want character?
https://www.trulia.com/p/la/alexandria/222-florence-ave-alexandria-la-71301--2203390894
Wow.
Pour another $250K into that and you'd get something really spectacular!
How far away is the nearest
grocery storeWalMart?
