How much....

[Renate_do]

... do you have to spent for your normal live?

Hi,

as you perhaps know I´m from Germany and when I read at this board I always notice that the whole finance system seems to be complete different.

What does a average familiy have to spent for live each month? Okay guess it depends in where you live, but maybe you can tell something about it.

Do you get payed for the kids?
Here you get a so called "Kindergeld" payed by the goverment of 190$/mounth each kid as long as they are going to school and under 25 years old.

Are there tax deductables if you have kids? Or if you are married and DH or DW earns less or nothing?

How much %tax do you have to pay from your income?
Here you start with 19% if you have more than 20000$ p.a. (family of 4) and goes up to 36%

How much do you have to pay for the healthsystem?
Here it is around 15% of your income before tax and the company has to pay 50% of it.
How much is the insurance for your retirement?
Here it is 20% of your income before tax.company pays 50% as well.

So usually you only get between 50 and 60% of your wages to your account.
[Here it is not usual to own your house or flat and the prices for flats are 4-8€/qm², so a normal flat is around 800qft (3rooms, kitchen, bathroom) will be 600$ plus 400$ for heating, water, etc.
Gas is around 5-5.50$/gallon.
Prices for food at the groceries seems to be comperable to the USA.

Greets Renate

 

[dizcrazy]

Hi! My sister lives in Austria so I may understand your questions a little more than the some other people . . . but I am certainly no tax expert!

Here goes:

What does a average familiy have to spent for live each month?
There really is no standard answer, because as you stated, costs vary depending on WHERE you live and HOW you live. A lot of Americans seem to live above their means.

Do you get payed for the kids?
No, we do not get paid. You might want to explain that "getting paid concept" but I can assure you, that in the United States, the government does NOT send you checks to help with childcare costs. I almost fell down when my sister received a check in the mail after having her daughter!

Are there tax deductables if you have kids? Or if you are married and DH or DW earns less or nothing?
Yes, we do get to take tax deductions for dependants. And we can take a deduction if we paid for child care. And the more in the family and the less you work, the less you should pay in taxes.

How much %tax do you have to pay from your income?
The federal tax depends on how much $$$ you earn a year and your deductions. And then we also pay states taxes too.

How much do you have to pay for the healthsystem?
We don't have a socialized or federal health care plan, so most people receive their health care coverage from the employer. Costs for health care in the US have increased drastically over the past few years. I pay $3,000 to cover my family with health care per year.
How much is the insurance for your retirement?
We pay into social security (someone will have to help me with how much we actually pay) and then the rest of our retirement is on us to figure out.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

What does a average familiy have to spent for live each month?
There really is no standard answer, because as you stated, costs vary depending on WHERE you live and HOW you live.


Yes, just like in Europe. Living in the popular cities is very expensive, but living in remote places may offer less opportunities for big incomes, or for certain specialties. But then again, if a certian company is located in a certain rural place, you may have agreat opportunity. When you live in a big city, you genarally get paid more, but everything costs more.


Are there tax deductables if you have kids? Or if you are married and DH or DW earns less or nothing?
Yes, we do get to take tax deductions for dependants. And we can take a deduction if we paid for child care.

You only get a tax deduction for child care expenses if you make below a certain amount. At a certain income point, the idea of having two working parents doesn't make sense because net gain of the second income (above the loss of the deduction) essentially goes to pay for the cost of the childcare.

How much %tax do you have to pay from your income?
[/B] The federal tax depends on how much $$$ you earn a year and your deductions. And then we also pay states taxes too. [/B]

Don't forget local taxes, too! In the northern states, municipalities are controlled by town. In the south, it is done by county. But there are variations by state, as well. Some states have both city and county government, butI'm not sure. Local taxes may be based on property or income or both - they tend to pay for schools, road construction, snow removal, local parks - that sort of thing.

How much do you have to pay for the healthsystem?
[/B] We don't have a socialized or federal health care plan, so most people receive their health care coverage from the employer. Costs for health care in the US have increased drastically over the past few years. I pay $3000 to cover my family. [/B]

You can also buy health insurance on your own. Insurance costs are outrageous and rising at a rate that is WELL above inflation, but they have lots of very powerful lobbiests in Washington. The big healthcare companies (insurance, drugs) contribute generously to our political campaigns too, so they usually get what they want.
Various insurance plans vary widely in price - depends if you want to be restricted to certain doctors, how much you want to pay for prescriptions, how big your family is. A twenty year old will usually elect for minimal coverage (estimating that they won't need it), while an older person will tend to want a more expensive plan that costs more up front, but pays out more when they visit the hospital of have expensive tests done. Either way, the insurance companies are doing very well in this country.

How much is the insurance for your retirement?
[/B] We pay into social security (someone will have to help me with how much we actually pay) and then the rest of our retirement is on us to figure out. [/B]

This is the current debate in our country. I'm not an expert, but here's my understanding of the situation (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this) : The fed borrowed against SS for years, and people are living longer than they used to, (plus some other factors) so there is some question about whether there is going to be enough money in the SS system forty years from now. Estimates do not look good, so the fed gov't. wants to cut SS payouts.

Currently, the amount you pay in is based on your income level. If you don't work, you don't get as much, however, if you do work but get paid little, you still get a certain amount at retirement. At the top income level, there is some discrepancy, because there is a cap on the monthly SS payout per person. (though there is also a cap on how much you pay in per paycheck). People who contribute at the highest level, only get back a certain amount - so they are paying in more for the same payout, but they are often the least dependant on the payout when they retire. SS payouts continue as long as you are alive.
Various employers have various plans - some will match contributions up to a certain level. Most have some sort of automatic deduction plan. There are also personal accounts, which often involve stock funds. They often do quite well, and for people in the highest tax bracket they may offer a better deal than SS...but this is debatable since private returns are not guarenteed. So this is also part of the current debate in our country - maybe allowing people to pay more of their income into a private account rather than to paying into SS. The question though is what happens if the stock market crashes and these people end up with nothing? and if the rich aren't paying into SS, how will SS cover the payout costs of the poor?

 

[HayGan]

H
How much do you have to pay for the healthsystem?
We don't have a socialized or federal health care plan, so most people receive their health care coverage from the employer. Costs for health care in the US have increased drastically over the past few years. I pay $3,000 to cover my family with health care per year.
[/B]

This isn't entirely true as we do have a Medicare system for our nation's elderly and disabled which is a basic health care plan paid for by the government. Many states also have a state medical assistance program which helps people within low income brackets and the disabled.

 

[CheapMom]

When it boils down to it we get to keep about 50% of our earnings too.
(After taxes, heathcare, SS (FICA) and 401K.)