Which one is your household income bracket?

[Lisa F]

To me middle class is more about the standard of living that one can afford than gross salary. $100k goes a LOT further when you don't have to spend 1/3 of it on taxes, 1/3 on housing and a decent chunk on the student loans that allowed you to get a job in a major metro area which earns a young couple a large enough salary to be able to JUST afford a modest starter home in a middle class neighborhood.

I know, since we lived on one income that was slightly more than half of our current combnied income and we owned a house that was twice as big and cost 1/3 the price of the type of house we are looking to buy in Putnam County, and we had a hell of a lot more disposable income on half the salary (this is starting to sound like a Richyams resort comparison post!)

That is when we bought into DVC, and now that we are looking to move to the NYC area in a couple of years, we realize how lucky we were to buy into DVC when we did because it's doubtful we would be able to afford to do the same once we buy a house in NY. I guess I just see "very well off" as having a lot more disposable income than we will have once we buy a house, even though we will likely be in the top 10% of filers in the country.

Lisa

 

[SamS]

It's a well known phenomenom that people who are "upper middle class" (around $100K) in terms of family income are amazed to find out that they are in the top 10%. That knowledge puts some perspective in my life when I begin complaining to myself that it's a shame that we can't afford to buy more points Right Now! It's a good thing now and then to reflect on how fortunate we are.

 

[Richyams]

I was actually getting to the point of almost feeling pretty good about our income shortly after moving to Florida. No state income taxes, reasonable house prices, everything a little cheaper, life was great, we were able to live on the wife's healthy salary and I was able to pursue other things, plating stokbroker, daytrading, homeschooling the kid, starting this business, that business, life was great.

Then we bought a horse. They don't call it 'the sport of kings' for nothing. Everything is so darn expensive. Between the room and board, the vet, the shows, the costumes, transporting the horse to the stupid shows all over the country. I would guess that it averages $2,000 per month.

Its forced me to work....like every day!!!!! Luckily my computer and web hosting company has really taken off. I think we would have had to change our lifestyle if it hadn't.

I know, every income bracket has its demons.

Like Doc, rumor has it that he has to come up with dues on 4,000 points each year and pay dock fees on a 150' yacht, he needed to 150' model because of the helipad.

 

[crisi]

Most people do consider themselves middle class, regardless of the income they have.

KNWVIKING, I can think of a couple of reasons why we aren't a good cross section:

1) Small sample size. About a 100-150 of us hang here. Good sample size would be around 500.

2) Self Selection - which kind of fills in the rest:

a) We choose to spend time on a Disney related board. Which means we are probably more Disney obsessed than the average DVC member. It also means that we have enough free time and enough computer access to be here.

b) I'd guess that our mean number of points owned is higher than average and that we travel to Disney more often. It would be very interesting to see what the mean, median and modal point ownership is for Disney as a whole and compare it.

c) We are computer literate - which correlates to us being (as a population - I know there are lots of very computer literate older folks out there - some of them right here) younger than average.

d) We are probably more satisfied with our ownership - as a whole - than the "average" DVC member. Unsatisfied people aren't hanging out here.

 

[Lisa F]

Originally posted by Richyams
Like Doc, rumor has it that he has to come up with dues on 4,000 points each year and pay dock fees on a 150' yacht, he needed to 150' model because of the helipad.

Okay, I just have to ask because I do go through times when I don't have time to read the boards and I really feel like I'm missing something here. What is your preoccupation with how many points Doc owns? I'm guessing this is meant to be humorous but I'm just confused.

In either case, there is a reason that jewish mothers want their sons to be doctors, and it's not so that they can be the smartest of the dwarves!

Lisa

 

[Tigger1]

Wow, I feel preety good to be able to purchase points and be in the first racket. As a single parent, working as a teacher, I am doing pretty good to vacation mostly with the top 10 % .

I do live in an area that cost of living is very low. My home would sell for 2 to 3 ++ times more if I lived in other cities. I can drive my car to work and not pay for parking. All other expenses are about the same.

For 2 income households, I can see where many fall into the 2nd bracket.


Maybe we could do a poll # points compared to income.



tigger

 

[JohnNJ]

Originally posted by lat
For those who make over $1mm, I wonder how many pts they own

I would guess that there are 1 or 2 millionaires that don't have any points yet.

John

 

[nezy]

Wow-talk about feeling like a Rich Man/Poor Man all in one shot!!

It is nice to see that we are in the majority thus far, within this poll. It also annoys me a bit that my DH, NYC FDNY is the lowest bracket noted here.

Nice that we can all get along so well - us under 100,000 w the over 1mils!!

Disney -bringing families and various socio-ecomomic groups together, its a beautiful thing!

P.S. BRUUUUUCCE!!!

 

[Lisa F]

Originally posted by nezy
It is nice to see that we are in the majority thus far, within this poll. It also annoys me a bit that my DH, NYC FDNY is the lowest bracket noted here.

Well the "lowest" bracket is a pretty big range! Also the poll does not differentiate between single income households and double income households. I wonder if the AGI stats are for households or individual? I'm willing to bet that there are a LOT more households with two earners who make over $100k combined than there are individuals who earn over $100k by themselves.

Lisa

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Holy, Moly!! Already 12 folks here have household incomes of $1m +. It's just too bad I'm not one of the 12!!!

 

[Cruelladeville]

I'm thrilled to find that I vacation with 12 millionaires! I knew I had good taste It should be noted that those who live on the Eastern Seaboard and West Coast are much poorer than those who live in the midwest and the south, although you may have the same income. The standard of living is less in some places. So those of you who make under $100,000 may actually be richer than the rest of us here, and not even know it!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) OK.
2) I admit it.
3) I am working on my second Million.

4) I can't make my first, so I might as well start on my second.

(LOL)


NOTE: Stolen from "Uncle Milty" - who stole it form someone else.

 

[ncligs]

Originally posted by PamOKW
Gee...first it was age, now income....what 's next weight and religion. ;

...............

 

[lat]

I wonder if we can get 400 votes!!

 

[lat]

 

[msdis]

Who's to say there are not 13(current count) funny people who selected this option. And how many business owners who can SAY they make over a million dollars a year and then you subtract off their expenses and well lets just say a million is not a million any more.

BTW-no-one makes between 750,000 and 1 million but we have more people making over a million which is more than the 4 categories before it combined?

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

The poll is more telling about the original post(er) than it is about the people who took it.

 

[msdis]

Giving this a bump since it relates to the education poll recently started.

 

[arminnie]

Where you live makes a huge difference in what standard of living that a salary level provides.

I made a very good salary living in CA. I put a large % into my 401K, had the typically huge CA house payment (for a tiny condo). I had very little disposable income. I rarely took a vacation. I was fortunate to travel to Orlando on business.

I have retired to Arkansas and cannot believe how inexpensive everything is here compared to CA. I have no house payment and am not making 401K contributions. My income is about half what it was before, but I have way more money to spend. Taxes, insurance, and even vet bills are so much cheaper.

 

[JimC]

In response to the earlier question, the AGI stats presented earlier in this post reflect filed tax returns. So it is reflects households of all types.