A month ago I saw on yahoo an article about a family who made 260,000 a year and was feeling targeted by the President's new tax proposal to raise taxes for people who make more then 250,00o a year. I wish I could now locate the article but I can't. Anyway they were saying they only consider themselves middle class because after putting money into savings, 401 k's , paying their $4000 mortage, tithing like $2000 a month to their church , paying car payments, bills , groceries etc they have ONLY 1,200 a month left. I was like what are you serious? That's pretty much half a months pay for us before we pay anything, let alone have any money to put in savings, 401 ks and titheing. I mean with an extra 1,200 a month I could put money in savings , get a second car, and still get everything my kids the stuff they need. Ok so it's been bugging me for a bit when things really stress me out in this house and I think about it.
Then Fri. night I was watching Oprah and low and behold it was about classes in America. It was eye opening to see how upper middle class and lower upper class veiw people in lower middle and poverty class. Then it happened they lost their incomes and slid in class. They see it as shameful and embarassing that they could no longer afford highlights and nail appointments. The "expert" that was on was saying that this recession will be over soon that we shouldn't worry. I have to say though that it's been opening
some peoples eyes. The people that were making that income , one being a reporter that was making 250,000 (who by the way had the veiw of how do people get in debt and have no saving get in that position? and is now making what our family makes a year) say that wow they realize how their view of classes were distorted. Many lost their friends because they no longer had status. They had to trade the mercedes in for a hyndai.
I am glad people are realizing that hey values are important not status and money. But I have to ask myself if the recession does end soon will people remember that? It's like 9/11 people were helping people everyone was united. It lasted a year before it went back to "normal". So if they make the incomes they were making before will they emember what it was like to be a lower class? Will they begin to have the misconception that people in lower classes have no education , no drive , and no ambition to better them selves like they had before? I mean someone has to clean , wash and do the thankless jobs in america.
What's your take on class and what's happening with the recession? Do you think that the gap between the lower and upper classes are wideing? Do you feel like you have slipped in class?
While I don't feel like we have slipped in class I do feel the pinch. Our money is not going as far as it used to , but we are blessed hubbster has a job he can't lose, we get guarenteed paychecks, health care , and housing. No we don't have ANY expendable cash in the month, but we are ok and in the long run that's what matters.
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6 comments:
Well I think the whiners who gripe about only having $1200.00 a month to spend each month need a big REALITY check!
As far as classes go...NO the ones who get pay raises and go back to their former ways of life will not continue to remember the lessons they learned for the most part. They will in time think that if others just TRIED HARDER or WORKED SMARTER NOT HARDER then they could be more successful and sometimes that is true but often it isn't!
I don't think we've slipped in class status but who knows? I really don't even put us in a particular category because I don't want to think about it like that. I don't care if I have rich friends or poor friends or friends in between. My bills will get paid or go unpaid without any of thier income so I don't care but I do feel sorry for the people who DO care. The ones who judge you based on how many zeros are before the decimal point just really miss out on what is truly important and what will last when all the money is gone!
I don't think the recession is going to end soon. I think it may even get worse before it gets much better. There is still too much spending on the government's part and people you never thought would feel a pinch suddenly are guarding every penny they make.
Great topic!
Hugs,
Bridgett
you raise extremely interesting and important issues - the top tier of people in this country really DONT have any idea how the rest of us live. my hope is that things will only get better when we all learn to share.
Good post Christina.
I'm a nanny and my husband is a teacher. We live paycheck to paycheck. If we want to go out for dinner to treat ourselves, that means not buying groceries that week and making do with what's in the deep freezer.
So what really pushes my buttons is my boss that I nanny for. They are loaded. I mean, loaded. They spend cash like it grows on trees. She buys every child and herself a brand new name brand wardrobe every season. And she has 4 kids! If the kids want a toy, they get it, all the time, daily, weekly, etc. She just got a new van. They just got about 10,000 in furniture. They hire people every week for this, that the other thing. They have me, a full time nanny. Etc. So it totally irritates me when she starts complaining to me about money. I know I'm there in their house 40 hours a week so I kind of get the brunt of what's on her mind (she's a "stay at home mom"), but seriously, talking to me about not having enough money?? Drives me nuts. I'm thinking, girl, I live off of a portion of what you live off of because you pay my salary! And we're trying to adopt. Oy. She has no idea what struggling is.
Christina, I so agree with you. It irks me so badly to hear of these folks with 4k mortgages complaining about things. I like to consider us a slightly upper middle class family. We pushed our children to study hard, work hard, and get scholarships for college (our daughter went from Mo. to Louisiana for college in order to get a full ride, and then to Pa. for grad school, and our son worked hard to get into USAFA again saving us big college dollars). Both kids value a dollar, and understand that things like highlights or pedicures are 'novelties', not the norm. We all buy 'used' new cars, and try to put back a bit each month. we have friends who have declared bankruptcy, writing off all of their bills, knowing that a huge inheritance was coming their way, and then literally blowing 900k in a couple of years. These folks are among those, of course, complaining. Hang in there girl - you have your heads on straight and you can be proud of who you are and what you believe in. I am grateful and proud of what your DH does to help keep our country safe. Our son's been deployed twice, and we know how frightening things can be. We'll be keeping your family in our prayers! Kudo's to you for living within your means, and recognizing right from wrong! Hugs from Missouri!
Terrific post! I can't say I feel I've slipped, but I've never viewed myself anywhere above anyone else, so I guess that's why... We are definitely feeling the pinch with our dollars each month, too. And there is always another "thing" that comes up and has to be taken care of, so expendable income is nonexistent here. I honestly don't feel the recession is going to end soon, either, and more and more people I know are doing more and more to conserve every penny they make. Doing things like cutting out specific food items to recycling more and wasting a lot less are what I see with the people around me here. It's hard to say what the future holds, but it's always been like that- and the media doesn't help matters any. I just pray that God provides for my family's needs each day and rely on Him to get me through. In the end we don't take anything with us, anyway...
I think anyone who whines about the government's military budget should have to live on our paycheck for a month!! And if I hear one more person say I have "free" housing I'm going to go ballistic!!!!!! Puh-lease!
Nope, sorry, no empathy for people who feel "pinched" on $250,000+ a year. Not.At.All.
We're actually doing just fine financially, but that's because I made Thomas' last deployment really count, and I made $10,000 in cookbook sales to pay off/pay down all our debt.
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