Come the revolution, the WSJ will be first in line
This, and I swear this is true, is definitely not from The Onion. Veronica Dagher writing in the WSJ (and with an accompanying oh-so-helpful video) explains how you can be broke on $400K/year. In Chicago. (emphasis below is all mine)
Which makes a tremendous amount of sense, because, clearly, saving $10K/year to break even by
/via WuMo
They live comfortably, travel frequently and pay the mortgage on a home worth more than $1 million. They send their two teenagers to public school and put away about $12,000 a year for retirement and $10,000 for college tuition...
Or, to put it differently, "Once we spend all our money, we have none remaining".The couple's annual take-home income is $273,000 after setting aside money for retirement and college and after paying U.S. and Illinois income taxes...They spend $87,000 a year on their mortgage, $24,000 on property taxes, $25,000 on home maintenance and $15,000 on utilities, cellphones and other household bills...Groceries for the family of four cost $575 a week, or $30,000 a year.The family buys a new car every four years, which amounts to $15,000 a year on average, and spends $9,000 annually on car insurance. Their discretionary purchases also include $21,000 a year on dining out and other entertainment, $12,000 in membership dues at a local club, and $26,000 on two family trips and one weekend getaway for the parents.Add in $10,000 for equipment, fees and other expenses related to sports their children play, $4,000 for gifts and holiday spending, and $5,000 for school fundraisers and other charitable giving.Suddenly, the hypothetical couple is $10,000 in the hole every year.
Which makes a tremendous amount of sense, because, clearly, saving $10K/year to break even by
- Spending only $11,000 a year on dining out is not an option
- Dropping the $12,000 membership at the local club is not an option
- Spending only $16,000 on vacations is not an option
- And god forbid, they move to a less expensive house!
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