Elizabeth Richardson wrote:
- quote -

ROFL :-)

"John A. Weeks III" <john[at]johnweeks.com> wrote in message
news:john-C61F9A.18445928082006[at]sn-ip.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net...

- quote -

I would think if you had two spouses, it would, indeed, end up being a huge
hassle. It might also be the reason that you have trouble managing on 50K.

Elizabeth Richardson

John wrote:
- quote -

Ten years ago there was a one-week series on a financial station
explaining that the boomers were not doing as well as their parents -
that would make boomers the first generation less well-off than the
previous.

I wish you would back up what you hold to be factual with something
besides "we hear" "supposedly" "because" "epidemic" and "astounding
rate".

Your comment "remember that when you vote" is politically oriented, and
I'm surprised the moderators let it slip past. Vote for what?

In article <yuidnQl7_YlMGG7ZnZ2dnUVZ_rudnZ2d[at]comcast.com> ,
joetaxpayer <joetaxpayer[at]nospam.com> wrote:

- quote -

Well, we hear that millions of people don't have health insurance,
and millions more don't get treatments for medical issues until
they show up in an emergency room. Here in Minnesota, 1 in 5
children supposedly do not get enough to eat each day due to
poverty. In New Orleans, over 1000 people died because they
could not afford to evacuate from the most powerful storm in our
lifetimes. Nationwide, credit card debt is epidemic, mortgage
forclosures are happening at an astounding pace, the savings
rate is below 1%, and gas is $3 a gallon. Yes, I would say that
much of the country is not "getting by". Lots of folks are just
making do the best they can.

I also qualified my response with the words "modern world", so
folks living in the back water swamps in $9 shacks who eat a diet
mostly consisting of crawdads does not count. Nevertheless, the
current generation that is being born will be the first generation
since the founding of America that will, on average, be less well
off than the previous generation. Remember that when you vote.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

John A. Weeks III wrote:
- quote -

That's a little over-stated - 60% of the country makes less than 50k,
and they manage.

John A. Weeks III wrote:

- quote -

It appears from the HUD data sets;
http://www.huduser.org/DATASETS/il.html
that more than half the counties showed mean family income of 50K or
less. I know that wealth is disproportionate, but are you suggesting
that fully half this country isn't 'getting by'?
JOE

In article <1156786338.754501.30360[at]m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com> ,
"RigasMinho" <minho.cho[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

In the modern world, you don't. You have 3 choices...spend less,
earn more, or move to a rural area where you can live cheaply and
grow some of your own food. A 4th choice that many people try is
putting the 2nd spouse to work. In reality, that often ends up
being a huge hassle for little net income after childcare is paid.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

"RigasMinho" <minho.cho[at]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1156786338.754501.30360[at]m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

Depends mostly on 2 things.

I live in a county in rural OH where (the last time I checked 2002(ish)) the
average household had almost 4 people (3.7 if I remember correctly) and a
median income of just under $24,000.

On the other hand, move to L.A., or Vegas, or Boston, or NYC and
$24,000 would be exactly Diddley-Squat(tm).

The next biggest factor would be the choices you make. Is it important
to you to "keep up with the Joneses?" -- if so, you're doomed ass you'll
never do it on $50K. You'll never quite really do it on *any* income as
there's always one more "Jones" who makes just a little bit more than you
and he's got just a few more toys than you.

Where I live, on 50K a year and the right choices -- within about
15 years you'd be set for life. Other places ... you'd be bankrupt
within the first year.

RigasMinho wrote:
- quote -

It's all relative, my friend. $50K is not $50K is not $50K. A lot of
it depends on where you live.

For example, if you live in Fairfax, VA (DC suburb), you would never be
able to afford a house on a $50K salary. The median home price here is
$542K. On the other hand, if you live in Austin, TX, where the median
home price is $170K, home ownership would be well within your grasp.
If you live someplace expensive, think about moving.

Other than that, you've just got to learn to live beneath your means.
Like Jim said, make sure you're saving. This really has 2 effects.
First and foremost, you've got savings. Second, you're learning to
live with less income than you have. So when an unexpected expense
creeps up, you have the flexibility to deal with it.

Finally, keep your focus on the big picture and don't worry about
keeping up with the Jonses. The data is pretty clear: The Jonses have
no savings and are in debt up to their eyeballs. Oh, and also make
sure you keep tabs on your "Latte Factor". Americans spend so much
money on things they don't need, it's sickening. Good for the economy,
but sickening.

--Bill

Easy.

Taking data from the BLS tables (website) for 2004, $50,000 is just
short of the lower limit of the 4th quintile average - but pls. n. that
is per consumer unit, which at that quintile is 1.7 persons. So for one
person, you fall into the 4th quintile average. Overall average
expenditures are $43,395.

First, go to the tables for expenditures. Read the text - smart guys
wrote it. They deserve credit. These are very well categorized. Use
these to compare your own expenses to the averages. Second, run a
spreadsheet going out 20 years (to meet college expenses). I did one
with just five columns (year, income, expenses, savings, and investment
returns), using assumptions salary increases 5% a year, expenses
increase 3% a year, and investment returns 6% a year.

Over 20 years, salary goes 2.65x, expenses go 1.81x, and the per year
investment returns go 68x (from an initial $396 to a final year
$57,031). The total savings reinvested work out to $950,510. These are
not after-tax numbers, for various reasons such as Qualified Tuition
Plans (aka 529 plans).

Now there's a big assumption that college costs will not continue their
present rate of increase. If you take $100,000 for four years - which
means state schools or live-at-home private - a 10% annual increase
works out to 6.73x or $673,000 for four years. How colleges are going
to justify increases 7% above a CPI of 3% is a big question to the
trustees at Ivy League U with current estimates of $50,000 per annum.
So I have plugged in the same factor used for salary increase. That's
2.65x or $265,000 for a four-year total in 2027.

"RigasMinho" <minho.cho[at]gmail.com> wrote
- quote -

Where are you suggesting this family live?

As your financial planning experience matures, one point you
will see mentioned often is how money goes much further in,
say, Suburb X vs. City Y.

RigasMinho wrote:
- quote -

SAVE. Learn to live with what you have.

Cheryl Crow has these words in a song "the key is not getting what you
want, but wanting what you got".

so on a 50k salary, my first question is can you set aside 10% and live
off 45k? If so, then that 5k you save each year will grow (if invested
well). Step 1 is setting aside that 10%.

Step 2 is investing the 10%... how you choose to do this is a matter of
much debate.

Okay - thanks for the posts about your experiences with rental
property.

here's a q:
How does a guy who makes 50k support a family with that kind of salary?

It just amazes me how that happens - not saying its in my situation
because i have no kids and single. But i still dont understand how
anyone can raise a family with just 50k income.