“It depends on where you live and home costs. In New England a middle class lifestyle(a 3 bedroom home in a nice neighborhood) *requires* that a family make 100k+ a year.”
Nonsense! Most people in the past were not raised in 3-bedroom homes in “nice neighborhood” (translate expensive and upscale, and probably brand new). You can raise a fine family in a small home in a shabby neighborhood on the national average family income of $35,000-$40,000.
Heck, my whole comfortable life has been lived with never even living NEAR anyone with a $100,000 income nor will I ever see that yet I have all I want and more than enough things, not to mention a fabulous hubby.
Not to mention that as you get older, you realize that you don’t need most of what you have and spend a good amount of time getting rid of the excess. ;)
Ive had more than a few 'successful' friends that have made good bucks... ALL have crushing debt loads or been wiped out and started over because they were supposed to have all that 'stuff' that their 6 figures could buy. more $$$ equals more load is the lesson I learned from them.
Im a human by nature, Ill never have all I want, but Ive got all I really need, including a helluva debt load earned from the same wants. that load is being painfully reduced but the reality is that it will take a very long time to undo the damage of a few short years of misguided priorities...
BTW... ‘welcome’ to FR...