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Message
re: Bloomberg: The American Middle Class Is Shrinking, and That’s OK
Posted on 11/21/25 at 6:29 pm to fwtex
Posted on 11/21/25 at 6:29 pm to fwtex
quote:
$200,000 is living comfy but not large by any means.
Just so we're clear - the Top 5% of earners start around $300k. Are they "livin' large"? Is anyone?
0
Posted on 11/21/25 at 6:42 pm to NC_Tigah
The middle class is what makes America, America. You don’t hate these people enough, but we’re trending in the right direction.
Posted on 11/22/25 at 9:02 am to fwtex
quote:True. Not living large.
$200,000 is living comfy but not large by any means.
But spending it as fast as you make it, which is your measure here, is rarely the path to "living large."
However, if one earns $200K, but makes do with $175K of it, while investing the extra $25K every year, in 20 years he'll have accrued around $1.5M. Still not necessarily "living large," but not bad for a 40-something. If he continued the pattern into his mid-60's, he'd be looking at something in the neighborhood of $13M.
It's the millionaire next door premise. Not sexy. But it is the path most American millionaires take.
This post was edited on 11/22/25 at 9:06 am
Posted on 11/22/25 at 9:16 am to NC_Tigah
quote:
However, if one earns $200K, but makes do with $175K of it, while investing the extra $25K every year, in 20 years he'll have accrued around $1.5M. Still not necessarily "living large," but not bad for a 40-something. If he continued the pattern into his mid-60's, he'd be looking at something in the neighborhood of $13M.
Anyone who is making 200k in their 20s is doing exceptionally well.
At 29 that would be top 1% income for that age.
Posted on 11/22/25 at 9:39 am to Narax
quote:Yes, and anyone making the same $200K, with no increase over a 40yr career, would be exceptional for the wrong reasons.
Anyone who is making 200k in their 20s is doing exceptionally well.
Regardless, the response was to a person saying $200K was not exactly living large. There aren't many people in their 20's, 30's, or even 40's with "living large" salaries. That is true now, just as it always has been.
Posted on 11/22/25 at 10:02 am to NC_Tigah
quote:
There aren't many people in their 20's, 30's, or even 40's with "living large" salaries.
Agreed, I would also say that as people age and get promoted into $200k salaries, they typically are older, after many years of less money.
So at that point many of them are trying to squirrel away more for retirement.
The people living large put nothing into investments or 401k, they use credit cards like no tomorrow, and they DINK.
A DINK couple making $120k each with no investments and only a single BR Apartment can be living very large.
While a more traditional family of single salary, 4 kids, 4 BR house, investments, 401k, college savings accounts would not be living large on even $250k.
Posted on 11/22/25 at 5:02 pm to Narax
quote:Right.
Agreed, I would also say that as people age and get promoted into $200k salaries, they typically are older, after many years of less money.
So at that point many of them are trying to squirrel away more for retirement.
The irony of the millionaire next door is their next-door neighbors have no idea how much they are worth.
But when the neighbors read about millionaires, it's the guy down the street with the flashy car and no retirement plan whom they associate with the article
This post was edited on 11/22/25 at 5:05 pm
Posted on 11/22/25 at 5:42 pm to GeauxBurrow312
Delete double post
This post was edited on 11/22/25 at 5:44 pm
Posted on 11/22/25 at 5:42 pm to GeauxBurrow312
quote:
The only problem I have with these articles is they never adjust the income level to where the income is coming from.
The problem is that accounting for inflation isn't the same as accounting for buying power.
If they used buying power - how effective the dollar is a purchasing major buys - that same 150,000 dollars in 1967 would really be 500,000 dollars.
This post was edited on 11/22/25 at 5:43 pm
Posted on 11/22/25 at 6:45 pm to Narax
quote:
single salary, 4 kids, 4 BR house, investments, 401k, college savings accounts would not be living large
That is living large. Younger people’s perception of what is normal is so out of wack.
Perhaps it’s social media with all these people posting in front of their sports cars and travel destinations when it’s really not their car or where they are staying. Fake fake fake. It’s not normal but you’ve been manipulated to think it is and so you question why don’t you have it.
This post was edited on 11/22/25 at 6:46 pm
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