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Thread: 7 Things the Middle Class Can't Afford Anymore

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    Default 7 Things the Middle Class Can't Afford Anymore

    for what it's worth ... from


    (snip)The middle class has certainly changed. We've ranked a list of things the middle class can no longer really afford. We're not talking about lavish luxuries, like private jets and yachts. The items on this list are a bit more basic, and some of them are even necessities. The ranking of this list is based on affordability and necessity. Therefore, items that are necessity ranked higher, as did items that a larger percentage of people have trouble paying for.

    Vacations

    A vacation is an extra expense that many middle-earners cannot afford without sacrificing something else. A Statista survey found that this year 54% of people gave up purchasing big ticket items like TVs or electronics so they can go on a vacation. Others made sacrifices like reducing or eliminating their trips to the movies (47%), reducing or eliminating trips out to restaurants (43%), or avoiding purchasing small ticket items like new clothing (43%).

    New vehicles

    Very few people who earn the median income can afford to buy a new car or truck. Interest.com recently analyzed the prices of new cars and trucks, as well as the median incomes across more than two dozen major cities, and found that new cars and trucks were simply not affordable to most middle-earners.

    "Median-income families in only one major city [Washington DC] can afford the average price Americans are paying for new cars and trucks nowadays." As of 2013, new cars are priced at $32,086, according to the study. Mike Sante, Interest.com's managing editor reminds us, "just because you can manage the monthly payment doesn't mean you should let a $30,000 or $40,000 ride gobble up all such a huge share of your paycheck."

    To pay off debt

    These debt statistics come from Debt.org: "More than 160 million Americans have credit cards." "The average credit card holder has at least three cards." "On average, each household with a credit card carries more than $15,000 in credit card debt."

    Not only do we have large amounts of credit card debt, we also have student loans, mortgages, cars, and medical debts. Our debt is growing faster than our income, and many middle class workers have trouble staying afloat. Money-Zine evaluated debt growth and income growth over the past few decades and found that "back in 1980, the consumer credit per person was $1,540, which was 7.3% of the average household income of $21,100. In 2013, consumer debt was $9,800 per person, which was 13.4% of the average household income of $72,600. This means debt increased 70% faster than income from 1980 through 2013."

    Emergency savings

    To provide ourselves with a degree of financial security, we are supposed to have emergency savings to protect ourselves in the event of job loss, illness, or some other catastrophe. Most members of the middle class don't have at least six months of emergency savings, however, and some working people have no such savings.

    A Bankrate survey found that only around one out of four households have six months of emergency money saved, and many of them are in the higher income groups. Another one-fourth have no emergency savings at all, and the remaining household have a small to moderate amount of savings, but not enough to cover six months of expenses.

    Retirement savings

    If you reach the retirement age with little or no money saved, Social Security is probably not going to be enough to cover your basic needs. Even if you want to work for your entire life, you have no way of knowing whether or not you will be physically capable of doing so.

    Although having a lack of a retirement savings is a risky move, so many people bet on double zero, just hoping that things will work out in their favor. While some members of the middle class neglect this aspect of financial planning because they are procrastinating, there are also some workers who cannot afford to set this money aside. Nearly half of those who don't save for retirement say it's because they simply don't have the money.

    As of late, around 20% of people near 65 have not saved anything for retirement at all, and the majority of people — 59% — worry that they don't have enough money saved for retirement, according to a Gallup Poll.

    Medical care

    Medical care is a basic necessity and something we'd think would be affordable for someone earning a middle income. A Forbes article published data indicating that workers in large companies — many of whom are members of the middle class — "face nearly $5,000 in premiums, co-payments, deductibles and other forms of co-insurance."

    During the past few years, these costs have had a large impact on working Americans. A report by Feeding America found that a shocking 66% of households say they've had to choose between paying for food and paying for medical care — 31% say they have to make that choice each and every month.

    Dental work

    According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "the U.S. spends about $64 billion each year on oral health care — just 4% is paid by Government programs." About 108 million people in the U.S. have no dental coverage and even those who are covered may have trouble getting the care they need, the department reports.

    Oftentimes, people will purchase medical coverage and forgo dental because it's so expensive. Plus, dental insurance may cover only 50% of the more expensive procedures, like crowns and bridges. This leaves those who have insurance with large co-payments.

    In many cases, middle-earners will delay or even forego some of these procedures in efforts to save on costs. According to the CDC, nearly one in four adults between the ages of 20 and 64 have untreated dental caries (like cavities or infections). (snip)


    Hmmm, I wonder where lap dances and paid webcam 'factor in' ?
    Last edited by Melonie; 10-27-2014 at 03:27 PM.

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    Default Re: 7 Things the Middle Class Can't Afford Anymore

    I think this might be true. The ordinary expenses people have now eat up a lot of income. It is being spent on fast food, electronics, gym memberships & supplementation, internet/smart phones, and starbucks. The small ticket items have gone down in price but there are more of them to buy. The big ticket items are a lot more expensive now.

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    Default Re: 7 Things the Middle Class Can't Afford Anymore

    Exactly invibe, things we didn't have or do growing up:

    cell phone

    cable

    2 new cars

    daily expensive coffee

    my father changed his own oil and did his own tuneups

    we didn't go on vacations

    since when is a new car and a week at Disney a birthright?

    Also, you can buy a Kia for 15k all day long, no matter what the neighbors bought.

    Learn to enjoy camping

    One of the things that has changed in the last 15 years is the profit by monthly fee. 30 years ago my bills were this: Rent, Car payment, car insurance, electric.....that is it, didn't even bother with a phone. People used to come by the house to see if I was there.

    Now mortgage, car, insurance, cable, netflix, internet, phone, cell, electric, heat, 5 kinds of other insurance, credit card, hell and a dozen other things I cannot remember

    companies make money on the margin, not on a product or service, and they are draining the working class dry, with the victims permission.

    That , when combined with falling real wages is a bad combination

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    Featured Member Tourdefranzia's Avatar
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    Default Re: 7 Things the Middle Class Can't Afford Anymore

    I grew up in the 1980's in a single earner household. My father was very blue collar and yet we could afford everything on this list. We also had a camper/rv, a boat, a garage full of fun toys like bicycles and fishing poles and skis and stuff. His mechanic's salary was enough to support 2 kids and wife, and when they divorced, his salary had to carry 2 households for a while.

    My parents were baffled as to why their kids couldn't quite get on their feet once we flew the nest. I think they thought we were lazy (or maybe stupid). It wasn't until I started dancing that I was able to get off the family dole. Life is not as easy as it once was for Americans.

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    Default Re: 7 Things the Middle Class Can't Afford Anymore

    And heaven forbid you fall through the cracks for a while due to unforeseeable events - climbing back out of a hole is just about impossible now. Credit worthiness is a standard part of employment background checks, and can cost you a job you're plenty qualified for just because you got behind for a while - making it that much harder to climb back out.

    The system is rigged, and not in the 99%'s favor.

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