The Middle Class Squeeze

[SnoDog]

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/homemortgagesavings/middleclassconundrumdoyoufitin.aspx

discuss

[C. Little]

It's terrible. The ability to live a normal life in America is getting harder and harder. I would love to know exactly what % of my income goes toward some kind of tax.

I get the feeling the country is at the breaking point.

[jds6958]

It's terrible. The ability to live a normal life in America is getting harder and harder. I would love to know exactly what % of my income goes toward some kind of tax.

I get the feeling the country is at the breaking point.

55% - http://www.nowandfutures.com/taxes.html

And that is without the hidden tax called inflation...

[lovinlife4]

DH and I were just saying this yesterday. How are any of us supposed to live normal lives? We have 3 kids, I stay home and babysit 2 little ones just to pay for groceries and gas. Hubby works anywhere from 40-50 hours a week and we have 1 vehicle. This situation makes us very comfortable and we don't have to use credit cards. I cannot imagine how things are going to be when our home actually sells and we get the 4 bedroom we are looking at!!! I keep saying we just need to trust in the Lord and he will find us a way!!! This could be a wild year though...maybe we'll go home soon:pray

[C. Little]

55% - http://www.nowandfutures.com/taxes.html

And that is without the hidden tax called inflation...

Thanks.

[Lisababy]

i was just discussing this with a co-worker this morning! it's sad actually, that alot of people i know (including me!) make more than decent wages but for some reason it still doesn't cover the basic essentials. my household makes around $40,000 a year and still can't do all the bills without help from time to time. I sat down to do a budget for the first time to try to understand where all the money was going.... :idunno well that wasn't the problem, the problem was that i didn't have enough money to pay all the bills!!! And it just gets worse and worse every year.

:pray Please Dear Lord come and take us soon, we are ready to be rid of all our worldly problems....

[LoudRam]

I was just looking at my paycheck stub. It's the second to the last one for the year. Of my taxable income, 20% goes to taxes. As the other post shows the rest is sales tax, gas tax, etc...This is just sad.:tsk

[pobsn]

I know people love to complain about taxes, inflation, etc., but from what I see the real problem is just the level of luxuries that middle class America has become accustomed to. I never really gave it a thought until I was talking to my 92-year-old grandfather a few weeks ago. He pointed out that when he was raising a family electricity, running water, sewer, travel of any kind, food from out-of-state, etc. where all considered luxury items that pretty much only a select few in the city could enjoy. Even mailing a letter was something most people didn't do very often and that was when a stamp was only 2 cents. The big excitement of Christmas morning was that every child got an orange in their stocking, the only time they would ever have something so exotic and expensive.

Face it, we have life so good in this country. The middle class isn't being 'squeezed', they're just trying to extend themselves farther into a realm of luxury that they're not able to afford.

[can4christ]

I know people love to complain about taxes, inflation, etc., but from what I see the real problem is just the level of luxuries that middle class America has become accustomed to. I never really gave it a thought until I was talking to my 92-year-old grandfather a few weeks ago. He pointed out that when he was raising a family electricity, running water, sewer, travel of any kind, food from out-of-state, etc. where all considered luxury items that pretty much only a select few in the city could enjoy. Even mailing a letter was something most people didn't do very often and that was when a stamp was only 2 cents. The big excitement of Christmas morning was that every child got an orange in their stocking, the only time they would ever have something so exotic and expensive.

Face it, we have life so good in this country. The middle class isn't being 'squeezed', they're just trying to extend themselves farther into a realm of luxury that they're not able to afford.


Amen!

We are spoiled and think it's tough now. Just wait till a major disaster or attack and the trucks don't deliver groceries, gas and there is no power.

[can4christ]

i was just discussing this with a co-worker this morning! it's sad actually, that alot of people i know (including me!) make more than decent wages but for some reason it still doesn't cover the basic essentials. my household makes around $40,000 a year and still can't do all the bills without help from time to time. I sat down to do a budget for the first time to try to understand where all the money was going.... :idunno well that wasn't the problem, the problem was that i didn't have enough money to pay all the bills!!! And it just gets worse and worse every year.

:pray Please Dear Lord come and take us soon, we are ready to be rid of all our worldly problems....



I know the reality of not being able to make ends meet. You are on the right track by making out a budget, but it takes much more. You need to look around to see what you can do without or sell.

Four years ago we were in the same boat and the Lord kept nudging me to do something about it. I found Dave Ramsey (daveramsey.com) on the radio, he was a God-send. He will teach you how to prioritize your budget. I took us 3 1/2 years to get out of debt :yeah It was hard work, sacrifice and selling cars, furniture and anything that wasn't nailed down in yard sales. It has been a blessing to be out of debt, we are now able to help out families in our small town with the basic needs items.

Now we are stocking up on food and emergency supplies. We are also buying gold and silver.