S/O is imamother poor

amother

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 3:49 pm

I ran a thread a while back and asked everyone their incomes. They were pretty high!! I'm shocked people think imamother in poor.

amother

Lemonlime

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 3:53 pm

theres realy no way for other people to messure how poor you are. ploni's income can be 5 thousand a month but what happens if he has 10 kids, is paying tuition,bills and the works. likes to vacation and his wife likes to shop? of Corse he considers himself poor. its not enough money for everything.
its all a mater of perspective

amother

Fern

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 3:55 pm

Of course not, really how many people are going to post,
"I have too much money, what should I do?"
or
“We're millionaires, who needs some money?“
or
“PSA - How we struck it rich, you can do it too“

amother

Crystal

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 3:58 pm

amother OP wrote:

I ran a thread a while back and asked everyone their incomes. They were pretty high!! I'm shocked people think imamother in poor.

Income alone is pretty meaningless in this conversation without talking expenses.

If I make 150k a year, maybe my income is decent.
But if I have to pay 30k a year for mortgages, utilities and property tax. And 100k a year for tuition, leaving me just 20k a year for taxes, food, clothing, health insurance, car expenses, gas, simchos, Yom Tov expenses, then I feel poor and strapped because I probably don't have much money for bread, let alone a vacation.

Many people that I know aren't actually poor. They're just very tight and very strapped. Tuition is draining the bank. And inflation is making everything else cost more.
Even making 200-400k a year.

amother

Poinsettia

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 4:17 pm

Here's a really good example.

We live in Israel. When we do our US taxes our income comes out shockingly low. This has its benefits, like more child tax credits, and more FAFSA money for DH's degree, but it is kind of embarrassing to see the low number on paper.

We are struggling but in the black. Until a month ago we were still eating savings each month because of a very rough patch. Now BH it seems like we are finally evening out. We don't really have money for extras, we are pretty tight, but we manage.

Our total income, in dollars, for 2020 (a good year, better than 2021) was just under $46k for the YEAR. For a family with kids. Again, this doesn't mean anything, because we don't live in dollars, we live in shekels. (And we don't pay tens of thousands in tuition, nor do we pay for basic healthcare.)

But that's my point. The numbers themselves mean absolutely nothing.

amother

Cyan

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 4:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

I ran a thread a while back and asked everyone their incomes. They were pretty high!! I'm shocked people think imamother in poor.

Everything is relative. If our lifestyles command very high expenses, then high incomes aren't high.

Another point to consider is that when our lifestyles are geared for the wealthy, then you'll have a majority of the population struggling. It's not that imamother is poor, it's rather a reflection of the difficulties we've created for the average family

amother

Springgreen

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 5:58 pm

$200,000 income, includes health insurance and 401k.

But still
.
.
.

$140,000 after taxes
$80,000- tuition for 5-6 children
$36,000- rent/mortgage
$24,000- $500/week for food

Done.

Lower the rent/mortgage and you can add in utility bills, home/life/car insurance, and other housing essentials.

Cleaning lady, vacations, HA!

Not poor at all, but not enough money to pay for the basics.
Move to lower COL area? OK, tuition and kosher food goes up.
Our lifestyle is hardly sustainable.

amother

Opal

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 7:09 pm

amother Springgreen wrote:

This is not realistic. 500/we for food is a lot!! Rent or mortgage is usually more like 24k although where I live oot it's more like 13k/yr. Tuition also a lot less where I live oot. Also the taxes are off. Especially with 5-6 kids.

amother

Cyan

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 7:11 pm

amother Dill wrote:

Perhaps imamother doesn’t attract poor then, but it seems to harbor as awful amount of jealousy.

I don't see the jealousy. I see lots of struggling mothers, who don't know how to climb out of the hole they're in.

amother

Lightcoral

Mon, Aug 15 2022, 7:13 pm

amother Opal wrote:

We can argue the details, but fact is that it's tight.

amother

Junglegreen

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 3:10 pm

To the imamother who said that a more realistic mortgage is 24k, I’ve been thinking about it a lot and asking around. I pay 48k a year for mortgage+ property tax and anyone I ask is in that ballpark. I live in town but so do a lot of people.
Some people are lucky to have lower mortgages but many people do not. And also, anyone buying now has an even larger mortgage…
So this helps to prove that income is just a number and everyone’s ideas of what is correct to spend is also personal to them.

amother

Apricot

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 3:25 pm

amother Opal wrote:

I wish you were realistic or maybe your just lucky but. 500/wk food is not a lot! Especially you have no idea how many kids she said 5-6 for tuition perhaps 2 more are home so for family of 10 500/week barely covers remember this is like $250 a year ago.
Re mortgage who pays 1k a month?! Is that legit? Definitely not everywhere you must be minority and very lucky!

amother

Linen

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 3:27 pm

My property tax alone is about 30k.
FYI, my house is worth about 1 million. It is a lovely home, but not a mansion or on a huge property. We just all have very high taxesin my town. I don’t know a sole who pays under 15K, and know many who pay 1.5-2x what I pay. If you redo your kitchen or put on an addition and they can get into your house, it soars.
No, we are not wealthy, we are all working hard and pinching any place we can.

amother

Lightcoral

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 3:29 pm

We are making about $130K which is amazing!

But $28K housing (rent + utilities)
$10K car (car payment, insurance, gas, tolls, maintenance)
$80K chinuch (tuition, camp, uniforms, supplies, fees, transportation)

...plus taxes, food, clothing, household...

Which is why we're in serious debt.

amother

Honeysuckle

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 3:47 pm

I was once telling a friend that I found the income limits really low to be eligible for medicaid (for adults). She thought it was pretty high.
After talking for a few minutes we realized that she didn't pay rent, she had HUD, she didn't pay for food, she had food stamps.
But income limits were the same for everyone!

amother

DarkCyan

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 4:36 pm

amother Opal wrote:

Darling I spend $1000 fr groceries a week.
And 24k is for a 2 bedroom rental.

amother

Salmon

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 4:56 pm

amother Linen wrote:

Wow, where is this?

amother

DarkYellow

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 5:03 pm

amother Fern wrote:

Idk.... more subtle comments often stand out to me. I am often so surprised by what people say is a "normal" amount to spend in things. And when there's a thread where everyone is saying how much they make, it seems like more people are making "a lot" vs being poor.

Maybe I am just naive but I am always thinking "Wow! You people (must) make so much money!"

amother

Linen

Mon, Sep 05 2022, 5:15 pm

amother Salmon wrote:

Wow, where is this?

I’m in Bergen County- and we all know what our tuition here is as well🤷‍♀️