Frankly $250K for a HH is not at all a lot of money ....that is why I get mad when these politicians talk about raising tax on "rich" earning more than $250K. People earning $250K is barely rich....I would say middle class. I am talking of living in larger cities and to be able to afford a nicer lifestyle. One common example is in some places $300K would get you a nice house but in some places even a million bucks does not buy much so income (or even expense) comparision is pointless. Unless two people have identical lifestyles, comparision is meaningless. I went through other people's expenses and while I would love to eliminate wasteful spending (biggest is perishibles), some things in dining and entertainment category (or lifestyle) would be impossible for us to scale back. We love taking couple of vacations a year, going out to nice restaurants, have other memberships/ hobbies that we spend quite a bit on. Then of course there is mortgage. Unless we change our lifestyle, these are necessities to us.
Of course $250K is not rich at all and also the spending power of someone living in Wichita is different from someone living in Boston. Regardless of where you stay just based on the stats the number of people earning more than 250K is very small. Not comparing cost of living here or purchasing power, just salary, that's it.
Here is my HH budget: Rent: $1200 Utilities: $300 Internet+Cable+Phone - $130 Groceries+Kids diapers etc - $400 Misc expenses $100 Eating out - $75 We pay 2 home loans in India. So EMI for both on a monthly basis - $1750 We dont go out much. I dont like shopping much. Even if I do, I do it only during summer. During winter I absolutely dont shop for clothes. We take a big vacation or pay off a chunk towards home loan once a year. But when parents visit the budget goes for a toss. I do not shop at WH or TJs. I check the brands and then buy it online. It is way cheaper for the same product. I look for online deals in Amazon for HH products. If there is a Walmart nearby, I prefer to buy it there. At the end of the day each penny counts and it all adds up. Unfortunately I do not have a Walmart nearby. I shop for milk in 7-11 or local stores. There is atleast a dollar difference for each gallon compared to stores like Safeway/Shoprite/Stopnshop/Giant etc. Both of us use prepaids. So no monthly phone bill. By the way my family is single family income and under the $100K income.
Your budget is good esp grocery. We use prepaid and no cable TV at all. Never had cable TV in the US.
OK...here is mine: Mortgage: House: $1100 Cottage: $550 Insurance: For house+cottage: $230 Cars (2): $350 (because of the location) motor Bike+small boat: seasonal...$300 in summer Medical: $250 Life: 80 Transport: For me: $350 (includes train and gas for car) DH: #250 Daycare: $800 Baby needs (diapers)+family needs: $250 (If I do not shop at all) Utilities: House: About $600 which includes cable, electricity, cable bill, hydro Cottage: 200 Property tax: 120 Education Plan for my DD: $250 Entertainment+groceries....I HAVE NO IDEA. BIG NO NO!!! I know!...I will work on it. A huge chunk is going into our retirement plans, DD's savings account and shares which we buy as part of company. Total: 5680...fixed expenditure (excluding what webuy for groceries, eating out and what we put away for savings)
Here specifically in Silicon valley area or in general in US Salary (IT industry)depends on which factors? Can anyone elaborate this more
Request to Moderator please move this thread to General Discussions : USA and Canada Forum So that we will get response from more members.
Pranjjal, I created this thread under "Money Matters" mainly because I didn't get any response in the "General Discussions : USA and Canada Forum". Let's keep it in this section itself.
