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Originally posted by tabs
So then ED your saying we are living beyond our means...
All those items you mentioned as being part of the MIddle Class lifestyle are inexpensive in of themselves do to the economy of scale brought to you by the mega corporations...however in my Grandmas day Radio, TV, Washing Machines, Refergrators, telephones and cars were the luxury items of the day...and that was more expensive than livin on the farm...with outdoor plumbing...
I think the Middle Class LIFESTYLE is DONE FOR in America...and in REALITY Bushy ain't the harbringer...it's been happening for DECADES...and we are just finding more desperate ways of maintaining the illusion....
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I contend that it is possible for a single income to raise a family even in expensive areas like So Cal. You have to avoid credit card debt, buy property when prices are lower (e.g. not right now), save as much as possible before having kids, not always have a new car, cell phone, latest digital camera, ipod, whatever, bring lunch to work, don't go to starbucks, do your own car and home maintainence, etc.
How many people pay to have their lawn mowed, car washed, house cleaned, kids taken care of, etc. Here in so cal it is nearly $1000/month per kid, $200+/month for house cleaning, $75/month for yard work, $20 for a car wash every couple weeks, etc, etc. We don't have any of those expenses.
Sure TVs and DVD players are cheap, but then add on cable TV and buying or renting DVDs, and it gets expensive. We spend nearly $1000 a year for cable, and nearly $900 a year on cell phones. I lived without TV from '93-99, and that saved me a lot of money.
We don't have a car payment because we drive older cars. When a pipe started leaking a couple weeks ago I went to home depot, got the parts, and fixed it myself. Our only debt is the mortgage. If we want to buy anything we save money until we can afford to buy it.
There's nothing magical about what we are doing. Instead of instant gratification it's delayed gratification. If the middle class dies it will be of it's own doing.