[StBernard] Is $100K annual income the new minimum wage?

[Westley Annis]

Below is an excellent article to show liberals in government that they have
slowly but surely chipping away at the income of Americans to pay for
wasteful socialism.  Yet these un-American socialists in government still
keep artificially inflating the price of gasoline, food and other basic
necessities.  When will it stop?  Soon, we'll all be classified as poverty
level.


Is $100K per year the new minimum wage???


First Person: How to Earn $100,000 and Still Feel Poor


By Laura Cone | Yahoo! Contributor Network - Mon, Mar 12, 2012 11:12 AM EDT

Our family income recently topped $100,000, but we aren't spending as though
we make six figures. We don't sip Mai Tai cocktails at resorts or buy pricey
tech toys. 

According to recent data, incomes are rising and consumers have more money
to spend. They are also taking on more debt for the first time in three
years. Financial experts say the increase in borrowing can be attributed to
buying cars and paying for college . We bought a new car this past year so
our son could earn money for college delivering pizzas. He may need to
borrow money for grad school. 

Is six figures the new minimum wage? 

Although I admire people who live on fixed incomes or minimum wage
<http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/first-person-50-000-salary-felt-minimum-w
age-194000717.html> , I have no idea how they do it. When I was younger, I
got by on a salary of just $19,000 a year. At that time, I did not have a
mortgage or two sons attending college. Back then, the high cost of
childcare took a big chunk out of my pitiful paycheck . Still, I never
thought we would have trouble living on $100,000. 

What's up with my net worth? 

I always figured my net worth
<http://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-person-net-worth-compares-164900666.htm
l>  would increase as I earned more income. In fact, I thought that clearing
that six figure "hurdle" meant we would be financially set. However, our net
wealth plummeted since the housing bubble popped. Our home is on the
"liability" side of our net worth chart. Although the stocks have recovered,
our retirement accounts do not reflect the balance I would have expected
once we earned six figures. 

Why don't I have money to burn? 

My lifestyle isn't extravagant. We are spending less money on clothing,
entertainment and anything that is not a necessity. We don't have money to
burn because of the high cost of gasoline, car insurance, groceries and
college tuition. We also have a high tax bill every year. 

Housing: We live in the Tampa, Florida area, where we had our
1,800-square-foot home built at the top of the housing bubble. I'd feel a
lot richer if I could take the $183,000 we spent seven years ago and buy a
home twice the size today in a better neighborhood. Some of the homes in my
subdivision have been vandalized. I never thought I'd see broken sliding
glass doors and graffiti on the walls of homes that people had to get on a
waiting list to buy. Houses were in such high demand we put a $3,000 deposit
on our lot at the builder's model home center before even seeing the
subdivision. To try to stay above water on our mortgage, we pay an extra
$250 a month to the mortgage company. That way, we will at least have the
option to move if we need to in the future without ruining our credit. 

Expenses: Our fixed expenses include $350 a month for utilities, $300 for
car insurance, $175 for Internet, cable and phone. We owe $1,222.02 a month
on our mortgage and $300 on a car loan. We have no other debt. We save 10
percent of our income for retirement. We spend at least $500 a month on
gasoline and an astounding $1,000 a month on food. I'd feel rich if I was
eating at upscale restaurants or buying gourmet foods, but our food budget
just provides the basics for four people.

Education: We are spending about $15,000 a year for tuition and books to
send our two sons to community college. When they transfer to the university
in another year, those expenses will more than double. My older son pays
$5,000 or about half of his tuition costs since he has a part-time job, but
my younger son hasn't been able to find employment. I'd feel wealthy if I
was struggling to send my sons to an Ivy League College, but this is just
community college. 

We purchased stocks to help fund our sons' college education, but the stocks
took a big dive. We are hoping the value of their stocks will recover to
help pay for the last couple years of college. We don't want them to take
out college loans, but they may have no choice. 

But it's not all bad

Although we have a lot of expenses, we have managed to stay out of debt. I
am sure if we did not make six figures, we would fall into the debt trap.
Experts say people tend to take out more debt when they have more equity in
their homes. Even if the value of our home begins to increase one day, I
won't feel comfortable taking on more debt. Instead, we plan to be free of
our mortgage debt within the next 10 years. 

I may never have money to burn, but I hope to have a chance to enjoy
something before the tax man takes his cut. 

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal
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<http://www.contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoofinance>  with the Yahoo!
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