My dad’s dad died when he was 13, and this dropped his family from upper middle class to basically in poverty except for owning a fully paid off house. It radically colored his outlook on life and left him risk averse and frugal, even to the expense of his quality of life. What’s the point of saving up an 8 figure nest egg and working into your 70s if you spend less than 100k/year?
I’m lucky to have him still at the age of 30 but it’s clear how traumatic losing a parent young is.
100k USD per year for a family is poverty in the USA? I had to look that up [1].
> Real wages averaged $67,521 in 2022, and average household incomes averaged to $87,864.
Further down it says:
> In every country, there are levels of the middle class, with low middle-class earners and high middle-class earners. In America, the states all have their own middle-class medians as well. For example, in Alabama, low-middle-class families start at $38,582 while higher middle-class ranges can end at $161,524.
So without knowing where you're from, we don't know.
I think the median is better than the average because high salaries (outliers) will skew the average upwards. So now I am wondering what is the median salary and how it compares to the average.
I know some people like that: the insane nest egg and that security _is_ their quality of life and the blanket they sleep well under. Their current consumption doesn't matter too much to them.
I’m lucky to have him still at the age of 30 but it’s clear how traumatic losing a parent young is.