<p>It won’t unless you bought into one of those pre-paid state plans at birth. They were a great deal but I don’t know if any state still offers them.</p>
<p>Yea, I don’t know many places were $4,100 would cover 75% of state U expenses either. Wonder where they get that info. Our housing costs are WAY over their “median” as well, but then it’s up near the top of the nation. These are higher median incomes for “middle class” than I have read previously.</p>
<p>Can’t imagine spending $12K+ annually on any car. Wow! Many of the other categories of spending also don’t fit. Guess that’s why we spend more on education? Housing and education are the big spending categories for our family. Somehow the medical spending seems low, if it includes insurance premiums, co-pays, Rx, glasses, contacts, etc.</p>
<p>^^ Agree, no way would I spend that much per year on a car and we spend alot more on medical (premiums, copays, Rx, etc.) and we save at a higher rate for retirement and paid off our home quicker choosing not to upscale our housing in our late 30s/40s as many of our friends did, but in general there is huge leap between $50,000 and $125,000 in lifestyle choices. We could “live” on $50,000 but we can have much more “fun” with $125,000!</p>
<p>That “range” for middle class" is pretty mind-boggling. It still blows my mind that spending $12K/year on cars is “normal.” Wow!! I know I pay our mechanics dearly, but not nearly THAT much!</p>
<p>HIMom, I agree that $12,000 per year for two cars seems high. However, I don’t think they were talking about car repairs. Many of us have car payments as well.</p>
<p>HImom,
Have you ever looked at the Edmunds guide rating of what it costs to own/operate individual vehicles? This includes car payments, insurance, gas, maintenance (repairs, oil changes, tune-ups, tires, etc) which all add up. It is certainly possible, especially with insurance factored in and the price of gas these days, that it could cost close to that.</p>
<p>Hey-- if dadII gets bonuses or stock options that push his income above that upper threshold, does that make him high class???</p>
<p>OK, I guess with our old clunkers, we haven’t ever had car payments. If we can’t afford to pay cash, we don’t get the car. I also don’t drive all that much, especially with high gas prices and yes, insurance can add up. I guess it also may depend on the # of drivers & cars being covered in a “household.”</p>
<p>There are significant cost differences between state flagships and directional state flagships. And don’t forget, people do send their kids to directional state flagships nearby and have them live at home. And, what % of 18 yo’s even go to 4 year colleges vs community colleges?</p>
These are higher median incomes for “middle class” than I have read previously.</p>