feedback for "Dispatch: Scenes from a Recession"
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I think it's fascinating that for this article, an annual income of $65,000 is considered "low-income," and one of $100,000 is considered "medium income." Is $65,000/year truly low-income in this country? Or just among Babble.com readers?
posted by : Shan on 11/17/2008 at 3:08 PM Flag For Abuse
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I did a little google search and found a statistic that median income for 4-person household in 2005 was just over 67K. So three years later for a family of five, I would assume 65K is "low", though maybe more like "low middle." 65K is way above the federal poverty guidelines, however.
I read with interest the chart on what each family is giving up or tightening to meet the economic slow-down. I will say that I am a cheapskate except for food - I tend to grocery shop often and at stores that are just a touch less pricey than Whole Foods. Then I cook up all that good food - we very rarely eat out or take out. All the other stuff - I never buy clothes or shoes for myself. Our cars are paid for. We tend to take one family vacation per year and stay w/ friends or family when possible. I guess that saves us a penny or two. I have not ever been to the drycleaner - once in high school I picked something up for my mom, but that's it. My kids are in public school... House is modest, but will contain us for years and years... I do feel fortunate and happy that being cheap by nature might actually have been a good thing. I don't intend to sound smug because I certainly am not smarter than anyone else, it's just my instinct to be barebones about most everything so I don't really feel a pinch about giving anything up.
I really feel for people who are suffering and losing their homes. It is tragic to up-end one's livelihood and disrupt the lives of children. I don't place blame on individuals - many people are fully aware of the error of their past ways and others are truly at no fault whatsoever. Seems like now everyone is taking this seriously.
One request - interview a super-rich (not just a measly 300K HHI) family and see if they even notice what's going on... I'm just curious!
posted by : BBBGMOM on 11/17/2008 at 3:32 PM Flag For Abuse
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Yes, I was equally stumped by your choice of families. Who is supposed to be middle class here: the two-income family with the intellectual property lawyer working from home?
posted by : SE on 11/17/2008 at 3:35 PM Flag For Abuse
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The high income family talks about leasing a hybrid. Isn't leasing a car one of the worst financial decisions?
As far as the different families' incomes, I think you really have to compare cost of living to get an idea of how they live. I would think that $65K in Lincoln, NE would be pretty good.
posted by : LauraP06 on 11/17/2008 at 4:11 PM Flag For Abuse
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Amazing article! I really enjoyed seeing how other people live and I find it really impressive that even those who are more well-off are still trying to find ways to cut back and save where they can.
I think everyone should stop being so hung up on the money issue. $65K for a family with two full-time working parents with three children is still not a whole lot of money, no matter where they live.
I loved seeing a new more photo-centric side to Babble. Looking forward to more of it in the future!
posted by : PhotoLovinAuntie on 11/17/2008 at 6:03 PM Flag For Abuse
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I'm betting there's one hell of a lot of working-class people who are flabbergasted to hear that $65K/year qualifies you as "low income."
posted by : Knitty on 11/17/2008 at 6:24 PM Flag For Abuse
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Terrific hook.
Poorly executed.
posted by : hand on 11/17/2008 at 10:03 PM Flag For Abuse
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I'd like to see representation of people like my husband and I. Our plan after I had the baby was to get a new job after a few months at home, but the economic downturn has made my job search extremely difficult in the non-profit field where all my experience is. My husband's job is pretty menial because he's still finishing his degree. So until I get a job we're living on $15,000 a year, and even after we expect to make $45,000 at most.
Oh, and we make that work by living in a big enough city with good enough public transportation to go without a car entirely. If we had even a single a car payment, gas, and insurance, we couldn't live within our means.
posted by : barmy on 11/18/2008 at 2:08 AM Flag For Abuse
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I'd totally like to hear about people like barmy, too. The three families that were selected were basically the same -- extremely fortunate people who aren't really struggling at all. What a waste of a great idea.
posted by : MotherofThree on 11/18/2008 at 2:14 AM Flag For Abuse
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It strikes me that this article might have been more effective as a look at three middle-class families--since all of these families certainly fall within the middle class, when the places they live are taken into account. A good job in the P.D. with a salary of $65K, although more blue collar than the other two families, is solidly middle class--and I suspect that the CT family, with a combined salary of "only" $300K and undoubtedly insane house payments, is not doing so much better than the NE folks. The very similar savings strategies that all of the families are using (curtailing food expenditures somewhat, buying in bulk, cutting some schooling and kids' activity expenses) also point to their positions in the middle class.
posted by : SE on 11/18/2008 at 9:10 AM Flag For Abuse
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SE - I agree that these are all middle class families - upper/middle/lower middle class. In that way the stories and "tips" could be relevant to a wide swath of families. But, it would be more meaningful, perhaps, to portray a family who is truly struggling financially to give the rest of us (who live in relative comfort) some perspective. $300K sounds like a good chunk of change, but (as SE says), in many parts of the Northeast and, say, Bay Area, it doesn't go very far when modest homes can run $800K...
posted by : BBBGMOM on 11/18/2008 at 10:53 AM Flag For Abuse
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I have found as our income has risen over time that we always feel either fortunate or broke depending on our perspective on a given day. I think a large portion of "wealthy" people feel no less financial pressure then the middle class; truly lacking the basics, of course, is another matter entirely. The recession hasn't effected us directly yet, but it's nice to feel like there is a collective re-orientation towards savings.
posted by : chattydaddy on 11/18/2008 at 4:53 PM Flag For Abuse
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Wait a minute: the one family is now saving $200 A WEEK ON DRY-CLEANING?
Were they taking their underpants to be dry-cleaned? Because, seriously, even dry-cleaning 14 shirts a week (one for each of the adults for each of the days) shouldn't add up to $200 a week.
Newsflash--most dress shirts are made of cotton, linen, a blend of the two, or a cotton-poly blend. That means they can be washed in a washing machine, hung to dry, and ironed.
posted by : Leeandra on 11/18/2008 at 5:52 PM Flag For Abuse
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The W. family of Connecticut's cost-cutting measures made me ill. It sounds like something out of a Jane Austen novel.
"The Ws simply must retrench!"
"But we cannot live without our housekeeper!"
"Perhaps cutting back to twice a month?"
"Well, if we MUST make these terrible sacrifices..."
"And you simply must wait to remodel your kitchen."
"My god, have you no mercy?"
"But you can still buy a new car and boiler!"
"Oh, well that does take the sting out of it. That and the Broadway matinees. But it will be very hard! Very hard indeed! Oh, my nerves! Such fevers I have, such headaches and fevers! If only this estate was not so entailed!"
posted by : ICK on 11/25/2008 at 2:45 PM Flag For Abuse
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did anyone stop to think about the housekeeper? make fun of cutting back to twice a month all you want, but the ramifications go further than that. i'm sure that the housekeeper's family is seriously hurting from the loss in income from the CT family's decision to do some of their own cleaning.
posted by : amandap on 12/12/2008 at 6:56 PM Flag For Abuse
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It was an interesting enough read, though a few questions do come to mind:
Yeah, $65k per year would be wonderful, unless you're living in a major (read: stupidly expensive) city. My wife and I were making $65k last year, but it was in the DC area, and that doesn't go so far. On top of that, while I'm sure the Nebraska family had their reasons, it seems like police officers would be one of the more stable jobs out there. Why move back in with your parents unless you've actually been laid off? Which brings me to...
In this recession, why not highlight a family that's really been hit? My own family is a decent example -- I was laid off (permanently) the same week our daughter was born. Crappy timing, but in addition to all that, I recognized that the job market in our town in Virginia in this economy would not afford anywhere near the income I had been making. We realized that we wouldn't be able to keep our house, and we're now dealing with the complications of a short sale. We moved in with my mother-in-law for a few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and are now back in our own place in Madison, Wisconsin trying to rebuild things here, where we have a solid community of friends and connections.
I'm not trying to elicit sympathy or anything, but my point is that there are a lot of families really hurting and trying hard to rebuild in the midst of this financial collapse.
posted by : Freezin Season on 1/26/2009 at 10:34 PM Flag For Abuse
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I live in Chicago, a major metropolitan city, and my husband and my combined income is waaaaaaaaaaay less than $65k. I really wanted to enjoy this article, but feel that the "low income" portion of us was misrepresented. I would LOVE to make that much $$. Any chance you guys will redo this comparison?
posted by : Chimom on 6/23/2009 at 3:04 PM Flag For Abuse
