are you "Middle Class" feeling the boating pinch?

Kenny, I make more than 20+ bones an hour. ... And I still feel broke all the time. Mostly due to debt I incurred while getting my degree. Now I have made it my ambition to pay off everything I "own." I hate being in debt. Once I get this taken care of, it's a situation I hope to never be in again.

You guys now whats sucks. Even rich people feel the same way as the middle class do. Rich people know that their wealthy so they see how much more wealthy other rich people are so that makes them want to make more. I guess people have goals they want to reach like getting a boat,house, nice car ,vacations. After they reach the goals they want more vacations ,better house,car,boat ect. I never thought that I would be able to get a boat.Im pretty blessed at 28 to have owned a nice wakeboarding boat.

I don't know what the cut off for middle class is but I will say this Kenny.
Thanks for serving and helping defend our country.

I love my boat, best purchase i ever made.

Im not feeling "the pinch" - but my Mrs sure is...

Paul,

If your Mrs is feeling the pinch, how is it that you don't? I want the answer to this secret!!

Education is probably the number 1 factor when it comes to the percentage of people who are financailly successful and those that aren't. And I don't mean college education per se. I mean having the discipline to learn, study, and work hard. People that are disciplined to go to and pay for 4-5 years of college have a good chance of securing a job that will pay them a decent salary so they can afford to live comfortably or at least be able to pay their bills, put some money away for retirement, and be able to do some R&R from time to time. The successful salesman, banker, accountant, small business owner, contractor, welder, mechanic,etc........they all have figured out what it takes to move ahead. They put their time in, studied their craft, and most likely took some risks along the way, and maybe had a few of the rare opportunities (luck) that happened to pay off. But again, they are all educated in what it takes to do their job well enough to make a living they can afford. Somethings are out of our control like if a company downsizes and eliminates your job. If you were good at what you did, you should be able to find a similar job for similar pay. You might have to look for a bit, and possibly relocate, but you still have options. The person that is lazy or doesn't/didn't have the discipline, will have many less options if they lose their job/want a better job, and hasn't put the time in to learn what it takes to be successful. Just my .02........I may have been just rambling........lol

It seems that some of my friends that move from job to job do it because either they are not happy with the job and want something better, or they are not making what they feel they should be paid. But when I ask them what they want to do, or what qualities or skills they have to offer a company, they don't really know what to say. They just want more money. Then they complain about things costing a ton, or not being able to afford a new truck or better house. Am I making sense? If not, feel free to critique!

Hey All Eyes,

I don't want to get into an argument over who pays more taxes. We all pay way too much tax. But, FWIW, I have to point out that the tax system is actually set up to favor small businesses. Small business owners deduct everything. For instance, I would be willing to bet that whatever rig is pulling your boat is deducted as a business expense and at an accelated rate thanks to pro small business tax laws. If not, you should talk to your accountant. I am actually looking into starting a small business to join the club. Between the AMT and the 2% rule and everyting else, salaried employees like myself grab their ankles for Uncle Sam.

I have been waiting for days for someone mention the most important money issue, and a few have touched on it, but no one has come out and said it, so here you go....

It is not about how much money you make, and it never will be. Its about how much and how you spend that determines how financially successful you will become. Your individual spending habits determine which class you will reside in. If you spend more than you make, you will be below middle class, if you spend everything you make, you will be middle class, if you spend less than you earn, you will eventually be in the upper class, depending upon what percentage of your income you can save and invest. If you have terrible spending habits and win millions in the lottery, you will eventually wind up right where you started, in debt. I have over 10 years in the finance industry and this is THE most important money issue in America today.

Hey big man, let me hold a dollar.

No problem, Got any collateral?

"Increasing the min wage will do absolutely nothing positive for the economy. It's just a "Feel Good" button. Most of the people saying raise the min wage are saying that because they are on welfare and using that as an excuse. How many people do you really know that is trying to support a family on min wage? Answer ZERO! I dont know anyone out of High School making min wage, hell even McDonald's is starting off at $7.50 an hour."

The House Democrats are trying to block the bill with added tax breaks for small businesses, that just passed the senate by overwhelming majority. They want the wage increase with no help to the small business owner. What will this do for the business owner that does pay minimum wage? Either he will have to let employees go, realize less profits, and risk possible bankruptcy. This will more than likely lead to an increased unemployment rate, and slower economic growth, making it harder for startup business to, well, startup. If they succeed in blocking the bill, in a couple of years when the economic impact is felt, I am sure they will blame Bush for it. It baffles me that people in this country vote for these morons, just because they don't like what the current presidential adm. is doing with the war on terror. Little do they realize the long term ramifications of their shortsighted singular mindset.

(Message edited by psudy on February 02, 2007)

A new Moomba Outback V on a trailer with 325HP EFI engine, tower, trailer should be available for under $35,000. 100% handlaid fiberglass. Shoebox fit. Indmar engine. Cook Gelcoat. Limited Lifetime Warranty on hull. After 5 years it should be worth roughly 85% of what you paid for it according to NADA. That's the equivalent of a $5,250 lifetime cost of ownership.

It is very possible to get true v-drive tournament performance at an affordable price. You just have to sacrafice bling, not reliability.

It is not about how much money you make, and it never will be. Its about how much and how you spend that determines how financially successful you will become. Your individual spending habits determine which class you will reside in. If you spend more than you make, you will be below middle class, if you spend everything you make, you will be middle class, if you spend less than you earn, you will eventually be in the upper class, depending upon what percentage of your income you can save and invest. If you have terrible spending habits and win millions in the lottery, you will eventually wind up right where you started, in debt. I have over 10 years in the finance industry and this is THE most important money issue in America today.

Excellent statement Byrd. I always laugh when people have these pimped out vehicles with Dubs or a nice house filled with Plasma tvs, nice boats, etc. and have 10, 15 or 30k more in debt. Unbelievable.

this is a pretty interesting topic. one thing i'd like to add is that i think the terms middle and upper class are grossly misused and misunderstood. i think there are WAY more people in lower class who believe (or want to believe) they're middle class. i also think there are WAY less true upper class people around then people want to admit as well. shift those two groups WAY over to the right and increase that lower class. ;) not that any of this means two licks of anything. it's really just a label anyway. i'm sure hillary will turn all of this around though. lol.

What would you say true upper class is? I would think it would be in the total asset range of 15million or more, but I could be way low.

What would you say is middle class?

TA of 1-15million?

I would not use Total Assets. IMO, Net Worth(Total Assets - Total Liabilities) is a better determination. You can have all the assets in the world, but if you are leveraged on all those assets, then you really cant count them as wealth.

"I would not use Total Assets. IMO, Net Worth(Total Assets - Total Liabilities) is a better determination. You can have all the assets in the world, but if you are leveraged on all those assets, then you really cant count them as wealth."Byrd

I guess KKR and some of the other LBO boys would disagree

littman, - somewhere way up in this post, I made a similar point. Companies like Moomba are going to move in and take market share. There are a lot of good points in this post - also a ton of side tracks! Bottom line, the middle class is shrinking, boats are other toys are getting more expensive, people don't save enough, wages haven't kept up with inflation, Democrats suck- (oops did I say that out loud?-Kidding), and the small business man- the key to American society- is getting squeezed big-time. Oh yes- I agree with Shane(auto) it's all about net worth. Save 10% of our gross every year and eventually you'll have a great balance sheet.