1952
2017
Annual Expenses, IN 2017 DOLLARS , for a Family of Five Leading an Ordinary Middle-Class Life in 1952
Annual Expenses for a Family of Five Leading an Ordinary Middle-Class Life in 2017
Mortgage Payments
$11,160.00
New Car Purchases
$9,039.60
Mortgage Payments
$30,432.00
(amortized over five years)
New Car Purchases
$16,015.00
Family Vacation
$216.23
(amortized over five years)
Education
0.00
$20,415.83
Family Vacation
$9,581.75
TOTAL
Education
$88,920.00 $144,948.75
TOTAL
Classrooms are crowded. The other children get head lice. The gym doesn’t have squash courts. PE does not include sailing instruction. The best public schools are there just in case . Just in case little Liam or little Ava have “issues” and are required to leave the best private school. The best private school in Portland is the Catlin Gabel School. K-12 tuition is $29,640 per child. Now let’s do the math (see above charts). And one last thing... Because the divorce rate has doubled since 1952, there is a very good chance that an ordinary middle-class life will include a divorce. Get divorced, start a new family, and the cost of being middle class is multiplied by two: $289,897.50 So what the math tells us is... In order to live an ordinary middle-class life you have to be rich.
“
Get divorced, start a new family, and the cost of being middle class is multiplied by two.
Two for the price of two!
American Consequences | 11
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