Submission 13,868

Jess Phoenix = @jessphoenix2018 If you can save $38k/year, you're not struggling. If you have THREE WEEKS of vacation per year, you're not even in the United States, let alone struggling in the US. @MarketWatch- Sep 29 MarketWatch $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj Property insurance $1,560 $130 $3,600 $300 Property maintenance Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) $5,100 $425 $2,040 $170 Umbrella policy ($2M) $456 $38 $10,200 $850 Health Care (employer subsidized) Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) $4,200 $350 $7,800 $650 Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) Entertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, wle getaways) Car payment (Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover) $6,000 $500 $4,560 $380 Car insurance and maintenance $1,800 $200 $3,000 Gas $250 $150 Mobile phone (family plan) $1,800 $4,800 $400 Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) Personal care products Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) $1,200 $3,600 $100 $300 Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) so $0 $222,384 $18,532 Total Expenses Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous $1,456 $121 Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto 11:48 PM Sep 30, 2019 Twitter for Android

vote Sanders in primary @petercoffin these people can f--- right off.if I had nearly $30k a month I'd be in such obscene surplus it wouldn't be funny @MarketWatch Sep 29 MarketWatch ми $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj Property insurance $1,560 $130 $3,600 $300 Property maintenance Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) Umbrella policy ($2M) $5,100 $425 $2,040 $170 $456 $38 $10,200 $850 Health Care (employer subsidized) Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) $4,200 $350 $7,800 $650 Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) Entertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, w/e getaways) $6,000 $4,560 $500 $380 Car payment (Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover) Car insurance and maintenance $1,800 $200 $250 Gas $3,000 Mobile phone (family plan) $150 $1,800 $4,800 $400 Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) Personal care products Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) $1,200 $3,600 $100 $300 Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) $0 $222,384 $18,532 Total Expenses Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous $1,456 $121 Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto Twitter for Android 12:46 AM-Oct 1, 2019

sarah schauer @SJSchauer your house is 1.8 million dollars, you could sell it and live in a smaller place. you could also cut the vacations, and send your kids to public school. Also, putting your own money into your own savings is not a bill. you're not losing it MarketWatch @MarketWatch Sep 29 $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj Property insurance Property maintenance Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) Umbrella policy ($2M) $1,560 $130 $3,600 $300 $5,100 $425 $2,040 $170 $456 $38 $10,200 $850 Health Care (employer subsidized) $4,200 $350 Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) $7,800 $650 Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) $6,000 $500 Entertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, wle getaways) $4,560 $380 Car payment (Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover) Car insurance and maintenance $1,800 $200 Gas $3,000 $250 Mobile phone (family plan) Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) Personal care products Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) $1,800 $150 $4,800 $400 $1,200 $100 $3,600 $300 $0 $222,384 $1,456 Total Expenses $18,532 Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous $121 Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto 1:46 PM Sep 30, 2019 Twitter Web App

Lee Carter @carterforva Food $200 Data $150 House $1,800,000 Preschool $45,000 Utility $150 someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying MarketWatch @MarketWatch Sep 29 $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj $130 $1,560 Property insurance Property maintenance Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) Umbrella policy ($2M) Health Care (employer subsidized) Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) $3,600 $300 $5,100 $2,040 $425 $170 $456 $38 $850 $10,200 $4,200 $7,800 $350 Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) $660 $500 Entertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, wle getaways) $6,000 $4,560 $380 Car payment (Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover) Car insurance and maintenance $1,800 $200 Gas $3,000 $250 Mobile phone (family plan) Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) Personal care products $1,800 $150 $4,800 $400 $1,200 $3,600 $100 Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) $300 SO Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) Total Expenses $18,532 $222,384 $1,456 Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto $121 Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous 11:31 AM Sep 30, 2019 Twitter Web App

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC with what? Math? "Struggling" MMarketWatch @MarketWatch Sep 29 $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj ச $1,560 $3,600 en $130 $300 $425 $170 Property insurance Property maintenance Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) Umbrella policy ($2M) Health Care (employer subsidized) $5,100 $2,040 $456 $38 $10,200 $850 $350 $650 Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) Entertainment (Netfix, shows, sporting events, social functions, wle getaways) $4,200 $7,800 $6,000 $500 $380 $4,560 Car payment (Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover) Car insurance and maintenance $200 $1,800 Gas $3,000 $250 $1,800 $150 Mobile phone (family plan) $400 $4,800 Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) $1,200 $100 Personal care products $300 $0 $18,532 Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) $3,600 Total Expenses $222,384 Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto $1,456 $121 9:40 PM Sep 30, 2019 Twitter for iPhone

Law Boy, Esq. @The_Law_Boy every "can't live on $400k a year" chart has some absolutely wild expenses on it. $24k preschool for a 4 year old, they got Yale for babies now what the f--- is this MarketWatch @MarketWatch Sep 29 M $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj Property insurance Property maintenance Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) Umbrella policy ($2M) Health Care (employer subsidized) Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) $130 $1,560 $3,600 $300 $5,100 $425 $2,040 $170 $456 $38 $10,200 $850 $4,200 $350 $7,800 $650 Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) Entertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, wle getaways) $6,000 $500 $4,560 $1,800 $380 Car payment (Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover) Car insurance and maintenance $200 Gas $3,000 $250 Mobile phone (family plan) Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) $1,800 $150 $4,800 $400 Personal care products $1,200 $100 Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) $3,600 $300 $0 so Total Expenses $222,384 $18,532 Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous $1,456 $121 Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto 11:12 AM Sep 30, 2019 Twitter Web App

View All 13 Images

About

$350,000…and STILL Struggling refers to a viral tweet by MarketWatch, explaining the budget of a family four living on $350,000 a year. People responded negatively to the tweet, expressing that $350,000 should be enough to live off.

Origin

On September 14th, 2019, MarketWatch^[1] published the article "This budget shows how a $350,000 salary barely qualifies as middle class." Two weeks later, on September 29th, the publication tweeted^[2] the budget with the caption "$350,000… and STILL struggling." The post received more than 1,500 likes and 350 retweets in three days (shown below).

MarketWatch MW@MarketWatch $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj How A Family Of Four Survives Off $350,000 Living In An Expensive Metropolitan Area Annual Monthly Gross Income $350,000 $29,167 401k Contribution $38,000 $3,167 $26,000 $312,000 Taxable Income After 401k Contributions Taxable Income After $24,000 Standard Deduction and 401k Contributions $288,000 $24,000 Tax Bill (24% Federal, 9% State , 7.65 % FICA , 32 % Effective Total) $92,160 $7,680 $18,653 Net Income $4,000 Child Tax Credit+ $24K non-cash standard deduction $223,840 Annual Expenses Monthly $2,450 Childcare occasional baby sitting for 2-year-old $29,400 Preschool for 4-year-old Food for four ($70day on average, includes weekly date night) 529 Plan (K-12+ college savings plan) Morlgage ($2,000 principal, $1,900 interest) Property tax (1.24 % on $ 1.8 million home vs $1.6 million median home price) $24,000 $25,548 $2,000 $2,129 $12,000 $1,000 $46,800 $22,320 $3,900 $1,860 Property insurance $1,560 $130 Property maintenance $3,600 $5,100 $300 $425 Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) Umbrella policy ($2M) Health Care (employer subsidized) Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) Entertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, we getaways) $2,040 $170 $456 $38 $10,200 S850 $4.200 $350 $7,800 $6,000 $4,560 $1,800 $650 $500 $380 Car payment (Toyata Highlander instead of a Range Rover Car insurance and maintenance $200 $3,000 Gas $250 $1,800 Mobile phone (family plan) $150 $4,800 $1,200 $400 Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucd) Personal care products Charty (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) $100 $3,600 $0 S300 $18,532 Total Expenses Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous $222,384 $1,456 $121 Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto 2:04 PM Sep 29, 2019 SocialFlow

Spread

Following the post, people began mocking the budget on Twitter. On September 30th, 2019, Twitter^[3] user @The_Law_Boy tweeted, "every 'can't live on $400k a year' chart has some absolutely wild expenses on it. $24k preschool for a 4 year old, they got Yale for babies now what the fuck is this." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 32,000 likes and 4,600 retweets (shown below, left).

Additionally, United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted^[4] the budget with the caption, "'Struggling' 🤣 with what? Math?" Her tweet received more than 62,000 likes and 7,000 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, center).

Throughout the day, others mocked the budget (example below, right).

Various Examples

Mikki Kendall @Karnythia Taking one less week of vacation & fewer weekend getaways would fix that. Also in 3 years the child care costs will drop. MarketWatch @MarketWatch Sep 29 MA $350,000... and STILL str ing on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj Property insurance $1,560 $130 $3,600 $300 Property maintenance Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) $5,100 $425 $170 $2,040 Umbrella policy ($2M) $456 $38 $10,200 $4,200 $7,800 $850 Health Care (employer subsidized) Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) $350 $650 Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) Entertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, wle getaways) Car payment (Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover) Car insurance and maintenance $6,000 $4,560 $500 $380 $1,800 $200 $3,000 $1,800 $4,800 Gas $250 Mobile phone (family plan) Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) $150 $400 Personal care products Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) Total Expenses Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous $1,200 $100 $3,600 $300 $0 $0 $222,384 $18,532 $1,456 $121 Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto 2:53 PM Sep 30, 2019 Twitter for Android

Katie Thulin @katiet121 I am not a CPA but even I can immediately see WHY they are "struggling": -Three weeks of vacation a year?! I haven't taken 3 wks of vacay in a decade -Range Rover: Terrible and EXPENSIVE vehicle -$1800 for a cell? Is it encrusted with diamonds? -$6000 on entertainment?! CHILL MarketWatch @MarketWatch Sep 29 $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj g ma $1,560 $130 Property insurance Property maintenance Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) Umbrella policy ($2M) Health Care (emplayer subsidized) Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) $3,600 $300 $5,100 $425 $2,040 $170 $456 $38 $10,200 $850 $4,200 $350 Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) $7,800 $660 ertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, wle getaways) $6,000 $4,560 $500 $380 Car payment (Toyota Highlander inste ad of a Range Rover) Car insurance and maintenance $1,800 $200 Gas $3,000 $250 $1,800 Mobile phone (family plan) $150 $4.800 $400 Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) Personal care products Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) $1,200 $100 $3,600 $300 Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) SO Total Expenses $222,384 $1,456 $18,532 $121 Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto 12:29 PM Sep 30, 2019 Twitter Web App

Matthew Cortland, esq @mattbc SSI, the safety net for some of the most marginalized disabled Americans, is $9,252 per year. Or $2,748 LESS THAN these "struggling" people put in their 529 savings plan MarketWatch @MarketWatch Sep 29 MW $350,000... and STILL struggling on.mktw.net/2nEoYuj Property insurance $1,560 $130 Property maintenance $3,600 $300 Utilities (electric, water, trash) Life insurance ($2M term) Umbrella policy ($2M) $5,100 $425 $2,040 $170 $456 $38 $10,200 $850 Health Care (employer subsidized) $4,200 $350 Baby items (diapers, toys, crib, stroller, play pen, etc) Three weeks of vacation per year (two destinations, one staycation) $7,800 $650 $6,000 $500 Entertainment (Netflix, shows, sporting events, social functions, wle getaways) $4,560 $380 Car payment (Toyota Highlander instead of a Range Rover) Car insurance and maintenance $1,800 $200 Gas $3,000 $250 Mobile phone (family plan) Clothes for four (Old Navy not Gucci) Personal care products Charity (foster care, nystagmus vision research, UNICEF) Student loans (husband paid off $50K at 30) $1,800 $150 $4,800 $400 $1,200 $100 $3,600 $300 S0 S0 Total Expenses $222,384 $18,532 $1,456 Cash Flow After Expenses To Pay For Miscellaneous $121 Relevant cities: SF, NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, DC, Boston, Miami, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto 10:56 PM Sep 30, 2019 Twitter Web App

Search Interest

External References

^[1] MarketWatch – This budget shows how a $350,000 salary barely qualifies as middle class

^[2] Twitter – @MarketWatch's Tweet

^[3] Twitter – @The_Law_Boy's Tweet

^[4] Twitter – @AOC's Tweet

Recent Images 13 total

View All Images

Recent Videos 0 total

There are no recent videos.

Load 59 Comments

$350,000...and STILL Struggling

PROTIP: Press 'i' to view the image gallery, 'v' to view the video gallery, or 'r' to view a random entry.

This submission is currently being researched & evaluated!

You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation.