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Original TikTok Video From Freddie Smith:
https://www.tiktok.com/ @fmsmith319/video/7316964425703918894?lang=en
-A $74,000 income is reduced to $4300 per month after taxes, 401k contributions, and health insurance.
-$500 Per Month is going towards student loans.
- $1400 to SPLIT a 2-bedroom apartment in a medium-sized city like Orlando, Florida - with utilities.
- $600 per month on food and groceries.
-$400 for a car payment
-$200 for insurance
-$150 for gas
-$100 for a cell phone
-$300 for fun expenses
That leaves you with just $650 left over. Is this middle class?
My Thoughts:
First: Very few people can qualify to buy a home, at 25 years old, with a $74,000 salary. Even if you’re disciplined and live frugally, it’s going to take you 3-10 years to pay off debts and / or save up an amount that would even be considered as a down payment, depending on your area.
Second: This doesn’t take into account the combined incomes of couples.
Just consider that 2021 Census data showed that “46% of people buying a home were married couples, compared to just 22 percent of single men and 30 percent of single women. That’s because lenders COMBINE the income of both people to determine how much money they’ll lend.
Third: It also REALLY depends on where you live.
For example, the median income in Newton Massachusetts is $122,000…while the median income in Flint, Michigan, is $24,900. This means that there will be a LOT of variance in terms of average income and values, and what “middle class” means for your location.
Fourth: Even a savings rate of $500 per month could lead to a SUBSTANTIAL amount of money later in life - especially if you start by age 25.
The way I see it - housing is INSANELY EXPENSIVE. To make matters worse, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “you’d have to earn about $129,000 today to have the same purchasing power that a salary of $100,000 had just a decade ago.”
However, I tend to believe that the person earning $74,000 per year at 25 years old is going to have the upward mobility to eventually make $110,000 per year by the age of 33 - at which point, qualifying for the median house is going to be much more achievable - ESPECIALLY if they keep their expenses the exact same, during a time where their income is increasing.
No, it’s not going to happen as as soon as you land a job - and, life IS expensive - especially when you’re just starting out - but, I DO believe it’s entirely possible, and you will be able to buy a home after getting established in your career - if you budget for it .
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*Some of the links and other products that appear on this video are from companies which Graham Stephan will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. Graham Stephan is part of an affiliate network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. The content in this video is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. This is not investment advice.
PROMOTIONAL OFFER: Get Up To FREE FRACTIONAL SHARES when you sign up and make a deposit using my paid affiliate link for WeBull: https://a.webull.com/i/GrahamStephan
GET MY WEEKLY EMAIL MARKET RECAP NEWSLETTER: http://grahamstephan.com/newsletter
The YouTube Creator Academy:
Learn EXACTLY how to get your first 1000 subscribers on YouTube, rank videos on the front page of searches, grow your following, and turn that into another income source: https://the-real-estate-agent-academy.teachable.com/p/the-youtube-creator-academy/?product_id=1010756&coupon_code=100OFF - $100 OFF WITH CODE 100OFF
Original TikTok Video From Freddie Smith:
https://www.tiktok.com/ @fmsmith319/video/7316964425703918894?lang=en
-A $74,000 income is reduced to $4300 per month after taxes, 401k contributions, and health insurance.
-$500 Per Month is going towards student loans.
- $1400 to SPLIT a 2-bedroom apartment in a medium-sized city like Orlando, Florida - with utilities.
- $600 per month on food and groceries.
-$400 for a car payment
-$200 for insurance
-$150 for gas
-$100 for a cell phone
-$300 for fun expenses
That leaves you with just $650 left over. Is this middle class?
My Thoughts:
First: Very few people can qualify to buy a home, at 25 years old, with a $74,000 salary. Even if you’re disciplined and live frugally, it’s going to take you 3-10 years to pay off debts and / or save up an amount that would even be considered as a down payment, depending on your area.
Second: This doesn’t take into account the combined incomes of couples.
Just consider that 2021 Census data showed that “46% of people buying a home were married couples, compared to just 22 percent of single men and 30 percent of single women. That’s because lenders COMBINE the income of both people to determine how much money they’ll lend.
Third: It also REALLY depends on where you live.
For example, the median income in Newton Massachusetts is $122,000…while the median income in Flint, Michigan, is $24,900. This means that there will be a LOT of variance in terms of average income and values, and what “middle class” means for your location.
Fourth: Even a savings rate of $500 per month could lead to a SUBSTANTIAL amount of money later in life - especially if you start by age 25.
The way I see it - housing is INSANELY EXPENSIVE. To make matters worse, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “you’d have to earn about $129,000 today to have the same purchasing power that a salary of $100,000 had just a decade ago.”
However, I tend to believe that the person earning $74,000 per year at 25 years old is going to have the upward mobility to eventually make $110,000 per year by the age of 33 - at which point, qualifying for the median house is going to be much more achievable - ESPECIALLY if they keep their expenses the exact same, during a time where their income is increasing.
No, it’s not going to happen as as soon as you land a job - and, life IS expensive - especially when you’re just starting out - but, I DO believe it’s entirely possible, and you will be able to buy a home after getting established in your career - if you budget for it .
My ENTIRE Camera and Recording Equipment:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/grahamstephan?listId=2TNWZ7RP1P1EB
For business inquiries, you can reach me at grahamstephanbusiness @gmail.com
*Some of the links and other products that appear on this video are from companies which Graham Stephan will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. Graham Stephan is part of an affiliate network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. The content in this video is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. This is not investment advice.
Weird… I make 75k a year and live in one of the biggest cities in Illinois and am definitely middle class. Would I like to make more? Yes. But my house is paid off, I own a modest new car and have started planning my retirement and I’m in my 30s.
Yeah $600 a month for food is obnoxious. One person needs no more than $400 if you’re in a budget.
For my situation personally, $74k would be a great salary for me. My husband and I live below our means. I'm making $15-20k under what my salary is to be in my field, but am working on changing that.
I'd be living like a king at 74K a year. If 74K a year isn't middle class anymore, the problem isn't the money, the problem is YOU NEED TO MOVE THE F OUT OF THE CITY, BOY. People think they have to stay in downtown LA or NYC their entire lives. Leave! You'll find your money gets you more, and gets you much further when you aren't paying arbitrary taxes and upcharges on everyday stuff. And if you're not spending $45 a day eating out!
This all depends on where you live. 74k stretches a lot further in Indiana than it does in DC.
That dude numbers are all bullshit.
Before watching the video I am going to go out on a limb and say this is a delusional and out of touch take from Graham. Lets see if I'm right.
I see a lot of comments saying things like "if I have to budget every dollar then that's not middle class…"
As someone who has been middle class since the 1970's I would say that you don't seem to understand middle class. I've budgeted my whole life.
I did just fine by myself making $52,000 living in Indiana. I was able to own my reasonable and reliable car, purchase a reasonable and functional house for a single guy, afford to pay all my bills and keep a little extra money back for fun. However, I did not have enough money to save for retirement or have a reasonable emergency fund. Had I gotten an apartment with roommates, that would've freed up some cash to do so. It is not impossible to live well off of a lower income. It's really about making good decisions, doing everything within your power to work hard, and stay healthy.
Your $150 401K contribution is a point against your position. $500k will not be enough to retire on when Gen Z is 65. Unless you don't plan to live more than a few years.
IF YOU HAVE TO BUY A USED CAR UNDER 12K WITH OVER 80K MILES THEN YOUR NOT MIDDLE CLASS.
Graham is the Min-Max Master
With all respect buddy, you can always twist your definition of what a "Middle Class" should be like. Bearly making a living with everything count to the pennies? sure….. we used to call this poor. But "Middle Class" can be poor right? It is all depended on how you want to define it.
🤢
Depends where you live…
Gen Z'er here, his estimates are pretty accurate as far as how much is spent on average and how much is left over.. in fact, its even less for me and I'm sure for the average Gen Z'er making that much as well. Certainly does not feel like the middle class…
Hi Graham, love your content! What’s the app you used to promote that you could customize what news articles you’d receive?
Bro, I'd like to point out, that the majority of the time the people in smaller areas like my own make barely 25k a year for the majority of their lives. Right now I make roughly 1800 to 2000 dollars a month. That's roughly about it.
The new generation is conflating middle class with upper class. Going to university for hundreds of thousands of dollars is a rich person thing. Owning a big house is a rich person thing. Having more than one car is a rich person thing…. STOP THE CONFLATION
I make 30k….
they must be new poors. us old poors do just fine with 74k lol
Not Graham using WhistinDiesel's Ferrari video as a reference for responsible driving lol
Vote for more taxes