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Cost of living in the US gets ridiculous. Healthcare is expensive and gets more expensive the more you make. As much as I make I'm probably one bad accident awa

Cost of living in the US gets ridiculous. Healthcare is expensive and gets more expensive the more you make. As much as I make I'm probably one bad accident away from being wiped out financially When you add a family, child care is super expensive; think $350/week for two kids Not to say we aren't hyper-consuming gluttons, but I think that's only about one third of the picture

ng12 8y ago
> Healthcare is expensive and gets more expensive the more you make Huh? Are you self employed? I don't understand this.
- thrwunderpaid 8y ago
  The company I work for has what seems to be progressive deductibles. The less you make the lower your deductible will be. For some people here the only choice is a high deductible plan
- tsunamifury 8y ago
  The hospitals regularly write off bills for lower income individuals, while better paid patients are stuck with the insurance-inflated bill if they aren't covered.
paul7986 8y ago
Don’t forget the govt takes over 40 percent when your making upper class to higher level salaries especially if your single. That 300k is really only 180k annually. So the govt takes the salary of a lower level upper class person for taxes. When u make the jump from 50k to a higher tax bracket, taxes will shock u!
- dx034 8y ago
  In Europe you often only get ~50-55% net and that's often from <$100k salary even at hot tech companies. But in many jurisdictions you then won't have any healthcare or education cost plus lower living cost overall. Pension is also taken care of in many countries. That probably still leaves you worse off than in the US but leads to a bit more even distribution of salaries across the population.
  - brownbat 8y ago
    > you then won't have any healthcare or education costs 70 to 80% of healthcare plans are covered by US employers though. So maybe we should compare total comp plus benefits? Health plans aren't total costs, though, because cost sharing and care is expensive... But that means adding cost of living adjustments. But if you are using a chunk of your salary to plan for retirement in a lower COL area, maybe those aren't even fair. An apples to apples comparison is incredibly difficult. https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/what-percent-of-health-insurance-is-paid-by-employers https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/what-percent-of-health-insur...
- peschkaj 8y ago
  Wat? My highest overall tax percentage was 32% when I made 300k as a single person.
  - devilmoon 8y ago
    This seems to be a common misconception, but taxes in the EU are way higher than in the US
  - paul7986 8y ago
    That 40% includes federal, state, social security and other taxes taken out.
    - mercutio2 8y ago
      You seem to be confusing marginal tax rate with effective tax rate. People making 300k in California will pay between 33% and 39% effective tax rate (depending on marital status), including State, Federal, and FICA. And that’s without simple tax sheltering techniques like pre-tax deduction for health care, contributing to a 401k, and deducting mortgage interest. https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator
      - mercutio2 8y ago
        Actually, that’s a terrible link. Before Trump’s tax increase targeting CA/NY, the SALT itemized deduction lowers the effective tax rate by a further 3% or so, and that calculator fails to include it.
- LandR 8y ago
  In the UK we are taxed at 40% for incomes above, I think, £45k. Then above £150k, I believe it's taxed at 45%
  - dx034 8y ago
    Plus National Insurance which adds another 2%. But the average salary in the UK is around £30-35k so it's a problem mostly tech and financial workers have.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
throwaway2016a 8y ago
$350 for two kids? I pay $350 a week for one kid to go to daycare. And that's in New Hampshire not in a city like Boston of SF. And that's not counting food, clothing, and other necessary child expenses.
johnny313 8y ago
Childcare can be way more expensive in some parts of the US - $500+ a week for 2 kids in the Portland, OR area.

ng12 8y ago

> Healthcare is expensive and gets more expensive the more you make Huh? Are you self employed? I don't understand this.

thrwunderpaid 8y ago
The company I work for has what seems to be progressive deductibles. The less you make the lower your deductible will be. For some people here the only choice is a high deductible plan
tsunamifury 8y ago
The hospitals regularly write off bills for lower income individuals, while better paid patients are stuck with the insurance-inflated bill if they aren't covered.

paul7986 8y ago

Don’t forget the govt takes over 40 percent when your making upper class to higher level salaries especially if your single. That 300k is really only 180k annually. So the govt takes the salary of a lower level upper class person for taxes. When u make the jump from 50k to a higher tax bracket, taxes will shock u!

dx034 8y ago
In Europe you often only get ~50-55% net and that's often from <$100k salary even at hot tech companies. But in many jurisdictions you then won't have any healthcare or education cost plus lower living cost overall. Pension is also taken care of in many countries. That probably still leaves you worse off than in the US but leads to a bit more even distribution of salaries across the population.
- brownbat 8y ago
  > you then won't have any healthcare or education costs 70 to 80% of healthcare plans are covered by US employers though. So maybe we should compare total comp plus benefits? Health plans aren't total costs, though, because cost sharing and care is expensive... But that means adding cost of living adjustments. But if you are using a chunk of your salary to plan for retirement in a lower COL area, maybe those aren't even fair. An apples to apples comparison is incredibly difficult. https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/what-percent-of-health-insurance-is-paid-by-employers https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/what-percent-of-health-insur...
peschkaj 8y ago
Wat? My highest overall tax percentage was 32% when I made 300k as a single person.
- devilmoon 8y ago
  This seems to be a common misconception, but taxes in the EU are way higher than in the US
- paul7986 8y ago
  That 40% includes federal, state, social security and other taxes taken out.
  - mercutio2 8y ago
    You seem to be confusing marginal tax rate with effective tax rate. People making 300k in California will pay between 33% and 39% effective tax rate (depending on marital status), including State, Federal, and FICA. And that’s without simple tax sheltering techniques like pre-tax deduction for health care, contributing to a 401k, and deducting mortgage interest. https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator
    - mercutio2 8y ago
      Actually, that’s a terrible link. Before Trump’s tax increase targeting CA/NY, the SALT itemized deduction lowers the effective tax rate by a further 3% or so, and that calculator fails to include it.
LandR 8y ago
In the UK we are taxed at 40% for incomes above, I think, £45k. Then above £150k, I believe it's taxed at 45%
- dx034 8y ago
  Plus National Insurance which adds another 2%. But the average salary in the UK is around £30-35k so it's a problem mostly tech and financial workers have.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

throwaway2016a 8y ago

$350 for two kids? I pay $350 a week for one kid to go to daycare. And that's in New Hampshire not in a city like Boston of SF. And that's not counting food, clothing, and other necessary child expenses.

johnny313 8y ago

Childcare can be way more expensive in some parts of the US - $500+ a week for 2 kids in the Portland, OR area.