A lot depends on what kind of expenses the family has. How many kids? No mortgage is a help, though (and yes, there's maintenance and property taxes to consider that eat away at the income). Car payments. Income tax. clothes & food--and kids can go through the latter quickly when they're growing. Teens bring on new expenses, mostly around cars--insurance rates will be higher. Computers/internet. Cell phones. Even with all that, I'd put your family in middle class.
I don't know about the car, but given that most people have car payments, I should think they could get a new car whenever they like and then just make payments for a while.
As for college, again, it depends. Is the parent paying alone or the kid or both? A local 2 year college (community college, junior college--generally get an Associate's degree here) is the cheapest option. It's entirely possible no loans would be needed for that (I paid my entire community college tuition & books on my own, for example, but that was several years ago and not in California), especially if the kid is contributing. 4 year colleges/universities are a little more variable--these hand out Bachelor's degrees. A state university (University of California in whatever town, see UCLA) is generally cheaper than a private college or university so long as the student is a resident of the state. If the kid is an only child, my personal impression is that no or minimal loans would be required for a state school, if the parent doesn't have heavy obligations. Otherwise, factor in loans. Some come from the government, some from banks, and there are scholarships and grants to consider as well. I got small Perkins loans and (I think) a Pell grant as well as a gift from the extended family to cover the rest of my education when I transferred to a private college, so had a relatively small debt load. Others are not so lucky! Without that gift, I would have had to hit the banks.
ETA: I should note, my family (and now my husband & I) were careful about our spending. We saved as much as possible and didn't throw money around like water. I knew I was going to be paying for the bulk of my education. The reason I say your family IS middle class is because right now we earn considerably less than 90K, and we're still middle class. California is more expensive to live in, so I figure it's fairly equivalent. If your family is spendthrift or has other heavy debt/obligations, then they'll struggle more and bigger loans will undoubtedly be needed. On paper, though, they're middle class.
It's worth bearing in mind that the costs of attending college in the United States don't stop at tuition. In addition to that $16K/yr in tuition for UC Berkeley, you have room and board, books, class fees, etc. etc. etc. Collegedata.com tells me that the actual cost of attending Berkeley for a year on in-state tuition is closer to $33K, so you're talking over $120K for a four-year degree, presuming he actually finishes in four years. That is a shit-ton of money to save up, and unless Dad has been putting away everything he can since his son was born and invested it wisely to get a good return, then the odds of him having saved up enough for a full four years at Berkeley without loans on that salary is practically nil. It's less expensive to attend one of the California State colleges -- but even then, a year at Cal State Fullerton is still roughly $23K all told.
I would consider $98K/yr to be solidly middle-class. But middle-class in the US can't just go buy a car because they feel like it, or put their kid through school without loans (barring some very, very rare exceptions -- on that salary, if I was an only child -- which I'm not -- and my parents had socked away everything they could -- which they couldn't -- they could have put me through college without a loan but I went to a very inexpensive school).
ETA: Also, "good school" can largely be dependent on what program you want your kid to go into. A school with a killer marine biology program might have a lousy music program, for instance.
You also have to factor in grants and scholarships, which may take a lot of the pressure off.
Personally, I'd be ecstatic beyond words to ever have had an income of $98,000 a year, but I never lived in California, either.
You can check out cost of living, though, at sites like http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/ or http://www.bestplaces.net/col/. Some places in California are much less expensive to live in than others, and that will make a difference too. If they've managed to pay off the house, they've probably also managed to pay off the cars.
I'm not sure why your character has to go to school without debt and I wonder if your cultural perspective is affecting that. Fact is, in the US, there really isn't a fear of being in debt, especially if you're middle class. That's how middle class works here. If you're not in debt, you are not middle class. Debt is a fact of life like buying groceries.
To me, middle class means that you still have to get loans and wouldn't buy a car just because. You buy a new car instead of used because you can afford to do so, but you don't buy cars whenever you please. Maybe you indulge a little in the type of car you get, but you planned and saved for that car. You didn't just see it in the dealership window and say, I gotta have that. You get scholarships and grants for college if you can and your parents (hopefully) saved all your life, but you still expect to have to get loans for school.
A paycheck covers savings, kids' education, once a year big expense luxury like Disney World vacations, and servicing debt. Car payments, mortgage, and student loans are expected parts of life. Your character grew up hearing about his parents dealing with those expenses and expects to live the same way. The goal is to get a job that can pay all that and to get the education and networking necessary to get that job. He isn't going to be afraid of a $100,000 loan going to a school like Berkeley. He's not even going to think about that loan as being a big deal.
He isn't going to be afraid of a $100,000 loan going to a school like Berkeley. He's not even going to think about that loan as being a big deal.
He might, dependent on what field he's going into. I could pretty easily see someone who was going into a notoriously low-income or no-guaranteed-placement field -- say, K-12 education, social services, or the creative/performing arts -- being more than a little twitchy about acquiring that much debt right from the get-go when the means to pay it off is by no means guaranteed.
But yeah. Over here, if you're not in debt, then you're either wealthy or a genius at budgeting (and those do exist).
I could pretty easily see someone who was going into a notoriously low-income or no-guaranteed-placement field -- say, K-12 education, social services, or the creative/performing arts -- being more than a little twitchy about acquiring that much debt right from the get-go when the means to pay it off is by no means guaranteed.
Yeah, originally, I was going to talk about what fields you want to go into, not going to a second tier school for that field, etc, but figured that was beyond the scope of the question. So, I stuck with the idea, that Berkeley was a school he wanted and therefore was prepared for the expense along with it.
or a genius at budgeting (and those do exist).
Truly, both me and my brother could have made it through school with no loans, even living outside the home, but I preferred to save my "college" fund (better described by my mother as a "starting off your life" savings) as a cushion for rainy days, and my disability prevented me from having the physical capacity to work simultaneously, so my budgeting approach was to get the loan. As for my mother, no debt, because she is the budgeting genius, and managed to get a job in a well-paying field without the degree, don't know what kind of loans her brother and sister faced after going to the ivy leagues.
I don't know about the car, but given that most people have car payments, I should think they could get a new car whenever they like and then just make payments for a while.
As for college, again, it depends. Is the parent paying alone or the kid or both? A local 2 year college (community college, junior college--generally get an Associate's degree here) is the cheapest option. It's entirely possible no loans would be needed for that (I paid my entire community college tuition & books on my own, for example, but that was several years ago and not in California), especially if the kid is contributing. 4 year colleges/universities are a little more variable--these hand out Bachelor's degrees. A state university (University of California in whatever town, see UCLA) is generally cheaper than a private college or university so long as the student is a resident of the state. If the kid is an only child, my personal impression is that no or minimal loans would be required for a state school, if the parent doesn't have heavy obligations. Otherwise, factor in loans. Some come from the government, some from banks, and there are scholarships and grants to consider as well. I got small Perkins loans and (I think) a Pell grant as well as a gift from the extended family to cover the rest of my education when I transferred to a private college, so had a relatively small debt load. Others are not so lucky! Without that gift, I would have had to hit the banks.
ETA: I should note, my family (and now my husband & I) were careful about our spending. We saved as much as possible and didn't throw money around like water. I knew I was going to be paying for the bulk of my education. The reason I say your family IS middle class is because right now we earn considerably less than 90K, and we're still middle class. California is more expensive to live in, so I figure it's fairly equivalent. If your family is spendthrift or has other heavy debt/obligations, then they'll struggle more and bigger loans will undoubtedly be needed. On paper, though, they're middle class.
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It's a father-and-son family, with no outrageous spendings beyond the necessary. Does saving up for, say, Berkeley ($16k/year) sound unbelievable?
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I would consider $98K/yr to be solidly middle-class. But middle-class in the US can't just go buy a car because they feel like it, or put their kid through school without loans (barring some very, very rare exceptions -- on that salary, if I was an only child -- which I'm not -- and my parents had socked away everything they could -- which they couldn't -- they could have put me through college without a loan but I went to a very inexpensive school).
ETA: Also, "good school" can largely be dependent on what program you want your kid to go into. A school with a killer marine biology program might have a lousy music program, for instance.
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Personally, I'd be ecstatic beyond words to ever have had an income of $98,000 a year, but I never lived in California, either.
You can check out cost of living, though, at sites like http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/ or http://www.bestplaces.net/col/. Some places in California are much less expensive to live in than others, and that will make a difference too. If they've managed to pay off the house, they've probably also managed to pay off the cars.
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Thank you sp much for help!
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To me, middle class means that you still have to get loans and wouldn't buy a car just because. You buy a new car instead of used because you can afford to do so, but you don't buy cars whenever you please. Maybe you indulge a little in the type of car you get, but you planned and saved for that car. You didn't just see it in the dealership window and say, I gotta have that. You get scholarships and grants for college if you can and your parents (hopefully) saved all your life, but you still expect to have to get loans for school.
A paycheck covers savings, kids' education, once a year big expense luxury like Disney World vacations, and servicing debt. Car payments, mortgage, and student loans are expected parts of life. Your character grew up hearing about his parents dealing with those expenses and expects to live the same way. The goal is to get a job that can pay all that and to get the education and networking necessary to get that job. He isn't going to be afraid of a $100,000 loan going to a school like Berkeley. He's not even going to think about that loan as being a big deal.
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He might, dependent on what field he's going into. I could pretty easily see someone who was going into a notoriously low-income or no-guaranteed-placement field -- say, K-12 education, social services, or the creative/performing arts -- being more than a little twitchy about acquiring that much debt right from the get-go when the means to pay it off is by no means guaranteed.
But yeah. Over here, if you're not in debt, then you're either wealthy or a genius at budgeting (and those do exist).
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Yeah, originally, I was going to talk about what fields you want to go into, not going to a second tier school for that field, etc, but figured that was beyond the scope of the question. So, I stuck with the idea, that Berkeley was a school he wanted and therefore was prepared for the expense along with it.
or a genius at budgeting (and those do exist).
Truly, both me and my brother could have made it through school with no loans, even living outside the home, but I preferred to save my "college" fund (better described by my mother as a "starting off your life" savings) as a cushion for rainy days, and my disability prevented me from having the physical capacity to work simultaneously, so my budgeting approach was to get the loan. As for my mother, no debt, because she is the budgeting genius, and managed to get a job in a well-paying field without the degree, don't know what kind of loans her brother and sister faced after going to the ivy leagues.
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