Lifestyles of the Average (Income) Part II

Michael and Lisa Thibault



Michael is a claims adjuster and Lisa is a freelance editor, who works part time from home.


Lisa was laid off from her publishing job and found this gig part time. This job is $17,000 per year less then her previous job. Michael was also laid off and was able to rebound in 5 months. Not too shabby in today's economy, but this job pays $13,000 less.

Here's where the story gets crazy. CNNmoney.com states

"Lisa and Michael, both with college degrees - Lisa also holds a master's - had
to apply for food assistance for their children. Lisa now stays at home
where the couple have a newborn girl, in addition to two other daughters."

Lisa, aka "Mrs. Masters Degree" also states,

"As I get older, I'm finding it's harder to do.""I thought it would be much
easier to be in the middle-class, especially after being in the workforce so
long," said Lisa. "It's been humbling."

Lesson No. 1

If you have to apply for food assistance for your children....

DO NOT HAVE ANYMORE!

Assistance means that you need help, so don't have another child. You have a Master's degree, go and get another job that pays you what you are worth. Hubby, go get a second job. I guarantee Mike, is sitting around the house, in his mustard stained wife beater watching the game instead of out hustling. Mike should be coming home on Sunday afternoons wearing a Best Buy Blue shirt, or a Target smock until they have their finances in order. We are getting lazy America. This is just plain embarrassing as a country. A couple can earn nearly $50,000 per year and still need food assistance....

Here is their spending pie chart.

They spend 42% on health care. That's what happens when you have three kids, and don't make enough to support them. The health care per kid doesn't vary from household to household (assuming no chronic illnesses exist) therefore, when you can afford to have children your health care cost should be less then 25%.

Now that they have three kids, they need to put all their efforts in making sure that these kids do not suffer because of their lack of planning and selfishness. This means time and money; spend quality time with the children and earn money so they get a head start in life.

Hopefully their kids are smart enough not to make the same mistakes as Mom and Dad!

My Thibault tip of the day.....

If Mike wanted to make some extra money he could be a stunt double for Rob (from Survivor).

-MJL

Lifestyles of the Average (Income)

The median income in the US has been reported to be $46,242.00. Money.com has profiled four different families and how they live on the $46,242 per year.

Let's take a look at what Money says and then what MJL has to say.

Family 1: The Ogle's
Matt is a math teacher and Ginger is a speech coach. Ginger makes $200 / month.

The article reads:
But there are some expenses the Ogles can't forecast: a sudden rise in energy prices, like last summer, was unforseen. "It's hard to factor in gas prices. Every month the natural gas and electric bills are higher. And that makes it harder when you try to plan," Ginger says. The Ogles manage fairly well on their household income but they are having trouble getting ahead. "It's very difficult to save," said Ginger. "I keep a mortgage payment in the bank...If there are big expenses that aren't expected we use the credit card." "I don't stay awake at night worrying about money...unless something horrible happens, we know we're going to make it."

MY THOUGHTS:
Matt is a math teacher and appears to have a solid job, but his wife is bringing home $20o per month. They have no kids, so until there are little Matts or Gingers, Ginger needs to be stepping up her game and bringing home more then $200 per month.

If Ginger got off her lazy ass, and got a job, then they would have no financial troubles. The other alternative is if Ginger went to school and got a profession, instead of a job. Then she could make decent money and possibly double their income.

FINAL ASSESMENT:
The Ogle's aren't getting ahead because they don't want to get ahead. Period! I don't see any retirement savings, or regular savings for that matter, in their pie chart. Unacceptable.

NEXT FAMILY......The Thibaults.....



Median Income,
Hard Work,
Millionaire
Rich

Hard Work - Only in Your Mind

Sometimes I would like to think that I work hard. Sometimes I would like to think that I work harder then the normal guy who thinks he wants to be rich. At the end of everyday, I go to bed when I can't even think straight. I barely brush my teeth, and then I pass out. I wake up the second,….. no the milli-second that I think I have enough sleep to out perform the entire world.

As I talk to people, I start to hear things like, "I'm just sooo busy", or "I just had a 12 hour day".

What does that mean?

These people are actually sincere and do believe that they have worked hard. In their minds they have just killed it. They have done more then the average person, and have "left it all on the court" as they say in basketball.

Then I look in the mirror at myself. At the end of the day, you turn to yourself, because only you know what is real and what is not. I ask myself, " Self......are you like all of the other people who think they were so busy". Am I really working that hard? Do I really give my all, everyday, or have I just gotten so accustomed to saying that, that I believe it. You tell yourself you are skinny long enough, you start to believe it, until someone shows you a picture from last summer. Am I like a rapper who rants and raves he’s the best and richest when he knows the record company owns his cars, his jewelry and his girl.

I'm no longer going to say how busy I am, or how hard I work. People will never understand, and it's only frustrating to explain. There are certain things that can not be captured in words: passion, aggression, greed, anger. You can not get anyone to feel these emotions by just telling them how you feel. The worse thing to hear after you have gone through something is for some insensitive idiot to come and say, "Yeah me too, I have been working real hard lately too". Agghh!

I say, do what you have to do, and your results will speak for themselves. I am tired of justifying why I can’t go places or do things with my money. I am tired of trying to explain what s-a-c-r-i-f-i-c-e means. I’m either going to do something or not. Go to an event or not. No one cares what I have to do or how busy I am. No one cares if my money is tied up in investments or business ventures. No one cares if my business is losing money. So besides my blog, and the short list of people who actually do care, keep it to yourself.

If someone tells you that they have been working really hard, and are really busy, pull out a stack of $100 bills and smack them in the face and yell, "MEEE TOO"!


-MJL

small+business,
Hard Work,
Millionaire
Rich

Lottery Winners Gone Bad!

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Tax Time

Well, I hope everyone had a great Easter. I have been crazy busy as usual, especially because Taxes are due in a week. I have been on my grind. I was able to go home to New Jersey and get re-energized. Not only is the drive long, but therapeutic. During a 9 hour drive by yourself, you can do a lot o f much needed reflecting and planning. I have got my 5 business ideas laid out and ready to put in play. I am passionate about each idea, and have a General Manager in mind for each endeavor. The picture in my mind is crystal clear, execution is now the key. I have been reading the book "The Secret". It might come off as a little hokey, but there is a lot of truth to it. If you look at the Blog Roll, there is a lady who's blog is called "The Secret" and she lives by the book. It's interesting to see how successful she becomes by following the rules and guidelines laid out by the book. The book is nice, but I think the secret mixed with some good ol' hustlin', street smarts, and multiply that by the grind factor and you can have anything you want.

My new thing is to do something every 24 hrs. that the normal person doesn't do. I gotta keep myself above the rim, out of the box.

Check the Blog Roll

Hey there blog fans, I have been slow rolling on the posts, but not on the blogs. I have had an extremely busy week, with lots of great progress professionally and entrapanreally (if that's a word?). Instead of blogging myself, I have been scanning exisitng blogs, trying to see what's out there. Trying to find out who really is making money and who has great sites.

So rather then blab like I usually do I put some links of some good sites I found, and excchanged links with them. There are also a bunch of good blogs that I will just link to in my posts.

Check the blog roll, but keep coming back here for more.

P.S. These cartoons are funny, but I've been so busy lately they are starting to be true.....

Happy reading.

-MJL