Is Market Watch full of it?

[insufFIcientfunds]

So I read this article on Market Watch about a "couple" making $350k in a HCOL area and how they are barely middle class. I live in a M/LCOL where $350k would be living like a BOSS.

Is this article really true?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-budget-shows-how-a-350000-salary-barely-qualifies-as-middle-class-2019-09-11?mod=mw_theo_homepage

[reeshau]

It's not really MarketWatch; It's just a regurgitation of a Financial Samurai article.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/you-need-to-make-350000-a-year-to-live-a-middle-class-lifestyle-today-heres-why.html

I like Sam's work, but he is in San Francisco, and formerly NYC, so he can get very "coastal" with some content.  Remember, this is a family spending $48k on preschool + childcare, and $22k on property taxes.  Those two things alone would be more than enough for a lot of people, in a lot of places.

But Sam also will write articles to get a rise out of his audience.  He also has a $200k version of the same analysis:

https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-make-six-figures-a-year-and-not-feel-rich-200000-income-edition/

So, do I believe people could blow that much money?  Sure.  But Sam's analysis is hypothetical (although informed by real experiences) and not at all something he is advocating.