Original title “big discretionary spends4Chinese middle-class]US”

Trigger: If I benchmark with those earning 200k, my wife and kids would want vacations to Japan, Europe… When I tell them “not necessary”, they might feel impoverished, right? (It’s again the struggle between FOMO and livelihood.)

Not sure. Useful to zoom into the biggest discretionary spends. Figures below are monthly outlays.

Deepak CM pointed out that the immigrants middle class leave their home countries and come to the U.S. to live a “better” life. “Better” means discretionary spends.

I arrange the monthly amounts from big to small. This analysis is similar to Melvin3, and different from the “amortized” calculations.
[M=part of Melvin3 US^sg]

— [M] USD 3k->5k-7k/M : mortgage P/I + pTax.
They would want a bigger home. I can accept a small home, but prime location!
Wife may want a top school district.

— USD 5K/M/child (60k/Y) for a branded college
CSY’s son has a 60k/Y college fee (similar to Ivy League). 50% paid by parents i.e. 2500/M. With such additional burn rate, my idea of “lower stress, lower pay” easy job is impractical.

— [M] USD 1k/M (minimum) luxury car. Figure is TCO including amortization and depends on usage.
They might want a brand new car, not pre-owned.
In Singapore, I have debates about the need for a private car. In U.S., the debate is about how many cars and how big.

— USD 1k/M/child enrichment, special training? Not sure how prevalent. Figure varies a lot.
— USD 0~2k/M/child private school? Not prevalent.
— smaller items.. lifestyle creeps:

•  vacations? Not sure how prevalent
• family outings, dining out
• sportswear? very much discretionary.
• electronic gadgets
• musical instruments
• photography
• toys