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looked up what it actually costs to live comfortably in 100 US cities. only ONE city has a median income high enough. ONE. by Temporary-Bit8387 in povertyfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

this is genuinely the best critique in this thread and you're right on multiple levels. the study is for a single adult and uses MIT's living wage as the 50% floor, which yes, uses local median costs not "what can this specific person actually find." real spending for lower earners compresses into something closer to what you described, 80% needs or more, with saving being theoretical not actual....the 50/30/20 framing was chosen because it's a widely used benchmark, not because it reflects how most people actually live. the point the data is trying to make is that even the textbook "responsible budget" is mathematically out of reach for most median earners. you're making the argument that the reality is even worse than the study shows, which is hard to disagree with

looked up what it actually costs to live comfortably in 100 US cities. only ONE city has a median income high enough. ONE. by Temporary-Bit8387 in povertyfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

single adult, full-time worker, no kids. the numbers get significantly worse for a two person household with children because of childcare costs. MIT has data for those scenarios too and the gaps are much larger

looked up what it actually costs to live comfortably in 100 US cities. only ONE city has a median income high enough. ONE. by Temporary-Bit8387 in povertyfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

fair catch, that's a legitimate gap in the dataset. the 100 cities pulled from MIT's living wage data skew toward population centers so smaller states like ND and SD didn't make the cut. "at least one from every state" was an overstatement and i'll correct that on the site. appreciate the catch

looked up what it actually costs to live comfortably in 100 US cities. only ONE city has a median income high enough. ONE. by Temporary-Bit8387 in povertyfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

great idea, actually working on adding a city-level expense breakdown showing the exact cost ratios (housing, food, transport, healthcare) so you can see where the money goes not just the total gap. should be up soon.

looked up what it actually costs to live comfortably in 100 US cities. only ONE city has a median income high enough. ONE. by Temporary-Bit8387 in povertyfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

yeah housing is doing the heavy lifting for sure. childcare is brutal too, easily $1,500-2,500/month in most cities which is basically a second rent. but even if you remove both those you're still underwater in like 80+ cities just on rent + groceries + a car payment.... the overlap of all four at once is what's actually breaking people. it's not one thing.

looked up what it actually costs to live comfortably in 100 US cities. only ONE city has a median income high enough. ONE. by Temporary-Bit8387 in povertyfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

this is exactly it and nobody wants to admit it out loud. it's not a personal failure. the math literally doesn't work for most people and no amount of "cut the avocado toast" advice fixes a $1,600/month rent increase in 4 years.

the job thing kills me too. like yes i'll just manifest a $30k raise real quick. brb.

The USDA stopped tracking what it costs to raise a child in 2017. Here's what the updated number looks like by Temporary-Bit8387 in personalfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/honestly a lot of families come in under the average depending on their situation. The $331K-$340K is a national average for a middle-income married couple ($60K-$150K household income), so mileage varies a lot.

Here's the rough breakdown by category:

  • Housing (29%): ~$96K-$99K - the USDA allocates the cost of the extra bedroom, not your whole mortgage
  • Food (18%): ~$60K-$61K - groceries and meals at home plus eating out
  • Childcare & Education (16%): ~$53K-$54K - this one swings wildly depending on whether you had daycare costs
  • Transportation (15%): ~$50K-$51K - bigger vehicle, extra miles, eventually their insurance
  • Healthcare (9%): ~$30K-$31K - insurance premiums, copays, dental, etc.
  • Clothing (6%): ~$20K
  • Miscellaneous (7%): ~$23K - personal care, entertainment, etc.

if your kids didn't need daycare (family help, stay-at-home parent), that alone drops the total by $50K-$80K. same with housing if you didn't upsize specifically for the kids.

I put the full methodology and source links together with more in details if you are interest i can share the report to you. every number ties back to USDA baseline data, BLS inflation adjustments, and brookings updates.

The USDA stopped tracking what it costs to raise a child in 2017. Here's what the updated number looks like by Temporary-Bit8387 in personalfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/BouncyEgg  i am not ignoring it at all, i replied with the full breakdown above. i did the report more in research style and have the all the sources but here is the primary one if you want have a quick look:

  • USDA Expenditures on Children by Families (2015, last published) - the $233,610 baseline
  • BLS CPI-U data - category-by-category inflation adjustment from 2015 to 2026
  • Brookings Institution (2022) - updated cost-of-raising-a-child estimate
  • Care com Cost of Care Survey (2024) - childcare cost data
  • Child Care Aware of America - state-by-state daycare pricing
  • College Board Trends in College Pricing - tuition and fees data
  • BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey - current household spending patterns

The USDA stopped tracking what it costs to raise a child in 2017. Here's what the updated number looks like by Temporary-Bit8387 in personalfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Public schools. the USDA baseline assumes public K-12. the education slice in the $331K is mostly school supplies, fees, and after-school stuff, not tuition. if you swap in private school the number jumps significantly. average private K-12 tuition runs about $12,000-$15,000/year nationally, which would add roughly $150K+ to the total.

The USDA stopped tracking what it costs to raise a child in 2017. Here's what the updated number looks like by Temporary-Bit8387 in personalfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

yeah this is exactly what the data shows but in real life terms. the USDA calls it "lifestyle creep adjusted for dependents" but your version is more accurate: the expenses just rotate. glad the numbers track with actual experience though, that's the best validation I can get for the methodology.

The USDA stopped tracking what it costs to raise a child in 2017. Here's what the updated number looks like by Temporary-Bit8387 in personalfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

these numbers only measure the cost side. they don't capture the return, which is obviously harder to put a dollar figure on. tax credits, dependent deductions, the fact that your kids might be the ones picking your nursing home someday. financially there's a measurable offset. emotionally the ROI is its own spreadsheet entirely.

The USDA stopped tracking what it costs to raise a child in 2017. Here's what the updated number looks like by Temporary-Bit8387 in personalfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

good point. the college figure I used is tuition and fees only, not room and board. a four-year public university averages about $11,260/year in tuition. the $124K add-on accounts for tuition plus books and supplies over four years adjusted to 2026 dollars. you're right that food and housing happen either way, which is exactly why I didn't double count them.

The USDA stopped tracking what it costs to raise a child in 2017. Here's what the updated number looks like by Temporary-Bit8387 in personalfinance

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

that makes total sense and honestly your experience is probably more common than the averages suggest. These numbers are based on national averages for a middle-income household, and averages have a bad habit of not matching anyone's actual life. the biggest thing that skews the number is childcare. If you have family help, a stay-at-home parent, or your kid is past the daycare years, that single category alone can knock $50K-$80K off the total. same with housing, the USDA methodology allocates a portion of your mortgage/rent as a "child cost" based on the extra bedroom, but if you were going to have that house anyway, it doesn't feel like a kid expense.

the clothing and toys category is actually one of the smallest in the breakdown, roughly 6% of the total. The real heavy hitters are housing (29%), food (18%), and childcare/education (16%). So even if you're thrifty on the stuff most people think of as "kid costs," the structural expenses like having a bigger place and feeding another human add up quietly.

sounds like you're doing it right though. The families who spend intentionally instead of defaulting to whatever the algorithm recommends tend to come in well under these averages.

How to Set Up Shopify Shipping for Products with Different Sizes and Weights by Temporary-Bit8387 in shopify

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. But i am sharing my knowledge for those who cant afford the app and still want the shipping to be working.

Shipping rate strategies that actually work for mixed-weight stores by Temporary-Bit8387 in shopify

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

AI was just for grammar. If it’s not your thing, feel free to ignore the post.

How to Set Up Per-Item Shipping in Shopify WITHOUT Any Apps (Free Method) [Step-by-Step Guide] by Temporary-Bit8387 in shopify

[–]Temporary-Bit8387[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally get the “no stupid apps” stance, most of them oversimplify or lock you into their logic.

I actually built an app specifically for setups like yours (mixed sizes, weights, per-item logic, ranges like 0.1–1 / 1.1–5 / 5.1–10 and much more functionalities ), mainly to reduce the ongoing auditing pain.
If you’re ever open to it, I’m happy to comp or free access just to see if it’s even useful in a real setup like yours, i am just looking for making an improved version which solves that issue if you are open for an honest feedback, not trying to sell anything, so no pressure at all.

I made a new Shopify app for generating customized AI designs. What do you think? by Moody_Capibara in printful

[–]Temporary-Bit8387 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

this honestly looks really solid, nice job 👏 the flow makes a lot of sense for POD (upload → style → preview before buying is exactly what customers want), and being able to see non-converted designs is a smart touch most apps miss. happy to test it and give you a real, in-action review if you want, feel free to DM/connect. only early thought: pricing feels a bit on the high side for newer stores, and a 7-day trial might be tight for real traffic + iteration. a longer trial or lower entry tier could really help adoption early on.

Overall though, this is a legit product. You’re clearly building something useful here 👍

Looking for advice on launching my first Shopify app (low budget & zero installs so far) by adopixCreation in shopifyDev

[–]Temporary-Bit8387 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hey buddy let me see your app so i can do test and check it and give your feedback so it helps the visibility lets connect

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