Election 2008 Update

[Logic1]

What IS the national income in the US?
I make the equivalent to 50k USdollars a year which is decent but nowhere near great, and those 7.40 a gallon sure hurts me. Not so much as to not fill up my car but it sure feels in the wallet when I fill my car up.
btw. Is it even possible to afford having and using a car with 20k us dollars a year?

this is just my curiosity wanting to know. The differences and similarities between people is always interesting.

[mkemse]

What IS the national income in the US?
I make the equivalent to 50k USdollars a year which is decent but nowhere near great, and those 7.40 a gallon sure hurts me. Not so much as to not fill up my car but it sure feels in the wallet when I fill my car up.
btw. Is it even possible to afford having and using a car with 20k us dollars a year?

this is just my curiosity wanting to know. The differences and similarities between people is always interesting.

I just wanted to know the value of the US Dollar againyour currency to if if we at $3.00 a galon pay thesameammount as you basedon the US dollar where you are, justtrying to make a comparrison as to the vaule ofthe dollar there

[Thorne]

Is it even possible to afford having and using a car with 20k us dollars a year?

It's POSSIBLE, but difficult. Certainly not likely that someone at that income level could afford a NEW car, nor could they afford to drive extensively for recreational purposes.

A quick search has found that the mean (average) annual wages in the US is $35,499 (235,136kr) but the median income is only $24,325 (155,680kr) based on 2005 figures. However, the variations from state to state, even from city to city within one state, can be extreme. As can the costs of living.

Just for informational purposes, I did the following calculations based on our combined NET income (take-home pay) for 2007:
Fuel for 2 cars and 2 drivers, 3.2%
Groceries for 2 adults, 9.4%
Medical payments for 2 adults (beyond our insurance coverage) 6.0%

I don't claim that these are representative of the US population. We didn't take any long trips road last year, and we are fairly healthy.

[mkemse]

It's POSSIBLE, but difficult. Certainly not likely that someone at that income level could afford a NEW car, nor could they afford to drive extensively for recreational purposes.

A quick search has found that the mean (average) annual wages in the US is $35,499 (235,136kr) but the median income is only $24,325 (155,680kr) based on 2005 figures. However, the variations from state to state, even from city to city within one state, can be extreme. As can the costs of living.

Just for informational purposes, I did the following calculations based on our combined NET income (take-home pay) for 2007:
Fuel for 2 cars and 2 drivers, 3.2%
Groceries for 2 adults, 9.4%
Medical payments for 2 adults (beyond our insurance coverage) 6.0%

I don't claim that these are representative of the US population. We didn't take any long trips road last year, and we are fairly healthy.

I am in the United States my income is under 20k yeari havea usedcar,but keeping itrunnig insuredand in gas isvery difficulkttodo, buti simply limit all myerrandst one dayof theweek, if i do notgethat i need on that day i waittil thefollowingweek i do not driveanywherei do not need to foranyy reason exceptfor a medical emergency

but yes it is possiblebut very, very difficult, I amdisblied i have a fixed incomebut makeitwork, not much fun but it does