華僑都很有錢?

華僑都很有錢?

Filed under: Random Chat — tluroc76 @ 12:26 pm

"表哥你的年薪多少?", 我表妹問我 . "差不多$N 吧?", 我回答她. 哇塞, 折台幣N萬耶? 你們好有錢喔!
How much do you earn a year, cousin? Asked one of my cousins. "About $N", I replied. Wow, that’s about NT $$, you guys are rich!

表哥好有錢? 我掏了下口袋, 剛好一邊各有四角. 我對我表妹笑了笑, 或許表哥真的是好有錢, 錢多到在那裡我自己都不知道.
Me, rich? I checked my pants pockets, four corners in each of them. I gave my cousin a smile. Perhaps I do have an overabundance of money, so much money, I’m clueless myself.

在美國長住, 工作的華僑都知道, 其實年薪高並不代表有錢. 在每個月領的兩張薪水支票上, 扣的最重的就是所得稅 – 聯邦稅 & 州稅就吃掉接近總額的40-45%.
Those who have been living and working in the States all know this, that a "good" annual income doesn’t really represent the true "wealth" of an individual or family. From my bi-monthly checks, income tax is the heaviest of all deductions. Federal and State taxes chew up nearly 40-45% of the entire amount.

那還有55%以上咧! 我還沒有算完呢. 個人養老基金 – 3~12%, 因人而異, 有的人存得更多(少), 醫療保 – 2~5%; 飯都還沒有吃, 薪水已經去了一半以上.
Well, there is still a good 55% left, not so fast, I haven’t even begun to add up all the deductions yet! Personal retirement fund and other contributions usually amount to 3~12%, some put away more (some less). Medical expenses add up to 2~ 5%; before you have your next meal, more than half of your paycheck is gone!

俗語說, 衣食住行是每一個人生活中不可或缺的基本條件, 就算生活不奢侈, 不要求吃得好, 穿得好,住洋房, 開高級轎車, 這四項包括的, 又花去了剩餘薪水的4/5.
Clothing, food, shelter and transportation are said to be the basic necessasities in everyone’s life. Even without overspending on clothes, food; on a big home and on luxury car, these four needs eat up 4/5 of the remaining check.

有嗎? 或許有人會問.
Really? Some may ask.

食: 用一家四口來算吧, 如果沒有常常在外面吃, 一天的食物費差不多是$25 ~ $40; 一個月$750 ~ $1200+
Food: Let’s take a family of four for example. Without eating out often, the average daily food cost is around $25~$40; monthly food bill at $750~$1200+

住: 分期付款 + 房子保險 + 縣/市稅
電費, 水費, 電話費, 瓦斯費, 電視費, 收垃圾費, 廢水處理費, 網路費…..等等
Shelter: mortgage (principal + interest) + home insurance + county and / or city tax
electricity, water, telephone, gas, TV, disposal, utilities, Internet…etc

行: 車貸款 + 車保險 + 汽油費 + 車保養費
Transportation: car payment + car insurance + regular maintenance

有小孩的家庭: 托兒費, 大學基金; 其他活動費用
Families with kids: babysitting expenses, college funds; fees for other activities
(一般規定, 十二歲以下的小孩不得自己在家, 每州不一樣
General rule in many states, kids under the age of 12 are not allowed to be at home alone.)


華僑都很有錢?

Yeah, I wish!