130K wouldn't cover my bills, that's for sure.
We buy fruits and veggies in the specialized "market" stores. Supermarket prices are double. We buy stuff that's on sale (pretty much everything goes through a cycle of sales or is on sale somewhere). We shop for dairy across the border where organic milk costs about half...
(Vancouver, BC, area)
I didn't grow up with cable television or fancy toys. If anything, I received a single toy once a year as my birthday present. We rarely if ever ate out at a restaurant; those were reserved for special occasions. If we did eat out at a restaurant, everything on the menu would be under $10. Vacations? We still managed to have one once a year. Usually we'd sign up for a 3-4 day group tour trip to another state. Clothes were generally hand me downs.
My family went from being in the low income bracket to the middle class. Basically we had to make a lot of sacrifices in life. Sure I was envious of my friends having the newest sneakers or latest gaming console, but I understood we couldn't afford it. I didn't grow up eating organic healthy food, hell, I couldn't afford that stuff. We bought whatever was on sale. These days, things are different.
As for the $2000 year education expense. My guess it's for private classes. Despite my parents making minimum wage, they never neglected my education. I hated taking extra classes on the weekends/during the summer while the rest of my friends were out playing, but looking back now, I totally get it.
But I do workout a lot so I tend to eat like a monster. Still ...
$1k/mo does seem a bit high, but not unreasonable. We do a lot of budget shopping (Costco, coupons, generics, almost no organics, and usually split a side of beef with friends). Meat has gotten really expensive, and I would definitely consider that to be part of the American Dream.
I don't agree with all of them (I don't think that a family of 4 should necesarily own a 4WD SUV which will accentuate gas and insurance costs when 4 door economy car would be fine.
Not sure what the $2,000 a year per child education expense is, seems too small for private school, too big for public school. I couldn't find the referenced USA Today article. Our neighbors' kids who are still going to the public high school spend about $1,500 on various sports costs and other school supplies.
Also food seems a bit steep, a bit over $1,000/month on food? That is like $250 a week. Presumably they eat out a lot?
But the quibbling then boils down to how they are living and where. So that makes it challenging. A family of four that buys annual ski passes every year, eats out for at least four meals a week, has the bread winner buying lunch every day, buys all new clothes to match the latest fashion, doesn't keep any vehicle longer than 4 years, and only buys things "new"? Ok, I could believe $130K.
But then I fall back to what is the point? And then you see it, the entire point:
"Nonetheless, it's clear that though the American dream is still alive, fewer and fewer of us can afford to live it."
And this, I just don't believe at all, although I get how if people do believe this, it works to their advantage. So by and large, not a reasonable article in my opinion.