Stephanie Davis, I so agree with you. The ones on here that harass others are the ones that live miserable lives and think they should be handed every thing on a silver spoon. I happen to like reading what some people write. Others I quit wasting time reading what they write until the start an attack.

cc - You're one of the main offenders on Patch when it comes to inappropriate behavior.

no ml is one of the main offenders of the patch and now you Mike.

cc - Isn't it time to make up a new derogatory term for the President of the United States? That's certainly proven quite a lot.

EDITOR, I WOULD LIKE MIKES NAME REMOVED FROM HERE BECAUSE HE IS ON A PERSONAL ATTACK OF ME.

Debra agree, cost of Living is very expensive when you live inside Washington DC, same with New York and a few other cities. I always thought Middle Class went from 40,000 to 125,000 in Pittsburgh.

Debra...same here. I moved to PA 2 years ago after living in DC Metropolitan area my whole life. Incomes are relatively low here mostly due to the lack of federal govenment's far-reaching effect as compared to DC area. Between federal employee wages and federal contractors plus so many two-income earning homes, the wages are higher but so then is the cost of living - specifically housing costs.

Jon do you know the actual amount Romney paid on Income tax for the 20,000,000 that he made.

Jon do you know how much Obama paid in taxes, he was in a lower tax bracket than you, so before you start spouting off political BS you should have the whole facts in front of you.

maureen, i found a way to come out ahead every month. I don't pay thousand of dollars in interest on credit cards every year to banks to make them rich. I have one credit card in case my car breaks down on the road. I pay cash for everything and don't buy on the spur of the moment. I follow a budget and save for things that breaks. I am still using older model TV's in my home and when they break I will replace. When stainless steel appliances came out all my neighbors ran out and bought and tossed their appliances out on the curb, nothing wrong with them but had to have new.
Each of my children at home (1 high-school, 2 college) have a loadable credit card and they got so much money on their card to go "back to school shopping" and when the money ran out they were done shopping. My children get their allowances on their cards too and they learned if you spend your money the first week then your broke for the rest of the month.
If people learn to live within their means and without credit cards they would find out how better off they are financially instead of making banks rich. Granted you need to take a loan out on a home or a car, but for anything else, cash is the way to go. I have 2 Hyundai Elantra paid for in cash and don't need a 40,000 car payment.

Paying cash is one good way to stay out of debt.
Another is using a credit card and earning bonuses, but always paying it off in full each month. That is my choice.
Either will help keep one out of debt.
I like that using one credit card for groceries, gas, clothing purchases, etc earns me $200-400 bonus cash each year.
I have another card that gives me discounts on certain travel expenses, and my bonus from the first card gives me spending money for items not prepaid on my vacation such as tips to workers and other incidentals.
Of course this also takes discipline, some people just don't have that quality.
This is how some middle class sink to lower class---debt!
I also plan a budget each year, and review it monthly. Whatever is left after all bills are paid each month goes directly into the savings.
That is, IMO, another aspect of financial stability, having savings. I think that Suze Orman says everyone should have 8 months expenses set aside in savings, just in case. That is quite a task for some, but aiming to put aside at least 6 months is a good goal.

I would add that some people need to realize also that an annual vacation is not a right, it should be earned. Not everyone can afford that, they may not earn enough, or they may just have other expenses that need to come first. Such as many families who used to vacation each year give that up while they have children in college.
But some think they are entitled to the pricey vacation week or two, and go ahead and spend that money when they have debts that should be paid down, or they have little to no savings.
I also think that to maintain a car and keep it as long as possible, well at least that works for me. My current car is almost 11 years old, and I am looking at new models to see what I might like for my next car. But I do already have the money for a new car set aside, no car payment for me. I save up the price of the car before I buy it, then while I own it I continue to put some aside each month so that when I need a new car, I have the money.
Again, it takes discipline, and sticking to a budget. Everyone can do it, but it's harder the less you have coming in each month, and if you get hit with a large unexpected expense.

James agree, I lost my husband to cancer and raised 5 children on my own, the youngest doesn't even remember her father as she was just over a year. It was a big struggle because I had to get a job because SS didn't cut it, pay for daycare, feed and put clothes on the kids because they were all growing. I went to college to at night and on the weekends for business management and one of our first assignments in accounting was making a budget and figuring out where our money went and living on the budget we made for 3 months. I was in for a rude shock when I seen how much money I was handing to the bank on interest on charge cards, mortgage and on car payments and from that day I made my budget, I swore I would never use the credit card unless it was an emergency. Once I did pay the charge cards off, I couldn't actually believe how much money I was able to bank away for those rainy days. I learned a valuable lesson in that accounting class and still live with a budget today. I don't need to buy a new car because my neighbor gets a new one every 3 years, or have the newest TV out on the market because they are in 3-D and 65 inches. I also have taught my children the value of a money and what it would actually cost if they placed it on a charge vs saving for something they want.

I know its useless trying to reach an obama supporter but at least Mitt Romney employed thousands of people in all his business ventures, all obama did was unemploy millions of people

Tina D - Can you supply the numbers for the amount of people Mitt Romney has given full time employment to vs. the amount of people that have lost their jobs due to decisions he and Bain Capital have made.

Tina D --- I would not consider it useless trying to reach an Obama supporter. I have talked to hundreds of people that regret their 2008 vote for Obama and will not be voting for Obama again.

Mike I don't have the numbers of the people he employed but I have the number that Obama has unemployed 20+ million

Another number is 70 million, thats what obama took out of medicare to pay for obamacare....

Tina, I understand your enthusiasm for your candidate, but you really should check your facts before repeating what Faux News or Rush said.

CNN has already reported it, its not a secret anymore

Tina, can you please cite some EVIDENCE about your 70 million claim, thank you.

Tina - Were you dressed like a magician when you pulled those imaginary numbers out of thin air? Did you say Presto! or Abra Cadabra!

If it was that easy Mike I would fix the extra 6 trillion deficit....FYI my number was wrong about how much obama took from medicare, its 716 billion, go to ABC.com website, of course they justify why he took that out of medicare..... NE you did a novel on entitlement, obama is all about entitlement for people not making a "middle class" or " rich class" salary, I can't imagine after reading your financial story that you would be willing to pay for someone else's college education, housing, or even vacation that didn't make as much as you or is on welfare....

cc I absolutely agree, funny how the main stream media doesn't report on the money obama has made, or the tax bracket he was in (13%), but he sure likes spending our money!

Tina I so agree with you. He is in a 13% tax bracket just as Romney but people want to see Romney income taxes. Were only suppose to provide security for their trips but how did Americans end up paying for the whole trips. that is what his entitlement is, give everything to king obmaa. I can't wait to see him leave office and plan on throwing a big party

There is no 13% "tax bracket" in the US at this time.

cc asks "Explain to me how obama had an adjusted gross income of $1,728,096 and only paid $453,77...'

Since Obama's returnsHAVE been released you can certainly look at them and see what deductions were taken.