A family of three in San Mateo County needs $63,871 a year to meet its basic living needs at a minimal level, according to research by the  Center for Women’s Welfare.

CWW developed the Self Sufficiency Standard to measure the income necessary to meet minimal living standards more precisely that the federal poverty standard whose methodology is five decades old.

What struck me as a bankruptcy lawyer is the sense among bankruptcy trustees and creditors that someone making nearly $64,000 a year would be solidly middle class and reasonably comfortable.  Not so, according to this research.

Part of the problem may be as well that the family with that level of income may also think that it should entitle them to live better than just meeting their needs at a minimal level.  Hence, overspending.

Or, one of my observations over time is that access to credit has helped families mask the fact that they can’t really afford to live a comfortable, middle class life in the San Francisco Bay Area.