200k is not much money
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Anonymous
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I was talking to a friend the other day who is adamant that 200k is not enough money to raise a kid on and to have savings and a nice life.
I thought she was SO out of touch! |
Anonymous
| You can have many things you want at that income but not everything. You will have to compromise on housing though, either space or commute. |
Anonymous
| 200K is the top 20% of HHI in the DC metropolitan area. If you feel you need to "compromise", you are an entitled spoiled brat whose completely out-of-touch with reality. |
Anonymous
| If you spend less than you make...you come out on top! Not about how much you make. |
Anonymous
| Depends on her amount of debt, existing savings and expenses. If she's already 40 with credit card debt, 6 figure student loans, huge mortgage, no college savings for kid, no retirement saved, in a bad school district so she wants to do private, high COL, etc. |
Anonymous
EXACTLY!!!! I make half of that and still have everything I need. |
Anonymous
BAHAHAHAHAHHAA you can be extremely financially irresponsible even if you make 15 million a year. |
Anonymous
| I hate to say this but if you were talking about HHI for a family with kids in DMV area, I'd have to agree with your friend. 200k after deduction is no more than 100-120k then you have living expenses/college savings...etc. yeah, that's not enough. |
Anonymous
| The real question is enough for what? Is $200,000 enough to live a fabulous lifestyle with private schools and chauffeurs and cooks in a large house in a desirable area? Of course not. It’s $200,000 enough to have small, safe (town)house with the kids in public schools and one or two activities per kid with savings and healthy food on the table? Yes. Probably only one or two kids though. And of course that is for a single earner. If there are two or nurse making $150,000, you can do much more. |
Anonymous
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shes right if she is referring to 200,000 PRETAX household income with 2 working parents and 3+ kids.
Also, no one ever wants to discuss the COSTS of having a special needs child. |
Anonymous
| I just cannot relate to this perspective. I feel like if you want kids, have the kids and then figure out what your lifestyle will be. This person apparently has decided what they want their lifestyle to be and then decided kids can’t fit into it. And I respect that, but own it! Recognize that it’s not about kids, it’s about the privileged lifestyle that you want, in the area you want. |
Anonymous
It's enough to have an older single family home in an ok, but not necessarily great, area and live relatively well. |
Anonymous
| Friend just meant it wasn't enough to live the lifestyle she wants. |
Anonymous
Yes, of course this. Everything is relative. I don't understand why this discussion is so endlessly fascinating to people. It's easy to feel poor when you're not if your lifestyle or desired lifestyle is expensive. |
Anonymous
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Your friend is right OP. That's slightly below our HHI and it is hard to afford this area and still have savings at the end of the month.
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