Goldman Sachs: 40% of $400-500K and $500K+ households “live paycheck to paycheck”

[Anonymous]

Sounds like the wealthy need some tax relief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people in this bracket are the ones trying to keep up with the Joneses. So they have multiple car notes, possibly two mortgages if they want a second place, etc.

I agree!!! I live in a neighborhood of people like this…

We used to rent my mom's house when she went to assisted living and it was in a wealthy area. I was shocked when I saw the prospective tenants' applications. They made huge salaries but had things like 20k a month payments to Amex and expensive car payments. Some people spend a lot so even with all the examples of people who do it right, it's not hard to believe there are high earners living paycheck to paycheck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Our interest rate is actually 6.5%. The mortgage is low because we bought a house we could afford with 35% down after saving for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

Have you ever had or do you plan to have daycare, school, or college costs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

Have you ever had or do you plan to have daycare, school, or college costs?

For new families, day care is so costly, mortgage rates are still high, you have to start saving in a 529 plan from birth to have enough to pay for college, and health care costs are rising, and many have student loan payments. We older millennials or Gen Xers with 2.8% mortgages and older kids can't really compare ourselves to the late twenties cohort just starting to settle down and have kids with two working parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

Have you ever had or do you plan to have daycare, school, or college costs?

My wife parents stayed with us to take care of daycare, and school. My Asian parents gave us 750K for taking care of two kids college education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, we save about 150K a year through deductions from our checks. There are months we're sort of paycheck to paycheck (neber doing without, but making different decisions) but this is just not accurate in terms of what paycheck to paycheck means, unless someone has taken out a 3m mortgage.

It doesn’t describe your situation but it describes a lot of people. After taxes, expenses, deductions, kids, they aren’t saving, they are spending like they are part of the 1%.

$500k doesn’t go far IF you’re buying a $3 million dollar house, two $80k cars, flying off to wherever the rich people go. If people are understanding what they can afford based on their salaries they will be a lot happier. And have more money in their pockets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

Have you ever had or do you plan to have daycare, school, or college costs?

My wife parents stayed with us to take care of daycare, and school. My Asian parents gave us 750K for taking care of two kids college education.

How are you in a fully paid off $3.5M home? Parents, or a lucky NVIDIA-like investment? Or hopped from another field like owning a business you sold into fed gov? Numbers don’t make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

Have you ever had or do you plan to have daycare, school, or college costs?

For new families, day care is so costly, mortgage rates are still high, you have to start saving in a 529 plan from birth to have enough to pay for college, and health care costs are rising, and many have student loan payments. We older millennials or Gen Xers with 2.8% mortgages and older kids can't really compare ourselves to the late twenties cohort just starting to settle down and have kids with two working parents.

This. We’ve got a $6K PITI on $700K mortgage. Neighbors who refinanced during COVID pay same PITI on their $1.3M mortgages. That’s a $600K decrease in buying power over 3-4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

Have you ever had or do you plan to have daycare, school, or college costs?

My wife parents stayed with us to take care of daycare, and school. My Asian parents gave us 750K for taking care of two kids college education.

How are you in a fully paid off $3.5M home? Parents, or a lucky NVIDIA-like investment? Or hopped from another field like owning a business you sold into fed gov? Numbers don’t make sense.

their math is not normal math. I had a staff member who make 120K with a husband who make 80K and they lived in a 2 million dollar home in Bethesda parents gifted them in some crazy way and then parents now zero assets moved into Waverly House low income in Bethesda for almost free, had all types of freebies. Thats how she did it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

Have you ever had or do you plan to have daycare, school, or college costs?

My wife parents stayed with us to take care of daycare, and school. My Asian parents gave us 750K for taking care of two kids college education.

How are you in a fully paid off $3.5M home? Parents, or a lucky NVIDIA-like investment? Or hopped from another field like owning a business you sold into fed gov? Numbers don’t make sense.

His parents gave them $750k for college education. So I’m assuming graduated no debt, no daycare costs, and they can take some high risk investments because they are backstopped by rich parents. Maybe down payment help but who knows?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

You elderly people with low to no mortgage, boomer energy vibes (genx is boomer as well)

[Anonymous]

You should be embarrassed to make 400k a year Anyone can make that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make about $450k. We max out most deductions, have a $4,800 mortgage payment, no daycare or debt and we pay cash for cars and vacations, and I can not fathom paying for a nanny, dual private, country club, and cleaning. When college comes we have savings. No quarterly tax payments (we're regular employees).

Must be nice to have such a low mortgage

Two GS-15 Fed on 375K HHI. No mortgage on a 3.5M home in McLean, no car payment on two 2024 Lexus vehicles, 2M in TSP and 4M in investment. I only pay utilities, property tax, home insurance, home maintenance. I am a sucker for guitar and piano. I recently bought a 150K piano and three vintage guitars for 40K each, without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot left over on both paychecks.

What’s your point other than to brag? What did you pay for your house (not what is it worth)? I’m assuming you pay at least $35K a year in property taxes. Inheritance or stock market picking a winner or two because there is no way you could do that with $375K HHI.