Does anyone here live very well on very little?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:how does everyone have such low mortgages? did you all buy in the 1990s?

We live in PG County where homes are cheaper so we have a pretty low mortgage.

Commute + bad public schools make it not a good option for me.

[Anonymous]

I have a very low mortgage in Anacostia. Quick commute to work and we were doing private anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, you don't start in McLean/Arlington

you buy a condo/th and then trade up

or you buy near VRE where you can get a SFH even today for around 550kish in a good school district with a mortgage around 2500ish which should be doable for most folks

Oh, no condos do not allow you to trade up. Unless you bought before the boom; they in fact are the only housing stock NOT to recover some of the housing bust.
Living near the VRE can be nice, but you are the mercy of a pretty inflexible schedule. I have friends who live near a station and work at the l'enfant, but it doesn't work for them since they can't return early enough to pickup from daycare. Don't pretend VRE is metro; it's not even LIRR.

And you are totally screwed if your job moves. If it is not near a VRE station, switching to metro is very costly in time. It makes a lot more sense to simply live near job centers and be able to easily commute if your job moves or change jobs. Living in hinterland is a risk, and in fact those properties are depreciating -- my same friend sold their house for barely what they bought it for in 2009

[Anonymous]

I would say we live very well on relatively little just because we're older (late 40s). First of all, we just feel more secure than we did in our 30s because our 401Ks and home equity have built up and we've had 20 years to save and invest. Second, we have a much better sense of what we want and don't need.

The biggest financial difference is the mortgage. We bought our house in the 1990s before the kids for well under $500k while our new neighbors have to pay closer to $1.5M now.

The spouse loves cars, but I wasn't going to spend $80K for a Tesla. So we got a used 911 for the price of a new Accord and only Porsche aficianados can tell that its 9 years old. It's just as fast and thrilling to drive as a new one. We keep an old SUV in the driveway for when the whole family rides together, but that is pretty seldom.

We are foodies and both love to cook so the eating local and seasonal trend has really brought our food budget down. No money is wasted on tasteless California strawberries or Chilean raspberries in winter. The peaches and blueberries I put away from the summer CSA are tastier and cost next to nothing. We still do lots of dinner parties and you can afford much better wine/cocktails at home than at a restaurant. Loving to cook means we only eat out at great restaurants. When we don't cook, it's never for basic Chinese or Thai delivery or some forgettable restaurant because we're hungry. Going out once a month to a great restaurant like Filo Mare is cheaper than what we used to spend on take-out 3-4x/week. And, we don't order alcohol.

Instead of going to the Mid-Altantic beaches, we share a very rustic up-island rental on Martha's Vineyard with another family for $150/night. The plusher house next door goes to the same stretch of sand for $10k/week. Spending so little on our summer beach vacation means we can go to Paris in the fall, Puerto Rico in winter, or Zion in spring. Our kids have seen the entire world off-season (with self-created school holidays) for what some families spend on Disney.

We see tons of movies (I don't know why more people don't buy the ticket book at E Street for $8/movie) and we're regulars at the Shakespeare Theater ($25 for unsold seats 2 hours before every show). Some people might feel it's a little beneath them to get rush seats, but for me it means no guilt for paying $600 to see Hamilton on Broadway over Thanksgiving.

So yeah, it is possible to live in a nice house in a great neighborhood, drive a Porsche convertible, summer (for 2 weeks) on the Vineyard and vacation globally, enjoy the theater and film, and be treated like regulars at places like Komi on less than a big law partner draw.

[Anonymous]

Reading this thread made me think of that family and housekeeper that were killed because some low life wanted a piece of their wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reading this thread made me think of that family and housekeeper that were killed because some low life wanted a piece of their wealth.

Why? It doesn't sound like anyone here has that kind of wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say we live very well on relatively little just because we're older (late 40s). First of all, we just feel more secure than we did in our 30s because our 401Ks and home equity have built up and we've had 20 years to save and invest. Second, we have a much better sense of what we want and don't need.

The biggest financial difference is the mortgage. We bought our house in the 1990s before the kids for well under $500k while our new neighbors have to pay closer to $1.5M now.

The spouse loves cars, but I wasn't going to spend $80K for a Tesla. So we got a used 911 for the price of a new Accord and only Porsche aficianados can tell that its 9 years old. It's just as fast and thrilling to drive as a new one. We keep an old SUV in the driveway for when the whole family rides together, but that is pretty seldom.

We are foodies and both love to cook so the eating local and seasonal trend has really brought our food budget down. No money is wasted on tasteless California strawberries or Chilean raspberries in winter. The peaches and blueberries I put away from the summer CSA are tastier and cost next to nothing. We still do lots of dinner parties and you can afford much better wine/cocktails at home than at a restaurant. Loving to cook means we only eat out at great restaurants. When we don't cook, it's never for basic Chinese or Thai delivery or some forgettable restaurant because we're hungry. Going out once a month to a great restaurant like Filo Mare is cheaper than what we used to spend on take-out 3-4x/week. And, we don't order alcohol.

Instead of going to the Mid-Altantic beaches, we share a very rustic up-island rental on Martha's Vineyard with another family for $150/night. The plusher house next door goes to the same stretch of sand for $10k/week. Spending so little on our summer beach vacation means we can go to Paris in the fall, Puerto Rico in winter, or Zion in spring. Our kids have seen the entire world off-season (with self-created school holidays) for what some families spend on Disney.

We see tons of movies (I don't know why more people don't buy the ticket book at E Street for $8/movie) and we're regulars at the Shakespeare Theater ($25 for unsold seats 2 hours before every show). Some people might feel it's a little beneath them to get rush seats, but for me it means no guilt for paying $600 to see Hamilton on Broadway over Thanksgiving.

So yeah, it is possible to live in a nice house in a great neighborhood, drive a Porsche convertible, summer (for 2 weeks) on the Vineyard and vacation globally, enjoy the theater and film, and be treated like regulars at places like Komi on less than a big law partner draw.

Get over yourself. Its only because you have one foot in the grave, er, are old and bought before the housing boom/bubble.

[Anonymous]

It's threads like these that make me appreciate the area I live in and the lifestyle that allows me to lead. Our HHI is about $180k. Our house was $330k (mortgage, PITI is $1700/month), and that bought a new build, 3400 SF home, two miles from downtown. Our public schools are pretty good. Child care costs are low. We are able to max out retirement savings and save for college starting when the kids were babies. The job market here is good, and my husband could replace his job easily if he lost his current one. Mine would be harder to replace.

It's a low-stress, financially freeing way to live. I save where I can when it's not too much trouble, but I have no problem dropping cash for the things I want. Having low living costs really frees you up for all the other things you want.

You all should move!

[Anonymous]

Where do you live 2 miles from downtown DC that you can buy a new house for so little?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:how does everyone have such low mortgages? did you all buy in the 1990s?

We live in PG County where homes are cheaper so we have a pretty low mortgage.

Commute + bad public schools make it not a good option for me.

I'm just saying let's not act like 'affordable' mortgages aren't available in the DC area because they absolutely are. It's just that you've decided to limit yourself so of course when you see a low mortgage it's surprising to you.

I'm not sure where you work, but PG does border DC so it's a good option for many people who want a reasonable commute. Hyattsville, Mt Ranier, Cheverly, etc all border DC. My own commute is around 25 minutes. We really wanted to purchase a home based on one income in case I decided to stay home or something happened to one of our jobs.

Real estate is actually in high demand in PG right now as well and is appreciating at a faster rate than any other county in the state. My house has appreciated substantially, so it's not just allowed me a cheap mortgage but proved to be a good investment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/the-fall-real-estate-market-in-maryland/2015/09/29/45006dec-51aa-11e5-933e-7d06c647a395_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's threads like these that make me appreciate the area I live in and the lifestyle that allows me to lead. Our HHI is about $180k. Our house was $330k (mortgage, PITI is $1700/month), and that bought a new build, 3400 SF home, two miles from downtown. Our public schools are pretty good. Child care costs are low. We are able to max out retirement savings and save for college starting when the kids were babies. The job market here is good, and my husband could replace his job easily if he lost his current one. Mine would be harder to replace.

It's a low-stress, financially freeing way to live. I save where I can when it's not too much trouble, but I have no problem dropping cash for the things I want. Having low living costs really frees you up for all the other things you want.

You all should move!

What part of the country is this? I would guess TX?

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]how does everyone have such low mortgages? did you all buy in the 1990s? [/quote]

We live in PG County where homes are cheaper so we have a pretty low mortgage. [/quote]

Commute + bad public schools make it not a good option for me.
[/quote]

I'm just saying let's not act like 'affordable' mortgages aren't available in the DC area because they absolutely are. It's just that you've decided to limit yourself so of course when you see a low mortgage it's surprising to you.

I'm not sure where you work, but PG does border DC so it's a good option for many people who want a reasonable commute. Hyattsville, Mt Ranier, Cheverly, etc all border DC. My own commute is around 25 minutes. We really wanted to purchase a home based on one income in case I decided to stay home or something happened to one of our jobs.

Real estate is actually in high demand in PG right now as well and is appreciating at a faster rate than any other county in the state. My house has appreciated substantially, so it's not just allowed me a cheap mortgage but proved to be a good investment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/the-fall-real-estate-market-in-maryland/2015/09/29/45006dec-51aa-11e5-933e-7d06c647a395_story.html
[/quote]

This only works if you don't have kids. There are lots of affordable places if kids not in picture. For most people, the higher mortgage payment is a far better deal and builds more wealth than private school. You could do PG public schools I guess, but then you risk kids will have trouble transitioning to college (I came from a sub par school system and it was rough), and underemployed children can be a very big expense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's threads like these that make me appreciate the area I live in and the lifestyle that allows me to lead. Our HHI is about $180k. Our house was $330k (mortgage, PITI is $1700/month), and that bought a new build, 3400 SF home, two miles from downtown. Our public schools are pretty good. Child care costs are low. We are able to max out retirement savings and save for college starting when the kids were babies. The job market here is good, and my husband could replace his job easily if he lost his current one. Mine would be harder to replace.

It's a low-stress, financially freeing way to live. I save where I can when it's not too much trouble, but I have no problem dropping cash for the things I want. Having low living costs really frees you up for all the other things you want.

You all should move!

What part of the country is this? I would guess TX?

I'm in Raleigh, NC, but there are a ton of great places to live that don't cost an arm and a leg...TX would be another, but it's a little too hot for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's threads like these that make me appreciate the area I live in and the lifestyle that allows me to lead. Our HHI is about $180k. Our house was $330k (mortgage, PITI is $1700/month), and that bought a new build, 3400 SF home, two miles from downtown. Our public schools are pretty good. Child care costs are low. We are able to max out retirement savings and save for college starting when the kids were babies. The job market here is good, and my husband could replace his job easily if he lost his current one. Mine would be harder to replace.

It's a low-stress, financially freeing way to live. I save where I can when it's not too much trouble, but I have no problem dropping cash for the things I want. Having low living costs really frees you up for all the other things you want.

You all should move!

What part of the country is this? I would guess TX?

All of flyover country is like this so you have a very large area to choose from. So move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150ish HHI

2 working parents, 4 kids

Nice $650k house (with a low mortgage thanks to the huge profit we made on our first home), but nothing too fancy

Way out in the burbs in a nice school district that is essentially Family Town, USA

Plenty of money for sports and activities

Lots of travel (but nothing too exotic--we only fly as a family once every year or two)

Our cars are older, but functional.

We are fairly frugal, but aren't afraid to splurge.

DH and I are vested in pensions and saving for retirement.

Saving for college, but planning on state schools.

We don't feel like money is tight (except for my pet peeve of not being able to afford a beach house or take more exotic vacations).


I think people with more money piss through it unnecessarily. If we made $250 instead of $150, we wouldn't change much (we wouldn't buy a more expensive home or new cars). Instead, we would probably save more (for college) and take more expensive vacations.

You sounded quite nice till this comment. No most people with more money simply pay more for mortgage b/c they didn't get to buy before the boom. Why don't you accept your luck rather than pissing on others?

I posted that comment because I actually know several people (including my siblings) who piss away their money. Here are just a few examples:

- dropping $100-150 at restaurants 2-3 times a week plus going out to lunch during the week regularly
- dropping $100-200/week on beer, wine and booze (and sometimes more)
- new cars every few years (luxury type)
- shopping like it's a competitive sport
- buying the latest electronic gadget for everyone in the house every year
- concert tickets for the latest tween sensation 2-3 times a year (often with a limo or hotel stay)
- new jackets, boots, clothing and gear every season to stay on trend
- multiple purses, wallets and watches each year (for mom and daughter)
- expensive vacations

And they whine about never having money, how expensive it is to live here, and that they have so much credit card debt.

These are people my age or older, so their mortgages could have been decent like mine...but they sprung for a more expensive home or used their house like an ATM to pay for major renovations or trips.

So I stand by my comment: some people do piss away their money. We don't.