What is your income to allow one parent to stay at home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even when DH was earning 200k, I didn't think we could make it. When you stay home, you tend to spend money. I would hate to be home all the time with no money to spend on activities and vacations.

This has not been our experience.

I know SAHMs who don't send their kids to preschool, never eat out, can't afford gym memberships, can't join the pool, etc. I would not want to live that way. As kids get older, their activities also start adding up. I'm a SAHM and we still spend $5k+ on just summer camp.

Why are you spending that kind of money on summer camp if you're SAhm? The whole point of sahm is not outsourcing all day childcare.

So they have something fun to do and I can get some time to myself. They're only there for 6 hours which is about the same as school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even when DH was earning 200k, I didn't think we could make it. When you stay home, you tend to spend money. I would hate to be home all the time with no money to spend on activities and vacations.

This has not been our experience.

I know SAHMs who don't send their kids to preschool, never eat out, can't afford gym memberships, can't join the pool, etc. I would not want to live that way. As kids get older, their activities also start adding up. I'm a SAHM and we still spend $5k+ on just summer camp.

Why are you spending that kind of money on summer camp if you're SAhm? The whole point of sahm is not outsourcing all day childcare.

So they have something fun to do and I can get some time to myself. They're only there for 6 hours which is about the same as school.

It's not childcare, it's lessons and fun with other kids. Childcare is the extended camp day we use which is kind of boring and wish we could avoid. Core camp is great -- I would love a week of tennis!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

[Anonymous]

$300. Suburb of MD.
Public schools, no debt except mortgage, no student loans, no childcare expense, two paid off cars (we keep each for 8-10 years) very low mortgage on a 3000 + sqft SFH, lots of insurance (5mil), pension and retirement on track, 5 years of state school tuition for three kids paid, one or two big overseas vacation a year (around 15 K total cost). We do eat out, we do have cleaning service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

You are silly. Almost everyone in this area is somewhat house-poor, but that changes as people get raises, child care costs disappear.

I'm a single mom making 80K but still have a nice roomy townhouse inside the beltway with great schools. There are options out there, you need a good realtor to help you find them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

Where the fsck do you find a $320k house with decent schools?? There's saying when and then there is crazy town (though I hear houses there run abut $200k!)

Moving to flyover country won't be a panacea since most $100k careers don't earn that amount (or exist) there.

[Anonymous]

We make around $300k, I work PT @ home, so not a complete SAHM. I keep the kids on snow days, teacher workdays, all summer long! They have outgrown 'childcare' camps, and only want to do the ones in their sports which cost $300+ a week. Ouch! For a few more years, I can write off the cost of these day camps since I'm self-employed. Older kid will be 15 in June, so I'm working on a summer job.

I cook most meals at home, shop at Costco, take in a lot of hand-me-downs and shop eBay for clothes. I also fix a lot around the house - I'm pretty handy. I splurge on weekly cleaning service - mainly because my DH doesn't clean on my schedule. And his schedule is monthly! Paying for cleaning and summer camps was (were?) the main reason I took my PT job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

Where the fsck do you find a $320k house with decent schools?? There's saying when and then there is crazy town (though I hear houses there run abut $200k!)

Moving to flyover country won't be a panacea since most $100k careers don't earn that amount (or exist) there.

Plenty of houses in that price range. Ours was $360000 but its a very small home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

Where the fsck do you find a $320k house with decent schools?? There's saying when and then there is crazy town (though I hear houses there run abut $200k!)

Moving to flyover country won't be a panacea since most $100k careers don't earn that amount (or exist) there.

Plenty of houses in that price range. Ours was $360000 but its a very small home.

Schools? Commute? I don't care about size but the first two are what trip is up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

$350k homes don't exist in DC unless they are in extremely dangerous areas or studio apartments. Both aren't suitable for raising a family.

In terms of flyover country - you'll end up making a lot less money over your career. Houses are less expensive but salaries are lower and most places require two cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

Where the fsck do you find a $320k house with decent schools?? There's saying when and then there is crazy town (though I hear houses there run abut $200k!)

Moving to flyover country won't be a panacea since most $100k careers don't earn that amount (or exist) there.

Plenty of houses in that price range. Ours was $360000 but its a very small home.

Schools? Commute? I don't care about size but the first two are what trip is up.

Really curious where this is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

Where the fsck do you find a $320k house with decent schools?? There's saying when and then there is crazy town (though I hear houses there run abut $200k!)

Moving to flyover country won't be a panacea since most $100k careers don't earn that amount (or exist) there.

Actually 100k professional careers exist in flyover country. We moved to the Kansas City area for my 175k/yr job. Within 3 months of moving here my wife found a job for 125k. We are living amazingly well here. The pace here is also slower. No soul crushing hours, no traffic nightmares. Our mortgage is $1,000/mo because of all the equity we brought with us.

I do like reading these boards when I can't sleep as a reminder of all the "fun" we are missing out on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real answer is that it varies (obviously). If you require the 8000 sqft Hardieplank McMonstrosity, a few European cars in the driveway and the girls at Madiera then the number is a lot higher than if you buy a sensible home that isn't ridiculously oversized and sensible cars and drive them until they actually need replacement. Granted, a certain base level income is needed in order for it to work at all, but that number certainly isn't >200k.

Its not the mcmansions or fancy cars; a run down house within 45 minutes of the city is going to be at least $800k if you want good schools. That's about $3500k PITI, and you can't swing that with standard 1/3 housing cost equation (assuming 20% down) for less than $190k or so. Even GS15 won't make it swing, so you are looking at long commute or crummy schools. Maybe a townhouse would bump that down a little, maybe.

Many save first and have a larger down payment that makes the mortgage feasible.

So save up what $400k dollars before having kids?? That seems pretty infeasible for folks with $100k incomes...

Right, then you can't live here or one of you can't stay home. I don't know why this is such a hard topic on forums. $100k HHI shouldn't take on a mortgage greater than $200k-$250k or so tops. If you can't find housing that works for you in that price range then move further out or to flyover country. Shitloads of people in this area are house poor because they don't seem to know when to say when on the housing budget.

Where the fsck do you find a $320k house with decent schools?? There's saying when and then there is crazy town (though I hear houses there run abut $200k!)

Moving to flyover country won't be a panacea since most $100k careers don't earn that amount (or exist) there.

Actually 100k professional careers exist in flyover country. We moved to the Kansas City area for my 175k/yr job. Within 3 months of moving here my wife found a job for 125k. We are living amazingly well here. The pace here is also slower. No soul crushing hours, no traffic nightmares. Our mortgage is $1,000/mo because of all the equity we brought with us.

I do like reading these boards when I can't sleep as a reminder of all the "fun" we are missing out on.

No there really aren't that many 300k hhis in Kansas City.