100k HHI in suburban envirnoment, and we live like kings. AMA.

[Anonymous]

DP - I feel like someone asked what we drove and if we owned it some pages back. We own a pair of Honda Odysseys - used, of course - bought in cash. We bought them for safety, reliability, and so we wouldn't need to play the upgrade game if we had additional kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But living simply and scrimping and saving does not equal living like kings. Your post is mistitled.

I don't see any scrimping in our lifestyle. I also don't think living well means spending every last dollar and then some; by definition, if you aren't doing that, you're saving. And regarding simple living--we're living a life that makes us happy, all of our needs are met, and we don't have too many wants. If your definition of living well is based primarily on things you can't have, then you're always going to see yourself as living like a pauper. That's not the way we see the world.

But that's not how kings live. Kings do not live simply. Kings do not homeschool.

This is why the title of the post is misleading. Because you are happy and content with how much you earn and how you live does not mean you are living like a king. At least be honest about that.

They may not be living like kings by *your* standards, but they are by theirs. Isnt that what matters?

Absolutely! But to come on DCUM and entitle a post "living like Kings" then I'd venture a guess that most people are thinking they are indeed living somewhat luxuriously. Which they are clearly not. I think a more appropriate title would be something like "100K HHI in a suburban environment and we are extremely happy"

Ha, I just saw this. To us, we're definitely living luxuriously--compared to most in the US and definitely compared to most on Earth. It doesn't bother us that some folks out there spend more or buy more things.

But it does seem to bother you, given you went out of your way to justify your lifestyle and HHI.

[Anonymous]

I’m impressed with how much you give to charity, OP. So many people on here give so little or nothing with a six figure income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:where do you live? how did you pay off your house in early 30s?

Without entering into too many details, we're in Delaware. We paid off the house in our mid 20s within 4 years of purchase by making sure it didn't cost more than 2x our income; at the time, we made 50k, so we bought a 100k house on a 15-year mortgage. Made extra payments from the start, salaries went up, killed it off.

Well prepare to get your sheet jumped. Some people here will rip you because you don't live here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m impressed with how much you give to charity, OP. So many people on here give so little or nothing with a six figure income.

Thank you! We made it a goal to give 10%+ each year without exceptions, based on the assumption that it's an amount we could always live without. If our HHI were to drop to 50k overnight, then we could spare 5k. If we retired on 25k, we could spare 2.5k, etc. I'm not going to lie and tell you I don't sometimes think of how we'd have more in retirement / etc if we kept it all, but whenever I then think of how so many people around the world are trying to do basic things like drink water not infested with cholera or not get bitten by mosquitoes carrying malaria, it really makes hand-wringing about whether we'll have 1M or 2M in retirement seem silly.

[Anonymous]

So you’re okay with being average? Congratulations!

I always wondered what happened to the straight B students in high school.

[Anonymous]

Okay I'll play. I'm a nanny and my 4 bedroom condo is paid off in SF. Not DC but the cost of living is higher here! My parents bought me the condominium though so all my money is play money and I don't have to live in Delaware!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay I'll play. I'm a nanny and my 4 bedroom condo is paid off in SF. Not DC but the cost of living is higher here! My parents bought me the condominium though so all my money is play money and I don't have to live in Delaware!!!!

NP here. Jealous of you. That aside, i have friends in both wilmington and lewes de, and both families love delaware!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:where do you live? how did you pay off your house in early 30s?

Without entering into too many details, we're in Delaware. We paid off the house in our mid 20s within 4 years of purchase by making sure it didn't cost more than 2x our income; at the time, we made 50k, so we bought a 100k house on a 15-year mortgage. Made extra payments from the start, salaries went up, killed it off.

Well prepare to get your sheet jumped. Some people here will rip you because you don't live here

Yup, that's pretty standard in these threads. It's always interesting, though, because the COLA calculators are pretty consistent in each thread. Our lifestyle would cost ~150k in DC. That's still well under the 300k people declare to be barely middle class. Yet lots of posters come back with the cognitive distortion of claiming that a.) it would cost far, far, far more to live like that in DC while simultaneously claiming b.) we're living like paupers. Which is it? Would it take hundreds of thousands more to live this well in DC, or are we really suffering compared to those in DC?

[Anonymous]

Nanny again- I've never actually been to Delaware and I'm sure it's nice but I need to live in a big city because of my job. There's andent many high paying nanny jobs outside SF, LA, NYC and maybe Seattle or places in Texas.

[Anonymous]

*there aren't many high paying

[Anonymous]

This is what you get for 100k in Washington DC

http://www.longandfoster.com/homes-for-sale/2201-Hunter-Place-SE-UNIT-201-Washington-DC-20020-219096413

Trying to use the Delaware suburbs to set a comparison is a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

NP here. My spouse and I are teachers also. We used to live in a major city where housing in a safe area was comparable to DC. We couldn't afford it and had to live in a sketchy neighborhood with not so great schools. We moved to a suburb that wasn't so fancy or expensive. Our house is super simple, we don't take nice vacations, we share one car, we save like crazy but we do have a nice life. For me, I lived in developing countries for part of my life and I've seen how most of the world lives. And yes, comparatively, we live like kings. We have clean water, healthy food, healthcare and a roof over our heads. Our children have a lot of what they want. Happiness doesn't have much to do with income, it has to do with relationships. And while DC is expensive, no one is forcing anyone to live there. There's an entire nation that has a lot to offer.

[Anonymous]

Ive often wished that DH and/or I had jobs we could take anywhere: teachers, medical professionals, etc. We have friends who have moved to much lower COL areas, akin to what OP has going on, and love it.

Unfortunately DH has a specialized career field that limits our options to very high cost of living areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. My spouse and I are teachers also. We used to live in a major city where housing in a safe area was comparable to DC. We couldn't afford it and had to live in a sketchy neighborhood with not so great schools. We moved to a suburb that wasn't so fancy or expensive. Our house is super simple, we don't take nice vacations, we share one car, we save like crazy but we do have a nice life. For me, I lived in developing countries for part of my life and I've seen how most of the world lives. And yes, comparatively, we live like kings. We have clean water, healthy food, healthcare and a roof over our heads. Our children have a lot of what they want. Happiness doesn't have much to do with income, it has to do with relationships. And while DC is expensive, no one is forcing anyone to live there. There's an entire nation that has a lot to offer.

Nailed it, every word.