Why are DCUM salaries so much higher than in "real life"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know DC is a HCOL area so salaries are higher than normal, but the $400K-$2M salaries that are often bandied about here are so unreal to me. I can only think of three possibilities to explain this:

1) DCUM is a congregation that specifically attracts this small subset of high earners

2) These salaries are more common than I think, and they simply go unnoticed because people generally don't talk about money openly

3) People are lying liars who lie about their income.

Which is it?

Almost every person who posts on this site is lying and exaggerating. There is another current post in Money and Finance on having a 15 year vs. 30 year mortgage. What’s interesting there, is that every sound and conservative advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the way to go. Yet on DCUM, there is a high concentration of vehement opposition to a 15 year and support for a 30 year. This makes no sense for a group that is allegedly pulling in $500K+ in HHI. People on here know enough to lie about HHI, net worth, and home values. But, they’re not smart enough to know about the less obvious wealth revealing indicators. I especially like the ones in their mid-30s they already have 1M+ in their 401k and retirement plans. A near impossibility given federal limits on annual contributions. They’re just to dumb to know this isn’t possible.

Actually, when your income is that high and the mortgage rates were as low as they were recently, it made total sense to go with a 30 year mortgage. At that level of income, your home is a small part of your wealth and you should be aiming to keep things flexible.

Same, the 30-year made much more sense for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are Biglaw high earners billing the hours they spend on DCUM bragging about their incomes?

Yes almost always. This is the stress relief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are Biglaw high earners billing the hours they spend on DCUM bragging about their incomes?

Yes almost always. This is the stress relief.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think depends on your social circle. We are in Austin and think two directors at a non FAANG tech company think HP, Dell, Oracle kin. We both are directors and thanks to a promotion, job change and performance based stocks, our HHI went for 400k to almost 700k this year. I know plenty folks at VP, Director level dual income who pull in around that. That said, our net worth is only $3M as the salary increase has been pretty recent. But we are mid 40s, kids in public school and a mortgage of $350k and zero intention of paying it early. It is a 30 year mortgage. I lie sometimes to preserve anonymity so for example our HHI can be 670k but I list as 700k, change kids gender or ages by 1-2 years, again directionally correct.

This is me but in DC area. Actually net worth is lower but had similar recent income jumps due to promotions.

[Anonymous]

People lie. You see it on Fishbowl, too, with people talking about mid-six figure total comp that includes unvested equity, the highest possible performance bonus they can receive ... no no no. What is your take-home pay? A lot less impressive, that's for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it’s a self selecting group of contributors in a HCOL highly educated area. It’s like going skiing in Colorado and asking why HHI there seems so much higher than at the Minnesota state fair.

For another example, if you went to a trump rally in Michigan, you would get a lot of salaries that are much lower than the DCUM reality.

At least at the fair you can get Sweet Martha's Cookies!

[Anonymous]

The people with high salaries are the people volunteering that information. If there is a thread asking what is your salary, I just don't respond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know DC is a HCOL area so salaries are higher than normal, but the $400K-$2M salaries that are often bandied about here are so unreal to me. I can only think of three possibilities to explain this:

1) DCUM is a congregation that specifically attracts this small subset of high earners

2) These salaries are more common than I think, and they simply go unnoticed because people generally don't talk about money openly

3) People are lying liars who lie about their income.

Which is it?

Almost every person who posts on this site is lying and exaggerating. There is another current post in Money and Finance on having a 15 year vs. 30 year mortgage. What’s interesting there, is that every sound and conservative advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the way to go. Yet on DCUM, there is a high concentration of vehement opposition to a 15 year and support for a 30 year. This makes no sense for a group that is allegedly pulling in $500K+ in HHI. People on here know enough to lie about HHI, net worth, and home values. But, they’re not smart enough to know about the less obvious wealth revealing indicators. I especially like the ones in their mid-30s they already have 1M+ in their 401k and retirement plans. A near impossibility given federal limits on annual contributions. They’re just to dumb to know this isn’t possible.

NP here. I haven't read the "15 year mortgage" thread but I can tell you this: while it may be true that every "conservative" advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the "way to go," not every "sound" financial advisor thinks that way. There are many "sound" ways to use mortgage financing and for many wealthy people a 30 year mortgage makes sense.

I've lied and exaggerated about things on DCUM but have been very accurate and precise about my income. I retired early, but when I was working I made very good money -- I averaged over $700k my last ten years on the job -- and I never even considered a 15 year mortgage. I will agree, though, they many posters likely lie about the size of their retirement portfolios and net worth. It's very hard for folks in their 30s and even 40s to accumulate assets along the lines being described here.

Yeah. That 15 year mortgage advice is not always right for high earners. I was over 400k starting in 2005 same year as I bought 2.3 million house. Was a new big law partner We had 30 year and used money to jump start college funds/beach home account/extra retirement. Could not do that with 15 year payments Paid off mortgage completely by year 10.

Maybe some extra money added in by some posters. But in Biglaw alone, there are probably a few thousand in DC over 400k as that is mid/senior level associate money.

You don’t sound too smart. Just living beyond your means to project a false sense of early success like most people in Big Law. What kind of clown gets a 30-year mortgage and then pays it off in 10 years? Why not just get a 10-year mortgage to start…unless…you weren’t able to qualify for one on your paltry $400K salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know DC is a HCOL area so salaries are higher than normal, but the $400K-$2M salaries that are often bandied about here are so unreal to me. I can only think of three possibilities to explain this:

1) DCUM is a congregation that specifically attracts this small subset of high earners

2) These salaries are more common than I think, and they simply go unnoticed because people generally don't talk about money openly

3) People are lying liars who lie about their income.

Which is it?

Almost every person who posts on this site is lying and exaggerating. There is another current post in Money and Finance on having a 15 year vs. 30 year mortgage. What’s interesting there, is that every sound and conservative advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the way to go. Yet on DCUM, there is a high concentration of vehement opposition to a 15 year and support for a 30 year. This makes no sense for a group that is allegedly pulling in $500K+ in HHI. People on here know enough to lie about HHI, net worth, and home values. But, they’re not smart enough to know about the less obvious wealth revealing indicators. I especially like the ones in their mid-30s they already have 1M+ in their 401k and retirement plans. A near impossibility given federal limits on annual contributions. They’re just to dumb to know this isn’t possible.

NP here. I haven't read the "15 year mortgage" thread but I can tell you this: while it may be true that every "conservative" advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the "way to go," not every "sound" financial advisor thinks that way. There are many "sound" ways to use mortgage financing and for many wealthy people a 30 year mortgage makes sense.

I've lied and exaggerated about things on DCUM but have been very accurate and precise about my income. I retired early, but when I was working I made very good money -- I averaged over $700k my last ten years on the job -- and I never even considered a 15 year mortgage. I will agree, though, they many posters likely lie about the size of their retirement portfolios and net worth. It's very hard for folks in their 30s and even 40s to accumulate assets along the lines being described here.

Yeah. That 15 year mortgage advice is not always right for high earners. I was over 400k starting in 2005 same year as I bought 2.3 million house. Was a new big law partner We had 30 year and used money to jump start college funds/beach home account/extra retirement. Could not do that with 15 year payments Paid off mortgage completely by year 10.

Maybe some extra money added in by some posters. But in Biglaw alone, there are probably a few thousand in DC over 400k as that is mid/senior level associate money.

You don’t sound too smart. Just living beyond your means to project a false sense of early success like most people in Big Law. What kind of clown gets a 30-year mortgage and then pays it off in 10 years? Why not just get a 10-year mortgage to start…unless…you weren’t able to qualify for one on your paltry $400K salary.

Because that was not a priority. Priority was the house --- not living beyond means by any stretch. Who would get a 10 year mortgage -- that is stupid. Why deal with those payments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know DC is a HCOL area so salaries are higher than normal, but the $400K-$2M salaries that are often bandied about here are so unreal to me. I can only think of three possibilities to explain this:

1) DCUM is a congregation that specifically attracts this small subset of high earners

2) These salaries are more common than I think, and they simply go unnoticed because people generally don't talk about money openly

3) People are lying liars who lie about their income.

Which is it?

Almost every person who posts on this site is lying and exaggerating. There is another current post in Money and Finance on having a 15 year vs. 30 year mortgage. What’s interesting there, is that every sound and conservative advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the way to go. Yet on DCUM, there is a high concentration of vehement opposition to a 15 year and support for a 30 year. This makes no sense for a group that is allegedly pulling in $500K+ in HHI. People on here know enough to lie about HHI, net worth, and home values. But, they’re not smart enough to know about the less obvious wealth revealing indicators. I especially like the ones in their mid-30s they already have 1M+ in their 401k and retirement plans. A near impossibility given federal limits on annual contributions. They’re just to dumb to know this isn’t possible.

NP here. I haven't read the "15 year mortgage" thread but I can tell you this: while it may be true that every "conservative" advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the "way to go," not every "sound" financial advisor thinks that way. There are many "sound" ways to use mortgage financing and for many wealthy people a 30 year mortgage makes sense.

I've lied and exaggerated about things on DCUM but have been very accurate and precise about my income. I retired early, but when I was working I made very good money -- I averaged over $700k my last ten years on the job -- and I never even considered a 15 year mortgage. I will agree, though, they many posters likely lie about the size of their retirement portfolios and net worth. It's very hard for folks in their 30s and even 40s to accumulate assets along the lines being described here.

Yeah. That 15 year mortgage advice is not always right for high earners. I was over 400k starting in 2005 same year as I bought 2.3 million house. Was a new big law partner We had 30 year and used money to jump start college funds/beach home account/extra retirement. Could not do that with 15 year payments Paid off mortgage completely by year 10.

Maybe some extra money added in by some posters. But in Biglaw alone, there are probably a few thousand in DC over 400k as that is mid/senior level associate money.

You don’t sound too smart. Just living beyond your means to project a false sense of early success like most people in Big Law. What kind of clown gets a 30-year mortgage and then pays it off in 10 years? Why not just get a 10-year mortgage to start…unless…you weren’t able to qualify for one on your paltry $400K salary.

Because that was not a priority. Priority was the house --- not living beyond means by any stretch. Who would get a 10 year mortgage -- that is stupid. Why deal with those payments?

News Flash, Sherlock. A 30-year mortgage paid off in ten years is essentially a 10-year mortgage, but with a higher interest rate than a real one. Definitely makes sense to flush money down the drain instead of using it to build wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know DC is a HCOL area so salaries are higher than normal, but the $400K-$2M salaries that are often bandied about here are so unreal to me. I can only think of three possibilities to explain this:

1) DCUM is a congregation that specifically attracts this small subset of high earners

2) These salaries are more common than I think, and they simply go unnoticed because people generally don't talk about money openly

3) People are lying liars who lie about their income.

Which is it?

Almost every person who posts on this site is lying and exaggerating. There is another current post in Money and Finance on having a 15 year vs. 30 year mortgage. What’s interesting there, is that every sound and conservative advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the way to go. Yet on DCUM, there is a high concentration of vehement opposition to a 15 year and support for a 30 year. This makes no sense for a group that is allegedly pulling in $500K+ in HHI. People on here know enough to lie about HHI, net worth, and home values. But, they’re not smart enough to know about the less obvious wealth revealing indicators. I especially like the ones in their mid-30s they already have 1M+ in their 401k and retirement plans. A near impossibility given federal limits on annual contributions. They’re just to dumb to know this isn’t possible.

NP here. I haven't read the "15 year mortgage" thread but I can tell you this: while it may be true that every "conservative" advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the "way to go," not every "sound" financial advisor thinks that way. There are many "sound" ways to use mortgage financing and for many wealthy people a 30 year mortgage makes sense.

I've lied and exaggerated about things on DCUM but have been very accurate and precise about my income. I retired early, but when I was working I made very good money -- I averaged over $700k my last ten years on the job -- and I never even considered a 15 year mortgage. I will agree, though, they many posters likely lie about the size of their retirement portfolios and net worth. It's very hard for folks in their 30s and even 40s to accumulate assets along the lines being described here.

Yeah. That 15 year mortgage advice is not always right for high earners. I was over 400k starting in 2005 same year as I bought 2.3 million house. Was a new big law partner We had 30 year and used money to jump start college funds/beach home account/extra retirement. Could not do that with 15 year payments Paid off mortgage completely by year 10.

Maybe some extra money added in by some posters. But in Biglaw alone, there are probably a few thousand in DC over 400k as that is mid/senior level associate money.

You don’t sound too smart. Just living beyond your means to project a false sense of early success like most people in Big Law. What kind of clown gets a 30-year mortgage and then pays it off in 10 years? Why not just get a 10-year mortgage to start…unless…you weren’t able to qualify for one on your paltry $400K salary.

Because that was not a priority. Priority was the house --- not living beyond means by any stretch. Who would get a 10 year mortgage -- that is stupid. Why deal with those payments?

News Flash, Sherlock. A 30-year mortgage paid off in ten years is essentially a 10-year mortgage, but with a higher interest rate than a real one. Definitely makes sense to flush money down the drain instead of using it to build wealth.

News flash. a 10yr mortgage is a horrendous tool to build wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know DC is a HCOL area so salaries are higher than normal, but the $400K-$2M salaries that are often bandied about here are so unreal to me. I can only think of three possibilities to explain this:

1) DCUM is a congregation that specifically attracts this small subset of high earners

2) These salaries are more common than I think, and they simply go unnoticed because people generally don't talk about money openly

3) People are lying liars who lie about their income.

Which is it?

Almost every person who posts on this site is lying and exaggerating. There is another current post in Money and Finance on having a 15 year vs. 30 year mortgage. What’s interesting there, is that every sound and conservative advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the way to go. Yet on DCUM, there is a high concentration of vehement opposition to a 15 year and support for a 30 year. This makes no sense for a group that is allegedly pulling in $500K+ in HHI. People on here know enough to lie about HHI, net worth, and home values. But, they’re not smart enough to know about the less obvious wealth revealing indicators. I especially like the ones in their mid-30s they already have 1M+ in their 401k and retirement plans. A near impossibility given federal limits on annual contributions. They’re just to dumb to know this isn’t possible.

NP here. I haven't read the "15 year mortgage" thread but I can tell you this: while it may be true that every "conservative" advisor knows that a 15 year mortgage is the "way to go," not every "sound" financial advisor thinks that way. There are many "sound" ways to use mortgage financing and for many wealthy people a 30 year mortgage makes sense.

I've lied and exaggerated about things on DCUM but have been very accurate and precise about my income. I retired early, but when I was working I made very good money -- I averaged over $700k my last ten years on the job -- and I never even considered a 15 year mortgage. I will agree, though, they many posters likely lie about the size of their retirement portfolios and net worth. It's very hard for folks in their 30s and even 40s to accumulate assets along the lines being described here.

Yeah. That 15 year mortgage advice is not always right for high earners. I was over 400k starting in 2005 same year as I bought 2.3 million house. Was a new big law partner We had 30 year and used money to jump start college funds/beach home account/extra retirement. Could not do that with 15 year payments Paid off mortgage completely by year 10.

Maybe some extra money added in by some posters. But in Biglaw alone, there are probably a few thousand in DC over 400k as that is mid/senior level associate money.

You don’t sound too smart. Just living beyond your means to project a false sense of early success like most people in Big Law. What kind of clown gets a 30-year mortgage and then pays it off in 10 years? Why not just get a 10-year mortgage to start…unless…you weren’t able to qualify for one on your paltry $400K salary.

You don't sound too brilliant either, but the people who locked in extremely low rates for 30 year mortgages were smart. The way things are going, the rates on bank CDs will soon be higher than those mortgages, so you'll be getting risk free money if you didn't commit yourself to higher cash flows (10 yr mortgage) in exchange for a tiny bit reduction in interest rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What strikes me as odd is that there are a lot of federal employees in this area, and outside of a few unicorn agencies, even high level feds usually are not making even 200k. So I tend to think there’s exaggeration, or the dual fed couples just don’t post.

The feds are married to a higher income spouse in law or med or tech.
a 150k + 300k = 450k

That's why there are so many rich people. The double incomes.

This is us. I'm a fed at a fin regulator (around 215K) and my H is a doctor (600K). We also have family money.

[Anonymous]

Meh. Our hi is $250k, but nw is $3.5 or so. We both work at nonprofits, awesome causes, interesting work, mostly good hours. I would hate to be in tech sales or corporate law or cyber security. Those things just don’t hold any interest for me. But yeah, people are filthy rich around here. I hope you’re all giving to charity and helping parents in old age.