What is you Mortgage Payment and Gross Salary?

[Anonymous]

My DH and I are in our early 30's and we make between $380K to $420K (depending on bonuses).

We have a $3,200 mortgage payment (just refinanced to bring it down from $4,000).

We pay about $3,000 a month for a nanny for one toddler and have a second on the way.

We bought our cars with cash so we have no debt other than the mortgage and a small amount left on student loans (which we have not paid off simply because of the very low interest rate).

We try to save about 20 to 25% of our income per year (which may be more difficult once the 2nd child arrives).

My DH and I both used to work at a large law firm and saved a lot of money during that time period. I think some people are heavily in debt but I also think there are a lot of high income attorneys in this area. The salary at my old firm for FIRST year associates is $160K. For a senior associate (which my DH and I would be if we stayed), it's $260K.

[Anonymous]

To PP, where are you able to make that kind of money not at a law firm? Are you in-house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like our houshold is doing well and we are really blessed to live a comfortable life. However, for the LIFE of me I cannot understand how people afford the homes and cars in which they drive around here. I'm often driving around and wondering, "what do all these people do and how do they afford to live like this?!" We live in a very modest house (by far the smallest of anyone we know) and drive old cars. Here is what we look like:

-190K gross household income
-$2,400 mortgage payment
-1 car 12 yrs old and paid off. Another car 4yrs old, almost paid off, but paying $350/mo until next spring
-1 child in a home based daycare at just over $800/mo

How does everyone manage live around here?! With the above obligations, I feel like we are comfortable, certainly not living in luxury, but we can save for college, retirement, and a rainy day. Do people living in these nice homes driving nice new cars have huge incomes? If we were to upgrade our house and have say, a 4K mortgage, we would have to AT least be bringing in 100K more anually. And anyways, what is a 4K mortgage? About a 550K loan (which of course does not get you the Taj Mahal here in the greater DC area!).

Your poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The renter is a hillbilly that just discovered the "global net". I guess that is hillbilly lingo.

I am not the poster, but really want to know what the hell hillbilly and global net have to do with each other? What do you consider a hillbilly, anyone not living in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To PP, where are you able to make that kind of money not at a law firm? Are you in-house?

Yes, we're both in-house. We left the large law firm about 3 years and took substantial paycuts at the time (about 30 to 35%) but through bonuses and annual raises, have been able to get close to where we used to be. (Although not close to where we would be if we were still at a large law firm.) But we are much happier now with our hours - especially with the little one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To PP, where are you able to make that kind of money not at a law firm? Are you in-house?

Yes, we're both in-house. We left the large law firm about 3 years and took substantial paycuts at the time (about 30 to 35%) but through bonuses and annual raises, have been able to get close to where we used to be. (Although not close to where we would be if we were still at a large law firm.) But we are much happier now with our hours - especially with the little one!

Thanks for answering! I've always been a bit curious about in-house salaries. (I used to work at a firm and am now in the government). Glad to hear that the hours are better than a firm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To PP, where are you able to make that kind of money not at a law firm? Are you in-house?

Yes, we're both in-house. We left the large law firm about 3 years and took substantial paycuts at the time (about 30 to 35%) but through bonuses and annual raises, have been able to get close to where we used to be. (Although not close to where we would be if we were still at a large law firm.) But we are much happier now with our hours - especially with the little one!

Thanks for answering! I've always been a bit curious about in-house salaries. (I used to work at a firm and am now in the government). Glad to hear that the hours are better than a firm.

When we started to get desperate to leave the firm, both my DH and I applied for several government jobs. But because it takes so long to go through the system, we ended up getting attractive offers in-house before we heard back about any of the jobs. It worked out for us but many of our friends went the government route. During crazy economic times like these, we really envy their job security. I think (and hope!) neither of us has anything to worry about, but just in case we've saved a year's worth of expenses in an emergency fund.

[Anonymous]

$150,00 both
every month we bring home after deductions 401's and whole life $7000
$2350 mortgage
cars $700
insurance $200
Food $300
Entertainment $200
credit cards student loans $1,000
car gas utilites $600
babysitter-family oreinted $500 a little over a thousand to play with in the course of the month

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$150,00 both
every month we bring home after deductions 401's and whole life $7000
$2350 mortgage
cars $700
insurance $200
Food $300
Entertainment $200
credit cards student loans $1,000
car gas utilites $600
babysitter-family oreinted $500 a little over a thousand to play with in the course of the month

You only spend $300 on food for the month?

[Anonymous]

Why do you have whole life insurance? i've always heard that was dumb to do, and that you should just have TERM life insurance. Basically, insurance is something you need, but isn't part of your investment strategy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$150,00 both
every month we bring home after deductions 401's and whole life $7000
$2350 mortgage
cars $700
insurance $200
Food $300
Entertainment $200
credit cards student loans $1,000
car gas utilites $600
babysitter-family oreinted $500 a little over a thousand to play with in the course of the month

I would really like to know what you are eating?

Maybe cut back on entertainment to get some nourishment into your body.

[Anonymous]

OMG. I feel like such a pauper. I'm a single mom by choice (no dad in the picture for child support at all). One pre-teen daughter.

I make $69,000 and pick up a couple thousand more doing freelance work. Sadly, my company only gave 2 percent raises this year.

Mortgage with tax and insurance on small SFH = $1200

Food (groceries and restuarants) = $450

Car payment = $330, but almost paid off

No longer need daycare/aftercare, but will have to spend about $2500 on camps this summer

Braces: $200 a month, plus another $200 in my share of healthcare premiums

Just took out a home equity line of credit to pay off credit card debt. I hope to have this paid off in 2 years by paying $500 a month

But we're doing OK. We manage a yearly vacation somewhere fun (last year, it was Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills of South Dakota, the year before San Diego) and go to museums, movies and parks for fun. Not everyone in Montgomery County has a six-figure salary.

[Anonymous]

We make $525k (hubby is US Govt SES position, I work for myself)

$6500/month mortgage on $1.1M home and $900k townhouse we rent out (we cover the mortgage this way)

We max out all investments and 529s

Bought both cars for cash

No student loans

No credit card debt

2 children - shifting from $25k a year nanny for our older son to $25k a year au pair for both kids (one was just born in December)

$3600 put aside for pre-school for son starting in September

I must admit that we live well. But we work HARD, too. And we've been lucky that even in this economy we're both tremendously employable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We make $525k (hubby is US Govt SES position, I work for myself)

$6500/month mortgage on $1.1M home and $900k townhouse we rent out (we cover the mortgage this way)

We max out all investments and 529s

Bought both cars for cash

No student loans

No credit card debt

2 children - shifting from $25k a year nanny for our older son to $25k a year au pair for both kids (one was just born in December)

$3600 put aside for pre-school for son starting in September

I must admit that we live well. But we work HARD, too. And we've been lucky that even in this economy we're both tremendously employable.

Sorry, correction - $8000 mortgage, which is the house and the townhouse put together. We cover the townhouse mortgage by renting it out.

[Anonymous]

120k income
2800 mortgage
Both cars paid off
Student loans paid off
No credit card debt
Basic utilities
And we save about 3000/month.
We feel we are lving very comfortably.