Making $500k and not feeling wealthy in NW

[Anonymous]

OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

I feel so bad for you. Try my life on for size with a HHI of 80k. Then get back to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

Ha. You are delusional. Many people make what you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

Ha! Now I know you're a troll. Not a very good one, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand op. my situation is somewhat different. I sah and have 2 young children. We live in the burbs and my 4 yr old thinks that we are poor because we don't live in a 10 million dollar mansion. We are by no means poor and our house is worth about 2 million but to my 4 yr old it isn't good enough. Only going to disney world once in his short life is not good enough. Private pre school I think is to blame and I am seriously considering public school for kindergarten.He told me my car which is a Honda pilot is not good enough and he feels embarrassed. I grew up middle class and never felt embarrassed or ashamed of my parents. And what baffles me the most is we are upper middle class for this area.

Is this a joke? I don't think I've ever met a 4 yr old who would say this. Maybe a 14 yr old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After taxes (Fed and District), private school for 1 and second coming from local DCPS into private, saving for college, retirement, long term care, helping out family members etc. You feel really squeezed. Our brother inlaw in Houston get to take 3 or 4 vacations a year on about $300k a year, we can only take one real one and then have to huff it to Delaware for the weekend. It kind of is a rat race and we're stuck in this income zone for the foreseeable future (thanks biglaw profit slips).

So, there are luxuries that you're taking for granted. You live in NW. You pay for private school for not just one but TWO children. You are able to fully pay your bills and still save fully for college, retirement, LTC, insurance AND still help out family members.

You do realize that 90% of the population of the DC metro area have to compromise on two or more of the items on this list? Usually four or more. Most of the people I know live out in the suburbs because they can't afford to live in close. They do not pay for private school. And they pick and choose which of the above they can handle.

You have truly deceived yourself into believing that you have barely covered necessities when in fact you have made some very luxurious and expensive choices that most of the region cannot afford. It is definitely time for a reality check. You are going to find very few people sympathizing with you because you are in the top 0.4% of the income bracket even in this area (the top 1% makes in the mid $300K range).

This is exactly right. My HHI is about one-half the OP's. What does that mean? We moved out of the city when we couldn't afford the house we wanted in a decent public school district, we do not pay for private school, we are saving for STATE college (won't have enough for private), we are saving for retirement but should be saving more, we cannot afford long-term care with college costs looming, we are limited in our ability to help out family members. We take a "real" vacation every 2 or 3 years, not every year; other than that we too do weekends in Delaware or stay with relatives.

There, don't you feel lucky now, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

Ha! Now I know you're a troll. Not a very good one, though.

Actually I'm not. I started this thread after looking at the monthly sweeps out of our checking and savings account and noticing there wasn't much left over for present discretionary fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

Ha! Now I know you're a troll. Not a very good one, though.

Actually I'm not. I started this thread after looking at the monthly sweeps out of our checking and savings account and noticing there wasn't much left over for present discretionary fun.

then make some changes.

[Anonymous]

It's human nature to want to move your family into the most expensive and safest neighborhoods. When your income rises you keep raising the bar. It's a personal struggle I have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

Ha! Now I know you're a troll. Not a very good one, though.

Actually I'm not. I started this thread after looking at the monthly sweeps out of our checking and savings account and noticing there wasn't much left over for present discretionary fun.

then make some changes.

+1 I don't understand how/why op doesn't see the simple answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

Ha! Now I know you're a troll. Not a very good one, though.

Actually I'm not. I started this thread after looking at the monthly sweeps out of our checking and savings account and noticing there wasn't much left over for present discretionary fun.

Omg. You suck. Poor me! No money left after we save/invest it all. Waaaaahhhh. As a 1%, you actually embarrass me. I hope you are only like this on here because it is anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's human nature to want to move your family into the most expensive and safest neighborhoods. When your income rises you keep raising the bar. It's a personal struggle I have.

Maybe for you, I never think about "the most expensive neighborhoods", just the neighborhhood I like for various reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Everyone from politicians on down wants to pile on and they don't understand. They fail to realize that with our income level we have have an obligation to save more. And it's not just retirement at work, but it's also investment accounts etc. It's hard to explain to people who will never experience this sort of income.

It seems that your tiara is a little to heavy for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's human nature to want to move your family into the most expensive and safest neighborhoods. When your income rises you keep raising the bar. It's a personal struggle I have.

Maybe for you, I never think about "the most expensive neighborhoods", just the neighborhhood I like for various reasons.

I agree - safety is one thing but I don't think it has to be the "most expensive" neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's human nature to want to move your family into the most expensive and safest neighborhoods. When your income rises you keep raising the bar. It's a personal struggle I have.

That's just it - it is a personal struggle you and op have. There are MANY safe neighborhoods in the DCMA that are not the most expensive, but people have the same income as OP. those families go on the multiple vacations that the OP wants. It is simply about priorities.