I used to think a million dollar house would be a mansion
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Anonymous
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It is pretty unusual for a well educated professional couple with a large enough disposable income to live in a studio. Even in the DC area.
It's their choice, of course, but outside places like NYC people who live in studios are either incredibly frugal or have no money. It's definitely not the norm. Another example of how the DC market is increasingly out of step with the rest of America and why the higher prices paid don't translate into a better QOL.
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Anonymous
OK. Relax. Don't get defensive. Enjoy your studio apartment with your DH. Hope you like him! |
Anonymous
+10,000. |
Anonymous
No, very few professional *couples* live in studios. Many some struggling artists in NYC but you know mom and dad have all their books and childhood affects (along with help with rent) back home. A studio for two working adults? For years? That's your answer? And you know they made more money than they let on, unless they have magic multiplication and mortgage from a fairy godmother. |
Anonymous
Spot on. |
Anonymous
You are forgetting market returns, which have been substantial for those who started investing mostly after the crash and went 100% equities. My wife and I on a biglaw + 60k government salary saved $700k in four years once loans were paid. In a one bedroom. Then I quit biglaw, we bought a house, my wife temporarily stopped working and we have two kids, so now we save like 15% of our income -- hopefully just temporary and we will resume saving more later -- but it can be done. (But our house is $750k not $1.3 million and we live in the burbs). We also know a couple that live in a $1.9 million home in Chevy Chase. DH works for his dad's small but successful law firm. DW is doing informational interviews. No kids yet. So points can be taken on both sides of this. |
Anonymous
But almost every financial advisor and a chorus of DCUM posts recommends money that you need in the near term like a down payment in safe investments, not gambling on a stock run up in your 4 year window. |
Anonymous
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There are some seriously bitter PPs who feel the need to tear down people who (a) are good savers/investors, (b) live differently than they do, (c) don't have student loans (for whatever reason), and/or (d) have high incomes early in their career.
Your endless harping reeks of jealousy. Give it a rest. |
Anonymous
Ah "jealousy," the rejoinder every trust fund baby or otherwise lucky person person hurls in response to someone calling them out on being spoiled, ungrateful, out of touch, self-righteous, stuck up, or smug. Perhaps you forgot, but the OP was complaining about her million dollar house at age 29, which doesn't look the mansion she envisioned. Others are acting like they are Suze Orman because they came out of college/grad school after their parents paid for everything and they were able to save for a house. Still others are the martyr saints who lived in a studio apartment while the rest of the devil-may-care heathens were living it up in two bedroom apartments. There is enough smugness on these threads to fill the Atlantic Ocean, and this is understandably annoying to some people. But you can go on believing that it is just raw jealousy if it assuages your guilt. |
Anonymous
Maybe jealously isn't the right word. Regretting your own life choices perhaps? Is that better? Sorry that you weren't bright enough for that full-ride scholarship to the state school, sorry you didn't bust your a$$ in school to get a high-paying job, sorry you were busy drinking away your 20s instead of saving/investing/buying RE early, etc. Sorry all around. Sorry sad sack. OP was commenting on how crazy RE prices are. Do you disagree? You're too busy obsessing on how he/she could/could not afford it. |
Anonymous
Geez, what a b!tch. You don't know squat about me. I don't regret any of my life choices, I am incredibly successful, and I got two graduate degrees with honors in my 20s (while drinking and having the time of my life, thank you very much). Maybe you should knock back a few, it might loosen up the rod you have jammed up your back. If you are so perfect and successful and you made all of the right life decisions, why are you not a nicer, happier person. Maybe working and saving has yielded you some $$, but it obviously hasn't done much else for you. |
Anonymous
Fortunately, we travel internationally for work and are able to blend vacations in with business travel. No children yet, but expecting first in February We will do parochial schools, but they are less expensive than private schools. |
Anonymous
1. My income over the 4 years averaged close to $100,000 and I stated that we saved my "take home" of $70,000 for 4 years which was -- as you pointed out $280,000 2. My husband's income over the 4 years averaged closed to $125,000 and we save about $30,000 a year from his income 3. When we were married, we brought individual savings to the marriage -- he had $60,000 and I had about $40,000 4. We qualified for a $1,149,000 jumbo mortgage at 3.75 percent because we had high credit scores and had paid off student loans and had not other debt 5. We had all of our belongings in the 572 square foot studio. The only thing we did not have in the apartment were the two bikes we rode to work. We stored them on the balcony. We thought it was a real way to live because we knew where we wanted to live, the type of house we wanted, and the plans we had if my mother and his parents chose to live with us as they grew older. We had Thanksgiving in our new home with family and friends. They did not seem to think we had done anything unique. |
Anonymous
This isn't true. DH and I bought our current house in our late 20s. It was 900K plus over 100k we spent renovating it before we moved in. We paid the 20% down and paid for the renovation in cash. We saved up all that money (easy to do because we had no kids and were frugal). We are both feds and at the time of the purchase we were both high GS-14s. Now, we have lived in our house for 6 years and paid down our mortgage to less than 500k and have a healthy TSP fund plus other investments. We are saving less now because of childcare costs but we are still very frugal (lots of hand me downs from the neighbors' kids). |
Anonymous
Not necessarily...I graduated with my masters at 23 and did 2 years of private consulting. Started the government at 25 at a GS-11. From there, I got a promotion each year until I reached GS-14 at 28. I got my GS-15 at 31. |