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

[Anonymous]

NP here. Delaware, while a small state, has moderately expensive parts and cheap parts. If you are not in New Castle county, I believe everything you are saying. In New Castle, you bought 10 years ago for 100K. That would put you near the nadir of housing prices.

I know people in Northern Wilmington not unlike you: He is an ES teacher, she was a music teacher, now dowing misc. things. Two kids. Small house. Not living like kings.

How much is your house worth today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Inspired by the previous AMA and in further efforts to bring some reality into the DCUM financial fora, here's an AMA. We're in our early 30s, 2 kids with plans for 2 more, a paid off home, 2 cars, 3 pets, and a roughly 100k HHI of which 12k a year goes to charity.

We have everything we need, and the things we want but don't have are primarily related to how our society is structured (we'd like universal health care, etc).

Any questions?

OP you post regularly and I am confused about why you’re so defensive about your lifestyle. You may think you live like kings but I doubt may people here agree with you. You don’t even live in the DMV. Why bother posting?

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you simply have to rename your post.
You eat dried beans, rice and eggs. You don't vacation and you don't eat out.
That is not "living like kings"

However, I don't doubt you are very happy. I grew up with a almost identical lifestyle and had a fantastic childhood.

[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.

Nothing else you say means anything. There is no such thing as a $100K house in the DC area.

Why are you even posting here?

[Anonymous]

Stop feeding the troll.

[Anonymous]

I occasionally eat chicken and beef for dinner instead of rice, beans, and eggs. If that makes me shallow for wanting to live some luxurious lifestyle, then so be it. Pass the tacos.

[Anonymous]

OP - great job! Keep it up. You and your family will do fine and all 4 of your kids will go to excellent colleges. I have no doubts.

I read through page 2 and could not bear the snarkiness! Jeez, DCUM IS filled with some mean-spirited biaches! Probably upset that someone who makes a fraction of what they do is actually happy. Sad...

[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.

There is the answer.
We put nearly $400k as a down payment on our current house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

We also have an Odyssey. We looked for used ones, but there weren't any. The late-model (reasonable mileage) ones we found cost nearly as much as new, minus the warranty. Again, maybe this is a factor of living in Delaware?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you simply have to rename your post.
You eat dried beans, rice and eggs. You don't vacation and you don't eat out.
That is not "living like kings"

However, I don't doubt you are very happy. I grew up with a almost identical lifestyle and had a fantastic childhood.

Funny you mention the dried beans, rice, eggs and lack of vacations or eating out. Because look in any of the finance threads, and you will see PLENTY of people justifying why they aren't in debt/can afford private school/can afford to live in DC vs VA/what have you due to those very factors (and cutting cable, apparently).

However just because OP lives in Delaware, everybody is down on him.

How many who are posting are as happy w/your life choices as he is with his?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - great job! Keep it up. You and your family will do fine and all 4 of your kids will go to excellent colleges. I have no doubts.

I read through page 2 and could not bear the snarkiness! Jeez, DCUM IS filled with some mean-spirited biaches! Probably upset that someone who makes a fraction of what they do is actually happy. Sad...

I think OP is coming off a bit...preachy, which is why some people are responding negatively.

It's not that we're stuck in some cycle of unhappiness because we're striving for luxury goods that are just out of reach...it's that we're in a different COL area where basics like housing and childcare are most expensive. $100k would barely keep the rain off of our heads.

So while OP's depiction of living in a low COL is interesting, any comparison made to DC is moot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you simply have to rename your post.
You eat dried beans, rice and eggs. You don't vacation and you don't eat out.
That is not "living like kings"

However, I don't doubt you are very happy. I grew up with a almost identical lifestyle and had a fantastic childhood.

Funny you mention the dried beans, rice, eggs and lack of vacations or eating out. Because look in any of the finance threads, and you will see PLENTY of people justifying why they aren't in debt/can afford private school/can afford to live in DC vs VA/what have you due to those very factors (and cutting cable, apparently).

However just because OP lives in Delaware, everybody is down on him.

How many who are posting are as happy w/your life choices as he is with his?

I'm thrilled with life and I don't eat beans for dinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - great job! Keep it up. You and your family will do fine and all 4 of your kids will go to excellent colleges. I have no doubts.

I read through page 2 and could not bear the snarkiness! Jeez, DCUM IS filled with some mean-spirited biaches! Probably upset that someone who makes a fraction of what they do is actually happy. Sad...

I think OP is coming off a bit...preachy, which is why some people are responding negatively.

It's not that we're stuck in some cycle of unhappiness because we're striving for luxury goods that are just out of reach...it's that we're in a different COL area where basics like housing and childcare are most expensive. $100k would barely keep the rain off of our heads.

So while OP's depiction of living in a low COL is interesting, any comparison made to DC is moot.

Yes, this. And condescending.

Then he goes on to describe how we're all striving for "harems" or something (his words, not mine). It's weird.

[Anonymous]

Literally nothing you said fits the description of "living like kings." I get that you lead the life that makes you happy, and I'm happy for you. But that's not really what "living like kings" means and you shouldn't pretend that it does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - great job! Keep it up. You and your family will do fine and all 4 of your kids will go to excellent colleges. I have no doubts.

I read through page 2 and could not bear the snarkiness! Jeez, DCUM IS filled with some mean-spirited biaches! Probably upset that someone who makes a fraction of what they do is actually happy. Sad...

I think OP is coming off a bit...preachy, which is why some people are responding negatively.

It's not that we're stuck in some cycle of unhappiness because we're striving for luxury goods that are just out of reach...it's that we're in a different COL area where basics like housing and childcare are most expensive. $100k would barely keep the rain off of our heads.

So while OP's depiction of living in a low COL is interesting, any comparison made to DC is moot.

Yes, this. And condescending.

Then he goes on to describe how we're all striving for "harems" or something (his words, not mine). It's weird.

Agree. OP is the one why said he lives like a king, and then clearly illustrated that he does not. It's great that he and his family are happy. I am too. But living like a king I ain't, nor would I ever claim to.