Why a 300-400k salary doesn't feel rich

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I made $350k in 2009 and felt very rich. Went to Disney, Beaches Turks and Caicos, bought a new car. No money worries.

But prices of everything has doubled since 2009. So no surprise.

$350k is now like $175k was 15 years ago.

Beaches lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a household income of $250k in northern Virginia with three kids and we are unquestionably rich.

Only financial worry I have is how to pay for college when all three are in college at the same time in a few years.

Everything else in my life is free of financial worry.

Aww. A middle class wine mom pretending she's rich on her 250k.

Honey, let me tell you what rich is. Rich people don't worry about paying for college. Rich people pay 90k tuition checks without blinking or worrying about opportunity costs. That's rich. You're middle class.

Wow, what a snotty response.

And also wrong. 250k HHI is rich. Not being able to write 90k tuition checks doesn’t make one “middle class”. Americans have completely lost their minds about what is needed vs what is wanted and 250k gets you well into the “want” category of consumption.

Another poor person struggling with the concept of rich that she thinks everyone who makes a dollar more than she does is rich. This forum never fails to amuse me.

Yes, please show us we’re you can buy now on a $250k HHI with good schools? I’ll wait.

Name your good schools and I’ll show what you can buy.

22207 a $925k two bedroom townhouse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I made $350k in 2009 and felt very rich. Went to Disney, Beaches Turks and Caicos, bought a new car. No money worries.

But prices of everything has doubled since 2009. So no surprise.

$350k is now like $175k was 15 years ago.

Beaches lol

Beach’s for a family of 5 at the Italian Village for Spring Break has gotten really expensive. Like $20,000 Easter Week

[Anonymous]

A million dollar home is not expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh.

We make $450ish (more like $410 last year) and it's pretty rich.

We live in a $1m+ house.
We do not typically think about, nor do we have to, groceries or gas or coffee or takeout or summer camp.
We haven't prioritized college savings, but we could pay cash, yes, even for a $70K school (we don't want to but we'll see).
We get new cars when we want them.
If we want to renovate or something, we would just pay cash or take a HELOC or stop contributing to one of the many many investment or savings accounts we have temporarily. This would feel BAD but it is a blessing.
If we aren't going to Europe this summer it's because it's our choice and we want to prioritize cash savings. It's not because we can't.

We are lucky and relatively, rich. In the upper-middle class no worries relative to others sense. And there are MANY families richer than us at our W school.

Get some perspective if you think 400K isn't well off. Unless you have 7 kids and 3 parents in assisted living that you pay for, you should be more than OK.

Is a 1 million dollar house a bragging feature? Seems really cheap to me. I live in Toronto and 1 million doesn't go far.

Not anymore lol. There are townhouses in the suburbs that are a million dollars. It’s nothing special around here anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a household income of $250k in northern Virginia with three kids and we are unquestionably rich.

Only financial worry I have is how to pay for college when all three are in college at the same time in a few years.

Everything else in my life is free of financial worry.

Aww. A middle class wine mom pretending she's rich on her 250k.

Honey, let me tell you what rich is. Rich people don't worry about paying for college. Rich people pay 90k tuition checks without blinking or worrying about opportunity costs. That's rich. You're middle class.

One of the above posters is happy and content and the other is totally miserable. Guess which one is which!

Well said, one of these posters is winning.

I love this thread, and I love the PPs above.

We are another family around $250 HHI and we feel rich in the DMV. I suppose if it makes others feel better to think of us as poor, then they are welcome to do so. Won’t change the fact we’re doing more than okay (college savings, retirement savings, private school, vacations).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a household income of $250k in northern Virginia with three kids and we are unquestionably rich.

Only financial worry I have is how to pay for college when all three are in college at the same time in a few years.

Everything else in my life is free of financial worry.

Aww. A middle class wine mom pretending she's rich on her 250k.

Honey, let me tell you what rich is. Rich people don't worry about paying for college. Rich people pay 90k tuition checks without blinking or worrying about opportunity costs. That's rich. You're middle class.

Wow, what a snotty response.

And also wrong. 250k HHI is rich. Not being able to write 90k tuition checks doesn’t make one “middle class”. Americans have completely lost their minds about what is needed vs what is wanted and 250k gets you well into the “want” category of consumption.

DP. Sorry but I gotta agree with the snotty response. 300k a year isn’t rich.

It is only rich if you have 1-2M in the bank or via stocks/assets and do not have any debt whatsoever and no mortgage. Then I would consider you rich.

But a normal couple with a HHI of 350k with a 1M dollar mortgage, paying car loans and are making payments on your kids college tuition? No you are not rich. Upper middle class? Sure. Rich, hellllll no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a household income of $250k in northern Virginia with three kids and we are unquestionably rich.

Only financial worry I have is how to pay for college when all three are in college at the same time in a few years.

Everything else in my life is free of financial worry.

Aww. A middle class wine mom pretending she's rich on her 250k.

Honey, let me tell you what rich is. Rich people don't worry about paying for college. Rich people pay 90k tuition checks without blinking or worrying about opportunity costs. That's rich. You're middle class.

Wow, what a snotty response.

And also wrong. 250k HHI is rich. Not being able to write 90k tuition checks doesn’t make one “middle class”. Americans have completely lost their minds about what is needed vs what is wanted and 250k gets you well into the “want” category of consumption.

DP. Sorry but I gotta agree with the snotty response. 300k a year isn’t rich.

It is only rich if you have 1-2M in the bank or via stocks/assets and do not have any debt whatsoever and no mortgage. Then I would consider you rich.

But a normal couple with a HHI of 350k with a 1M dollar mortgage, paying car loans and are making payments on your kids college tuition? No you are not rich. Upper middle class? Sure. Rich, hellllll no.

Feel better?

Why does it bother you how we choose to view ourselves? I posted above. We live comfortably on 250K, with plenty saved for OOS college tuitions and retirement and vacations. Major, unexpected bills won’t cripple us. We don’t worry about money. We feel rich, and we are very aware of how good we have it.

That doesn’t impact you at all, unless it makes you feel uncomfortable about your own spending habits. We prove you don’t need gobs of money to be happy and comfortable.

Call us UMC, MC… whatever. It doesn’t change the fact we live “rich”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I made $350k in 2009 and felt very rich. Went to Disney, Beaches Turks and Caicos, bought a new car. No money worries.

But prices of everything has doubled since 2009. So no surprise.

$350k is now like $175k was 15 years ago.

Beaches lol

You are insufferable

[Anonymous]

I have a 300k HHI and I agree with OP … sort of, but with a different perspective.

Basically our income at 300k doesn’t cover everything I would have dreamt 300k can afford. I’m constantly surprised by how much stuff costs and that even with a fairly good income, things like childcare, saving for college, saving for retirement, owning a home, and taking a few vacations per year adds up quickly. Growing up, these were all the things that seemed like normal parts of a regular UMC life, but they were attainable on a much lower income.

But my key takeaway isn’t to feel bad for myself. I realize my family is so lucky. I mostly have sympathy for families trying to make it on less, often a lot less. Daycare, groceries, housing etc. must take up such a huge portion of their budget. I have no idea how regular middle class people are even doing it right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a household income of $250k in northern Virginia with three kids and we are unquestionably rich.

Only financial worry I have is how to pay for college when all three are in college at the same time in a few years.

Everything else in my life is free of financial worry.

Aww. A middle class wine mom pretending she's rich on her 250k.

Honey, let me tell you what rich is. Rich people don't worry about paying for college. Rich people pay 90k tuition checks without blinking or worrying about opportunity costs. That's rich. You're middle class.

Wow, what a snotty response.

And also wrong. 250k HHI is rich. Not being able to write 90k tuition checks doesn’t make one “middle class”. Americans have completely lost their minds about what is needed vs what is wanted and 250k gets you well into the “want” category of consumption.

DP. Sorry but I gotta agree with the snotty response. 300k a year isn’t rich.

It is only rich if you have 1-2M in the bank or via stocks/assets and do not have any debt whatsoever and no mortgage. Then I would consider you rich.

But a normal couple with a HHI of 350k with a 1M dollar mortgage, paying car loans and are making payments on your kids college tuition? No you are not rich. Upper middle class? Sure. Rich, hellllll no.

Feel better?

Why does it bother you how we choose to view ourselves? I posted above. We live comfortably on 250K, with plenty saved for OOS college tuitions and retirement and vacations. Major, unexpected bills won’t cripple us. We don’t worry about money. We feel rich, and we are very aware of how good we have it.

That doesn’t impact you at all, unless it makes you feel uncomfortable about your own spending habits. We prove you don’t need gobs of money to be happy and comfortable.

Call us UMC, MC… whatever. It doesn’t change the fact we live “rich”.

Having a huge house is not a symbol of success if the bank owns it.

And you have to work 40 years to pay it off.

Few understand this.

You still are not rich, despite how you “feel”.

If you’re rich? Quit your job tomorrow and never work again. If you can do that, you’re rich. If you can’t, you’re not.

[Anonymous]

300K is rich in the sense that at that level you can reasonably pay a mortgage, save for retirement, save for college, pay for daycare, and go on decent vacations. You are building wealth and buying your kids some breathing space, which is more than the vast majority of Americans can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I made $350k in 2009 and felt very rich. Went to Disney, Beaches Turks and Caicos, bought a new car. No money worries.

But prices of everything has doubled since 2009. So no surprise.

$350k is now like $175k was 15 years ago.

Beaches lol

Beach’s for a family of 5 at the Italian Village for Spring Break has gotten really expensive. Like $20,000 Easter Week

A fool and his money…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a household income of $250k in northern Virginia with three kids and we are unquestionably rich.

Only financial worry I have is how to pay for college when all three are in college at the same time in a few years.

Everything else in my life is free of financial worry.

Aww. A middle class wine mom pretending she's rich on her 250k.

Honey, let me tell you what rich is. Rich people don't worry about paying for college. Rich people pay 90k tuition checks without blinking or worrying about opportunity costs. That's rich. You're middle class.

Wow, what a snotty response.

And also wrong. 250k HHI is rich. Not being able to write 90k tuition checks doesn’t make one “middle class”. Americans have completely lost their minds about what is needed vs what is wanted and 250k gets you well into the “want” category of consumption.

DP. Sorry but I gotta agree with the snotty response. 300k a year isn’t rich.

It is only rich if you have 1-2M in the bank or via stocks/assets and do not have any debt whatsoever and no mortgage. Then I would consider you rich.

But a normal couple with a HHI of 350k with a 1M dollar mortgage, paying car loans and are making payments on your kids college tuition? No you are not rich. Upper middle class? Sure. Rich, hellllll no.

Feel better?

Why does it bother you how we choose to view ourselves? I posted above. We live comfortably on 250K, with plenty saved for OOS college tuitions and retirement and vacations. Major, unexpected bills won’t cripple us. We don’t worry about money. We feel rich, and we are very aware of how good we have it.

That doesn’t impact you at all, unless it makes you feel uncomfortable about your own spending habits. We prove you don’t need gobs of money to be happy and comfortable.

Call us UMC, MC… whatever. It doesn’t change the fact we live “rich”.

Having a huge house is not a symbol of success if the bank owns it.

And you have to work 40 years to pay it off.

Few understand this.

You still are not rich, despite how you “feel”.

If you’re rich? Quit your job tomorrow and never work again. If you can do that, you’re rich. If you can’t, you’re not.

Eh. That’s your definition and you’re welcome to it. I don’t consider work something terrible. If I were rolling in an absurd amount of unnecessary wealth, I would still work because I enjoy it.

This thread began with an OP saying 300K is “barely getting by”. That’s actually quite offensive to people who are actually “barely getting by”.

It’s just typical DCUM bubble talk. Plenty of people do just fine on these salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a household income of $250k in northern Virginia with three kids and we are unquestionably rich.

Only financial worry I have is how to pay for college when all three are in college at the same time in a few years.

Everything else in my life is free of financial worry.

Aww. A middle class wine mom pretending she's rich on her 250k.

Honey, let me tell you what rich is. Rich people don't worry about paying for college. Rich people pay 90k tuition checks without blinking or worrying about opportunity costs. That's rich. You're middle class.

Wow, what a snotty response.

And also wrong. 250k HHI is rich. Not being able to write 90k tuition checks doesn’t make one “middle class”. Americans have completely lost their minds about what is needed vs what is wanted and 250k gets you well into the “want” category of consumption.

DP. Sorry but I gotta agree with the snotty response. 300k a year isn’t rich.

It is only rich if you have 1-2M in the bank or via stocks/assets and do not have any debt whatsoever and no mortgage. Then I would consider you rich.

But a normal couple with a HHI of 350k with a 1M dollar mortgage, paying car loans and are making payments on your kids college tuition? No you are not rich. Upper middle class? Sure. Rich, hellllll no.

Feel better?

Why does it bother you how we choose to view ourselves? I posted above. We live comfortably on 250K, with plenty saved for OOS college tuitions and retirement and vacations. Major, unexpected bills won’t cripple us. We don’t worry about money. We feel rich, and we are very aware of how good we have it.

That doesn’t impact you at all, unless it makes you feel uncomfortable about your own spending habits. We prove you don’t need gobs of money to be happy and comfortable.

Call us UMC, MC… whatever. It doesn’t change the fact we live “rich”.

Having a huge house is not a symbol of success if the bank owns it.

And you have to work 40 years to pay it off.

Few understand this.

You still are not rich, despite how you “feel”.

If you’re rich? Quit your job tomorrow and never work again. If you can do that, you’re rich. If you can’t, you’re not.

Eh. That’s your definition and you’re welcome to it. I don’t consider work something terrible. If I were rolling in an absurd amount of unnecessary wealth, I would still work because I enjoy it.

This thread began with an OP saying 300K is “barely getting by”. That’s actually quite offensive to people who are actually “barely getting by”.

It’s just typical DCUM bubble talk. Plenty of people do just fine on these salaries.

Admitting to doing just fine is one thing that I agree with.

But saying that “I’m rich, off my 300k salary” while being in debt to a mortgage, car loans, credit cards etc and calling themselves “rich” is completely laughable.

You’re doing fine, sure. But you are not rich. Rich is not having to worry with any debt or having any loans whatsoever.

Major difference.