A Week In Washington, DC, On A Joint $655,000 Income - Money Diary

[Anonymous]

Her parents must be very wealthy since they have a family office and paid for medical school. It’s amazing the advantage you get with people paying for your house and education.

I wonder why they save so little for retirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I found it interesting that the husband needs to pay off his law school debt himself given how wealthy her family is. That debt is nothing compared to her wealth.

I hope he is allowed to own half the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her parents must be very wealthy since they have a family office and paid for medical school. It’s amazing the advantage you get with people paying for your house and education.

I wonder why they save so little for retirement?

They're saving over $9,000/mo (775 per paycheck x 2 paychecks per month (they're actually paid biweekly) x 2 people = 3030 (probably maxing 401ks over the year) plus another 6000 post tax for 9030/month in savings).

And who knows how much she already has from her family wealth.

[Anonymous]

Re: the 2000K dress vs. 200 dress.

This is a great question because today a lot of stuff is crap with a high price tag. But for things that are truly high quality, the cost is worth it.

High quality fabric, which is to say a natural fiber of the highest caliber which can take in the best dyes or has other features, or maybe a new tech fabric with special properties, etc, can start at $200 a yard and go up from there. It takes 2-3 yards of fabric to make the dress.

Add to that the skill of the dress manufacturer, the skill of the designer, and there you go.

A $200 dress that's a polyester blend that doesn't even look good on the model but that's sold by a brand like JCrew or some similarly recognized (but not high end) brand isn't worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s a family office??

When people are uber-rich, they have an actual office of people who work for them to handle their money and affairs. Called the family office. Usually part of larger investment firms.

Good explainer here:
https://www.unionbank.com/private-banking/perspectives/building-your-wealth/who-needs-a-family-office-3-factors-to-consider

Yeah but lots of rich people just outsource their family office. It's a flex to have one. Like when people talk about their private planes but it's just chartered

I'd take a chartered private plane any day.....lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her parents must be very wealthy since they have a family office and paid for medical school. It’s amazing the advantage you get with people paying for your house and education.

I wonder why they save so little for retirement?

She probably has a massive trust fund if they have a family office. No need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found it interesting that the husband needs to pay off his law school debt himself given how wealthy her family is. That debt is nothing compared to her wealth.

I hope he is allowed to own half the house.

Maybe he wants to do it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her parents must be very wealthy since they have a family office and paid for medical school. It’s amazing the advantage you get with people paying for your house and education.

I wonder why they save so little for retirement?

She probably has a massive trust fund if they have a family office. No need.

Exactly.

$655k is not their income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pet insurance - makes sense just like human insurance. You hopefully rarely need it but it is helpful if your pet needs surgery or treatment which can cost thousands. I know 3 people (some who mocked the insurance) who each had to lay out $3-$6k just in past year.

That said sure if that amount is pocket change then who cares but for many it makes sense.

In the past people would put their pets to sleep but now there are advanced treatment for pets so they live longer. Next...Nursing homes for pets??

Over our marriage DH and I have had four dogs, the youngest of whom is 9. Their lives have totaled 52 years so far. At $28/month we would have paid around $17,500 to a pet insurance company. Of all those dogs only one has ever had a serious health problem (cancer) which cost us about ten grand. But that was over six months plus our HHI is usually around $500K. I wouldn’t call it pocket change but it wasn’t a serious dent at our income and wouldn’t be for theirs either. That’s why everyone says pet insurance doesn’t make sense for these people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a decent HHI - much less than her but still a lot from my perspective - and I’m surprised by how cavalierly she spends money. $2k for a dress for Christmas party, hundreds on a tablecloth... what is the point of such excess? Gross.

She's a wealthy woman. She lives well. If you saw her life you'd probably realize it's not unduly extravagant or vulgar. But she is surrounded by quality and pays for it.

Serious question- what could possibly make a dress worth $2K? What “quality” are you paying for that you wouldn’t get at, say, $200?

Design, craftsmanship, better quality of material and notions. And I know this without ever having bought a dress more than $200 and no plans to ever do that. Use common sense.

[Anonymous]

Did we ever figure out who this is? Lots of info in here - there can’t be that many female surgeons in their 30s who come from such huge family wealth at GW or Georgetown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her parents must be very wealthy since they have a family office and paid for medical school. It’s amazing the advantage you get with people paying for your house and education.
I wonder why they save so little for retirement?

She probably has a massive trust fund if they have a family office. No need.

Exactly.
$655k is not their income.

You mean JUST their income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had no idea surgeons work such long hours - 6 am to after 6 pm; it's crazy. It's awesome that they give 3K/month to charity. I agree with the dog daycare, you can't leave the dogs alone at home for such a long time.

6 am to 6 pm is in no way crazy.

+1. This is a reality for many, many people who make way less than a surgeon.

Yep in my youth I worked at a minimum 9:30 to 10 most nights, plus weekends maybe 8 a day. I was rarely alone at the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pet insurance - makes sense just like human insurance. You hopefully rarely need it but it is helpful if your pet needs surgery or treatment which can cost thousands. I know 3 people (some who mocked the insurance) who each had to lay out $3-$6k just in past year.

That said sure if that amount is pocket change then who cares but for many it makes sense.

In the past people would put their pets to sleep but now there are advanced treatment for pets so they live longer. Next...Nursing homes for pets??

Over our marriage DH and I have had four dogs, the youngest of whom is 9. Their lives have totaled 52 years so far. At $28/month we would have paid around $17,500 to a pet insurance company. Of all those dogs only one has ever had a serious health problem (cancer) which cost us about ten grand. But that was over six months plus our HHI is usually around $500K. I wouldn’t call it pocket change but it wasn’t a serious dent at our income and wouldn’t be for theirs either. That’s why everyone says pet insurance doesn’t make sense for these people.

It doesn’t make financial sense, but it may make sense from an “I love my dog but I’m cheap” sense. It’s a lot easier to commit yourself to $10k worth of treatment for “just a dog” if someone else is footing the bill or there is a pot of money dedicated for exactly that purpose. Most people don’t acquire and maintain inter generational wealth with a spendthrift mindset. The insurance may really be insurance against an overly frugal mindset.

[Anonymous]

This lady was born on third base. Super jealous of the paid off townhome and paid med school education