What is the lifestyle difference of 400-500k/yr and 800-1M/yr

[Anonymous]

We are at about 400k now. We would definitely save more and maybe add a nicer vacation but not much more than that. We have what we need and then some. Feel fortunate!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re around 500k. At a million, private school is a lot more accessible as is three kids.

500k is solidly UMC in a HCOL area.

It’s about the 96th percentile of HHs in the DMV, so UMC is being used a bit loosely here.

You know, you'd think. My parents were dirt poor growing up so I have some perspective even though I grew up middle class. But now I live in DC and our HHI is 400k and I understand that we are rich but we cannot afford to buy a 3br home, nor can we afford private school. I am so grateful that unexpected expenses are not usually big stressors and we can spend some money on a cheap int'l or moderate domestic vacation each year. But also my kids have 2 pairs of shoes and one coat and we don't eat out more than twice a month. We have one 20k car and no debt, but STILL cannot buy a home yet. We were not DINKS for years before having kids and we have no family money so this is probably what separates us from our neighbors who own. But it's insane that we have so much money coming in but feel trapped. Part of that is that retirement and college costs in America are crazy.

[Anonymous]

Yes, our HHI doubled and got close to $1m when DD turned 4. So we decided to go the private school route for both DD and her younger sister. That + business class flights on long haul international journeys is the only difference. We can’t deal with the maintenance of a second home at the moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re around 500k. At a million, private school is a lot more accessible as is three kids.

500k is solidly UMC in a HCOL area.

It’s about the 96th percentile of HHs in the DMV, so UMC is being used a bit loosely here.

You know, you'd think. My parents were dirt poor growing up so I have some perspective even though I grew up middle class. But now I live in DC and our HHI is 400k and I understand that we are rich but we cannot afford to buy a 3br home, nor can we afford private school. I am so grateful that unexpected expenses are not usually big stressors and we can spend some money on a cheap int'l or moderate domestic vacation each year. But also my kids have 2 pairs of shoes and one coat and we don't eat out more than twice a month. We have one 20k car and no debt, but STILL cannot buy a home yet. We were not DINKS for years before having kids and we have no family money so this is probably what separates us from our neighbors who own. But it's insane that we have so much money coming in but feel trapped. Part of that is that retirement and college costs in America are crazy.

Here you go, you're welcome: https://redf.in/zGd6sH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re around 500k. At a million, private school is a lot more accessible as is three kids.

500k is solidly UMC in a HCOL area.

It’s about the 96th percentile of HHs in the DMV, so UMC is being used a bit loosely here.

You know, you'd think. My parents were dirt poor growing up so I have some perspective even though I grew up middle class. But now I live in DC and our HHI is 400k and I understand that we are rich but we cannot afford to buy a 3br home, nor can we afford private school. I am so grateful that unexpected expenses are not usually big stressors and we can spend some money on a cheap int'l or moderate domestic vacation each year. But also my kids have 2 pairs of shoes and one coat and we don't eat out more than twice a month. We have one 20k car and no debt, but STILL cannot buy a home yet. We were not DINKS for years before having kids and we have no family money so this is probably what separates us from our neighbors who own. But it's insane that we have so much money coming in but feel trapped. Part of that is that retirement and college costs in America are crazy.

Here you go, you're welcome: https://redf.in/zGd6sH

Np - looks like it’s gonna flood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re around 500k. At a million, private school is a lot more accessible as is three kids.

500k is solidly UMC in a HCOL area.

It’s about the 96th percentile of HHs in the DMV, so UMC is being used a bit loosely here.

You know, you'd think. My parents were dirt poor growing up so I have some perspective even though I grew up middle class. But now I live in DC and our HHI is 400k and I understand that we are rich but we cannot afford to buy a 3br home, nor can we afford private school. I am so grateful that unexpected expenses are not usually big stressors and we can spend some money on a cheap int'l or moderate domestic vacation each year. But also my kids have 2 pairs of shoes and one coat and we don't eat out more than twice a month. We have one 20k car and no debt, but STILL cannot buy a home yet. We were not DINKS for years before having kids and we have no family money so this is probably what separates us from our neighbors who own. But it's insane that we have so much money coming in but feel trapped. Part of that is that retirement and college costs in America are crazy.

Here you go, you're welcome: https://redf.in/zGd6sH

Np - looks like it’s gonna flood.

It's up on a hill? Also, "FEMA designates Zone X (unshaded) as a low-to-moderate flood area. In this zone, the risk of flooding is reduced, but not completely removed."

[Anonymous]

Early retired Biglaw partner here. When I made partner (promoted from counsel) my income changed almost exactly from/to these levels. We didn’t change a thing about our lifestyle. Didn’t buy a new house, didn’t switch the kids to private, didn’t take more lavish vacations etc. We just continued to live as we did before - which, obviously, was a nice and comfortable lifestyle - and saved the money. I then walked away in my early 50s, and nearly a decade later we are still living the “half mil” lifestyle but on less money than that because (1) the kids are grown, so we have no kid-related expenses that aren’t entirely voluntary; (2) we are no longer saving for retirement (which always takes away a big chunk of one’s earnings when working; and (3) our tax liability is much, much lower now than it was before because we’re generally not being taxed at ordinary income rates (since we don’t earn wages) but instead are taxed at capital gains rates which in our case in usually zero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In most cases, probably a second house. And big costs like private school don't pinch anymore.

this, and not really having to think about budgets with regard to things like clothing, travel,etc...

[Anonymous]

I smell a lot of Biglaw partners/spouses in this thread...

[Anonymous]

There have been no significant changes, to be honest. Kid goes to an okay public school, we have the same house we have had for years, etc. We don't watch our spending as carefully as we used to, but it is still not in excess of where we were when we were making say 300K a year. And we do splurge a little on travel, by going business class on international trips. Most of the money is going into savings, as DD's 529 has been fully funded for years.

Maybe our attitude towards money is different because we were poor immigrants and do retain some of our poor people instincts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I smell a lot of Biglaw partners/spouses in this thread...

This. They have a lot of free time to post online for people making so much money. I definitely didn’t choose the right major in college.

Nice problem to have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I smell a lot of Biglaw partners/spouses in this thread...

This. They have a lot of free time to post online for people making so much money. I definitely didn’t choose the right major in college.

Nice problem to have.

Immigrant PP from above. Not law. Entrepreneur. I make my own hours, so there is often working early/working late/working weekends, but lull during my lunch hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, our HHI doubled and got close to $1m when DD turned 4. So we decided to go the private school route for both DD and her younger sister. That + business class flights on long haul international journeys is the only difference. We can’t deal with the maintenance of a second home at the moment.

That seems like the big one to me - business class flights. My parents now fly business class when they do long haul overseas flights (and started doing this when their income jumped up significantly)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That would be significant. We are in $400-$500k and have to be quite careful. $800k would be a different beast. That’s double!

Quite careful? We make less than that and certainly can imagine spending more on vacations, home renovations, etc., but at this level we don't have to be careful about things like dining out, summer camps, gifts for kids, weekends away, new furniture, etc. When we compare ourselves to truly middle class households (say $100-$150k), I realize how little we have to worry about.

[Anonymous]

We went from around $500k to $1MM in the last couple of years. Here are the only changes we made:

- Sent one of our three kids to private due to special needs
- I get massages more often now (2-3x per month) to manage stress and health. I do a package at a cheap place so it’s $60/massage before tip.
- We paid off the mortgage last year and are now saving aggressively for college
- shopping more at Whole Foods than the past
- more frequent vacations, though we don’t stay at expensive hotels or anything