<$100,000 and don't feel poor

[Anonymous]

;p

[Anonymous]

By local standards you aren't rich either.

[Anonymous]

Good going, OP. Being happy and healthy is what it is all about.

[Anonymous]

Me too. We make around $90k a year and feel very wealthy.

I can not comprehend the people complaining about where the money goes when they make $200k plus.

We have 2 children and live in NW DC, centrally located. Vacation overseas (with family) and go on several trips a year. Eat out a couple of times a month but are otherwise generally frugal. Have a low mortgage, no debt, one car, rarely buy clothers or other luxuries. We have everything we need and then some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: We have everything we need and then some.

This is what I always tell my kids. Sometimes they feel less well off in comparison to peers (even when they're not!) but really, we have everything we need and more so we are very lucky and priveledged! That's what I want them to grow up feeling. They should not feel "poor" because their friend has a fancier car or spent more on their family vacation or... whatever.

[Anonymous]

Family of 4 on 90K.

I do feel stretched, but realize this does not make me poor, technically.
However I wish we had many things we cannot afford. At the same time, our daily life is very content.
It is an exercise in feeling grateful for what we have.

[Anonymous]

I feel poor sometimes. I make about $100K but live in a really high dollar area (North Arlington 22207) and sometimes I do feel like everyone around me has things I don't have and can do things I can't do. For me, the problem is being a single mom - I made plenty of money when I was child-free and I'd be living the good life with another income helping with that mortgage, but as it is, I'm definitely stretched thin sometimes. (don't want to move, because right now I have a good commute plus good neighborhood plus good schools and I don't want to give up any of those.)

[Anonymous]

Make 80k for a family of two and we are quite happy. No trips to disney world for spring break but I think we will make it! LOL

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing you don't have student loans OP, which is not just a matter of luck of course. Perhaps you chose a state school within the means of whatever your parents had saved up, maybe you got scholarships, maybe you worked, or some combo of all of those. Just saying, I think that's part of why you feel financially comfortable.

I'm with you though. I was living off 15k a year in Manhattan, working my tail off. So when I moved down here to a salaried 50k/year job, I felt pretty cozy.

[Anonymous]

There are many of us like you on DCUM, OP. We usually just roll our eyes at the "Woe is me, I can't afford private school on $300k HHI" posts. I live in PG, too, really like my town, send my kid to private school, work reasonable hours, spend money on the things that bring us the most happiness (the pool, trips to visit Grandma, that private school) and just don't worry about cars and clothes and a fancy house. We have everything we need and then some, as the PP said. I think that is going to become my new motto.

[Anonymous]

All you have to do is look at the median income, which is about 85K for metro area. In Fairfax, it is 107K. In Vienna (where I live), it is 117K. On 90K, you can possibly live in Vienna, if your debt is low. I probably could, because I owned my house for a while.

[Anonymous]

Here is how you can be poor with a high income:

1) three kids in private school
2) 2 million dollar house
3) 2 luxury cars

Those items: 45K/yr, private (4000/mo); Mortgage: 16000/mo (8 x my house...), and 2K/month car.

22,000/month. 264k /year....with 400K, that would leave 20K for everything else (after taxes).


Now, here is how I can live confortably on 100K:

2000/mo mortgage (small house in good neighborhood)
public schools
500/mo car payments
800/mo food for three
500 mo utilities (including telecon)
--
3800 total, income after taxes about 6250, leaving 2450/month for everything else. Or almost 30K extra. So I have more fun money than the overextended person earning 400K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is how you can be poor with a high income:

1) three kids in private school
2) 2 million dollar house
3) 2 luxury cars

Those items: 45K/yr, private (4000/mo); Mortgage: 16000/mo (8 x my house...), and 2K/month car.

22,000/month. 264k /year....with 400K, that would leave 20K for everything else (after taxes).


Now, here is how I can live confortably on 100K:

2000/mo mortgage (small house in good neighborhood)
public schools
500/mo car payments
800/mo food for three
500 mo utilities (including telecon)
--
3800 total, income after taxes about 6250, leaving 2450/month for everything else. Or almost 30K extra. So I have more fun money than the overextended person earning 400K.

I don't get your figures. Here is our budget for about 90k

Take home after 401k, health insurance and other deductions = $4200
Mortgage = $1600
Food for 4 = 1000
Utilities including internet = 500
No debt or car payment
College fund = $200
Everything else, including house maintenance, gas, clothing, vacation = $800


Plenty!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in a great neighborhood in close in pg county (house is a small 4 bedroom but I can afford the $1200/ mortgage). Have a solid job (fed). My kids are in good schools (daughter did private for elem and now both in public). One does travel soccer and plays piano. The other dances and plays saxaphone. Both are smart and healthy. I drive a used Mazda 5 which I love. We enjoy vacations and outings to cultural activities... I put $600/month into college savings....
I just wonder, how could I not feel rich?

Good for you, but lets be honest...If you can afford a $1200 a month mortgage, you aren't poor.

I grew up poor in West Baltimore. My neighborhood was made famous by The Wire. I wore one pair of shoes all of high school. Meals were often just starches flavored with whatever cheap powdered soup mix or gravy was on sale that week. that is poor.

You are middle class. Own it.

You missed the forest for the trees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree! I'm super duper middle class but when I hang out with people from nwdc or mock, it seems that everyone is so status oriented. People act like they couldn't survive on less than 100k.

Which probably means they are spendypants and aren't actually accumulating any wealth.

If you could quit tomorrow and live off royalties, interest and dividends to cover all your expenses then you are rich. Otherwise you are quite literally "working class" rather than capitalist class aka the rich.