What's a decent household income to live in Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

That may be true, but people are obsessing about school districts around here. My wife made us overlook a house because it was in the Walter Johnson district, and her coworker told her she should aim for Churchill or Whitman.



You realize that the only difference between these schools is the percentage of students from lower-income and minority backgrounds (and that's really low at Walter Johnson too compared to other MCPS schools). Just to be clear on what you are paying a premium for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the replies...i am venting a little bit here but i would like to find out what i am doing wrong.

$350k per year is about $14.5k per month after taxes

Mortgage: $3800 and that's low because of the fixer upper house
2 kids in day-care: $4000 (only 1/2 now since we dont have the 2nd kid yet)
2 cars: $600
Student debt: $600
Bills: $600
House cleaning: $300

that's less $5000 left per month, which would be ok if we didnt eat out and go on trips now and then. We may be doing too much of that...

We also spend a lot on our house because it is a fixer-upper.

The bottom line is that after all these years and all the work trying to do the right thing, we are barely making end meet.

Another thing i am trying to do is figure out why this area is so expensive, this way at least i could get something out of living here.

By the way, I just went on zillow and searched for 4 BR+ homes for less than 800k and 10 houses came up, all in need of work.

$5,000 OF MONTHLY DISCRETIONARY INCOME IS NOT POOR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

[Anonymous]

You don't seem to have a clue on where your money is going. Get mint or start tracking. No, you can't do everything on 350k - vacation, eat out all the time, renovate, pay for daycare, buy cars on payments, student loans... Something has to give.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: America got me in the end

Don't blame America for your own decisions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the replies...i am venting a little bit here but i would like to find out what i am doing wrong.

$350k per year is about $14.5k per month after taxes

Mortgage: $3800 and that's low because of the fixer upper house
2 kids in day-care: $4000 (only 1/2 now since we dont have the 2nd kid yet)
2 cars: $600
Student debt: $600
Bills: $600
House cleaning: $300

that's less $5000 left per month, which would be ok if we didnt eat out and go on trips now and then. We may be doing too much of that...

We also spend a lot on our house because it is a fixer-upper.

The bottom line is that after all these years and all the work trying to do the right thing, we are barely making end meet.

Another thing i am trying to do is figure out why this area is so expensive, this way at least i could get something out of living here.

By the way, I just went on zillow and searched for 4 BR+ homes for less than 800k and 10 houses came up, all in need of work.

$5,000 OF MONTHLY DISCRETIONARY INCOME IS NOT POOR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

+1 Good grief, OP.

[Anonymous]

I only read the poster's question and have to say that we are in the same salary level and feel the same level of desperation. It's horrible!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

OP here .... i get into this argument with some family/friend back home (they think i am ridiculous when i say i am struggling) but i think there is something people are missing here.

unless you're some trust fund kid, $350k a year doesnt come easy.... it involves years and years of sacrificing ... moving a lot , traveling for work, living in places you don't like, beeing away from friends and family, having to adjust culturaly (in my case again), learning a foreign language...All those things are fine at one condition, and that is that i am going to be rewarded for it. Otherwise why not just stay put, work a 9 to 5, be around friends and family etc... so yes $350k is being rewarded, but what is the point if you have to live the same life you would somewhere else on $100k.



And again, i just dont see where the money is going around here, there is nothing special at all about the place (expect schools maybe), there are no beaches, no mountains, mediocre climate, insanely high taxes etc...

The problem seems to be that you think you are entitled to more than the market says you are worth. You don't get $500k/yr as recompense for your "sacrifice," you get it because you bring that $500k in value to people/firms that can afford to pay it.

i am not saying i should make more, i am saying an area as lame as this one should cost less ...

You sound a little clueless. This area doesn't have a HCOL for some unknown reason despite being "lame." Federal government is here and it's not going anywhere, which is a huge draw for white collar jobs, ranging from those directly in government to multiple industries dependent on it. Wages are high and it drives all costs up. Your HHI buys you much less than what it would elsewhere, so why not move if you have no other attachments to this area? Will you make the same HHI elsewhere?

[Anonymous]

Like OP, we live in Bethesda on an HHI of $340,000 (both of us working full-time). We're older than OP -- we're in our mid-40's. We have 3 kids.

Income-wise, with an HHI of $340K, I'd say we feel like we are about in the middle of the people in our neighborhood (in western Bethesda -- BCC cluster). If we lived in Chevy Chase, we'd probably notice that a lot of people have more money.

I figure the advantages of Bethesda are decent proximity to downtown DC, decent schools, and nice neighborhoods. We like that our neighbors are all pretty educated and interesting, which is pretty cool.

Looking back 20 years ago, I kind of wish we'd have chosen to live in a city near and ocean or mountains. But we were attracted to DC for the jobs about 20 years ago. So we've stayed.

We have a small unremarkable house compared to my friends from the Midwest who live like kings on a modest salary (because the housing is so much less expensive), with their big new houses and deluxe vacations.

I have noticed that a fair number of people in Bethesda seem to have some kind of family financial help with, for example, the down payment on the house. Or the grandparents pay for a wonderful vacation for the whole family.

[Anonymous]

As for OP's question about who is buying the expensive houses in Bethesda (above $1.5 million etc), I think it's mostly lawyers (in Biglaw) and lobbyists, who make good money. Or it's sometimes people with more modest incomes but who have family assistance with the down payment.

[Anonymous]

We have a similar HHI, live in Kensington, and have a house mortgage for $720k.

We have two kids under 5, a full-time nanny, house cleaning twice a month and a yard service. No car payments or student loans.

I feel like I'm living an absurdly privileged life and am well able to afford everything above while still taking vacations, funding 529s and putting LOTS of money in the bank.

I think you're doing something wrong OP. If your numbers are right, and you currently have only one daycare cost, then you're saying you're netting somewhere around 7k a month AFTER all expenses.

THat's 84k a year for savings. That is A LOT of money. What on earth are you expecting??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Another thing i am trying to do is figure out why this area is so expensive, this way at least i could get something out of living here.

Prices are higher because of the schools, which you might not be using yet.

The schools are the same throughout the county. What varies is the HHI of the students attending the schools. If you want your child to attend schools where the majority of students come from families with high HHI, then move to Bethesda or Potomac. If that is not important to you, then move anywhere else in the county. Schools are not inherently better because they are located in Bethesda.

That may be true, but people are obsessing about school districts around here. My wife made us overlook a house because it was in the Walter Johnson district, and her coworker told her she should aim for Churchill or Whitman.

Her coworker was wrong, and also is not the person who has to deal with the consequences of having an $800k house. The main thing wrong with your budget is you bought way too expensive of a house at too young of an age. Of course you don't have to live in Bethesda or Potomac. They are two of the richest towns in the county and you're just starting out, with college loans and young children. You got in over your head.

I'm probably 10 years older than you, live in Silver Spring in a $600k house, with no more daycare and no more college loans. Make financial decisions that work for you.

[Anonymous]

what on earth are you spending your money on OP?

We have a similar income ($365K) and have a $3k/month primary mortgage plus a $2k/month mortgage on a second home (plus all the utilities/expenses x 2 homes).
We spend about $15K/year on activities/camps for 3 kids.
We max 2 401ks.
We spend about an additional $10K/year on other travel/vacations.

We want for nothing. I guess maybe it's because we live a pretty simple life. We eat out at Chipotle. We shop at Old Navy (and only on sale). We shop at Giant. I clean my own house. We hire high school sitters for $10/hour or swap childcare with neighbors (my kids are elementary aged).

If you expect $350K to allow you to shop at Saks and eat dinner out downtown weekly then I can see it being tight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a similar HHI, live in Kensington, and have a house mortgage for $720k.

We have two kids under 5, a full-time nanny, house cleaning twice a month and a yard service. No car payments or student loans.

I feel like I'm living an absurdly privileged life and am well able to afford everything above while still taking vacations, funding 529s and putting LOTS of money in the bank.

I think you're doing something wrong OP. If your numbers are right, and you currently have only one daycare cost, then you're saying you're netting somewhere around 7k a month AFTER all expenses.

THat's 84k a year for savings. That is A LOT of money. What on earth are you expecting??

Wow, how much are you able to save each year? Our HHI is around 330k and mortgage is 420k. One kid in daycare. I wasn't willing to pay much more than we did for a house (~600k) even on our income - although we are able to invest something like 90k a year, all-in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Another thing i am trying to do is figure out why this area is so expensive, this way at least i could get something out of living here.

Prices are higher because of the schools, which you might not be using yet.

The schools are the same throughout the county. What varies is the HHI of the students attending the schools. If you want your child to attend schools where the majority of students come from families with high HHI, then move to Bethesda or Potomac. If that is not important to you, then move anywhere else in the county. Schools are not inherently better because they are located in Bethesda.

That may be true, but people are obsessing about school districts around here. My wife made us overlook a house because it was in the Walter Johnson district, and her coworker told her she should aim for Churchill or Whitman.

Her coworker was wrong, and also is not the person who has to deal with the consequences of having an $800k house. The main thing wrong with your budget is you bought way too expensive of a house at too young of an age. Of course you don't have to live in Bethesda or Potomac. They are two of the richest towns in the county and you're just starting out, with college loans and young children. You got in over your head.

I'm probably 10 years older than you, live in Silver Spring in a $600k house, with no more daycare and no more college loans. Make financial decisions that work for you.

+1

I'm in my mid-fifties, live in Silver Spring in a $700K house, and have two very successful teens - one off to college this fall and the other a rising junior at what DCUM deems a "bad" school. Both kids are doing great and no worries here about them getting into and performing well at good colleges.

We will pay for their college educations from the money we've saved for the past two decades. No more college loans for us, and none for them. In two years, our house will be paid off altogether.

Had we bought in Bethesda 15-20 years ago, none of this would be possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the replies...i am venting a little bit here but i would like to find out what i am doing wrong.

$350k per year is about $14.5k per month after taxes

Mortgage: $3800 and that's low because of the fixer upper house
2 kids in day-care: $4000 (only 1/2 now since we dont have the 2nd kid yet)
2 cars: $600
Student debt: $600
Bills: $600
House cleaning: $300

that's less $5000 left per month, which would be ok if we didnt eat out and go on trips now and then. We may be doing too much of that...

We also spend a lot on our house because it is a fixer-upper.

The bottom line is that after all these years and all the work trying to do the right thing, we are barely making end meet.

Another thing i am trying to do is figure out why this area is so expensive, this way at least i could get something out of living here.

By the way, I just went on zillow and searched for 4 BR+ homes for less than 800k and 10 houses came up, all in need of work.

$5,000 OF MONTHLY DISCRETIONARY INCOME IS NOT POOR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

$7,000 of Monthly Discretionary Income. He's budgeting $2000/month per kid for daycare, one kid hasn't even been born yet.
so he has $7,000 of monthly discretionary income he's blowing through.....