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budget for those making 400ishK?
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Anonymous
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Okay, I admit to being 150% nosey. There is no reason I need this information and no reason for you to give it to me.
However, I am genuinely curious about how one spends a $400K salary. There's a lot of talk on here of how a salary like that "just goes". If you make this much or thereabouts, can you share what your monthly budget is (from taxes on down to groceries?) thank you for appeasing me. |
Anonymous
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400K
100K for taxes 50K for childcare (nanny and preschool) 40,000 mortgage 30,000 retirement 40,000 student loans 24,000 cash savings for house down-payment in better school district 6,800 health care premiums 4,000 prescription co-pays 5,000 weekly house cleaning 6,000 car payments (1 chevy wagon, 1 Prius) 10,000 vacations (bethany rental in summer, domestic hotel trip in winter, long weekend away at a local resort, long camping weekend in fall) 15,000 charities (social services) 15,000 political contributions (Emily's List and assorted feminist advocacy orgs) 3,000 phone 1,500 cable/internet (when we strike it rich, we'll spring for HBO =)) 1,200 lawn mowing and weeding 10,000 groceries- we go crazy here, never use coupons, buy lots of brand named packaged food and fruits and veggies and meat that go bad because we're never home to cook them 5,000 restaurants (see above, mostly fast food or delivery) 2,000 gym, which we never go to 3,500 suits for DH (one new suit, 3 shirts, 2 ties, dress shoes, welcome to brooks brothers) 3,000 business and casual clothes for me as I get fatter (see lack of time for gym and fast food above) 3,000 clothes for 2 kids (yes, this is a big splurge, for sure) that's all, folks! |
Anonymous
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DH and I make $380K combined.
$113K for taxes (income, social security, medicare) $45K on nanny and preschool $43K to 401ks and IRAs $39K on mortgage (just refinanced to bring this down from $48K) $10K on property tax $14K on groceries and dining out $7K on trips $9K on insurance (life, health, dental, etc.) $10K on entertainment/cash $2K on diapers, toys, clothes, other child related $4K on clothes $20K on home improvements $7K on utilities $3K on gas, car maintenance $1K on household products, hardware $5K on housekeeper $3K on gym membership $2K on charitable contributions $4K on gifts to family members, friends, etc. $6K to 529 plan $33K to savings (emergency fund/investments) |
Anonymous
Only 2K for charity on a 380K income? Wow. I had read somewhere that the wealthy give the least to charity as a percentage of their income compared to those of more modest means, and I guess you are confirming that. I also had read somewhere that 2% of income is an average (or was it a median) of what many families give to charity--so on a 380K income, that would mean giving $7600. So you are not even in the ballpark... I am not trying to shame or scold you, but I am nonetheless curious--does it not bother you to give so little to charity on your income? (Genuine question, not being snarky or rhetorical.) |
Anonymous
Not to be snarky, but you are absolutely being snarky. |
Anonymous
That fact that you would point the finger and ask the question, is snarky. Making a disclaimer that it's not snarky doesn't erase the snarkiness. |
Anonymous
| not the pp but i'm wondering if people who are well off but not super wealthy have a mental limit about how much they will give to charity. so for example if you make 400k but not 20mil, you limit your donations to 5k instead of giving 8k. this compared to someone who makes 50k who gives 1k. |
Anonymous
| Just want to point out that the second poster is giving 30K to charity on 400K, which isn't bad at all. |
Anonymous
| To the snarky charity poster, I don't give a lot of money to charity but I provide at least 100 hours of pro bono legal services each year? Or does money only count? |
Anonymous
That is an excellent point. I think the time you give to pro bono work like this is even more valuable than any cash contribution. Also, a lot of people give more than cash to charity. A lot of people give their used items away to charity rather than trying to sell them on eBay or Criagslist. Sure, you get a tax break on some of it, but not much. Drives me crazy when people make assumptions and get snarky like that poster. There are more ways to contribute than just giving cash. |
Anonymous
No synagogue membership fees ? 
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Anonymous
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Re Charity:
I was very critical of Bill Gates for years because he didn't seem to give attention to charitable giving. Obviously, that changed dramatically as he (and his family) are on the forefront of good practices and give a huge amount of money to their foundation. He had always been very driven in his work and it crowded out other considerations. I know that I do very little for charity, even though I was raised with a spirit of volunteerism. It's just a really hard time in life right now with finishing school, taking care of young children, establishing career, getting marriage on a sound foundation. But I expect that to change. I do what I can in small ways now, but I think we are capable of doing different things at different times in our lives. Some of the high earners may follow the same pattern. Getting life established, paying down student loans, etc. take a priority at first. |
Anonymous
That's OBNOXIOUS. |
Anonymous
| Who cares what the charitable contributions are of these posters. We don't live in a fascist state so what you want to do with your money is your business. If you believe so much in charity, then spend your time donating and volunteering and less time pointing fingers. There are so many jealous low-earners posting on DCUm lately, it's sickening. |
Anonymous
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Ha! I'm the 400K poster with no synagogue fees. Because I'm a pro-choice catholic, I tithe 10% after taxes (30K total) to charities, often feminist ones.
But there are a ton of Jewish women supporting these groups too, and I am thankful for their generosity. I will assume the smiley poster was not trying to incite some anti-semitic posts, that would be beyond unacceptable. Instead, I will lend a shout out to the jewish women who (along with catholics, lesbians, working women, intellectuals, and so many more) have done so much to advance women worldwide and in the US. |