what is a good income to be a SAHM in NOVA?

[Anonymous]

I badly want to move back to the area. My husband is at the end of his stats PhD program here in Atlanta . We also have a baby on the way. I used to live in Reston 5 years ago. I think I would probably want to live in Reston or Ashburn area if we move back. Of course it all depends of jobs!! How much in order to live comfortably in NOVA? Eventually I would go back to work as a Montessori preschool teacher once my son is old enough to go with me to school. My salary is 30k so not much.

[Anonymous]

If you ask some people on DCUMs, they are struggling on $200K per year. I am a single mother with one child so there is only 2 of us but we do fine on $60K.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of high paying jobs for people with good stats skills in DC. I get contacted about jobs all the time. I think 110k is ideal. You have to be flexible though since he is just starting out.

[Anonymous]

200k would be a good income. You can probably make it on 100k if you can live in a townhouse.

[Anonymous]

Everyone will have a different definition of living comfortably. We don't spend money on clothes or cars but want a single family house in a nice neighborhood. If you want to stay home you will find ways to make it work.

[Anonymous]

We do totally fine at 160k. With part-time child care costs cause 30k of that income is mine.

[Anonymous]

I found 100K for 1 kid to be perfectly fine. Now we are 160K with three and we are still doing well, though not saving as much for college as I would like. Still, I hope to go back to work eventually and then all my salary can go to help defray college costs.

We bought our house with hefty down payment that we saved from when we were DINKs, so that helped a lot. And no student loans, either.

[Anonymous]

We have one child, live in a 2 bedroom condo, are very fiscally conservative (no debt, 529 plan, lots of retirement savings) and live fine on 130kish in salary for two working parents. This includes a 20k daycare bill. We don't eat out every night or go on tons of vacations (1 a year) but it is doable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:200k would be a good income. You can probably make it on 100k if you can live in a townhouse.

op here: a townhouse is ideal for us.

[Anonymous]

I'd say it depends on how close in you need to live. I live in N Arlington and probably couldn't do it for less than $150K/year. That said, in Ashburn, $100K/yr for a townhouse sounds doable, as long as your DH isn't stuck commuting into DC every day. That would be a fate worse than death.

[Anonymous]

One thing that might be a plus for you -- there seem to be a lot of SAHMs in Ashburn. As a WOHM, I might be biased, but "they" seem to outnumber working moms by quite a bit, on my street anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing that might be a plus for you -- there seem to be a lot of SAHMs in Ashburn. As a WOHM, I might be biased, but "they" seem to outnumber working moms by quite a bit, on my street anyway.

Yes. Just got invited to a botox party in Ashburn. Lots of SAHMs. I think you could do it comfortably on $150k.

[Anonymous]

It also depends on your other financial obligations. We have high student loan debt but live in a modest neighborhood, so $100k would be a stretch for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It also depends on your other financial obligations. We have high student loan debt but live in a modest neighborhood, so $100k would be a stretch for us.

op here: I am grateful that we both owe nothing to lenders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you ask some people on DCUMs, they are struggling on $200K per year. I am a single mother with one child so there is only 2 of us but we do fine on $60K.

How are you a single mom making $60K but also a stay-at-home mom?