What HHI does a family of 5 need to feel comfortable: NW DC or close-in Bethesda/Nova

[Anonymous]

Yeah…when exactly did you buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do people spend their money on? I have a HHI of $250k, just finished paying off student loans, three kids (2 in public, 1 in daycare) and live comfortably. Vacation a few times a year, max out retirement and put money in 529s. We don’t have a ton left over after all that, but feel comfortable.

Our mortgage is $3500/month.

If you bought in the last 5 years, that total mortgage cost is cleary not for a home in NWDC or Bethesda, close-in

That's prob a mortgage on a 750k home...which works great on a 250k income

A close in crack shack in Bethesda is now closer to 1-1.2M, which you couldn't COMFORTABLY afford

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do people spend their money on? I have a HHI of $250k, just finished paying off student loans, three kids (2 in public, 1 in daycare) and live comfortably. Vacation a few times a year, max out retirement and put money in 529s. We don’t have a ton left over after all that, but feel comfortable.

Our mortgage is $3500/month.

Lol.

[Anonymous]

The average home price-to-income ratio is 5.4 nationally and 7.6 in the DC metro.

This is how Americans live, some people on this board are super conservative. Which is fine, but they should realize that.

[Anonymous]

I make 50k a year and live comfortably in Spring Valley. I inherited the home from my grandparents and my mom pays my property tax bill. 7 kids all in private. my brother pays that bill

If you can't live on 30k in NWDC you are horrible with money!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The average home price-to-income ratio is 5.4 nationally and 7.6 in the DC metro.

This is how Americans live, some people on this board are super conservative. Which is fine, but they should realize that.

I don't know where you're getting those numbers but if they're real they make me feel a bit better. We're a little below the 7.6 ratio in Arlington. We saved a lot when we had two incomes so had a big DP which is why we're able to pay the mortgage on one income. I agree people on this board are super conservative. For me the light bulb moment was realizing that we were either going to save money or pay a mortgage. We were just never going to start spending a lot more. Its the way DH and I are wired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make 50k a year and live comfortably in Spring Valley. I inherited the home from my grandparents and my mom pays my property tax bill. 7 kids all in private. my brother pays that bill

If you can't live on 30k in NWDC you are horrible with money!

Lol!!! That is honestly probably 75% of the people in spring valley!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average home price-to-income ratio is 5.4 nationally and 7.6 in the DC metro.

This is how Americans live, some people on this board are super conservative. Which is fine, but they should realize that.

I don't know where you're getting those numbers but if they're real they make me feel a bit better. We're a little below the 7.6 ratio in Arlington. We saved a lot when we had two incomes so had a big DP which is why we're able to pay the mortgage on one income. I agree people on this board are super conservative. For me the light bulb moment was realizing that we were either going to save money or pay a mortgage. We were just never going to start spending a lot more. Its the way DH and I are wired.

Would also love to see the source for those ratios. We are at around 5, thinking of upgrading to 7:1 house price to income but feeling quite uneasy about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The average home price-to-income ratio is 5.4 nationally and 7.6 in the DC metro.

This is how Americans live, some people on this board are super conservative. Which is fine, but they should realize that.

We would have an insane house if we lived like this. Like, MTV-cribs-shark-tank-in-the-bedroom insane. But probably couldn't afford groceries!

[Anonymous]

I would say you need 300-400k at least.

Just as perspective, my single 32yo brother in law is trying to buy a place. He has a 300k income and he is totally priced out. You can’t get anything decent under $1m.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do people spend their money on? I have a HHI of $250k, just finished paying off student loans, three kids (2 in public, 1 in daycare) and live comfortably. Vacation a few times a year, max out retirement and put money in 529s. We don’t have a ton left over after all that, but feel comfortable.

Our mortgage is $3500/month.

If you bought in the last 5 years, that total mortgage cost is cleary not for a home in NWDC or Bethesda, close-in

That's prob a mortgage on a 750k home...which works great on a 250k income

A close in crack shack in Bethesda is now closer to 1-1.2M, which you couldn't COMFORTABLY afford

I just posted that Brother can’t find a place on 300k. He is finding that complete run down crappy places all cost over $1m. He is trying to get something in the 800k range. This is a single guy not looking for a ton of space or thinking about school districts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 4, so this may not apply, but our HHI is 575 and we feel more than comfortable. Sadly it's easy to get to the point where you always want more (more retirement! more for college! more vacations! maybe private school really is the way to go!), but this is plenty.

Our main expenses are the mortgage on our 1M house, kids activities, retirement, and college savings (if those count as expenses). We have no plans for a nice car (our two are worth a combined 15K), private school, more than one vacation a year, or expensive home updates.

(FWIW, we don't care where our clothes come from or what kind of cars we drive. So what if my pants come from target and I drive a Honda Fit? Somebody might disapprove? So? Why would I that bother me?) (But it's possible it's easier to not be bothered because our income is high)

You must save $250k a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make 50k a year and live comfortably in Spring Valley. I inherited the home from my grandparents and my mom pays my property tax bill. 7 kids all in private. my brother pays that bill

If you can't live on 30k in NWDC you are horrible with money!

Lol!!! That is honestly probably 75% of the people in spring valley!!

Hahaha that is 75 percent of the people I worked with at a think tank!

[Anonymous]

My home price is actually less than my yearly income, which is a bit of an oddity.

[Anonymous]

I make 165k I just put a bigger downpayment down to make mortgage affordable.