I Live Comfortably on Less than $70K After-Tax in DC Area

[Anonymous]

lol that's the schedule for most consultants around here

I make 150k and I never check email offhours plus telework twice a week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people screaming "YOU"D BE POOR IF YOU HAD KIDS!" are still wrong. The median HHI in DC is 75k, which by definition includes 2 children. Once again, it's really just a question of most people on this forum not wanting to live the way most people are actually living in the area.

Sorry I don't want to live in a 1950s ranch and consider myself rich. That's not living rich and you're out of your mind delusional if you think it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, and my carpool just honked. I'll catch up later.

How far do you live from work? You're not getting picked up for carpool until 8:45?

Sounds like the life. What time do you come home?

I don't think you recognize your privilege. Making $80K+ as a single person isn't the norm either.

OP here.....if you MUST know, we work from 10 to 6 (flextime), but this morning one of us had a 9:30 meeting so we left earlier.

Also, as far as my "privilege," I do recognize it. I said I live very comfortably, which is why I posted - is counter to all these people saying &80k is poor. (And they're saying that for a single person.)

But you don't make $80K. You make more, which gives you a buffer even if you aren't spending it. And you're not trying to support a family on it, which most people are. You're not countering anything.

10 - 6, nice schedule for someone making $100K+. Lunch break?

OP here. In the 90s. And yes, I take about 45 minutes for lunch. But I do bring some work home with me about twice a week.

And true, I do have a buffer, but the point is I am living on less than $70k. It's a good amount for a single person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never understood it either OP. We make $200K and have more money than we know what do with.

Is this from two people working and do you have kids? Most people are strapped because of childcare and housing costs.

Yes, two people working. We have one child now. We also live in FFX county like the OP and daycare is considerably cheaper out here than the $2K per month I see mentioned on this board a lot. Housing is expensive for us ($3,400 PITI) but we still have plenty of money left over.

Well you're clearly not Saving for college or enough. Because you should be putting at least 1k a month into a 529 per child.

+ 1

Better hope Jr. gets near perfect SAT scores and straight As with 8 APs or more to have any hope of being admitted to UVA because he or she is going to have to take out monster loans if they want private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, and my carpool just honked. I'll catch up later.

How far do you live from work? You're not getting picked up for carpool until 8:45?

Sounds like the life. What time do you come home?

I don't think you recognize your privilege. Making $80K+ as a single person isn't the norm either.

OP here.....if you MUST know, we work from 10 to 6 (flextime), but this morning one of us had a 9:30 meeting so we left earlier.

Also, as far as my "privilege," I do recognize it. I said I live very comfortably, which is why I posted - is counter to all these people saying &80k is poor. (And they're saying that for a single person.)

But you don't make $80K. You make more, which gives you a buffer even if you aren't spending it. And you're not trying to support a family on it, which most people are. You're not countering anything.

10 - 6, nice schedule for someone making $100K+. Lunch break?

<-- THIS.

Also, no student loans? Whatever, man.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, and my carpool just honked. I'll catch up later.

How far do you live from work? You're not getting picked up for carpool until 8:45?

Sounds like the life. What time do you come home?

I don't think you recognize your privilege. Making $80K+ as a single person isn't the norm either.

OP here.....if you MUST know, we work from 10 to 6 (flextime), but this morning one of us had a 9:30 meeting so we left earlier.

Also, as far as my "privilege," I do recognize it. I said I live very comfortably, which is why I posted - is counter to all these people saying &80k is poor. (And they're saying that for a single person.)

But you don't make $80K. You make more, which gives you a buffer even if you aren't spending it. And you're not trying to support a family on it, which most people are. You're not countering anything.

10 - 6, nice schedule for someone making $100K+. Lunch break?

OP here. In the 90s. And yes, I take about 45 minutes for lunch. But I do bring some work home with me about twice a week.

And true, I do have a buffer, but the point is I am living on less than $70k. It's a good amount for a single person.

Right, and when you get married and have a spouse who also makes $90K a year and a kid, who costs you $1500/month in daycare/food alone (not to mention health care and 529K), and you have to move to a bigger house that is $3000/mo PITI, then yes you will be just like most of us here-- making a little less than $200,000 and feeling like you can't do it all (no more vacations to Europe and Bahamas in the same year, and flights to visit family add up for a family of 3), but you'll be doing OK. Yet you'll still complain mercilessly about how you're "poor."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you earn to get $70K net?

I earn a fair bit more, and my net is actually more. The point is that all I'm spending is $70k, including retirement savings. But if I have to guess, I'd think that's a salary of around $85k.

So you're basically a troll because the amount you said you made is not actually what you make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here. In the 90s. And yes, I take about 45 minutes for lunch. But I do bring some work home with me about twice a week.

And true, I do have a buffer, but the point is I am living on less than $70k. It's a good amount for a single person.

So you're in the office less than 37 hours a week and make in the 90K's. Yep, you're a shining example of an average people should aspire to.

[Anonymous]

I make 100k gross with one kid and we are doing just fine. I made less when she was in daycare and yet we made it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How on earth are you vacationing for $250 a year? I can't even get a plane ticket to visit my parents for less than $500 each, and there are 4 of us. A hotel is a minimum of $100 a night, and that's not even a vacation.

Kids are expensive. They need all new clothes each season for many years. Diapers and wipes are expensive. Childcare is expensive. It all adds up.

It's 250 a month for travel. All items in the budget were monthly

[Anonymous]

well yeah, but most of us would blow our brains out living in a Townhouse in Fairfax County. So take that and convert it into a 4K a month mortgage (or more) and then add another 2-4K on top for child care and your 70K budget doesn't look so good anymore does it?

[Anonymous]

At $80K gross, single parent, two teens I was doing well a few years ago....of course I purchased my home in late 90s and mortgage is only $900.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:well yeah, but most of us would blow our brains out living in a Townhouse in Fairfax County. So take that and convert it into a 4K a month mortgage (or more) and then add another 2-4K on top for child care and your 70K budget doesn't look so good anymore does it?

Dude - that's your problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never understood it either OP. We make $200K and have more money than we know what do with.

Is this from two people working and do you have kids? Most people are strapped because of childcare and housing costs.

Yes, two people working. We have one child now. We also live in FFX county like the OP and daycare is considerably cheaper out here than the $2K per month I see mentioned on this board a lot. Housing is expensive for us ($3,400 PITI) but we still have plenty of money left over.

Well you're clearly not Saving for college or enough. Because you should be putting at least 1k a month into a 529 per child.

I don't know what to tell you, we still save a bunch each month with $200K HHI. I paid off my student loans when I was in Biglaw and we bought our cars for cash so maybe that's two expenses others have that we don't. I'm not saying we're going on European vacations every year but we have a nice house. I think our monthly spend is probably considerably lower than other people because we don't buy a lot of stuff and don't go out to eat very often.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You make a lot of money and you're single.

Op would be screwed if she had 2k a month in childcare costs.

I did it on less. One kid though and never paid more than 1200 month in daycare. Yes it was super tight.