$200K. What is your lifestyle like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

[Anonymous]

live well.

235k was our AGI on taxes last year.

we live well. mid-30s and married

2k sqft renovated townhome in ward 3. PITI 3.6k. Add in maintenance/upgrades to get to about 50k/year (all utility cost is more than 100% offset by solar)

1 older, but reliable car (we mostly walk places and bike/metro otherwise), so outlay maybe 125/mo for local transport (one has metro fares covered by work). have money saved up if we need to replace.

2 kids at local public schools (after 2 years of free pre-k). cost is aftercare, activities, babysitting, and summer camps. Outlay like 20-25k/year here.

1 international trip + 2 cross country vacations per year (plus shorter with day-drive trips). 20k/year

groceries/restaurants/entertainment is like 2k/month. mostly shop at whole foods, wegmans, or trader joes with an occasional target run.

spend 1k/month on random shit.

maxed retirement contribution for one, pension for other, and very low deductible healthcare costs.

dump the rest of the saving in a brokerage. honestly we save too much, we're thinking about an au pair next year and maybe another international vacation.

note: college funds were taken care at birth from money we had already saved. that plus DC tag and one parent's benefits will cover out-of-state 100% at the UVA-level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:live well.

235k was our AGI on taxes last year.

we live well. mid-30s and married

2k sqft renovated townhome in ward 3. PITI 3.6k. Add in maintenance/upgrades to get to about 50k/year (all utility cost is more than 100% offset by solar)

1 older, but reliable car (we mostly walk places and bike/metro otherwise), so outlay maybe 125/mo for local transport (one has metro fares covered by work). have money saved up if we need to replace.

2 kids at local public schools (after 2 years of free pre-k). cost is aftercare, activities, babysitting, and summer camps. Outlay like 20-25k/year here.

1 international trip + 2 cross country vacations per year (plus shorter with day-drive trips). 20k/year

groceries/restaurants/entertainment is like 2k/month. mostly shop at whole foods, wegmans, or trader joes with an occasional target run.

spend 1k/month on random shit.

maxed retirement contribution for one, pension for other, and very low deductible healthcare costs.

dump the rest of the saving in a brokerage. honestly we save too much, we're thinking about an au pair next year and maybe another international vacation.

note: college funds were taken care at birth from money we had already saved. that plus DC tag and one parent's benefits will cover out-of-state 100% at the UVA-level.

$235k AGI is not the same as $200k income. That’s probably more like $300k assuming you have health insurance through work and retirement contributions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:live well.

235k was our AGI on taxes last year.

we live well. mid-30s and married

2k sqft renovated townhome in ward 3. PITI 3.6k. Add in maintenance/upgrades to get to about 50k/year (all utility cost is more than 100% offset by solar)

1 older, but reliable car (we mostly walk places and bike/metro otherwise), so outlay maybe 125/mo for local transport (one has metro fares covered by work). have money saved up if we need to replace.

2 kids at local public schools (after 2 years of free pre-k). cost is aftercare, activities, babysitting, and summer camps. Outlay like 20-25k/year here.

1 international trip + 2 cross country vacations per year (plus shorter with day-drive trips). 20k/year

groceries/restaurants/entertainment is like 2k/month. mostly shop at whole foods, wegmans, or trader joes with an occasional target run.

spend 1k/month on random shit.

maxed retirement contribution for one, pension for other, and very low deductible healthcare costs.

dump the rest of the saving in a brokerage. honestly we save too much, we're thinking about an au pair next year and maybe another international vacation.

note: college funds were taken care at birth from money we had already saved. that plus DC tag and one parent's benefits will cover out-of-state 100% at the UVA-level.

$235k AGI is not the same as $200k income. That’s probably more like $300k assuming you have health insurance through work and retirement contributions.

Fair, but people are including the value of their pension's employer contribution and healthcare subsidies as part of the HHI? I agree that is total compensation, but that sounds like a bear to compute. (though at least our 401k is roth, so it is in the AGI) Hell, we even have free lunch - how am I supposed to value that? According to the gov, the typical worker gets another 20% in compensation as benefits. So the OP's post was 200-250k incomes. So that would be people with 240-300k in total comp with all employer paid benefits thrown in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$440K combined + ~$150K ish in bonuses.
SFH, 1 million in mortgage at a very low pre-covid rate
2 kids in elementary public.
Two-three vacations a year (8k each).
No credit card debt
No car payments
No college savings/No 529/No investment properties
Eat out (due to busy schedules really) + home

We are both in our mid-30s but with a very large mortgage left to be paid + college x2+ new car payments ahead of us..

Did you read the subject line??

No, they were in too much of a hurry to rush here and brag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

[Anonymous]

225k between 2 earners.
One elementary aged child in public school, house in the suburbs. One SUV paid off, one with a loan.
Max out 401ks but also have a house cleaner once a month, eat at home most of the time, maybe order have diner food 1-2x week when in a pinch.
I feel like we have a good balance and are lucky in-laws have a cabin in the woods we can use during a week or so in the summer. No international travel, but a fun life with the ability to afford extracurriculars and day trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

[Anonymous]

I am not buying most of these write ups...I suspect alot of these individuals are potentially getting help from parents etc for college savings. When I see people making 200K (which surely would have been less when they were young) with fully funded 529's at 200K per kid plus maxing out retirement there has to be help. Obviously when you purchased your house is a big deal but unless it was more than 10-15 years ago it shouldn't matter that much as prices have been high forever..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

Sounds like I hit a nerve

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not buying most of these write ups...I suspect alot of these individuals are potentially getting help from parents etc for college savings. When I see people making 200K (which surely would have been less when they were young) with fully funded 529's at 200K per kid plus maxing out retirement there has to be help. Obviously when you purchased your house is a big deal but unless it was more than 10-15 years ago it shouldn't matter that much as prices have been high forever..

It depends how many kids you have, what age you had them at and how much you spent on your house. We did get $50k for a down payment which definitely helps but mostly we just don't spend that much and we save a lot. We bought our home in 2021 for less than $600k. And we only have one kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

Sounds like I hit a nerve

No, you made a stupid statement. Ask Jeff Bezos if he’d rather be a GS-drone than gallivanting on his yacht.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

Sounds like I hit a nerve

No, you made a stupid statement. Ask Jeff Bezos if he’d rather be a GS-drone than gallivanting on his yacht.

I made a statement based on research. Here is a link for you: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/money-only-buys-happiness-for-a-certain-amount.html

Who cares what Jeff Bezos wants? Unlike the "working class millionaires" of San Francisco I am happy with what I have and don't compare myself to others. https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-ultra-rich-people-want-more-money-000916342.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAN5osISYqAJdQyhGzJn6PBuNOECM_5L8PLnpGhTY7bNSMsma-DKUMQFmtFAb7n7_wi2Y4Ws3mxXkW8ujvMpyblvrNLdnh3aw9UiOTckejnXZNbHsAZZexz6cEicAF7yuNKYRi5xyl7PHJN_CeKvO0Qp-vo3Oyz-ojAVKEx0kSIP6

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not buying most of these write ups...I suspect alot of these individuals are potentially getting help from parents etc for college savings. When I see people making 200K (which surely would have been less when they were young) with fully funded 529's at 200K per kid plus maxing out retirement there has to be help. Obviously when you purchased your house is a big deal but unless it was more than 10-15 years ago it shouldn't matter that much as prices have been high forever..

I bought my house 10 years ago but in a neighborhood that wouldn't be good enough for most of DCUM. So my $2100 mortgage for my house put me in a comfortable position even though we have negative family money (we give money to my parents). We also rent out our basement and that nearly covers the mortgage.