450k HHI- lifestyle questions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love the people who spend $ on luxuries for themselves but send their kids to public. Good priorities there.

I went to an elite private school. I send my child to public after my experience there. It's a deliberate choice. My child is getting a better education than I did without all the social weirdness that comes with elite private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our HHi varies but is around 350-450 depending on bonuses.

$3k mortgage and taxes
$400 car (finally bought a new one, DH glady drives a beater)
Maybe $1k a month home maintenance stuff
$1k a month groceries
$500 month utilities
Rest savings

So many of our work peers love paycheck to paycheck because they have the big house, the NEED the new BMW every other year, etc.

+1. We have a similar income and a similar small mortgage. I so wish we could have a slightly bigger house. Our house is in a great location but small and uncomfortable. I wish to spend more, but every time we get close, we can't quite pull the trigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I love the people who spend $ on luxuries for themselves but send their kids to public. Good priorities there



Even if I could afford private school (and if we have more than 2 children I wouldn't be able to affod private school) I think I'd still send my kids to public school even if it means a smaller house to be in a good school district. Both DH and I went to good public schools. I'm not sure what private school has to offer othr than parking lots full of BMWs. Also, I fundamentally believe that access to education, good education, should be available to all kids. I think public education is one of this country's strenghts (not to get too patriotic here, but we're still close to the 4th of July, afterall). If our only public school options were full of drugs I'd probably have a different perspective.

[Anonymous]

We make about $450 K, a little more this year.

We don't have much of an extravagant lifestyle, but we are in our early 50s and trying to retire before we hit 60. We own our home outright, two cars both 5+ years old. College fully funded for our teenagers, public schools now. One or two domestic week long vacations per year.

We save a bit over $100K per year.

[Anonymous]

Parental involvement is an important aspect of a child's upbringing and ultimate success. I went to school in PG county, yet I am posting in this thread; so I turned out okay.

Fairfax has some of the best schools in the area. The wife and I bought into one of the best school districts, so I am confident that they are getting a great education.

I do want to mention, that I am impressed by a couple of the private schools I dealt with. They have more of a focus on individual student development, and proactively encourage kids to pursue additional activities and interests aside from their academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make above 450k, see my kids almost every night, work 3-5 days a week, average under 40 hrs a week.

I bill $400/hr for my niche. It's a great life.

What general field is your niche in (law, medicine, etc.)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have more obligations than you do. Charities, fundraisers, etc. the expectations are higher.

That's not everyone.

Okay really

While $450K is a nice chunk of change, it ain't charity/fundraiser obligation kind of money!

My hunch is your kid goes to a fancy private and you feel compelled to give at the yearly silent auction. get over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Over 450. House fully paid and no debt. Did cosmetic things to kitchen but basically unrenovated from 1950's original. Cars are 8 and 12 years old. No fancy vacations. Were prepared to pay full freight for two kids in private colleges, but they have ended up at much lower cost local for various reasons including medical. Medical costs for them are our biggest expense and these may well extend into their adulthood so ensuring they are well provided for is a major objective. We know we are well off but do not feel rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Over 450. House fully paid and no debt. Did cosmetic things to kitchen but basically unrenovated from 1950's original. Cars are 8 and 12 years old. No fancy vacations. Were prepared to pay full freight for two kids in private colleges, but they have ended up at much lower cost local for various reasons including medical. Medical costs for them are our biggest expense and these may well extend into their adulthood so ensuring they are well provided for is a major objective. We know we are well off but do not feel rich.

What's the point if you don't vacation, live nicely or do anything but go to school and the doctor's office

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Over 450. House fully paid and no debt. Did cosmetic things to kitchen but basically unrenovated from 1950's original. Cars are 8 and 12 years old. No fancy vacations. Were prepared to pay full freight for two kids in private colleges, but they have ended up at much lower cost local for various reasons including medical. Medical costs for them are our biggest expense and these may well extend into their adulthood so ensuring they are well provided for is a major objective. We know we are well off but do not feel rich.

What's the point if you don't vacation, live nicely or do anything but go to school and the doctor's office

An alternative I haven't explored is to get the kids on some sort of SSI--and that would be the only option with a much lesser income--but that doesn't seem right when we have the means to support them.

We live fine--we don't care about cars except as transportation. DH hates to travel, while I travel a lot for work. Our house, bought long ago is close in and probably worth about $1.5. We are glad we have always lived below our means. Both of us have always felt the need to save a lot "just in case" and ensuing circumstances have shown we are fortunate we did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely the fear is sustainability. That's a reason why I don't want to enroll my kids in private. Who knows if I can stay in BigLaw or earn the equivalent for that long! This is a big fear of mine, to be honest. I stress out about it a lot.

We are in the exact same place! DH and I are both relatively young income partners in Big Law who are still in the process of building our own practices. We make an excellent combined income right now that could easily support private school for our two children but we have them in public school because we worry about long-term sustainability. If we were doctors, we would probably feel differently. We just try to live well below our means and keep our fixed expenses as low as we can in the event our pay goes down over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely the fear is sustainability. That's a reason why I don't want to enroll my kids in private. Who knows if I can stay in BigLaw or earn the equivalent for that long! This is a big fear of mine, to be honest. I stress out about it a lot.

We are in the exact same place! DH and I are both relatively young income partners in Big Law who are still in the process of building our own practices. We make an excellent combined income right now that could easily support private school for our two children but we have them in public school because we worry about long-term sustainability. If we were doctors, we would probably feel differently. We just try to live well below our means and keep our fixed expenses as low as we can in the event our pay goes down over time.

You guys make 1 mil combined if jr income partners - live low for 5 years - then retire. Easily afford private school for 2.

[Anonymous]

You think someone with 1m annual income is going to be satisfied retiring for 30+ years on 5m? You are off by an order of magnitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love the people who spend $ on luxuries for themselves but send their kids to public. Good priorities there.

Is always a private education better? I want my kids feeling comfortable with people who has different income levels than themselves, having friends with different racial and ethical backgrounds. I went to a private school (independent school as they are called nowadays) and it was very homogenious.

Not sure what public school but many of the top (by test scores) public schools are in very wealthy areas and offer little socioeconomic or racial diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You think someone with 1m annual income is going to be satisfied retiring for 30+ years on 5m? You are off by an order of magnitude.

Life is short. Being a miserable biglaw striver with minimal chance of making equity, all the while the woman quits to have kids?

Yes, I think retiring on a 4-5 million nut isn't out of the question.

They can also choose to strive for the bigger goal, end up with kids they never see at the nanny, and likely end up divorced.

They should be saving as much as possible for when the gravy train dries up.