Making $500k and not feeling wealthy in NW

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We didn't overpay for our house. Our mortgage is actually one of the more manageable expenses and we don't intend to move until kids are in college and by then (using DC price history) we should have seen a really nice appreciation. It's just that people see us and they think we're rich, marketers always contact us, ugh! And DH does dumb stuff sometimes like impulsively buying 2 new computers a laptop and a desktop (Macs) because "they were on sale".

Well, maybe it's not your mortgage. But there is a simple reason you feel like you don't have much extra money. You spend too much money. It's simple math. Money is fungible. If you spend less on one thing, you'll have more for something else. We make 1/2 what you make, with a nice house but 2 kids in public. We take 2 very nice week-long vacations each year, plus trips to see family.
Do you have leased cars or car payments? If so, this and the private school are the culprits. Not a couple of computers.

Us too, except we make about 20 percent of what you make. I find your post very hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think OP's feeling is universal because:

we tend to overestimate income (by thinking in terms of gross, not net), then underestimate our expenses, and that's how we all can feel poor.


The basic personal finance advice of writing down your expenses would be eye-opening to many from most income brackets.

And that's when it comes down to choices.

We say to ourselves "but I make $500k a year" and that immediately equates to some lifestyle that may not be realistic based on our current choices.

Her feeling is not universal. She sounds crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lose the private school. $60k/year for the next 13 years will be freeing.

We got into a great public school district, make same HHI and don't feel the bite. $910k minimum it would have cost us to put 2 kids K-12 in DC private. We now have their college already funded and oldest is only in 2nd grade.

You could choose not to spend nearly 1 million dollars over the next 12 years by choosing a good public school. Imagine what you could save, could do...with that extra cash flow??? It takes cash to build wealth. In this area---where the good publics rival privates I find it absurd to pay for private education pre-college unless my child had a special need that could only be met through a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can only conclude that "feeling wealthy" means "not ever having to think about money ever." So if you ever even have to check the balance on your accounts or can't afford the too of the market, you don't "feel wealthy." There seems to be no way to "feel wealthy" unless you are as rich as the richest person around.

Pretty much. This is because it is human nature to compare up not down. Fwiw, the wsj once did a poll about this. I think I remember the average being a net worth of over 8 mil for respondents to feel "rich."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I understand that there are people in this town a few miles over that don't even make half of what we do, and we should be thankful and count our blessings. I get that. I'm thankful for the things we have, I just feel like a hamster on a wheel and I thought that at this level we would be able to do things like buy a second home in rural Va, but DH is working every weekend any way.

I get what you are saying, but my family earns less than half of yours. No one owes me any sympathy and given your income, they sure as hell don't owe you any sympathy. Maybe you are looking for commiseration, but these responses show you won't really get it here.

[Anonymous]

OP - since you refuse to answer whether you work or not, I have concluded that you do not. So, perhaps you should get a job and contribute money to buy the country home you think you deserve. I recommend a job working with low income people. Perhaps it will change your warped sense of entitlement and ridiculousness.

[Anonymous]

People are stupid as shit.

If someone makes more than you, you automatically think it's like billions.

Newflash 500k a year vs 1 million vs 5 million are different.

People tend to lump 300k through 5 billion into the same class of people, being rich and telling them to shutup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are stupid as shit.

If someone makes more than you, you automatically think it's like billions.

Newflash 500k a year vs 1 million vs 5 million are different.

People tend to lump 300k through 5 billion into the same class of people, being rich and telling them to shutup.

You need some real problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are stupid as shit.

If someone makes more than you, you automatically think it's like billions.

Newflash 500k a year vs 1 million vs 5 million are different.

People tend to lump 300k through 5 billion into the same class of people, being rich and telling them to shutup.

We've made $500k/year. I didn't feel like crazy OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - since you refuse to answer whether you work or not, I have concluded that you do not. So, perhaps you should get a job and contribute money to buy the country home you think you deserve. I recommend a job working with low income people. Perhaps it will change your warped sense of entitlement and ridiculousness.

Exactly. Made even more obnoxious by her description of how 'we' work SO SO hard! So much harder than everyone else!
Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are stupid as shit.

If someone makes more than you, you automatically think it's like billions.

Newflash 500k a year vs 1 million vs 5 million are different.

People tend to lump 300k through 5 billion into the same class of people, being rich and telling them to shutup.

We've made $500k/year. I didn't feel like crazy OP.

Do you live in DC, paying for private schools, in a normal sized 3000 SF house?

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you need to get out in the world and do some volunteer work at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, hospital or clinic. I think you need some perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you need to get out in the world and do some volunteer work at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, hospital or clinic. I think you need some perspective.

good suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are stupid as shit.

If someone makes more than you, you automatically think it's like billions.

Newflash 500k a year vs 1 million vs 5 million are different.

People tend to lump 300k through 5 billion into the same class of people, being rich and telling them to shutup.

We've made $500k/year. I didn't feel like crazy OP.

Do you live in DC, paying for private schools, in a normal sized 3000 SF house?

Yes. We make more now and I feel positively wealthy. But right around the time we hit $500k is when I felt really comfortable. Other than really big purchases, I really never had to think about money/a budget. That is a huge luxury that most people never get. Of course, it helps that I am not an idiot and didn't think my toilet would be gold plated, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are stupid as shit.

If someone makes more than you, you automatically think it's like billions.

Newflash 500k a year vs 1 million vs 5 million are different.

People tend to lump 300k through 5 billion into the same class of people, being rich and telling them to shutup.

We've made $500k/year. I didn't feel like crazy OP.

Do you live in DC, paying for private schools, in a normal sized 3000 SF house?

Yes. We make more now and I feel positively wealthy. But right around the time we hit $500k is when I felt really comfortable. Other than really big purchases, I really never had to think about money/a budget. That is a huge luxury that most people never get. Of course, it helps that I am not an idiot and didn't think my toilet would be gold plated, too.

Did you have a large downpayment on your home? That's the main issue around here, housing is very expensive. We had to start from scratch and did very little down on a 1 million. It has grown 20% over the last few years but again it sucks down a lot of income. We are only at 300-360k