so who actually shops at Bloomingdales? Stays at 4/5 star resorts for $1000/night?

[Anonymous]

^^^Plus there are always strings attached.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
i guess the moral of the story is that you can't under estimate how expensive kids really are.
When I was in my 20's I went to Europe a lot and stayed in low end hotels or hostels. Now a trip to Europe is a giant expense because airfare alone for 5 people is $5K. Instead of buying fish and chips for one, we're feeding 5.
It's remarkable how you can earn what by standard is a great income ($400K) and still be no where near being able to afford luxury goods (aside from an occasional anniversary-type splurge). Sure, i could buy the $3K handbag. I have the money in the bank.
but it will stress me out because I have 3 looming college tutions, and then there is grad school......

Kids just suck up an unbelievable amount of money. My oldest son is turning out to be a great soccer player who is crazy obsessed with the game (4th grade). He plays travel soccer. Our local program just cost us $3500 (all fees, tournaments, required winter training, required week of summer camp etc) for this year. And we didn't go
looking for the most expensive, high end program. He just tried out for the travel team of our rec league and suddenly we're paying $3500 over the course of the next 12 months. Our youngest loves the piano. So we're paying weekly lessons.
At $36/week plus recital that's another $2K/year. It just all adds up and so our baseline lifestyle remains unchanged from what it was 10 years ago.
We're making a very respectable income (which I and the government and just about everyone on the planet would actually say is a HIGH income) and splurges are few and very far between.

I can totally relate to this too and our income is quite a bit higher than the OP's (500k-750k depending on bonuses). I could easily buy myself a $3k purse but would never do so because we also have three kids and all the expenses they come along with. We deposit $1250 a month into EACH of their accounts. That's our big luxury, lol. And even then I feel like we should be doing more - saving to give them DPs for example. My big goal for them is to be able to choose a job based on interest rather than money. Plus we spend about $700 a month on their activities (includes private lessons). We do travel but so far it's to places like Disney World and other domestic cities like San Diego and San Francisco. We stay in rooms that are more like $400-500 a night. Still, it's nothing to complain about.

And how will they support themselves in the manner that they've become accustomed with the job based on interest rather than money? It's great that you are generous but I've seen this backfire. The child got the handouts and just keeps going back for more. Maybe you paid the down payment but they want a new kitchen or car or some item they can't afford. Will you keep handing out money?
Just be careful how you approach this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My best friend and her husband are like this. She shops sales at Gap, etc., but has tons of nice, expensive jewelry. They take multiple vacations each year and always stay at the Four Seasons. They have one child and he is a partner in law firm. She works for the govt.

Too bad she has to work!!
I would quit even if I had to say no to the Four Seasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My best friend and her husband are like this. She shops sales at Gap, etc., but has tons of nice, expensive jewelry. They take multiple vacations each year and always stay at the Four Seasons. They have one child and he is a partner in law firm. She works for the govt.

Too bad she has to work!!
I would quit even if I had to say no to the Four Seasons.

I wish my child was a partner in a law firm. Cha-ching!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can enjoy Bloomies without breaking a budget. Make-up, underwear, some clothes, reasonable shoes. Sales are good. Same items don't go up from other retailers and the macy's coupons often exclude many brands.

Over thhe last few years we've found macy's to be cheaper than kohl's, target, etc. Just got a comforter.

Bloomies friends and family sale is going on right now in fact -- 25% off everything! I'm NOT rich at all, but discovered in the last year or so that you can find a few good deals if you look around the Bloomingdales site during the big sales, plus shipping is free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
i guess the moral of the story is that you can't under estimate how expensive kids really are.
When I was in my 20's I went to Europe a lot and stayed in low end hotels or hostels. Now a trip to Europe is a giant expense because airfare alone for 5 people is $5K. Instead of buying fish and chips for one, we're feeding 5.
It's remarkable how you can earn what by standard is a great income ($400K) and still be no where near being able to afford luxury goods (aside from an occasional anniversary-type splurge). Sure, i could buy the $3K handbag. I have the money in the bank.
but it will stress me out because I have 3 looming college tutions, and then there is grad school......

Kids just suck up an unbelievable amount of money. My oldest son is turning out to be a great soccer player who is crazy obsessed with the game (4th grade). He plays travel soccer. Our local program just cost us $3500 (all fees, tournaments, required winter training, required week of summer camp etc) for this year. And we didn't go
looking for the most expensive, high end program. He just tried out for the travel team of our rec league and suddenly we're paying $3500 over the course of the next 12 months. Our youngest loves the piano. So we're paying weekly lessons.
At $36/week plus recital that's another $2K/year. It just all adds up and so our baseline lifestyle remains unchanged from what it was 10 years ago.
We're making a very respectable income (which I and the government and just about everyone on the planet would actually say is a HIGH income) and splurges are few and very far between.

I hope when the college tuition bubble crashes so does this idea that parents have to fund every cent of their children's education. You would seriously pay for grad school on top of college? Sorry. Not happening in my house. At a certain point I'm done bleeding out because you want 3 degrees. Perhaps covering one makes sense but funding advanced education for Masters and PhD's as parents seems nuts.

+1
Why would you pay for grad school? It's paid for by being a Research assistant or teaching assistant. Mine was free. If your child gets a degree where this doesn't happen, I'd make him pay. I'm saving for my kids college but that's it.

This... no one should pay for a PhD... I certainly did not... you pay for law degrees and medical degrees, not research-based degrees