Reply to 1.6MM home- how much would you want to be making?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP. not to pile on, but I also think you're probably underestimating the costs of kids as they grow a bit older, if you want them to live the typical suburban lifestyle.  We have 3 kids, so a bit more, but our expenses just for the clear itemizable things run like this:

Groceries -- about $1K a month.  We don't eat expensive stuff like steak, but fresh fruit, yogurt, veggies, etc. really add up and kids eat a TON of it.
Sports and scouting -- about $2K a year.  Karate is probably the most expensive one, and baseball the cheapest.  We don't do the expensive travel sports, but every time we turn around, we're dropping a few hundred on a sport.
Vacations -- about $15K a year.  Again, we don't do luxury -- we've never stayed at a 4 Seasons or an all-inclusive.  This is for one trip a year to someplace like Disney or a Carnival Cruise (not the expensive Disney cruise!) and a trip to visit Grandma.
Camps -- $10+K a year.  And that's not even for the expensive sleep away camps.  Day camps around here run from $250/wk for the cheapest YMCA camps to over $500/week for specialty camps in the kids' interest.  We do a mix of the cheaper and more expensive.

...and I haven't even tried to estimate clothes (shoes are killing me -- that's probably another $1K a year for 3 kids who run through them like mad), all the random PTA and room fees, etc., etc.

And what if public school doesn't work for one or more of your kids and you need to think about private?  Or if/when one of them needs a psychologist for anxiety/ADHD/depression?

Obviously, you can save a lot by clipping coupons, telling the kids no expensive camps or sports teams, take a camping summer vacation instead of hotels, etc....the question is really -- do you want that $1.6M house enough to make those sacrifices?  I would not.
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+100.  This poster has it right.  It's nice to be able to give your kids the chance to do sports, vacations, and summer camps.  Your kids can of course get by without these things, or they can be done more cheaply!  But we kind of like being able to afford these things, and are able to because we have a small house.

If it give you a point of comparison, our HHI is $380,000 on two full-time incomes (but we have to pay an after-school babysitter to do driving, which is not cheap).  Last year, we spent $7200 per month on private school tuition for both kids.  It's similar to the mortgage payment you'd have if you bought the house for $1.6 million.  It was very very tight for us (and we don't even need to save for college because the grandparents are covering it).  One of our kids asked to go to public, and so we said sure.  We feel much more comfortable now in a more modest house.

Granted, a house that's worth $1.6 million might appreciate more than one that you buy for $1.2 million.  I've noticed that in our neighborhood in Bethesda.  We have a small modest colonial.  It has definitely gone up in value since we bought it 13 years ago.  However, those who stretched a bit more are definitely enjoying much higher appreciation in their home value.  I kind of wish we had stretched a bit more because we are still in our "starter" house, albeit that is because we're paying private school tuition for 1 kid ($4000/month).

I'd probably go for $1.3 million or so, and then have the peace of mind.  You can still get a nice house for that in most places.[/quote]

you are a fool (and a bigger fool than the OP who wants to purchase the $1.6) for paying $7200 a month for private school!!.  I thought one of the reasons for purchasing in an locale like Bethesda was to take advantage of the good pubic schools....no?  I could understanding paying for private school in DC or other locations with poor quality  k-12 setup.   [/quote]

+1 This[/quote]

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