Reply to How does your family survive making under 200k hhi

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There have been multiple people in very different phases of life (50+, 30s, single moms, sahm, renters) who have lived very comfortable lives in the area on 200k and far less. There has been an excuse thrown out for each how those don't apply - you bought before the real estate boom, you had a big down payment, you have one high wage earner.

The simple fact is that it can be done and in a variety of ways. YOU might not be able to do it, but it is not because it is not possible, but because you make different choices or have expectations/entitlements that are out of line with your income.

The simple truth is that if you are broke at 200k you would probably be broke at 300 or 400k. 100/150/200 are plenty to live comfortably, raise children, live close in, and save for a great retirement. What do they have in common? Live below their means in some ways, save aggressively, prioritize their wants and needs, and realize how fortunate they are to make so much money.

There will always be excuses.[/quote]

I think people who make statements like these have no idea or experience with starting a family in this area today.  That would've been me saying the same thing before I had kids.  Once kids came along, childcare is a second mortgage, diapers, wipes, etc.  I haven't gotten a haircut in over a year, manicure over 4 years ago, new clothes bought 2 years ago because of my growing belly...  200k is a lot less after taxes etc.  its enough to cover childcare, mortgage, food, utilities, insurances, etc but its far from luxurious living.  We still need to budget carefully.[/quote]

I am 50yo.  It was like this for us, too.  It is not "today."  It is what it is like to start out, given childcare costs and everything else you cite.  For our generation too.[/quote]

I'm 30, with young kids, and I mostly agree with you. I think that some of the problem is that people my age are comparing their lives to the way that the 50 to 60 year olds with similar incomes live now. I can make this comparison directly. I grew up in this area, and my parents were a two-fed household, as my husband and I are now. My parents are still working but their kids have long since left the nest. They've paid off their mortgage, they're done paying for college, and their retirement accounts are in good shape. So now they're living it up, and good for them. They're remodeling their house, they go on nice vacations, they eat out when they want to.

But when I was a kid, we rarely ate out, and if we did it was somewhere where kids eat free. We never went on vacation anywhere we couldn't get to by car. We lived in a 1960s split level in a non-fancy suburb. They lived much like my husband and I live now.

I will say that one thing I think has changed is that it is much more difficult and expensive to live close to the city, because people value urban living and walkability much more than they used to. And living further out has gotten more difficult, because the traffic is so much worse than it was, say, 20 years ago. We live in a smaller place than my parents did, because I'm not willing to do that commute. But a generation ago it wasn't so bad.

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