Reply to Families of five, making under 150k, share your budget

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Lol! We all make more than that[/quote]

I agree with this (sadly). 
No one I know making less than $150K would have had 3 kids.    [/quote]

The answer to this question is family money.  They don’t save money (cause they are expecting inheritance), they get down payments and cars when they want, and private school tuition is a given.  No amount of rice and beans or thrift stores could make a three kid family possible in this area.  Maybe in Burke or Lorton or Anacostia or something, but nothing even remotely close in or in a good area. [/quote]

You are so wrong. We are a family of 3 with two incomes making a combined 150k with limited growth potential living in NW DC (IB for Janney). Our PITI is 3500 a month (yes let everyone gasp), but it is 28% of our gross. We contribute 10% of our salaries to our TSP with a 5% match to give us 15% plus pension retirement savings. We contribute $250 a month to a 529. We have no car or student loans. For most people, those are really good numbers.

We can afford aftercare, camp, and a few activities for our child. We go on a moderately priced vacation every year. We eat out sometimes and have cable. There is not a lot left over, but it is doable. If we were a single earner family and not worried about comfortable not paying for college, things would be a lot easier.

OP: our budget is not going to help your budget. At that salary and with that many kids things will be tight and you are going to have to make personal choices. One earner vs two is a huge difference because of childcare costs. The need/desire for a car is a big one. Funding a 529 or not is also a big expense.[/quote]

$250 a month for three kids?  Or $250 for each kid? Sorry to tell you this, but 12 years at $250 a month will probably pay for half a semester for one kid by the time they get to college.  [/quote]

And OP's kids will be eligible for financial aid.  OP is doing great, their house is probably worth a boatload, and they're living within their means.  The DCUM mindset that if you can't pay full freight for a SLAC out of pocket, you're a failure as a parent, is not reality.[/quote]

you aren't living within your means if you are getting financial aid.  Donations are paying for your education.  People who don't qualify for Financial aid are paying for your education.  [/quote]

Financial aid is part of how schools shape the student body they want, market themselves, and set their budgets. Tuition doesn't precisely reflect cost either. It's not charity. Are poor kids who get into Harvard "not living within their means"? (Don't answer that.) [/quote]

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