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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Haven't read all the replies here, but I'd say that your definition of "survival" is probably what's making you feel so strapped. $3k per month mortgage (I think you said) is not a bargain mortgage. $1100 per month for food and kids stuff (again, I think you said) does not sound like people who are trying to keep their spending down. I'm not saying it's easy to live in this area on incomes that are anywhere near normal - but to characterize your spending as barely surviving is really making it seem as if you live in a bubble.

You want to live a higher-income life than you comfortably have, is what it comes down to. And, look, I'm the same way - husb and I earn about $150k, have no kids, pay $600 per month toward student loans, $2k per month for rent. And it seems like we are just barely keeping our heads above water. But in reality that is bullshit. We order in food every time we want it. We keep an expensive cable package because we feel like keeping it. I buy clothes a fair amount. My husband likes to buy comic books. We may not have a whole lot of savings, and we may not have a huge amount of extra $ once we're done accounting for all the stuff we buy - but that's not barely surviving![/quote]

Comment again after having two kids on your salary.[/quote]

PP here: and, look, this is sort of exactly the point. DC is expensive! You can't have everything you want here. That might mean not having 2 kids in daycare at the same time. Or if you want to do that, then you need a cheaper house. Or to spend less on food. Again, like I said before, just like OP, I would like to live a more luxurious, more comfortable life than I actually have. But to characterize this as not being able to SURVIVE is stupid. [/quote]

NP here. On less than 200K HHI, we have funded our retirement, heavily insured, Prepaid college tuition for both kids, 2 cars, a SFH in the suburbs. Our kids will have very little or no student loans.

So what did we not do? 
1) Did not do private schools 
2) Did not have student loans
3) Did not upgrade to a bigger house (ours is 3200 sq ft) 
4) Do not lease new cars. We have fuel efficient cars
5) Do not have pets.
6) Brought the house at the BOTTOM of the market. Even with the housing crash we were up 50%.  Very low mortgage rates.
7) No childcare cost now. 
8) No one is in therapy
9) No divorce, alimony, child support
10) No fertility treatments
11) No spa days
12) Only some organic stuff is consumed - milk, eggs, meat, berries. Rest is regular produce.
13) Do not have consumer loan (except for cars and house - we are not in debt)
14) I do not buy designer clothes, bags, shoes etc.  Most of my clothes come from Kohl's and Macy's.
15) I will not buy most things from a shop, if I can buy from Costco.

[/quote]

Finally, I have confirmed that there is someone else on the boards like me!  Our choices have left us in a comfortable position as we reach middle age, and it is a great feeling. [/quote]

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