Reply to Your income, HHI, and spending on “luxuries”

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[quote=Anonymous]HHI $350k. Virtually no spending in the categories listed. Clothing is J Crew or equivalent for adults, Hanna and Tea for kids, usually purchased on sale. I stopped buying nice purses when I had infants and toddlers and never resumed because displays of wealth are frowned upon in my industry - federal contracting. We drive moderately priced cars, like a Subaru with a medium-high trim level, bought in cash every 6-10 years. 
Our main luxury is living in the DMV in a close-in suburb in a single family home. Our other main luxury is that we’ll be able to retire by 65 and our kids can go to any university that accepts them, debt free. 
The things we spend money on that others may find frivolous are my monthly Rent the Runway subscription ($140), house cleaners every 2 weeks, private sports lessons for kids who don’t even play travel, an overpriced item or two at the PTA auction every year, and generally just saying yes to all the little things Little things - Class needs craft supplies? Yes. Coach gift? Here’s $50. Kids want to go to the overpriced Lego place in Springfield, yes + a friend. Takeout because we feel lazy? Yes. New $50 swimsuits every summer even if my kids don’t swim A meets, sure. Your kid wants to sell me GS cookies? I buy 2 boxes from every kid that asks me and dump them at work. We’re at the mall and my kid wants a $$$ smoothie, fine as an occasional treat.

I don’t mind sitting in economy to fly to visit west coast family. No one I socialize would notice or care about the difference between $50 and $250 jeans or a $250 purse vs a $2500 one. No one besides my husband knows or cares that my diamond earrings are real. No one cares if I drive a Volvo or a Mazda.

I grew up in a middle class family where I had all of my needs and many of my wants, but I still watched my parents do mental math to figure out if we got takeout on Wednesday if we could still go to the movies on Friday - or ask me to choose between music lessons and dance lessons because we could only afford to do one. The biggest luxury to me is not sweating the little stuff and still living below our means and having savings for emergencies. [/quote]

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