Anonymous wrote:We are at $245k, split evenly between two earners, with two teens and a row house in DC. We both max our 401ks (trying to make up for those lean early years when we were paying for childcare on under $150k/year!), plus we’re saving for kids’ college. All those savings mean our take-home pay is right around $130k/year, more like $120k when you subtract 529s. And we still will need to take out loans for college.

I’m not asking for pity, though. Having grown up poor, I feel hugely privileged to be able to save for retirement at a rate my parents could never have imagined. It certainly isn’t a luxurious life, though. We cook at home nearly 100 percent of the time and do all our own cleaning. Vacations are cheap and domestic and usually involve visiting family.

Anonymous wrote:It totally depends on where you are in your life

I retired early near a decade ago, and we currently budget ourselves about 200 K a year to live. We have our primary home, a second home, and an investment property. We vacation frequently, go out to eat whenever we want, and have a very, very nice life. Frankly, I can’t really even figure out how we do it. Our kids are all grown and launched and weddings and colleges have already been paid for. Maybe that helps.

Anonymous wrote:One kid. Townhouse in Rockville. One FT income. One very PT. No financial worries but no easy spending. College on the horizon and not expecting to need loans. Grandparents helped with 529 funding when teen was an infant. Vacations are tight but doable. In our late 40’s. Two small paid off sedans/hatchbacks. Budget is tracked closely. Kid in public. Eat at home.

Anonymous wrote:Our income is $250k this year, very low for us. Our lifestyle is buttoned up. Very tight budgets with not much room.