Yes we are, also one kid, own home, two cars, no debt other than mortgage. I feel you op. We are content and feel lucky most of the time but also do see what you see too - so many people spending more than we do.

People on DCUM are full of crap. There are a lot of people earning insane salaries. However, most people in DMV area make around 80-120k. Trust me I worked in the bank branch for many years and i seen peoples direct deposits.

What happens in DC is the longevity. If i graduated from a top school by late 20's Im making close to six figures with 3% raises and promotions. Your able to stack up a pretty decent amount of cash.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This board can make anyone feel poor. It’s not a good reality check.

I agree. We’re doing great by pretty much any standard but the umc thread makes me think we’re either poor or cheap. Plus there are people here who claim to be buddies with celebs, fly private everywhere, won the lottery, etc.

These people make me laugh. I'm assuming most of them are trolls. But if even if they aren't, it's actually a reminder that wealth does not in fact buy happiness.

Often it is the people who appear to be the wealthiest on these boards who also seem to have the most frustrating problems, often of their own making (i.e. the folks who obsess over their kids going to elite private schools and colleges so much they clearly have terrible relationships with their kids and miserable family lives).

Anonymous wrote:This board can make anyone feel poor. It’s not a good reality check.

I agree. We’re doing great by pretty much any standard but the umc thread makes me think we’re either poor or cheap. Plus there are people here who claim to be buddies with celebs, fly private everywhere, won the lottery, etc.

This board can make anyone feel poor. It’s not a good reality check.

We make 140k, and own an under 500k sfh in MoCo. We feel poorer here than in other areas, but it's been fine.

DH makes about $80,000. I make $50,000, but it varies since I freelance. We have 1 kid in day care. We own a house.

I’m a single parent with basically no child support and I make 110k. Saving to own a house has been tough but I’m thankful.

Our HHI gross income is about $150k per year. We have almost paid off our house ( left $50k mortgage), one child, no debt. We live within our means, but yes, there are many people we know make more than us and can afford nicer things. I do feel sometimes that I'm broke compared to other people around. I don't go to a hairdresser often, nails are done at home, no eating out, no expensive vacations. We have 2 paid off cars, but they are not luxury cars. But I know how to shop around for good, healthy food; good quality clothes, nice bed sheets ( sales online etc.), so people might think that we are richer than we are in reality.

We were. Now we make about $80k year.

I'm at 70k, but I'm single. I think on an anonymous board you're going to see a lot of BS numbers.

Just check out the thread about income/college where a ton of people who didn't finish school are claiming they make 200k+ because they're "in sales".

We make $130k but we live in a very low col area, not DC.

Nah, I am a single parent, I make ~$160k.

We were that till recently and went up some. Don't feel broke at all but its how you spend your money.

Just curious. Our HHI income is between 100k and 140k any given year (I own my own business so it varies a bit). We are happy with our income and live within our means, but between our friends who we know make a lot more than us and the huge numbers people throw around on DCUM, I sometimes wonder if there are any people out there in our income bracket. We are married, one kid, own our home, one car. Our families don't have money but thankfully don't need us to provide for them (yet). We have some school debt but it's manageable. We both attended elite schools on scholarship, and both chose to go into public interest (government jobs and non-profit work).

Is this unusual on here? I consider us pretty squarely middle class. Our kid will go to public school, like we did, but we are saving for college so she has some options down the road. We both contribute to 401k's and we think we should be okay in retirement between that, other savings, and the option of selling our home and moving somewhere less expensive.

The way our friends and people on DCUM talk, sometimes I feel like we are broke. Surely there are more people like us out there? I'm starting to think being middle class is an anomaly in DC.