Anonymous wrote:OP here. It's a mindset and this area breeds it. I never thought at this level of income I'd want more, but as your income rises the expectations grow exponentially as well.

No,, "this area" doesn't breed it. Surrounding yourself with people who are even richer than you does.

OP here. It's a mindset and this area breeds it. I never thought at this level of income I'd want more, but as your income rises the expectations grow exponentially as well.

I understand op. my situation is somewhat different. I sah and have 2 young children. We live in the burbs and my 4 yr old thinks that we are poor because we don't live in a 10 million dollar mansion. We are by no means poor and our house is worth about 2 million but to my 4 yr old it isn't good enough. Only going to disney world once in his short life is not good enough. Private pre school I think is to blame and I am seriously considering public school for kindergarten.He told me my car which is a Honda pilot is not good enough and he feels embarrassed. I grew up middle class and never felt embarrassed or ashamed of my parents. And what baffles me the most is we are upper middle class for this area.

DH and I make $140k combined. Live in NE, kids in charter. Feel like we're doing pretty OK. If it's important to you to "feel wealthy" then you need to cut back on spending.

This is a troll post. Didn't we just read a version of this ?

Anonymous wrote:Do YOU work, OP, or only DH?
Your grammar is atrocious.

No kidding. I usually "hoof it" when I go somewhere. Huffing takes place behind the middle school.

OP, you are absurd. I'm a teacher and most of my kids are FARMS and their families have SNAP. One of my little girls was sick and we tried to call the dad to come pick her up. The phone was disconnected. The next time I saw him, I said, "Oh, we couldn't get through to you on your phone." He replied, very calmly, that it will be in operation next time he can pay the bill.

Think about your life and realize you are very, very fortunate.

The fact that you want for nothing should make you feel wealthy. What a truly warped perspective. It's called living within your means, and your means are substantial. If you spend your life focused on envying others, you will never appreciate all that YOU have. Is that an example you want to set for your children?

Do YOU work, OP, or only DH?
Your grammar is atrocious.

Is the problem that you don't feel wealthy in NW? Then move. For example, Twinbrook is a nice, Metro-accessible, convenient neighborhood in Montgomery County; I guarantee that you'll feel wealthy there.

Or is the problem that you earn a whole lot of money but spend even more? Then see a financial adviser.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We didn't overpay for our house. Our mortgage is actually one of the more manageable expenses and we don't intend to move until kids are in college and by then (using DC price history) we should have seen a really nice appreciation. It's just that people see us and they think we're rich, marketers always contact us, ugh! And DH does dumb stuff sometimes like impulsively buying 2 new computers a laptop and a desktop (Macs) because "they were on sale".

Well, maybe it's not your mortgage. But there is a simple reason you feel like you don't have much extra money. You spend too much money. It's simple math. Money is fungible. If you spend less on one thing, you'll have more for something else. We make 1/2 what you make, with a nice house but 2 kids in public. We take 2 very nice week-long vacations each year, plus trips to see family.

Do you have leased cars or car payments? If so, this and the private school are the culprits. Not a couple of computers.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am being serious, not snarky. Move to the suburbs (but not Bethesda/Arlington/McLean) and put your kids in public school. Spend way less on your house than you can afford.

Then you will feel rich. Truly.

It is not your income that makes you feel poor. It is your choices and your immediate circle of people.

+1,000

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We didn't overpay for our house. Our mortgage is actually one of the more manageable expenses and we don't intend to move until kids are in college and by then (using DC price history) we should have seen a really nice appreciation. It's just that people see us and they think we're rich, marketers always contact us, ugh! And DH does dumb stuff sometimes like impulsively buying 2 new computers a laptop and a desktop (Macs) because "they were on sale".

See and people don't think we have $ . We make the same HHI and have 2 homes now, but went with a strong public school system. this let us rent out our DC home and buy another one close-in.

It sounds like you are very into appearances and the Jones. You like that people think you are rich. DH and I joke its better the other way---you don't get people constantly asking to borrow $.

And, fwiw, marketers contact everyone.

1102++

Why are you sending your children to private school? You can afford to live in neighborhoods with good public schools. There are very good public schools in DC and the close in burbs.

Also, spend a little money to see a financial planner.