Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 22:22     Subject: PITI of 4500
That sounds tough. We make $170k (two incomes) and have a PITI of 2200 and a second mortgage of 500. We save for retirement and, minimally, for the kids’ college. It is tight. Maybe other circumstances would make it work for you but another $1400/month for housing would do us in.

That doesn’t mean I don’t think you should take the job AT ALL. I have a job with great work-life balance and wouldn’t trade it for anything. But I do think you should consider maybe living somewhere cheaper.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 22:08     Subject: PITI of 4500
Anonymous wrote:So OP, your spouse makes what, 30-40k? What does he/she do? The second salary seems really low.

Yes, he earns less than I do. He is there with the kids more, has great health insurance, fully funds retirement, and will be able to pay half the kids' education with the GI bill. It has worked for me. But you're right that I earn more.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 18:58     Subject: PITI of 4500
So OP, your spouse makes what, 30-40k? What does he/she do? The second salary seems really low.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 18:20     Subject: Re:PITI of 4500
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not enough information.

Other debt?
Spouse?
HHI?
Kids?
Job stability?

I have $30k in student debt at 2.75%. No other debt except the mortgage. HHI is 300k,but would be 200k with new job. I have 2 kids who are under 5, they go to part time preschool for $700/month. I contribute $300/kid per month to 529s. We have $700k in our 401ks and I have a $70k emergency fund.

My current job stability is up in the air. I think it would be stable for another 2 years, but after that it's a crapshoot. The current job is biglaw. I'd be moving to an in-house job. So it would be less stable than a government job, but maybe more stable than a firm job. It would certainly give me more time at home with my kids.



You'll regret not doing it. It will require some adjustments, but you'll make it work.

Absolutely! Your kids will be in K within a few years, so that's more money freed up. By then, you'll be making more than 200K anyway. Quality of life, job satisfaction, and work-life balance are more important than money any day. You have a solid savings, emergency money, and a good education and resume to fall back on if this doesn't work out.


Thanks for this ray of hope. I'm so stressed out all the time right now. Of course, maybe if I switch jobs I'll be stressed about money all the time?? We are only 5 years into our mortgage and it's at a very low rate, plus we have almost no equity because we did a VA loan (DH is military). I'm the main earner for my family so I'm so worried that this would be a horribly selfish move. Right now we can buy whatever we want and have a cleaning service, etc. I know all of that would have to go. DH says to do what makes me happy, but how can I be sure. ? I don't know what to do but of course I need to tell them ASAP. I do worry that if I let this go I'll never get an opportunity like this again.

Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 18:06     Subject: Re:PITI of 4500
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not enough information.

Other debt?
Spouse?
HHI?
Kids?
Job stability?

I have $30k in student debt at 2.75%. No other debt except the mortgage. HHI is 300k,but would be 200k with new job. I have 2 kids who are under 5, they go to part time preschool for $700/month. I contribute $300/kid per month to 529s. We have $700k in our 401ks and I have a $70k emergency fund.

My current job stability is up in the air. I think it would be stable for another 2 years, but after that it's a crapshoot. The current job is biglaw. I'd be moving to an in-house job. So it would be less stable than a government job, but maybe more stable than a firm job. It would certainly give me more time at home with my kids.



Absolutely! Your kids will be in K within a few years, so that's more money freed up. By then, you'll be making more than 200K anyway. Quality of life, job satisfaction, and work-life balance are more important than money any day. You have a solid savings, emergency money, and a good education and resume to fall back on if this doesn't work out.


Thanks for this ray of hope. I'm so stressed out all the time right now. Of course, maybe if I switch jobs I'll be stressed about money all the time?? We are only 5 years into our mortgage and it's at a very low rate, plus we have almost no equity because we did a VA loan (DH is military). I'm the main earner for my family so I'm so worried that this would be a horribly selfish move. Right now we can buy whatever we want and have a cleaning service, etc. I know all of that would have to go. DH says to do what makes me happy, but how can I be sure. ? I don't know what to do but of course I need to tell them ASAP. I do worry that if I let this go I'll never get an opportunity like this again.

Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 17:58     Subject: PITI of 4500
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I currently make 300k and we have a piti of 4500. A job just came up that would mean a reduction in pay to 200k,but my quality of life would be better. It's it crazy to have a 4500k piti on that income?


Is your HHI one income or two for the $200k? I think it would be fine if you have one earner, but not too due to the increased taxes double earners pay.

Two earners
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 17:56     Subject: Re:PITI of 4500
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not enough information.

Other debt?
Spouse?
HHI?
Kids?
Job stability?

I have $30k in student debt at 2.75%. No other debt except the mortgage. HHI is 300k,but would be 200k with new job. I have 2 kids who are under 5, they go to part time preschool for $700/month. I contribute $300/kid per month to 529s. We have $700k in our 401ks and I have a $70k emergency fund.

My current job stability is up in the air. I think it would be stable for another 2 years, but after that it's a crapshoot. The current job is biglaw. I'd be moving to an in-house job. So it would be less stable than a government job, but maybe more stable than a firm job. It would certainly give me more time at home with my kids.



Just any FYI - I’m spending the exact same on childcare now that my kids are in elementary that I paid when they were younger. Full day summer camps + activities/lessons =$$$$$

Absolutely! Your kids will be in K within a few years, so that's more money freed up. By then, you'll be making more than 200K anyway. Quality of life, job satisfaction, and work-life balance are more important than money any day. You have a solid savings, emergency money, and a good education and resume to fall back on if this doesn't work out.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 13:58     Subject: Re:PITI of 4500
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not enough information.

Other debt?
Spouse?
HHI?
Kids?
Job stability?

I have $30k in student debt at 2.75%. No other debt except the mortgage. HHI is 300k,but would be 200k with new job. I have 2 kids who are under 5, they go to part time preschool for $700/month. I contribute $300/kid per month to 529s. We have $700k in our 401ks and I have a $70k emergency fund.

My current job stability is up in the air. I think it would be stable for another 2 years, but after that it's a crapshoot. The current job is biglaw. I'd be moving to an in-house job. So it would be less stable than a government job, but maybe more stable than a firm job. It would certainly give me more time at home with my kids.



Absolutely! Your kids will be in K within a few years, so that's more money freed up. By then, you'll be making more than 200K anyway. Quality of life, job satisfaction, and work-life balance are more important than money any day. You have a solid savings, emergency money, and a good education and resume to fall back on if this doesn't work out.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 13:47     Subject: PITI of 4500
Anonymous wrote:I currently make 300k and we have a piti of 4500. A job just came up that would mean a reduction in pay to 200k,but my quality of life would be better. It's it crazy to have a 4500k piti on that income?


Is your HHI one income or two for the $200k? I think it would be fine if you have one earner, but not too due to the increased taxes double earners pay.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 13:44     Subject: PITI of 4500
Anonymous wrote:I currently make 300k and we have a piti of 4500. A job just came up that would mean a reduction in pay to 200k,but my quality of life would be better. It's it crazy to have a 4500k piti on that income?

It is not crazy because you are doing it to for a job that gives you a better quality of life.
Money isn't everything. Because you'll be losing 100k in income, you'd have to cut your expenses and savings.

Our income was 400k but our quality of life was horrible. We never had time to go on family vacations even though we
had plenty of money. I took another job and a pay cut. Our income is now 290k and we don't regret that move. We have more time for ourselves and our kids.
We go on vacations. We have less savings but we enjoy life more.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 11:59     Subject: Re:PITI of 4500
Just adding my voice to the chorus saying this would be very tight. Our HHI is $300k with a $4100 PITI, which is reasonably comfortable--allows for retirement, 529, modest vacations, a solid rainy-day fund, and outsourcing things we don't enjoy doing like cleaning and yard work. If we dropped 100k, could we make it work? Yeah, probably. But it would be tight. So I think you'd really be trading stress for stress.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 11:39     Subject: PITI of 4500
^Wish I could edit because I had a total reading fail there. $4,500 PITI on $200K is going to be tough unless you have a really lean budget and it won't leave much room for savings elsewhere. Can your spouse increase earning potential? Does this new job have potential for income growth?
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 11:36     Subject: PITI of 4500
I don't understand why the OP focuses solely on the reduction in one income ($300K to $200K) rather than accounting for total HHI which would be $300K. I think it's doable but it really all depends on how much you spend in other areas. What is your monthly spend OP?
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 11:24     Subject: PITI of 4500
How much longer for part-time preschool? How far into your mortgage payments are you (ie. how many years left)?

Only you know what kind of lifestyle you lead and if you can do it. I see some people say no way based on their income and mortgage, but we make much less than some of them and have the same mortgage and are fine. But we do also live very simply.

Our income is $160K and our mortgage PITI is $2800. We contribute $500/mo total to children's college and $2K per month to 401k (my dh is over 50). We have no other debt and our expenses are low.

Our vacations are driving rather than flying. We stay in Hampton Inns or Springhill Suites. We buy clothes at Kohl's, no designer handbags, shoes, etc. My kids aren't in expensive activities - just scouts, rec. soccer, etc. I don't get manicures or expensive haircuts. And we do a lot of DIY. We cook mostly from home, do work on our cars, the home, etc.

If that is the type of lifestyle you lead and your other expenses aren't that high, then you'll be fine. If you have lots of other expenses or needs, then it won't work.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2018 11:23     Subject: PITI of 4500
No, don't do it. We had similar numbers (about 3800, 190k) and it was very very tight. Think, no money for extras, no money for saving. Do not do it. DH moved up the ladder and we are never going back.