We live in Loudoun County. I make 120k a year and DH makes between 120k and 150k depending on sales. We are discussing leaving the area for another state that will allow us to hold onto more of our income. Loudoun is beautiful but it's expensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

Where are you living that your mortgage payment is only a little more than your rent used to be? You say your rent during this period was $800 ... If your mortgage is near $800, then I can definitely see why you don't get people who need $200k to get by. Plus, based on your previous follow-up responses, it sounds like you had some special circumstances when you were living on $65k - free medical insurance, only doing 1/2 of retirement, being able to stay with friends when travelling.

Again, I am unaware of how I only did 1/2 of retirement? I paid up to the limit, as I was the only one employed. As for mortgage, we bought before the bubble (and recall the downpayment fund, we saved a lot!).

And yes, vacationing with friends and family may be cheating...but it's fun, and I wouldn't drop $5K on a cruise when that money would be better served elsewhere. We still travel this way -- it's a better way of seeing the culture of the countries. Someday when I'm a broken-down old lady, though, I plan to sit on a beach/ship and have people serve me!

The medical IS lucky, though...I guess I assume most people around here earning that little are not working for private industries or giant corporations. I am fortunate to still have this benefit. I think it was more common then (this was 8-10 years ago).

Because you're saying you don't get how people feel pinched on $200k because you were doing just fine on $65k - but those people on $200k are likely maxing out retirement to the tune of $30k-$40k. And paying a mortgage in the real world. I think the other posters are right - something is definitely off about the picture you're painting, and you should not be a point of reference for comparison.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

Where are you living that your mortgage payment is only a little more than your rent used to be? You say your rent during this period was $800 ... If your mortgage is near $800, then I can definitely see why you don't get people who need $200k to get by. Plus, based on your previous follow-up responses, it sounds like you had some special circumstances when you were living on $65k - free medical insurance, only doing 1/2 of retirement, being able to stay with friends when travelling.

Again, I am unaware of how I only did 1/2 of retirement? I paid up to the limit, as I was the only one employed. As for mortgage, we bought before the bubble (and recall the downpayment fund, we saved a lot!).

And yes, vacationing with friends and family may be cheating...but it's fun, and I wouldn't drop $5K on a cruise when that money would be better served elsewhere. We still travel this way -- it's a better way of seeing the culture of the countries. Someday when I'm a broken-down old lady, though, I plan to sit on a beach/ship and have people serve me!

The medical IS lucky, though...I guess I assume most people around here earning that little are not working for private industries or giant corporations. I am fortunate to still have this benefit. I think it was more common then (this was 8-10 years ago).

If you purchased a home pre-bubble, that means you were renting back in the 80s or early 90s, living off 65k/yr. Of course internatioinal travel was 2K, plane tickets were not 1K, plus back when Michael Jackson's hair caught fire.

I bought pre-bubble in 2001 and my mortgage on a 197K house was almost double what that BS poster is stating.

Please tell me where you purchased a house for around 100k pre-bubble? Are you a dinosaur? Are you saying you were surviving on 65K back in 1942?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

Where are you living that your mortgage payment is only a little more than your rent used to be? You say your rent during this period was $800 ... If your mortgage is near $800, then I can definitely see why you don't get people who need $200k to get by. Plus, based on your previous follow-up responses, it sounds like you had some special circumstances when you were living on $65k - free medical insurance, only doing 1/2 of retirement, being able to stay with friends when travelling.

Bottom line, the first poster is total bullshit.

I'm sure she anyone can live on 56k/yr, but not travel internationally or max out retirement (which BTW is 16K/yr) and save 15K for a downpayment. So she is saying that if you adjust the 15K for taxes, two people are living off an adjusted GROSS income of 32K/yr and traveling internationally? Right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only wish we actually had 401Ks OR could afford to put aside $2500/month to "max out" those retirement accounts...THEN on top of that put $1K/month into a college fund.

Of course, our HHI is just past $100K and we cover our 15% to retirement completely out of pocket since neither of our employers offers retirement accounts. My GOAL is to put 10% into savings (but it doesn't always happen) and then on top of that put $200/month into a 529.

I keep going back to the average american household only makes about $50K/year, which breaks down to roughly north of $3K/month coming in - TOTAL. So, pay for a mortgage, child care, food, electricity, car payment, etc. out of that. Where do these folks have any extra cash for regular savings and $1K/month in college savings?

Remember that most Americans can live in areas where a WHOLE HOUSE is like $100K. Not to mention, the "average American" is in debt, doesn't save for retirement or college, and carries student loan debt. It's impossible to compare using that as the standard.

You're doing fine! Things will only get better.

No, no, I realize this - and I realize this thread is asking for dual income earners in THIS area.

I just think it is really easy to live in our city and forget that there are plenty of people getting by on so much less.

Plus, I forgot that this thread wasn't the same as the "why don't the rich think they're rich" thread.

You are so right about that. It's easy to think 100K is a small amount.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

Where are you living that your mortgage payment is only a little more than your rent used to be? You say your rent during this period was $800 ... If your mortgage is near $800, then I can definitely see why you don't get people who need $200k to get by. Plus, based on your previous follow-up responses, it sounds like you had some special circumstances when you were living on $65k - free medical insurance, only doing 1/2 of retirement, being able to stay with friends when travelling.

Again, I am unaware of how I only did 1/2 of retirement? I paid up to the limit, as I was the only one employed. As for mortgage, we bought before the bubble (and recall the downpayment fund, we saved a lot!).

And yes, vacationing with friends and family may be cheating...but it's fun, and I wouldn't drop $5K on a cruise when that money would be better served elsewhere. We still travel this way -- it's a better way of seeing the culture of the countries. Someday when I'm a broken-down old lady, though, I plan to sit on a beach/ship and have people serve me!

The medical IS lucky, though...I guess I assume most people around here earning that little are not working for private industries or giant corporations. I am fortunate to still have this benefit. I think it was more common then (this was 8-10 years ago).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only wish we actually had 401Ks OR could afford to put aside $2500/month to "max out" those retirement accounts...THEN on top of that put $1K/month into a college fund.

Of course, our HHI is just past $100K and we cover our 15% to retirement completely out of pocket since neither of our employers offers retirement accounts. My GOAL is to put 10% into savings (but it doesn't always happen) and then on top of that put $200/month into a 529.

I keep going back to the average american household only makes about $50K/year, which breaks down to roughly north of $3K/month coming in - TOTAL. So, pay for a mortgage, child care, food, electricity, car payment, etc. out of that. Where do these folks have any extra cash for regular savings and $1K/month in college savings?

Remember that most Americans can live in areas where a WHOLE HOUSE is like $100K. Not to mention, the "average American" is in debt, doesn't save for retirement or college, and carries student loan debt. It's impossible to compare using that as the standard.

You're doing fine! Things will only get better.

No, no, I realize this - and I realize this thread is asking for dual income earners in THIS area.

I just think it is really easy to live in our city and forget that there are plenty of people getting by on so much less.

Plus, I forgot that this thread wasn't the same as the "why don't the rich think they're rich" thread.

Anonymous wrote:We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

Where are you living that your mortgage payment is only a little more than your rent used to be? You say your rent during this period was $800 ... If your mortgage is near $800, then I can definitely see why you don't get people who need $200k to get by. Plus, based on your previous follow-up responses, it sounds like you had some special circumstances when you were living on $65k - free medical insurance, only doing 1/2 of retirement, being able to stay with friends when travelling.

Anonymous wrote:I only wish we actually had 401Ks OR could afford to put aside $2500/month to "max out" those retirement accounts...THEN on top of that put $1K/month into a college fund.

Of course, our HHI is just past $100K and we cover our 15% to retirement completely out of pocket since neither of our employers offers retirement accounts. My GOAL is to put 10% into savings (but it doesn't always happen) and then on top of that put $200/month into a 529.

I keep going back to the average american household only makes about $50K/year, which breaks down to roughly north of $3K/month coming in - TOTAL. So, pay for a mortgage, child care, food, electricity, car payment, etc. out of that. Where do these folks have any extra cash for regular savings and $1K/month in college savings?

Remember that most Americans can live in areas where a WHOLE HOUSE is like $100K. Not to mention, the "average American" is in debt, doesn't save for retirement or college, and carries student loan debt. It's impossible to compare using that as the standard.

You're doing fine! Things will only get better.

I only wish we actually had 401Ks OR could afford to put aside $2500/month to "max out" those retirement accounts...THEN on top of that put $1K/month into a college fund.

Of course, our HHI is just past $100K and we cover our 15% to retirement completely out of pocket since neither of our employers offers retirement accounts. My GOAL is to put 10% into savings (but it doesn't always happen) and then on top of that put $200/month into a 529.

I keep going back to the average american household only makes about $50K/year, which breaks down to roughly north of $3K/month coming in - TOTAL. So, pay for a mortgage, child care, food, electricity, car payment, etc. out of that. Where do these folks have any extra cash for regular savings and $1K/month in college savings?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

Subtract $30K for maxing out retirement, that leaves you with $35K. You saved $15K for a downpayment? Now you're down to $20K. $20K/year = $1667/month. Let's assume rent at $800/month (cheap, no frills), that leaves you with about $800/month left for groceries, utilities, diapers, etc. And, oh yeah, I didn't bother to tax you, or add the $2k/month for the child, include college savings, an emergency fund, health insurance, life insurance, or school loans.

Darling, you think you are doing well, but you are either not saving for retirement or cutting somewhere else vitally important.

There is something wrong with this picture indeed.

Huh? Had DC after this period! Didn't have to save for college until she was born some years later!

Also, missed this, but DH wasn't working, if you're assuming $30K for two people. I could only contribute from my salary, and the limit at the time was something like $11,000/year (recall again, this is not my current situation).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

Subtract $30K for maxing out retirement, that leaves you with $35K. You saved $15K for a downpayment? Now you're down to $20K. $20K/year = $1667/month. Let's assume rent at $800/month (cheap, no frills), that leaves you with about $800/month left for groceries, utilities, diapers, etc. And, oh yeah, I didn't bother to tax you, or add the $2k/month for the child, include college savings, an emergency fund, health insurance, life insurance, or school loans.

Darling, you think you are doing well, but you are either not saving for retirement or cutting somewhere else vitally important.

There is something wrong with this picture indeed.

Huh? Had DC after this period! Didn't have to save for college until she was born some years later!

Anonymous wrote:

We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

actually I would love to know! what was your rent? Did you have/pay for health insurance/car payments/transportation? I'm figuring after tax income is 50k??, down 30k after your savings for house/retirement. THen you have rent--another 15k?. take out 2k for your international trip (which is low for 2 people, my last trip to europe the plane ticket was 980). and that is about 75.00/week for everything else: food, entertainment, utilities, necessities, transportation, copays, etc.

Medical is paid for by my employer (one of the few good things about nonprofits!). We both walked, (me to work, him to school), rent was $800/month for an English basement, so quite a bit under your estimate ("cheap and no frills"!). International trips are usually to visit friends and relatives on the continent/Asia, so we only paid for plane tix (yay!), and always had a blast doing non-touristy, authentic stuff while there. We do have a car (paid off, bought with cash before DH went back to school), but hardly used it at the time. Both healthy and young, no medical expenses (100% covered for most visits, though, again, thanks non-profit!), but we could always rely on the downpayment fund if there had been an emergency in those three years. Remember, retirement funding is pre-tax, so it reduces tax basis, so you can't subtract it after tax. DH being in school allowed us to take advantage of the LL credit, too.

I would have to pull up our financial program data for those years to give you a more precise picture, but yeah, doable and I have a lot of nostalgia for those years!

Anonymous wrote:We lived on $65K/year (my salary) for the 3 years my DH was in law school. Maxed out retirement, traveled every year (internationally), saved at least $15K/year for down payment. We shopped at WF and had a cheap, no frills apt with no cable, but lots of other entertainment.

I don't get people who need $200K to get by (though we make that now, we bank a LOT). Our mortgage now is only a little more than our rent used to be. Our DC costs us a little extra ($2000/month), but that's why we waited until we made more to have a kid, and we still save a ton.

Are all y'all living high on the hog? What am I doing right/wrong here?

Subtract $30K for maxing out retirement, that leaves you with $35K. You saved $15K for a downpayment? Now you're down to $20K. $20K/year = $1667/month. Let's assume rent at $800/month (cheap, no frills), that leaves you with about $800/month left for groceries, utilities, diapers, etc. And, oh yeah, I didn't bother to tax you, or add the $2k/month for the child, include college savings, an emergency fund, health insurance, life insurance, or school loans.

Darling, you think you are doing well, but you are either not saving for retirement or cutting somewhere else vitally important.

There is something wrong with this picture indeed.