You are not rich. You need to save.

Get the car - something decent but not luxury. Will feel celebratory but likely something you’d need to do anyway soon

Figure out how much you want to allocate to savings, and then start saving some of the leftover until you can buy the boat. Maybe next summer? Depends what you mean by a boat though - small bass boat that gets stored on your property, sure. More than that, I’d be hesitant to go there. My brother makes much more than that and his boat suddenly became way too much once he was staring down college costs.

DH and I recently had a similar increase. We really haven’t changed much though I get a little less heartburn when we’re staring down big-kid expenses (we’re early 40s). We’re saving most of it with a plan to do some house renovations down the line.

I’d wait until the one kid starts public school and then use his former daycare money on car payments. Nobody needs a boat.

Came here to say no boat.

If you must have boats, try this:
https://info.freedomboatclub.com

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have similar numbers to you. I would do $500 per kid in the 529 not $500 total. You can definitely take a vacation but I eould cap it at $5K max. If car prices weren't sky high I'd say replace the old car too but if you can I'd try to hold off until the chip situation evens out hopefully in a year or so and prices come down a bit.

Where can a family of 4 go for 5k? Honest question!!! Can't get a beach house in the OBX easily for under 5k (leaving money for food, beach chairs, etc). Certainly can't fly anywhere and still have money leftover for lodging.

easy. drive to Hilton head and rent a 2BR Marriott timeshare for $3000 https://www.redweek.com/resort/P1023-marriotts-grande-ocean/timeshare-rentals
or fly to Marco Island FL (or other places in FL) and rent a villa for $3000 plus $1000 for airfare, $700 for rental car https://www.redweek.com/resort/P5701-marriotts-crystal-shores/timeshare-rentals
https://www.redweek.com/resort/P1177-hyatt-beach-house-resort/timeshare-rentals

NO BOAT.
Yes a safe car is a necessity, but prices are sky high now and availability stinks so wait a bit longer if you can.

and yes to a reasonable vacation. You can go somewhere great for $5k, not $10k. rent a vrbo or timeshare. don't get into lifestyle creep with vacations- it's a slippery slope

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have similar numbers to you. I would do $500 per kid in the 529 not $500 total. You can definitely take a vacation but I eould cap it at $5K max. If car prices weren't sky high I'd say replace the old car too but if you can I'd try to hold off until the chip situation evens out hopefully in a year or so and prices come down a bit.

Where can a family of 4 go for 5k? Honest question!!! Can't get a beach house in the OBX easily for under 5k (leaving money for food, beach chairs, etc). Certainly can't fly anywhere and still have money leftover for lodging.

We are renting a 3 bedroom condo in Sandbridge, VA (just below VA beach, great place for little kids...I'd probably be closer to the boardwalk with older kids) and our condo rental for the week is $2K. It's not directly on the beach but it's one row in so the beach is a 5 min walk. I think the unit comes with beach chairs so no need to rent them. This trip is well under $5K.

We are also going to Orlando FL and the flight is $200 each ($800 total). The hotel/villa we stay at is $1500 for the week and the car rental is $500 for the week. We only do Disney once because it is so hot and crowded that's all I can stand but the hotel we stay at has a few pools and a pirate ship the kids love. We don't go out to eat for every meal just because it's so much food when you eat out and I wouldn't want to eat out all the time like that so it's not crazy expensive. This trip is probably closer to $5K.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bank the extra money for six months. See how much accumulates. What is your reserve fund? Make sure your have six months expenses in it. Then, with what’s left over, factor in a car purchase. If the old car still runs, then keep waiting until you have the cash to pay for it. At your new income with your current expenses, you shouldn’t need to take a car note.

This. OP said $10k was 1/4 of their reserve fund, right? If so, that’s not great and I’d definitely build that up a bit, i.e. enough to cover 4-6 months of expenses.

Based on their budget, 40k is already 4+ months of expenses (but I agree at having more saved , more is always better)

Here for the boat stuff.

Anonymous wrote:Bank the extra money for six months. See how much accumulates. What is your reserve fund? Make sure your have six months expenses in it. Then, with what’s left over, factor in a car purchase. If the old car still runs, then keep waiting until you have the cash to pay for it. At your new income with your current expenses, you shouldn’t need to take a car note.

This. OP said $10k was 1/4 of their reserve fund, right? If so, that’s not great and I’d definitely build that up a bit, i.e. enough to cover 4-6 months of expenses.

Congrats welcome to middle class

You guys are acting like OP posted she got a raise from 80k to 100k and what should she splurge on. She is going from 150k (a good income!!!) to 260k when she was already living well within her means (a 325k house??? a car with 350k miles on it??) and now has an extra, let's say, 70k a year after taxes. Yes, she can take a one time vacation for 10k and she can buy a car and start making car payments that are like 300 a month. And she can still save an extra 50k this year alone.

You guys are absolutely insane.

Except for the boat opinions. Don't buy a boat.

Anonymous wrote:We have similar numbers to you. I would do $500 per kid in the 529 not $500 total. You can definitely take a vacation but I eould cap it at $5K max. If car prices weren't sky high I'd say replace the old car too but if you can I'd try to hold off until the chip situation evens out hopefully in a year or so and prices come down a bit.

Where can a family of 4 go for 5k? Honest question!!! Can't get a beach house in the OBX easily for under 5k (leaving money for food, beach chairs, etc). Certainly can't fly anywhere and still have money leftover for lodging.

Anonymous wrote:We made 300k and never went on vacation for 10k or bought anything expensive like a boat. You don't make enough for a boat and ongoing expenses. Take a modest vacation. There is no need to upgrade your car.

Airfare alone for a family of 4 is going to be 4k. Then let's say you spend 10 days somewhere accessible and easy in Europe. On 6k as a family of 4 for hotels, food, etc. That's not exactly living in the lap of luxury or being overly extravagant!!

Skip the boat. Rent one when you want to actually use it. You'll save boatloads (ha!) in the long run. If it were me? I would go on vacation abroad. We don't have that money right now and I'm jealous of those that do!