Anonymous
12/08/2022 11:23
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
80K net is doable for us for all usual expenses with 2 minor children: house, mortgage, daily living, travel, etc.
However, we have a different pot for college tuition.
However, we have a different pot for college tuition.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 11:21
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My version of a middle class life is for a family of 4:
3br/2ba home (which is a TH in the suburbs
Cars you drive into the ground 10+ years
No cell phones for the kids until they can afford it in their own
No cars for the kids unless they can buy in their own
Funding college at 50% in a state school
Two incomes each maxing out 401k, retirement no earlier than 59 1/2, but most likely 65
No international vacations whatsoever.
The family MAYBE gets in an airplane every 2 years
Dining out 2xs a month
Packed work lunches daily if not expensed
This could be accomplished on 200k/yr and should leave some room for cash savings.
However people’s ideas of middle class are warped.
$200K isn't middle class and you can do that on much less. If you cannot afford to fund a state college on that income, and pay for cell phones something is very off.
Do you have any awareness of how much a 3br TH costs with todays interest rates? Any idea what it takes to max out 401ks and daycare and 529 costs?
This is my version of middle class. Yours is different and thats OK.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 11:17
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Median income for family of 4
-DC $182,068
-VA $121,793
-MD $138,054
Based on 2022 census
https://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20220401/bci_data/median_income_table.htm
Wow, this is a lot higher than I thought.
But median isn't mean or average
Wow. Mind blown.
In this case median is probably most reliable because mean would have to really factor in the outliers on either side of the scale
Anonymous
12/08/2022 11:11
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Median income for family of 4
-DC $182,068
-VA $121,793
-MD $138,054
Based on 2022 census
https://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20220401/bci_data/median_income_table.htm
Wow, this is a lot higher than I thought.
But median isn't mean or average
Wow. Mind blown.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 11:10
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My version of a middle class life is for a family of 4:
3br/2ba home (which is a TH in the suburbs
Cars you drive into the ground 10+ years
No cell phones for the kids until they can afford it in their own
No cars for the kids unless they can buy in their own
Funding college at 50% in a state school
Two incomes each maxing out 401k, retirement no earlier than 59 1/2, but most likely 65
No international vacations whatsoever.
The family MAYBE gets in an airplane every 2 years
Dining out 2xs a month
Packed work lunches daily if not expensed
This could be accomplished on 200k/yr and should leave some room for cash savings.
However people’s ideas of middle class are warped.
$200K isn't middle class and you can do that on much less. If you cannot afford to fund a state college on that income, and pay for cell phones something is very off.
DP- it entirely depends on other other fixed costs. Some of us have medical expenses or kids with special needs. And there is nothing wrong with making kids pay for their own smartphones or having some skin in the game to go to college, whether it be applying for scholarships or working a part-time job.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 11:10
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Median income for family of 4
-DC $182,068
-VA $121,793
-MD $138,054
Based on 2022 census
https://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20220401/bci_data/median_income_table.htm
Wow, this is a lot higher than I thought.
But median isn't mean or average
Anonymous
12/08/2022 11:04
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:Also, the median household income in DC is closer to 90K. So people saying they can't get by on 200K are big old whiners.
Most people do it.
What they mean is: I can't live in a house in Bethesda that looks like the one I grew up in on a household income of 150K. Which is true. But no one is entitled to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country on an upper middle class salary. Living in a neighborhood "with good schools" (quotes because we all know that good schools can be found in many neighborhoods) is a luxury good. Not an entitlement.
+1. You want high performing schools, you need to pay for it. Middle class = middle performing public schools, or pay for Catholic.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 10:59
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:My version of a middle class life is for a family of 4:
3br/2ba home (which is a TH in the suburbs
Cars you drive into the ground 10+ years
No cell phones for the kids until they can afford it in their own
No cars for the kids unless they can buy in their own
Funding college at 50% in a state school
Two incomes each maxing out 401k, retirement no earlier than 59 1/2, but most likely 65
No international vacations whatsoever.
The family MAYBE gets in an airplane every 2 years
Dining out 2xs a month
Packed work lunches daily if not expensed
This could be accomplished on 200k/yr and should leave some room for cash savings.
However people’s ideas of middle class are warped.
$200K isn't middle class and you can do that on much less. If you cannot afford to fund a state college on that income, and pay for cell phones something is very off.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 10:58
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:We make $275k with 2 kids and do fine. We live in a small house in the city that's zoned for a good public elementary school. We drive Toyotas, not Teslas, and stay at an Airbnb or Holiday Inn instead of the Ritz on vacation. We do need to budget, especially for big ticket items like summer camp, vacations, and a fund for home repairs, but we don't generally worry about money.
I don't get this as we make much less and don't have to budget at all. We drive one $50K car, no issue.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 10:56
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
My version of a middle class life is for a family of 4:
3br/2ba home (which is a TH in the suburbs
Cars you drive into the ground 10+ years
No cell phones for the kids until they can afford it in their own
No cars for the kids unless they can buy in their own
Funding college at 50% in a state school
Two incomes each maxing out 401k, retirement no earlier than 59 1/2, but most likely 65
No international vacations whatsoever.
The family MAYBE gets in an airplane every 2 years
Dining out 2xs a month
Packed work lunches daily if not expensed
This could be accomplished on 200k/yr and should leave some room for cash savings.
However people’s ideas of middle class are warped.
3br/2ba home (which is a TH in the suburbs
Cars you drive into the ground 10+ years
No cell phones for the kids until they can afford it in their own
No cars for the kids unless they can buy in their own
Funding college at 50% in a state school
Two incomes each maxing out 401k, retirement no earlier than 59 1/2, but most likely 65
No international vacations whatsoever.
The family MAYBE gets in an airplane every 2 years
Dining out 2xs a month
Packed work lunches daily if not expensed
This could be accomplished on 200k/yr and should leave some room for cash savings.
However people’s ideas of middle class are warped.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 09:21
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
I would be interested to know how old people’s kids are when replying to this question. Daycare is killing us.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 09:18
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Also, the median household income in DC is closer to 90K. So people saying they can't get by on 200K are big old whiners.
Most people do it.
What they mean is: I can't live in a house in Bethesda that looks like the one I grew up in on a household income of 150K. Which is true. But no one is entitled to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country on an upper middle class salary. Living in a neighborhood "with good schools" (quotes because we all know that good schools can be found in many neighborhoods) is a luxury good. Not an entitlement.
Most people do it.
What they mean is: I can't live in a house in Bethesda that looks like the one I grew up in on a household income of 150K. Which is true. But no one is entitled to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country on an upper middle class salary. Living in a neighborhood "with good schools" (quotes because we all know that good schools can be found in many neighborhoods) is a luxury good. Not an entitlement.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 09:01
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
We make $275k with 2 kids and do fine. We live in a small house in the city that's zoned for a good public elementary school. We drive Toyotas, not Teslas, and stay at an Airbnb or Holiday Inn instead of the Ritz on vacation. We do need to budget, especially for big ticket items like summer camp, vacations, and a fund for home repairs, but we don't generally worry about money.
Anonymous
12/08/2022 08:24
Subject: Re:Reasonable income for family of 4
OP: do not trust the answers to this post.
DCUM (this subforum especially) is infested with absurdly wealthy SAHMs who simply love to gloat, and rub your nose in their wealth.
No surprise though:
The DC Area Has the Highest Median Income in the US Again:
https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/09/21/the-dc-area-has-the-highest-median-income-in-the-us-again/
DCUM (this subforum especially) is infested with absurdly wealthy SAHMs who simply love to gloat, and rub your nose in their wealth.
No surprise though:
The DC Area Has the Highest Median Income in the US Again:
https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/09/21/the-dc-area-has-the-highest-median-income-in-the-us-again/
Anonymous
12/08/2022 08:13
Subject: Reasonable income for family of 4
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My family feels perfectly comfortable at $160K.
With 2 kids.
2K Mortgage payment.
Unfortunately you can’t get a 2k mortgage in a good neighborhood anymore (Good neighborhood is essential for this question since "good public school" falls in line with reasonable, we’re assuming we don’t have enough money for private). You’d have to try 3-5k mortgage payment for a SFH in a decent school district with the current rates and house prices.
Good is subjective but you absolutely can. We also live very comfortably and had a $2K mortgage. We worked hard to pay it off and now very comfortable with no mortgage.
If you had a mortgage long enough to pay it off, you bought your house a long time ago
This is false.