$700 a month for a car is a problem. Once this car is paid off, never have a car payment again. Take public transportation. You can travel via metro for 1/10th that price.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a troll, guys.

I sure hope so. This whole thread is delusional.

Why do you think that?

They haven't tried to buy a house or rent an apartment in the DC area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on $90k.

You are spoiled OP.

it’s so amusing how you poors just cannibalize each other. it’s like you want to make sure all of you are down in the miserable mud together.

You poors? Unless you're a billionaire, I have news for you....

oh bless you and your 90K income🤣

I'm not the 90K income poster, but to the billionaire class, all of us here are poors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on $90k.

You are spoiled OP.

it’s so amusing how you poors just cannibalize each other. it’s like you want to make sure all of you are down in the miserable mud together.

You poors? Unless you're a billionaire, I have news for you....

oh bless you and your 90K income🤣

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 20+ year old cars we drive until they fall apart. Also, don't eat out at all and don't have pets.

I am a SAHW. I have been running the house on 10K monthly for past 20 years (post tax). He pays all the taxes, Social security, IRA, pension plan, investments and medical coverage. Of course, earlier I had kids living with us too but now we are mostly empty nesters. We are living quite lavishly

-Mortgage - 2300
-Food - 1500
-Utilities, internet, subscriptions, insurance, gas, office parking, cleaner, lawn person, co-pay, office lunch, - 2500
-Socializing and entertaining (including catering help) - 1000
-My kid needs room and board in college so that is usually - 1500
I still have around 1-2K left with me each month.

When kids were younger, I paid for tutors and other needs of the kids too. I always had money left. So, I saved for college, weddings, yearly travel, gifts etc.

And we did not have pets, student debt, private school, childcare costs.

We live on less than that, and we travel, eat out, buy stuff when we need it, have a pleasant, small-ish house in a nice neighborhood, have cars and pets.

How do we do it? We are very, very thrifty. We don't splurge on anything. We have a vegetable garden out back, we drive older cars, we buy pretty much everything on sale or at TJMaxx or Costco or online as cheaply as we can find it. I sew and furnished our house with antiques and Ikea furniture. I love thrift shops and yard sales, where I've found some nice things that I fix up (lamps seem to sell for pennies). I buy stuff used (cars, in particular).

When we travel, we stay with family and friends. We eat at nice, mid-priced restaurants that we research, we get discounts when we can. We don't have a budget, but we live well within our means. I don't think our kids realize how little money we live on because we have nice stuff and do lots of things--just nothing expensive!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 20+ year old cars we drive until they fall apart. Also, don't eat out at all and don't have pets.

I am a SAHW. I have been running the house on 10K monthly for past 20 years (post tax). He pays all the taxes, Social security, IRA, pension plan, investments and medical coverage. Of course, earlier I had kids living with us too but now we are mostly empty nesters. We are living quite lavishly

-Mortgage - 2300
-Food - 1500
-Utilities, internet, subscriptions, insurance, gas, office parking, cleaner, lawn person, co-pay, office lunch, - 2500
-Socializing and entertaining (including catering help) - 1000
-My kid needs room and board in college so that is usually - 1500
I still have around 1-2K left with me each month.

When kids were younger, I paid for tutors and other needs of the kids too. I always had money left. So, I saved for college, weddings, travel, gifts etc.

I don't understand this post. PP's gross HHI is easily twice that of OP's, and not comparable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a troll, guys.

I sure hope so. This whole thread is delusional.

Why do you think that?

Anonymous wrote:We have 20+ year old cars we drive until they fall apart. Also, don't eat out at all and don't have pets.

I am a SAHW. I have been running the house on 10K monthly for past 20 years (post tax). He pays all the taxes, Social security, IRA, pension plan, investments and medical coverage. Of course, earlier I had kids living with us too but now we are mostly empty nesters. We are living quite lavishly

-Mortgage - 2300
-Food - 1500
-Utilities, internet, subscriptions, insurance, gas, office parking, cleaner, lawn person, co-pay, office lunch, - 2500
-Socializing and entertaining (including catering help) - 1000
-My kid needs room and board in college so that is usually - 1500
I still have around 1-2K left with me each month.

When kids were younger, I paid for tutors and other needs of the kids too. I always had money left. So, I saved for college, weddings, travel, gifts etc.

We have 20+ year old cars we drive until they fall apart. Also, don't eat out at all and don't have pets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on $90k.

You are spoiled OP.

it’s so amusing how you poors just cannibalize each other. it’s like you want to make sure all of you are down in the miserable mud together.

You poors? Unless you're a billionaire, I have news for you....

Anonymous wrote:We live on $90k.

You are spoiled OP.

it’s so amusing how you poors just cannibalize each other. it’s like you want to make sure all of you are down in the miserable mud together.

Anonymous wrote:After all bills are paid and 401k we’re left with 1k a month to play with and we have no debt.

it’s tight and tough!

are you a 2 income House? or one? any kids?

My sister does this as a teacher and a single parent, making 115k/yr. She has 2 kids, one in college one in high school. She could have never done it without my mom who is a living saint and watched her kids for free for many years. Only saving grace is my mom got all the breaks that my sister got including a much needed summer recharge.

My sister lives VERY VERY frugally and managed to buy a small TH when prices were cheaper and did a great refi during covid for those sweet low rates. However when she bought the townhouse she was maybe making 75k/yr!!

The fact that you have no debt is fantastic. I live on exactly that amount after bills and every penny of it is going towards my debt.

My answer to you is save every penny that you can. When you do that for a while you will be able to see the light!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After all bills are paid and 401k we’re left with 1k a month to play with and we have no debt.

People assume that overseas travel, designer products, upgraded car, HGTV decor etc are necessities. Live simply, within your means. If you can't buy something on cash, don't buy it.

This and most families of 4 (assume 2 parents and 2 kids) are not traveling overseas very often, not without making a concerted effort to save for it.

Actually I generally save money when I travel overseas. Food is so much cheaper, and I stay in basic AirBnB for $50 a night.