Anonymous wrote:OP here -

I agree we need to cut down the two shopping expenditures. I’m not the only one with a credit card so it’s not as simple.

The reason I have 1k for furniture is that our house is slowly being furnished. We didn’t move in with much so we are now buying outdoor furniture (porch, patio, deck) and indoor furniture. There’s seven bedrooms, an office, basement theater, etc that look bare without being somewhat furnished. We’re trying to find good deals rather than splurge all at once. We also inherited a large outdoor jacuzzi that needs to be maintained.

The grandparents rather pay for help and pitch in here and there rather than quit their jobs and become full time babysitters. They also refuse to retire.

Why in gods name would your parents (or in laws) have to quit their jobs and become your full time babysitters? Also why are they in charge of helping pay for anything? I am so confused - you live in a $1.9 million dollar house and make $400K.

I live in a $900,000 house and our HHI is $650K. If you can't afford childcare you cannot afford a $1.9 million dollar house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shame on you OP. At your age and income level you still depend on parents to satisfy your basic needs?
You make 400k, live a 2.5m mansion, but mommy and daddy still have to subsidize you to afford a child?
I bet that even when your income rises to 500k and 600k, you won't still be able to afford your lifestyle and will still be financially dependent on mommy and daddy. You have no shame? Grow up.

+1

some people don't understand estate planning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here -

I agree we need to cut down the two shopping expenditures. I’m not the only one with a credit card so it’s not as simple.

The reason I have 1k for furniture is that our house is slowly being furnished. We didn’t move in with much so we are now buying outdoor furniture (porch, patio, deck) and indoor furniture. There’s seven bedrooms, an office, basement theater, etc that look bare without being somewhat furnished. We’re trying to find good deals rather than splurge all at once. We also inherited a large outdoor jacuzzi that needs to be maintained.

The grandparents rather pay for help and pitch in here and there rather than quit their jobs and become full time babysitters. They also refuse to retire.

Sure it would be nice to have an Instagram
Worthy house now, but why do you need everything furnished so quickly? We did it slowly and often it meant hand me downs, Facebook marketplace and paper blinds for a few years while we saved. Buying a crib and car seat and childcare was way more important.

I don’t see how someone is furnishing a home for $12k. 12k IS Facebook marketplace and paper blinds for a 7 bedroom house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7k may be a third of their take home but taking out such a large mortgage is foolish. It means you are slave to your job and dependent on a high income to maintain your lifestyle. We make the same income and our mortgage is 3500. But we don't have mommy and daddy to bail us out.

For real. This is why we’ve never taken out a big mortgage. We’ve used our big income to drive out mortgage down. We could take career risks due to easily being able to live and save on one income when needed.

It’s a really nice feeling sitting here at age 45 getting a bit sick of working. I’m not trapped in a guilded cage. As a matter of fact my employer is trying to force be back into the office 3xs a week and I’m dug in refusing more than 1 day. I’m thinking they are welcome to fire me. We are in a Mexican stand off and I’m not backing down. Could never do this if I needed this job to pay my bills.

I understand this approach but not sure it’s best. The large mortgage can be a ball and chain, but it’s in OP’s best interest to keep working in a high paying job.

Back in the day we bought a starter home we could afford one one salary. Except both spouses continued working and earnings increased. We made less equity than if we’d bought at the top of our budget. Then we had to spend thousands selling the starter home and buying another house. We thought we were being smart financially but really it limited us.

OP is likely going to continue working and so will his or her spouse. They even have grandparents to pay for the nanny. They probably locked in a low rate and we’ll likely have confined inflation for quite some time.

OP need to buckle down the next few years and keep at it.

Anonymous wrote:7k may be a third of their take home but taking out such a large mortgage is foolish. It means you are slave to your job and dependent on a high income to maintain your lifestyle. We make the same income and our mortgage is 3500. But we don't have mommy and daddy to bail us out.

And when did you buy and at what rate? A 3500 mortgage lands you in Manassas these days.

Anonymous wrote:We have a similar HHI, live in McLean, mortgage about 3500. My parents are not footing my nanny bill but they basically provide free childcare for us by living with us and caring for our baby, also chauffeuring the older one to all kinds of activities. We do have healthy retirement and regular saving. But money is still tight.

The thing is, 400k is just middle class income in this area. We do need grandparents support to survive.

It’s not middle class. Grow up.

Anonymous wrote:We have a similar HHI, live in McLean, mortgage about 3500. My parents are not footing my nanny bill but they basically provide free childcare for us by living with us and caring for our baby, also chauffeuring the older one to all kinds of activities. We do have healthy retirement and regular saving. But money is still tight.

The thing is, 400k is just middle class income in this area. We do need grandparents support to survive.

This is what OP needs to do.. At $2.5M, you likely have a large enough house that can easily accommodate 2 more people (parents). Cut out daycare, halve your Costco and furniture expenses and you are golden.

<tongue in cheek comment> If your parents are not interested, change your ethnicity to Chinese or Indian and adopt an old chinese or indian couple. They would be thrilled to take care of their grandkids and the grandkids will know to take care of you in your old age.

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Anonymous wrote:We are at a similar HHI and net approximately $20k/month with 2 extra pay periods. After $7k mortgage, you have $13k/mo remaining. Is that not enough? Even if you allocate $6k for childcare, that’s still 7k/mo for basic living expenses.

Congrats, you have the mindset of someone who will be tied to their job until age 65+.

Not sure why you’re coming at me. This isn’t my budget. We net $20k per month and spend $10k so you can take your preaching elsewhere. I’m simply asking why HER budget isn’t working despite numbers suggesting that it should.

You basically told OP, "You take home $20K and your expenses are $20K - what's the problem?" Most people earning $400K wouldn't think it's OK not to save any money beyond their 401k.

OP is young and at one of the most expensive phases (new house, young kids, newborn and need for nanny, etc) of life. The concern she expressed is making ends meet, not early retirement or how much she ought to be saving. She expressed anticipation of higher income in the future. Most people are not maximizing savings or saving much at all while having a newborn.

Well we had a 200k HHI when we had a newborn and somehow we managed. To say that you can’t survive on 400k while also buying a ridiculously expensive house is nuts.

You guys are clearly idiots because we managed with a newborn on 80 HHI.

Yes but that means you didn’t live in a 6k sqft, $2M house in McLean that has a movie theater.

$2M in McLean these days won't get you a 6k sqft with a movie theater. News builds start at $2.8M now (nothing high end) and a better quality build with a movie theater likely starts at $4M.

OP has a seven (!!!!!) bedroom house.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a similar HHI and net approximately $20k/month with 2 extra pay periods. After $7k mortgage, you have $13k/mo remaining. Is that not enough? Even if you allocate $6k for childcare, that’s still 7k/mo for basic living expenses.

Congrats, you have the mindset of someone who will be tied to their job until age 65+.

Not sure why you’re coming at me. This isn’t my budget. We net $20k per month and spend $10k so you can take your preaching elsewhere. I’m simply asking why HER budget isn’t working despite numbers suggesting that it should.

You basically told OP, "You take home $20K and your expenses are $20K - what's the problem?" Most people earning $400K wouldn't think it's OK not to save any money beyond their 401k.

OP is young and at one of the most expensive phases (new house, young kids, newborn and need for nanny, etc) of life. The concern she expressed is making ends meet, not early retirement or how much she ought to be saving. She expressed anticipation of higher income in the future. Most people are not maximizing savings or saving much at all while having a newborn.

Well we had a 200k HHI when we had a newborn and somehow we managed. To say that you can’t survive on 400k while also buying a ridiculously expensive house is nuts.

You guys are clearly idiots because we managed with a newborn on 80 HHI.

Yes but that means you didn’t live in a 6k sqft, $2M house in McLean that has a movie theater.

$2M in McLean these days won't get you a 6k sqft with a movie theater. News builds start at $2.8M now (nothing high end) and a better quality build with a movie theater likely starts at $4M.

Well god forbid OP not live in McLean.

Anonymous wrote:OP here -

I agree we need to cut down the two shopping expenditures. I’m not the only one with a credit card so it’s not as simple.

The reason I have 1k for furniture is that our house is slowly being furnished. We didn’t move in with much so we are now buying outdoor furniture (porch, patio, deck) and indoor furniture. There’s seven bedrooms, an office, basement theater, etc that look bare without being somewhat furnished. We’re trying to find good deals rather than splurge all at once. We also inherited a large outdoor jacuzzi that needs to be maintained.

The grandparents rather pay for help and pitch in here and there rather than quit their jobs and become full time babysitters. They also refuse to retire.

Sure it would be nice to have an Instagram
Worthy house now, but why do you need everything furnished so quickly? We did it slowly and often it meant hand me downs, Facebook marketplace and paper blinds for a few years while we saved. Buying a crib and car seat and childcare was way more important.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a similar HHI and net approximately $20k/month with 2 extra pay periods. After $7k mortgage, you have $13k/mo remaining. Is that not enough? Even if you allocate $6k for childcare, that’s still 7k/mo for basic living expenses.

Congrats, you have the mindset of someone who will be tied to their job until age 65+.

Not sure why you’re coming at me. This isn’t my budget. We net $20k per month and spend $10k so you can take your preaching elsewhere. I’m simply asking why HER budget isn’t working despite numbers suggesting that it should.

You basically told OP, "You take home $20K and your expenses are $20K - what's the problem?" Most people earning $400K wouldn't think it's OK not to save any money beyond their 401k.

OP is young and at one of the most expensive phases (new house, young kids, newborn and need for nanny, etc) of life. The concern she expressed is making ends meet, not early retirement or how much she ought to be saving. She expressed anticipation of higher income in the future. Most people are not maximizing savings or saving much at all while having a newborn.

Well we had a 200k HHI when we had a newborn and somehow we managed. To say that you can’t survive on 400k while also buying a ridiculously expensive house is nuts.

You guys are clearly idiots because we managed with a newborn on 80 HHI.

Yes but that means you didn’t live in a 6k sqft, $2M house in McLean that has a movie theater.

$2M in McLean these days won't get you a 6k sqft with a movie theater. News builds start at $2.8M now (nothing high end) and a better quality build with a movie theater likely starts at $4M.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a similar HHI and net approximately $20k/month with 2 extra pay periods. After $7k mortgage, you have $13k/mo remaining. Is that not enough? Even if you allocate $6k for childcare, that’s still 7k/mo for basic living expenses.

Congrats, you have the mindset of someone who will be tied to their job until age 65+.

Not sure why you’re coming at me. This isn’t my budget. We net $20k per month and spend $10k so you can take your preaching elsewhere. I’m simply asking why HER budget isn’t working despite numbers suggesting that it should.

You basically told OP, "You take home $20K and your expenses are $20K - what's the problem?" Most people earning $400K wouldn't think it's OK not to save any money beyond their 401k.

OP is young and at one of the most expensive phases (new house, young kids, newborn and need for nanny, etc) of life. The concern she expressed is making ends meet, not early retirement or how much she ought to be saving. She expressed anticipation of higher income in the future. Most people are not maximizing savings or saving much at all while having a newborn.

Well we had a 200k HHI when we had a newborn and somehow we managed. To say that you can’t survive on 400k while also buying a ridiculously expensive house is nuts.

You guys are clearly idiots because we managed with a newborn on 80 HHI.

I actually think you are the idiot being a grown up adult with kids on an entry level income still.

Guess you’ve never met two doctoral students.

OP, it'd be a stupid idea to sell your house as some idiots suggested, especially if it's in a good area (such as McLean). You equity in the house will appreciate faster than if you put the money in 401K (the leverage effect). Your HHI will get higher and there is also some probability to refinance in the future.

Anonymous wrote:OP here -

I agree we need to cut down the two shopping expenditures. I’m not the only one with a credit card so it’s not as simple.

The reason I have 1k for furniture is that our house is slowly being furnished. We didn’t move in with much so we are now buying outdoor furniture (porch, patio, deck) and indoor furniture. There’s seven bedrooms, an office, basement theater, etc that look bare without being somewhat furnished. We’re trying to find good deals rather than splurge all at once. We also inherited a large outdoor jacuzzi that needs to be maintained.

The grandparents rather pay for help and pitch in here and there rather than quit their jobs and become full time babysitters. They also refuse to retire.

Unless you have a ton of regular out of town guests, leave a couple of the bedrooms empty to use as playrooms. You will thank me later.

Anonymous wrote:7k may be a third of their take home but taking out such a large mortgage is foolish. It means you are slave to your job and dependent on a high income to maintain your lifestyle. We make the same income and our mortgage is 3500. But we don't have mommy and daddy to bail us out.

For real. This is why we’ve never taken out a big mortgage. We’ve used our big income to drive out mortgage down. We could take career risks due to easily being able to live and save on one income when needed.

It’s a really nice feeling sitting here at age 45 getting a bit sick of working. I’m not trapped in a guilded cage. As a matter of fact my employer is trying to force be back into the office 3xs a week and I’m dug in refusing more than 1 day. I’m thinking they are welcome to fire me. We are in a Mexican stand off and I’m not backing down. Could never do this if I needed this job to pay my bills.