I feel like we are making $50k. Life has gotten so freaking expensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not buying most of these write ups...I suspect alot of these individuals are potentially getting help from parents etc for college savings. When I see people making 200K (which surely would have been less when they were young) with fully funded 529's at 200K per kid plus maxing out retirement there has to be help. Obviously when you purchased your house is a big deal but unless it was more than 10-15 years ago it shouldn't matter that much as prices have been high forever..

Eh, they all seem reasonable. 200-250K is pretty good as long as you drop one of two big ticket things. We don't have transport expenses and only plan on paying tuition (not living expenses) for state school, so that is how we make that work. Another posted talked about only using a family cabin for vacations, others talk about older cars, and yet others bought reasonable houses long ago.

+1

I can understand 100k and people are doing this much, but 200-250k in the DC area is pretty comfortable. It would only suck if you just bought a house 2022-currently with that income and no down payment options. If you bought your home well before the home prices and interest rates spiked, 200-250k in this region is pretty well-off with enough to save money up.

Make just slightly over 200k, but that was a recent development. Live in eastern MoCo in a sfh, have two old cars, saving the maximum for retirement, rarely eat out, take affordable vacations in adjoining states. We have a lot of retirement saving catch up to do, as well as a lot of repairs on our 70s sfh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not buying most of these write ups...I suspect alot of these individuals are potentially getting help from parents etc for college savings. When I see people making 200K (which surely would have been less when they were young) with fully funded 529's at 200K per kid plus maxing out retirement there has to be help. Obviously when you purchased your house is a big deal but unless it was more than 10-15 years ago it shouldn't matter that much as prices have been high forever..

I bought my house 10 years ago but in a neighborhood that wouldn't be good enough for most of DCUM. So my $2100 mortgage for my house put me in a comfortable position even though we have negative family money (we give money to my parents). We also rent out our basement and that nearly covers the mortgage.

Same. No parent money here. Bought my first townhome in Loudoun for dirt cheap in 2010 a year after I graduated college using a FHA loan and job assisted with first time home buyers; moved out there since I worked in Reston at the time. Kept it and rented it out and sold it in 2020 when prices doubled. Was able to sell it for 500k. Used that house as leverage to buy our SFH we currently live in.

We are at 275k so a bit higher:
-Bought home for 475k a decade ago with low interest rate
-Go on 1-2 decent vacations a year
-housecleaning 2x a month/lawn service
-expensive travel sport for 1 kid
-Other kid has a few special needs and has become increasingly expensive with therapies-considering private school
-Have plenty of savings/529/retirement built up now that we are mid 40s

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your HHI gross income is $200-250K, what does your lifestyle look like?

Two incomes or one SAH or part time?
Kids or DINC?
SFH, townhome, or condo? Cars? Vacations?
What do you feel like you can afford and what feels out of reach for you.

This is specific to the DMV. $200K is rich in West Virginia or Ohio or Iowa, and poor in Manhattan or San Francisco, so DC metro only please.

2 incomes
2 kids
SFH
2 cars (2020 and a 2010)
1-2 vacations per year (domestic)

It’s ok. No real complaints but looking forward to being $300k in the near future (within 5-10 years). I think $300-350k would be especially comfortable and we could renovate and still save a bit more than we are currently and better fund 529s.

if you bought a house with low mortgage and kids are already school age, 300k feels very comfortable

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

Sounds like I hit a nerve

No, you made a stupid statement. Ask Jeff Bezos if he’d rather be a GS-drone than gallivanting on his yacht.

DP here. There is absolutely no evidence that Jeff Bezos is actually happy and content. You have no idea his state of mind. Happy/content men don’t abandon their wife and 4 children for a glorified prostitute, for starters. In our family, there are lots of wealthy law firm partners and specialty physicians. Very few of them recommend their kids follow suit.

Anonymous wrote:I am not buying most of these write ups...I suspect alot of these individuals are potentially getting help from parents etc for college savings. When I see people making 200K (which surely would have been less when they were young) with fully funded 529's at 200K per kid plus maxing out retirement there has to be help. Obviously when you purchased your house is a big deal but unless it was more than 10-15 years ago it shouldn't matter that much as prices have been high forever..

Eh, they all seem reasonable. 200-250K is pretty good as long as you drop one of two big ticket things. We don't have transport expenses and only plan on paying tuition (not living expenses) for state school, so that is how we make that work. Another posted talked about only using a family cabin for vacations, others talk about older cars, and yet others bought reasonable houses long ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

Sounds like I hit a nerve

No, you made a stupid statement. Ask Jeff Bezos if he’d rather be a GS-drone than gallivanting on his yacht.

I made a statement based on research. Here is a link for you: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/money-only-buys-happiness-for-a-certain-amount.html

Who cares what Jeff Bezos wants? Unlike the "working class millionaires" of San Francisco I am happy with what I have and don't compare myself to others. https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-ultra-rich-people-want-more-money-000916342.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAN5osISYqAJdQyhGzJn6PBuNOECM_5L8PLnpGhTY7bNSMsma-DKUMQFmtFAb7n7_wi2Y4Ws3mxXkW8ujvMpyblvrNLdnh3aw9UiOTckejnXZNbHsAZZexz6cEicAF7yuNKYRi5xyl7PHJN_CeKvO0Qp-vo3Oyz-ojAVKEx0kSIP6

This is old news. I’m much happier now than when I was only making $75,000.

Lol thanks for that anecdote.
$75k undoubtedly not the optimal income in the DMV. If you read the article it says that optimal amount varies widely depending on where you live. For my family of 3, I can honestly say $250k is wonderful and neither DH nor I want to leave our flexible, interesting jobs for more money, particularly as we'd lose time with each other and our child.

Different strokes for different folks. I’ve never regretted prioritizing my earning potential.

240k
Dh full time 75% wfh
Dw half time time full telework

Live in an exurb in a smaller house with very good schools.
3 kids elementary public
Dual Fed retirements mostly maxed
Substantial emergency savings (6 months)
Not much college savings
house will paid off in <10 years
2 cars

Big vacations every other year or so is frankly all we have time/energy for (Mexico, Grand Canyon).

We love our crazy life, I certainly wouldn’t trade more money for less time with my kids while they are young, I love volunteering at their school. but they may resent us when they have to go to state colleges! With three kids though that’s basically baked in. Also we are likely not going to do an expensive travel sport again with three kids that’s just not very practical. Dh’s commute is about 45 min each way once a week. I don’t feel stressed about money. Ds comments on his friends with bigger houses, but dh and I are not into that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

Sounds like I hit a nerve

No, you made a stupid statement. Ask Jeff Bezos if he’d rather be a GS-drone than gallivanting on his yacht.

I made a statement based on research. Here is a link for you: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/money-only-buys-happiness-for-a-certain-amount.html

Who cares what Jeff Bezos wants? Unlike the "working class millionaires" of San Francisco I am happy with what I have and don't compare myself to others. https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-ultra-rich-people-want-more-money-000916342.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAN5osISYqAJdQyhGzJn6PBuNOECM_5L8PLnpGhTY7bNSMsma-DKUMQFmtFAb7n7_wi2Y4Ws3mxXkW8ujvMpyblvrNLdnh3aw9UiOTckejnXZNbHsAZZexz6cEicAF7yuNKYRi5xyl7PHJN_CeKvO0Qp-vo3Oyz-ojAVKEx0kSIP6

This is old news. I’m much happier now than when I was only making $75,000.

Lol thanks for that anecdote.
$75k undoubtedly not the optimal income in the DMV. If you read the article it says that optimal amount varies widely depending on where you live. For my family of 3, I can honestly say $250k is wonderful and neither DH nor I want to leave our flexible, interesting jobs for more money, particularly as we'd lose time with each other and our child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

Sounds like I hit a nerve

No, you made a stupid statement. Ask Jeff Bezos if he’d rather be a GS-drone than gallivanting on his yacht.

I made a statement based on research. Here is a link for you: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/money-only-buys-happiness-for-a-certain-amount.html

Who cares what Jeff Bezos wants? Unlike the "working class millionaires" of San Francisco I am happy with what I have and don't compare myself to others. https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-ultra-rich-people-want-more-money-000916342.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAN5osISYqAJdQyhGzJn6PBuNOECM_5L8PLnpGhTY7bNSMsma-DKUMQFmtFAb7n7_wi2Y4Ws3mxXkW8ujvMpyblvrNLdnh3aw9UiOTckejnXZNbHsAZZexz6cEicAF7yuNKYRi5xyl7PHJN_CeKvO0Qp-vo3Oyz-ojAVKEx0kSIP6

This is old news. I’m much happier now than when I was only making $75,000.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dam you fools poor

Our friends with a $500k+ income seem much more stressed than us. They bought a big old house on a big lot that has constant maintenance issues. It was expensive too since they needed to be in one of the "best," most homogenous school districts in the country. He commutes and works ridiculous hours so all the home and child-related tasks fall on her (she also works full time). It seems like it is very expensive and stressful to be that rich. I'm grateful to be closer to the $200-$250k income bracket because I appreciate our money and am happy with a townhouse we have and the fact that DH and I both share household and child responsibilities.

Anecdotal and irreelvant.

There actually is evidence that happiness does not increase with more money after a certain point.

Poppycock.

Sounds like I hit a nerve

No, you made a stupid statement. Ask Jeff Bezos if he’d rather be a GS-drone than gallivanting on his yacht.

I made a statement based on research. Here is a link for you: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q1/money-only-buys-happiness-for-a-certain-amount.html

Who cares what Jeff Bezos wants? Unlike the "working class millionaires" of San Francisco I am happy with what I have and don't compare myself to others. https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-ultra-rich-people-want-more-money-000916342.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAN5osISYqAJdQyhGzJn6PBuNOECM_5L8PLnpGhTY7bNSMsma-DKUMQFmtFAb7n7_wi2Y4Ws3mxXkW8ujvMpyblvrNLdnh3aw9UiOTckejnXZNbHsAZZexz6cEicAF7yuNKYRi5xyl7PHJN_CeKvO0Qp-vo3Oyz-ojAVKEx0kSIP6

That research is out of date and out of touch.

Anonymous wrote:I am not buying most of these write ups...I suspect alot of these individuals are potentially getting help from parents etc for college savings. When I see people making 200K (which surely would have been less when they were young) with fully funded 529's at 200K per kid plus maxing out retirement there has to be help. Obviously when you purchased your house is a big deal but unless it was more than 10-15 years ago it shouldn't matter that much as prices have been high forever..

529 funded for in-state is not 200K. And my version is putting as much as possible into retirement is prob different than many DCUMers.