There’s been much ballyhoo lately about cost of living and affordability in media lately (deservedly so, imo) but I’m curious how hard it is for those of us who are a little more capable than normies (we like to think).
Feel free to be somewhat vague. Not asking anyone to doxx themselves. I’ll start.
In my mid-thirties. Married, two kids. Combined income is just under 100k. We live in a low cost of living area which has helped us a lot. We were able to buy a house in ‘21 with a 15 year mortgage and it feels like we got on the last lifeboat off the Titanic. We’ve been able to build about a 200k net worth, about half of which is home equity.
Day to day expenses are getting tougher, however. We’ve never had a car payment but our older kid has started school and that has put a strain on us since he goes to a private Christian school. I’ve worked in education and I consider sending a kid to public school to be akin to child abuse.
It feels harder and harder to save and invest. Just making ends meet with two kids in this red state feels like a Herculean task. Wondering if anyone else feels the same way.
Won't say what I make, but it's worth about $40k in 2019 dollars. Graduated in 2016 and only hit my major's claimed starting salary when the dollar devalued lol
I bought a small "cheap" house in a shitty Mexican neighborhood this year. Mortgage and taxes eat about half of my take home. I am taxed without mercy for being male, unmarried, and childless.
Car paid for. At least four retirement accounts with three digit balances from different employers, being slowly eaten by fees. Enough HYSA savings to eat a job loss for six months or so. Gotten the boot from enough jobs that I basically expect any given Friday to end in an unemployment application.
Zero dollars in the stock market. It was driven into me that I needed to be responsible and save cash for catastrophe expenses and job losses instead of "gambling". Should have been maxing out credit cards for stonks.
I live alone with my dog and spend most of my disposable money on guns, ammo, gear, training, competition, preparedness, etc.
My life is half over and financially I'm where my parents were at 22.