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.
I appreciate you bringing this up and your willingness to share.
Im late thirties, married, have more that two kids. I make good money but I also live in a big city in California that is very expensive. The cost for everything is still insanely high where I am. Gas came down a little. But groceries are absurd. A typical costco visit pre COVID was $300-400. The same visit is easily $600 now. No joke, I probably average 1K on food per month and that is NO junk food, no chips, no snacks, no misc impulse buys, just the essentials.
I actually reached out to a buddy of mine with the same number of kids to see if I'm doing something wrong, if there are way cheaper options than what I'm doing. Doesn't seem to be a better alternative.
Childcare isn't a cost because my wife stays home. But the activities cost a fortune. Soccer, etc.
My state taxes the shit out of me so my actual take home after taxes and withholding make me want to vomit.
My wife drives a five year old car. I drove a 13 year old car. Both paid off.
I feel like if I take my foot off the gas work wise, I'll drown. So I'm always working my ass off, barely ever taking time off. Its hard to gauge if all my neighbors simply make way more money than me or if they're buried in debt, because so many keep doing major remodels, buying new cars every few years etc. those Sprinter van things are everywhere and those cost $150k each.