What income is needed for a family or 3-4 to live comfortably? (Dallas: apartment, mortgage)

[newtxman]

One of my co-workers asked me this question, and I really could not say what I thought was a great amount. Knowing how good the City-Data Forums are at these kinds of questions,I turn here asking you, what income would be needed for a family of 4 to live comfortably in the Dallas area?

How well off would a family of 4 who combined makes just a little over $100k a year?

[scyogi]

I would say on that income you could get.....................
A lovely home, 2 cars(reasonable cars), extra activities for kids, some savings (more if you only had 1 car pymt), eating out 1 a week, and week long family vacation for 4 (beach/lake). Now that is not buying a 400k house with 2 BMW's and designer duds on the kids. Think more Old Navy vs. Ambercrombie.

[kt2le]

It depends on how old the kids are. If they're young and both parents work, one would have day care expenses and that's expensive. One parent staying home would eliminate that type of expense thereby freeing up additional money per year, however. One certainly wouldn't starve with that type of income but it wouldn't buy luxuries.

[FarNorthDallas]

What kind of debt do you bring with you - student loans? Cars? Credit Cards? What kind of expenses - dependent health care coverage cost, child care? How much were you going to spend on housing?

[nsumner]

I would say if both parents worked, elementary age kids, still be able to put some money aside, enjoy life, spend no more than 250K on a house, assuming your DTI is low. That should be a very comfortable backet to stay within.

A better picture can be painted once a full loan application is done to give better advice so you don't end up in the wrong loan program or over extend yourself.

[MountainPharmD]

200k a year should do it.

[stargazer]

It depends on what their standards are.. not everyone has the same. What are the things your friend likes to do? Does your friends like to put the kids in extra curricular activities such as sports, dance, piano?

[EasilyAmused]

No debt, no car payments, one parent stays home and a small mortgage and comfort starts at about 120,000 a year.
You have any of the above and two working parents comfort and quality of life doesn't start until close to 200,000.

[mckinneydeb]

I can see where scyogi could be on the right track.

Comfort and quality of life differ from person to person for sure. I have come to realize that for my family, gradually giving up that golf course home, the pool, the new cars and lavish vacations actually improved our quality of life.

For us, our perspective changed when I quit work almost 5 years ago to volunteer with the homeless and (in the politically correct term) disenfranchised. With one teen still at home, we sold our house along with most of the furniture and moved into a 900 sq ft apartment. Although I worked on and off at times during those 5 years, we learned to live on 47% of what we used to. It wasn't too difficult until a family crisis resulted in the sudden use of our liquid "emergency savings"( approx 3 months living expenses) and the need for more. We were lucky enough to have the ability to take out a small loan on my husbands 401k.

My "sabbatical" ended about 4 months ago. Our crisis was over, we were just paying off the loan and once again putting money away in savings when I returned to work. Although our combined income is above what it was when I quit work 5 years ago, we decided to continue to live frugually. We give more than 10% of our income to church and social service agencies and save agressively for retirement. We recently bought a modest house ($125K) and a few new pieces of furniture (well some came from Craigslist). I don't think we want to return to our previous living level which I now see was far more than comfortable. I have a much greater appreciation for the ability to walk into any Wal-Mart store and purchase the 12 pack of Charmin rather than the 6 pkg of store brand. But I also understand I don't need the Charmin brand, afterall, both brands are used for the same thing and get the job done. I prefer Charmin and can afford it but I wouldn't have a hard time giving it up if I needed to. It's all a matter of your priorities and what you feel you have to have to live "comfortable".

[BstYet2Be]

McKinneyDeb,

That is by far the most informative and educational post I've read on here in a very long while!

It take more courage and wisdom and strength to downsize and get one's priorities straight than most will ever be capable of mustering in their entire lifetimes!

I applaud you! You have surely "gotten it right"!