Minimum amount of combined household income you would raise a kid on? (Northside) (Chicago: real estate)

[romnation]

What is the minimum amount of money you would raise a child on in this city?

Things I would need:

Modest 2 bedroom+ place with max 30 minute commute door to door downtown on train. (condo is ok, sfh not necessarily required)

Money for daycare expenses

Enough money for schooling if private school is needed (no idea if it would be, good public school would be great)

Still enough money to take an international trip one or two times per year.

There would not be any car payments and no other debt.


Just curious what kind of cash is needed to maintain this lifestyle on the Northside with a child in Chicago?

[mathjak107]

it works the other way round .. just like those who live on social security .. you back in to what you have and make it work ,,

it is like saying how much do i need to retire or how long is a rope ? ... there is no answer ... anything based on the pay checks that used to be and dont exist anymore is irrelevant ..

you create the lifestyle based on what you have to work with ...raising kids is no different . most of us were never in that proverbial sweet spot where we thought okay , now we can have children ... nope , we have children then back in to the budget

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by romnation

What is the minimum amount of money you would raise a child on in this city?

Things I would need:

Modest 2 bedroom+ place with max 30 minute commute door to door downtown on train. (condo is ok, sfh not necessarily required)

Money for daycare expenses

Enough money for schooling if private school is needed (no idea if it would be, good public school would be great)

Still enough money to take an international trip one or two times per year.

There would not be any car payments and no other debt.


Just curious what kind of cash is needed to maintain this lifestyle on the Northside with a child in Chicago?

Are you planning to save for your 401(k) and kids' college?

[emathias]

For the lifestyle you describe, even a single person might need $75k/year. A four person family, if they're saving appropriately, could probably do it on $100k/ year, but I think most people would struggle to do it on less than $150k/year. If your kids needed private school and you need two reliable cars, that starts to feel like $200k might be a better goal.

Do people accomplish such a lifestyle on less than that? Absolutely. But it requires strong discipline, careful shopping, and maybe a few lucky breaks (like good timing with real estate transactions and perfectly reliable employment history and a stock market that does what it needs to when it needs to and no major medical dramas). After the kids education, the international vacations are probably the hardest to maintain, especially if we assume that doesn't mean twice-yearly drives to Windsor, Ontario.

I know to many people that $200k sounds like a lot of money, and it is. But two mid career white collar workers have a decent shot at earning that much together - it's really not an unusual amount for white collar couples over 30 in Chicago to earn.

[deeman7]

It depends, if you have a two income family, are you okay with sending a 12 week old baby to be watched by strangers with a ton of other kids for 10 hours a day 5 days a week until they reach school? Is it worth it to you?

[smegmatite]

Originally Posted by romnation

What is the minimum amount of money you would raise a child on in this city?

Things I would need:

Modest 2 bedroom+ place with max 30 minute commute door to door downtown on train. (condo is ok, sfh not necessarily required)

Money for daycare expenses

Enough money for schooling if private school is needed (no idea if it would be, good public school would be great)

Still enough money to take an international trip one or two times per year.

There would not be any car payments and no other debt.


Just curious what kind of cash is needed to maintain this lifestyle on the Northside with a child in Chicago?

probably 200k if you have to fund your own retirements via 401k

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by smegmatite

probably 200k if you have to fund your own retirements via 401k

This is what I'm thinking if it's the private school route and they contribute to their 401k.

[smegmatite]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

This is what I'm thinking if it's the private school route and they contribute to their 401k.

and also funding their kids college and having a rainy day fund