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With all the questions about how expensive housing is, etc. etc., let's take a look back and evaluate the big picture. In other words, we can all go on and on about how big or expensive one's house is, or vice versa, but a lot of people didn't have to buy their houses within the last 5 years at the price that it would currently take to purchase it, which totally changes the perspective. I just voted in the poll "How much house can you afford" and I was in the top bracket - in my area, Annapolis, MD, I would likely be towards the bottom of mid-pack. As a single person, I have an IDEAL annual income in mind that would scare everyone (to afford the house and car and all of the other things I want), but I certainly would not complain about my current scenario either. Anyway, this got me thinking - so below I have created a fictional scenario that I would consider "living comfortably" - not super-wealthy, not living paycheck to paycheck, but a scenario in which the family is definitely not worried about money. In YOUR area of the country, how much would it take to live like the following family described below???
* Assume a dual income family with 2 school-aged children
* 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, relatively new 3200 sq. foot house on 1/2 acre in desirable area with 10% down payment
* 2 very nice but not extravagant cars - assume a BMW 3 series for hubby and a Lexus SUV for the wife
* Private school for both children and/or college funding plan
* 2 vacations a year - 1 to visit family and 1 to a tropical island/nice resort
* Decent home theater/stereo/game room
* Football season tickets, theater season passes, or equivalent luxury item
* Country club and gym memberships for husband & wife
* Cell phone for all 4 family members
* Dinner out 3 nights a week - 2 family restaurants and 1 upscale
* Saving or investing 10% of income
* Upscale shopping tendencies (Whole Foods, Nordstrom's, as opposed to big box retailers)
* Charitable or religious giving based on personal preference
In Annapolis, MD or most of the attractive areas around Baltimore or DC, this scenario would require a family with a dual annual income of approximately $275-325K.
I find this very realistic and true. If you want all of this above, you probably have to make this amount or even more.
Of course you can survive with a income less than this, but I guess it all depends on your definition of "comfortable" and this up here is really comfortable. For people who think others do not live like this, they do. You don't have to be "rich" and famous to live like this...and you're right -- this family is "definitely not worried about money". Everyone has different opinions of what is considered "comfortable" so the total income would be either more or less depending on whether or not you want the things above.
I think it is important to realize that the estimate up here also depends on your current lifestyle. This scenario will probably not seem so "comfortable" to someone who makes millions and is suddenly limited to 300K a year because of their previous lifestyle and spending power.
Another thing to keep in mind is that money does not really buy happiness, but hey it doesn't hurt to splurge once in a while if you have room for it ...here's a good, perspective-changing article from cnn money.
[url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2006/08/01/8382225/index.htm]Can Money Buy Happiness? - August 1, 2006[/url]
With all the questions about how expensive housing is, etc. etc., let's take a look back and evaluate the big picture. In other words, we can all go on and on about how big or expensive one's house is, or vice versa, but a lot of people didn't have to buy their houses within the last 5 years at the price that it would currently take to purchase it, which totally changes the perspective. I just voted in the poll "How much house can you afford" and I was in the top bracket - in my area, Annapolis, MD, I would likely be towards the bottom of mid-pack. As a single person, I have an IDEAL annual income in mind that would scare everyone (to afford the house and car and all of the other things I want), but I certainly would not complain about my current scenario either. Anyway, this got me thinking - so below I have created a fictional scenario that I would consider "living comfortably" - not super-wealthy, not living paycheck to paycheck, but a scenario in which the family is definitely not worried about money. In YOUR area of the country, how much would it take to live like the following family described below???
* Assume a dual income family with 2 school-aged children
* 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, relatively new 3200 sq. foot house on 1/2 acre in desirable area with 10% down payment
* 2 very nice but not extravagant cars - assume a BMW 3 series for hubby and a Lexus SUV for the wife
* Private school for both children and/or college funding plan
* 2 vacations a year - 1 to visit family and 1 to a tropical island/nice resort
* Decent home theater/stereo/game room
* Football season tickets, theater season passes, or equivalent luxury item
* Country club and gym memberships for husband & wife
* Cell phone for all 4 family members
* Dinner out 3 nights a week - 2 family restaurants and 1 upscale
* Saving or investing 10% of income
* Upscale shopping tendencies (Whole Foods, Nordstrom's, as opposed to big box retailers)
* Charitable or religious giving based on personal preference
In Annapolis, MD or most of the attractive areas around Baltimore or DC, this scenario would require a family with a dual annual income of approximately $275-325K.
That's living wealthy. I don't think I'd call that living "comfortably" unless you're a very materialistic/superficial person.
A proper household income to provide the basics for a 3 person family, support a decent size (3bd-1bth) house, in a nice/decent area (in North Eastern NJ) without much struggle would be around $75,000/yr.
It truly does suck.
Last edited by BPerone201; 04-22-2010 at 03:01 PM..
PKOONS love your listing, but if you're going to be eating out the much, maybe you should just give up on the gym, it won't working anyway ;p
My scenario
Single income 35k w/ 3k a year spending allowance.
Old 2 story farm house $800 p month, renting 3 bedrooms at $200 ea p month
(6 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3k sq feet, 1 acre of land in the nice part of town)
All utilities $300 p month, split 4 ways
1 car 2007 Ford Edge SEL Plus AWD, bought 1 year old barely driven, 5k remaining.
Auto insurance 2k a year (sucks to be 21!)
Health insurance $2,400 a year, reimbursed by work
Savings, 5% of annual income
Gym membership, 12.50 a month at 24 hour, country wide access!!
My tuition, 3k per semester (half time enrollment)
6.1 Panasonic surround sound and 32" LCD TV
I've taken 3 vacations this year, all about the same, visits to major cities
Cell phone for my self and my family back home - 4 phones, $215 p month
AVG shopping, Buckle, Kohls, Target, Wal-Mart
Concerts, games, 1-2x per month
Eat out once a week, usually a salad, or if upscale steak and veggies
Here in Memphis, I'd say you'd have to have a household income of $100K+ to have that lifestyle. But anyone here with a household income over $50K is living a comfortable lifestyle IMO
* Assume a dual income family with 2 school-aged children
* 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, relatively new 3200 sq. foot house on 1/2 acre in desirable area with 10% down payment
* 2 very nice but not extravagant cars - assume a BMW 3 series for hubby and a Lexus SUV for the wife
* Private school for both children and/or college funding plan
* 2 vacations a year - 1 to visit family and 1 to a tropical island/nice resort
* Decent home theater/stereo/game room
* Football season tickets, theater season passes, or equivalent luxury item
* Country club and gym memberships for husband & wife
* Cell phone for all 4 family members
* Dinner out 3 nights a week - 2 family restaurants and 1 upscale
* Saving or investing 10% of income
* Upscale shopping tendencies (Whole Foods, Nordstrom's, as opposed to big box retailers)
* Charitable or religious giving based on personal preference
In Annapolis, MD or most of the attractive areas around Baltimore or DC, this scenario would require a family with a dual annual income of approximately $275-325K.
This is what I would call firmly upper class living. Around NJ (NYC suburbs) that would cost about $250K a year or so. However, if you cut down some of those extremities (particularly downgrading the cars, no country club memberships, it is doable on much less (~200K).
As for myself:
* Just myself and maybe a sig. another -- no kids, probably not. I think not...
* 2 bdrm apt or little house in a decent area is nice - I'm thinking $200 - 250K ballpark
* Toyota Camry would work for me my whole life...
* Kids?
* 1 vacation a year. Limited to a budget of 1,000 - 1,500. Or bank my vacation dollars and do a more extravagant one every few years.
* Decent home theater/stereo = $600 - 700 and should last 5 to 7 years.
* A few games a year ~ $700
* $500 YMCA membership works for me
* Cell phone = no mobile web access. Text capability though!
* Dinner out maybe once every two weeks
* Saving or investing 15-20% of income
* Upscale shopping tendencies = buying nice clothes every now and then. But keeping them in rotation for a few years. Think Macys.
* Charitable giving = a few hundred a year
I'm thinking I'd be able to pull this off quite comfortably on 70-80K a year in the NJ suburbs.
This is what I would call firmly upper class living. Around NJ (NYC suburbs) that would cost about $250K a year or so. However, if you cut down some of those extremities (particularly downgrading the cars, no country club memberships, it is doable on much less (~200K).
As for myself:
* Just myself and maybe a sig. another -- no kids, probably not. I think not...
* 2 bdrm apt or little house in a decent area is nice - I'm thinking $200 - 250K ballpark
* Toyota Camry would work for me my whole life...
* Kids?
* 1 vacation a year. Limited to a budget of 1,000 - 1,500. Or bank my vacation dollars and do a more extravagant one every few years.
* Decent home theater/stereo = $600 - 700 and should last 5 to 7 years.
* A few games a year ~ $700
* $500 YMCA membership works for me
* Cell phone = no mobile web access. Text capability though!
* Dinner out maybe once every two weeks
* Saving or investing 15-20% of income
* Upscale shopping tendencies = buying nice clothes every now and then. But keeping them in rotation for a few years. Think Macys.
* Charitable giving = a few hundred a year
I'm thinking I'd be able to pull this off quite comfortably on 70-80K a year in the NJ suburbs.
Trying to figure out a way to get there...
You can do it! Your housing price is a little on the low side for NJ, unless you move to south Jersey or Sussex County, but hey, with the economy the way it is, wait a couple of years and you could pick up a small house or a condo for that.
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...here's a good, perspective-changing article from cnn money.
I'll give it a whirl
