Barbara Comstock says $250K is not rich in NoVA (Woodbridge: apartment, to rent)

[newnewsmama]

$250k is not rich. Comfortable, yes.

Also if you have no big student loans to pay off or big mortgage to carry (i.e. you have a lot of equity), $250k can give you a much more comfortable life than otherwise.

$250k won't get you into the best neighborhood (Great Falls) with a reasonable amount of debt unless you have a lot of home equity or cash at hand.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by JEB77

It seems to me to be pointless to link to a video of a local politician that clearly relates to taxes and politics, and then just riff on what's "rich" by local standards. Why does it really matter?

In other words, I could see asking "what's the minimum amount that a family of four or five needs to make in this area to have the trappings of a good life" or "how much do you generally need to make (or save) in this area and no longer worry about personal finances," but I don't get just talking about what's "rich" in NoVa for the sport.

It's your thread, but now I've lost interest.

Honestly, I was just intrigued by the headline on my Vienna Patch and didn't delve into why she made the comment. It could have been Joe Blow on the street who made the comment and it would have caught my eye. It got me thinking about how much it really takes to live well in the DC area. I am not really interested in discussing the politics of where the tax rates should fall because political threads just turn into arguments of Republicans vs. Democrats. And I really don't want to go there.

[sullyguy]

With an income of $250,000 my family would easily have $80,000 AFTER taxes to play with beyond cost of living for an already not-so-bad "living" (we eat, dress, drive and vacation "well" (though we have yet to visit the Greek Isles, admittedly)).

Since we don't have a "horse in every port" and we DO own and live in a house I bought 20+ years ago, our mere-existence cost of living is relatively low; there sometimes is merit in NOT living beyond one's means.

Is $250,000/years "rich"...well, from THIS POV it certainly ain't pocket change.

[ChristineVA]

My husband and I with our joint income are about $25,000 short of that figure. I don't feel "rich" at all. But here's what I can do:

1. I only have a mortgage of $160,000K. My payment is very affordable.
2. I have four drivers in my house so I have 4 cars--three are old, one is new. The car payment is not bad, but my insurance is killing me.
3. I pay outright for my daughter's college tuition and her campus housing. I was never able to save because of hefty daycare costs so I'm on the "pay as you go" plan now. I can afford to do this.
4. My 401K contributions are maxed out.
5. Because of my tax liability at my "wealthy" rate, I send $150 extra to federal taxes so I don't owe at the end of the year.
6. I go on one vacation every 2-3 years and I pay cash for it.
7. Besides my 401K, I save about $200 per month.
8. I have an elderly dog that costs me a lot of money in monthly prescriptions.
9. My son's medications run me about $50 per month.
10. I eat out two times a week. Once at a Panera-like place, once for Peruvian chicken. About 4 times a year I will go to a place like Bonefish Grill, Mike's, etc.
11. If I need a new pair of black pants for work or a new suit--I buy it and don't worry about it.
12. I carry one purse at a time. It is not designer.
13. No lawn service or housekeeper.
Now, if that's "rich" well, rich is a sad state of affairs isn't it?

I don't think $250,000 is rich. But I am comfortable and don't feel like I'm living paycheck to paycheck.

If I was a super-frugal person I'd probably have a much better savings portfolio but because of my job and my husband's we don't have a lot of time to shop all the sales or be very frugal in our cooking.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by michgc

Honestly, I was just intrigued by the headline on my Vienna Patch and didn't delve into why she made the comment. It could have been Joe Blow on the street who made the comment and it would have caught my eye. It got me thinking about how much it really takes to live well in the DC area. I am not really interested in discussing the politics of where the tax rates should fall because political threads just turn into arguments of Republicans vs. Democrats. And I really don't want to go there.

Well, I think where you're left is inviting a discussion about whether certain annual income levels (presumably below $250K) allow one to enjoy a nice lifestyle, not whether people are "rich" or not. To me, that's a term that relates to total wealth, rather than one's income in any given year (which may be offset by exceptional expenses in any given year as well).

If I'm allowed to return to Comstock's video for a moment, one thing that I found a bit disingenuous about it is that her own district in Virginia - where I live - is comprised largely of wage-earners who are in stable, professional jobs that tend to give rise to recurring income streams. But the example that she gave in the video clip was of a guy making $250K/year from a start-up that he runs in the family basement, which sounds like a much riskier venture that might not even be around in another year or two. So, by implication, she's suggesting that people who are in stable, high-earning jobs in NoVa face the same risks and uncertainties as a typical small business owner in some other part of the country, and I'd question whether that's really the case, even though area businesses do lay off workers periodically.

[marie5v]

It's not rich at all. It's not poor, but it's not rich. Upper middle class, I would say. My husband and I make a combined 150K with one child, in Fairfax, and honestly we are struggling with the mortgage, home repairs, student loans, etc. We're certainly not poor, but no way are we more than plain old middle class. Another 100K a year would be great, but it would only bring us up to very comfortable - we still wouldn't be living the high life with polo ponies and tiaras.

[vicnice]

Perspective.

First, you have to define what rich is.

250K IMO is NOT rich in NOVA. If you cant quit your job after 3 years of working and live for 30 years, then you arent rich.

I define rich as amount of time before you need to work again while keeping expenses the same.

Example: Johnny get a one million dollar contract and has living expenses of 25K per year TOTAL, he is rich.
Example 2: Sarah gets a 1 million dollar contract and has living expense of 995K per year.....she aint rich.

Mediean house in NOVA is say 500K, plus taxes etc.etc.etc. you need 50-60% of that income just to live, so 250K is not rich.....maybe 1MM and you are starting to get there.

[car54]

I'm going with J Pierpont Morgan's definition of "rich".

When asked what it cost to operate his magnificent yacht, Corsair, he allegedly answered, "If you have to ask the cost, you can't afford it.".

At 250 grand you still gotta ask what stuff costs.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by newnewsmama

$250k is not rich. Comfortable, yes.

Also if you have no big student loans to pay off or big mortgage to carry (i.e. you have a lot of equity), $250k can give you a much more comfortable life than otherwise.

$250k won't get you into the best neighborhood (Great Falls) with a reasonable amount of debt unless you have a lot of home equity or cash at hand.

BS, if you can't buy a 2 million dollar home and make 250k you make bad decisions in life with your money. If you have lets say a 500k place, with 350k in mortgage you have about a $1800 mortgage, approximately $500 in housing expenses per month, lets say $600 in car expenses per month, a generous $1500 for children costs specifically, and another $1500 for family cost/miscellaneous/food. Hell lets throw in another 500 just for S's and G's. Thats a total of $7400 in cost, and on average lets say $900 of that goes towards equity.

You make approximately 160,000 after tax (prolly more since I have assumed 3 children above in expense but lets play it safe), thats 13,300 per month in income, and $6500 per month in sunk expenses. That leaves you saving $6800 per month in savings and equity. Let's assume you make 0% on this month (man you suck at investing).

After 1 year you have $81600 saved up + your original 150k in equity. After 5 years you have 558,000 saved up in pure cash. After 10 years you have just south of 1 million in the bank, after 10 years. Plenty to buy a smaller unit in great falls with cash and enough to buy a normal unit in great falls with 50% down.

Just saying, thats 10 years at that rate and you are in the most expensive part of this county which is one of those most expensive parts of the country. No one can deny that Great Falls IS the 1%

Are you super rich? No. But I don't think anyone can argue that this represents the upper class, not the middle class in this area.

[newnewsmama]

Most families who make 250K in this area can barely afford a nanny or sending two children to private schools. That's not rich. After deducting all the taxes, living expenses, children's educational spending, mortgage payment, retirement contributions, 529 payments, sometimes significant amount of graduate school loan payments, not a lot is left.

DCURBANMOM has a group of folks who can easily afford nannies, or multiple children's private school tuitions. IMO, that's the basic criteria of being rich - i.e., you no longer need to worry about living expenses or children's educational costs. Unlike folks who have a HHI of 250K, those folks admit they are wealthy. A survey conducted in the forum revealed most people with that lifestyle have a HHI of 600k-800k.