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S/O What do you consider a decent salary?



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wife101




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 23 2020, 8:56 pm
About how much does it cost to live in the tri-state area? (family of 5 children)
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amother
Lilac


 

Post Tue, Jun 23 2020, 10:09 pm
wife101 wrote:
About how much does it cost to live in the tri-state area? (family of 5 children)


Chassidish or not chassidish?
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Angolama




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 1:14 am
wife101 wrote:
About how much does it cost to live in the tri-state area? (family of 5 children)


Big price differences in housing depending on your needs and location.


In general, the biggest expenses a frum family deals with are taxes, tuition, housing, and health insurance. (Food is also a big expense, and while it's funny to call savings an expense, a frum family needs to put aside a significant amount every year if they want to comfortably marry off children.) Aside from housing, the other costs are interconnected to a degree, as if you have a higher salary, you pay more taxes, more tuition because you get less breaks, and you lose eligibility for Medicaid, so depending on your employment that can be a significant expense too.

In theory, a family of 5 kids can live in a nice 3br basement apartment in Lakewood for $15k/year, so if you're only paying $25k for tuition, then you can theoretically make it work relatively comfortably on $75k/yr. This doesn't include savings, and if you're renting then you're not building home equity, so that needs to be kept in mind.


If you live in Brooklyn in a house with a $750k mortgage, then your housing costs are going to be closer to $50k/year. To cover that, you have to be making a lot more than $75k, so you'll lose Medicaid eligibility and pay a lot more in taxes, and schools will want full tuition. You will probably need to be grossing closer to $250k to live about the same lifestyle you would live on $75k otherwise.

Just an example to show what a massive difference small variables can make.
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amother
Aqua


 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 3:06 am
Lakewood, 2 kids, gross about 160, and it’s barely enough. Minimal savings. We have cleaning help, but rarely go on vacations. Kids don’t go to camp, but they don’t want to.. we’d make it happen if they did. Kid’s needs and wants are all taken care of bh, but it is tight.
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amother
cornflower


 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 8:21 am
amother [ Aqua ] wrote:
Lakewood, 2 kids, gross about 160, and it’s barely enough. Minimal savings. We have cleaning help, but rarely go on vacations. Kids don’t go to camp, but they don’t want to.. we’d make it happen if they did. Kid’s needs and wants are all taken care of bh, but it is tight.


How is this tight? Seriously asking. What does your monthly budget look like?
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amother
Aqua


 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 8:49 am
amother [ cornflower ] wrote:
How is this tight? Seriously asking. What does your monthly budget look like?

I don’t take care of the bills, but there’s mortgage, tuition, cars, health insurance, dental insurance, braces, utilities, cleaning help, food, clothes, household products, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some things. Don’t forget that was gross, and taxes are significant. And we do save a little, but not enough.
ETA forgot about daycamp which is another few thousand.
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Angolama




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 9:56 am
amother [ Aqua ] wrote:
I don’t take care of the bills, but there’s mortgage, tuition, cars, health insurance, dental insurance, braces, utilities, cleaning help, food, clothes, household products, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some things. Don’t forget that was gross, and taxes are significant. And we do save a little, but not enough.
ETA forgot about daycamp which is another few thousand.


Assuming 50k taxes, 35k tuition and camp, 20k insurance, 15k food, 35k housing and utilities, and 5k cleaning help, you're out of money already. That being said, these things shouldn't cost so much.
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wife101




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 10:06 am
"Assuming 50k taxes, 35k tuition and camp, 20k insurance, 15k food, 35k housing and utilities, and 5k cleaning help, you're out of money already. That being said, these things shouldn't cost so much."

Why would taxes be half of the expenses - I know taxes are high it shouldn't be that large of a %
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amother
Aqua


 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 10:08 am
Angolama wrote:
Assuming 50k taxes, 35k tuition and camp, 20k insurance, 15k food, 35k housing and utilities, and 5k cleaning help, you're out of money already. That being said, these things shouldn't cost so much.

Um that is about how much at least some of these things cost.
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amother
Saddlebrown


 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 10:12 am
We make $200k gross, 5 kids. There’s some left for extras but we live a pretty simple lifestyle and the extras are minimal by force not by choice. It comes out to about $150k after taxes and insurance. Tuition and childcare is $65k between school, camp and babysitters, $36k for mortgage and utilities. The remaining $4k/$4.5k a month goes pretty quickly between food, clothing, car expenses etc.
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Angolama




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 10:44 am
wife101 wrote:
"Assuming 50k taxes, 35k tuition and camp, 20k insurance, 15k food, 35k housing and utilities, and 5k cleaning help, you're out of money already. That being said, these things shouldn't cost so much."

Why would taxes be half of the expenses - I know taxes are high it shouldn't be that large of a %


Between federal, state, local, real estate, and FICA/payroll, taxes can really add up. 50k out of 160k is under 28%.
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saw50st8




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 10:53 am
wife101 wrote:
About how much does it cost to live in the tri-state area? (family of 5 children)


What community are you looking at? Tuition prices vary drastically.

In my community in Northern NJ, tuition in elementary school is $10-18k and high school is $20-35k. So depending on the age of your children, your tuition bill alone could easily be $100,000!

Housing also varies by community.

Will you get health care through your jobs?

Car insurance also varies based on where you live (NYC vs suburbia)

Can you tailor your question a little bit more?
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wife101




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 24 2020, 11:11 am
"Can you tailor your question a little bit more?"

It is more of a general question, not so much specific to one area over another. Based on other posts it would seem that living in the City costs the same as outside the city - it's just that the expenses are spread differently. What I want to know is - (forget what people consider a good salary...) What is actually needed to support a frum family without parental support and govn't programs.
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