Home Personal Finance ‘Our kids say our small house is embarrassing’: My husband and I earn $160K, have $1 million in retirement savings, cook at home and drive an old Honda. Are we missing out? 

‘Our kids say our small house is embarrassing’: My husband and I earn $160K, have $1 million in retirement savings, cook at home and drive an old Honda. Are we missing out? 

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I live a pretty lucky life, with an annual household income of $160,000, which is high compared to other parts of the world. But we’re still pretty frugal – we cook at home, drive old Hondas, and do our own home repairs when possible.

We spend about 20% of our income on retirement and college savings. Over $1 million in retirement benefits. Since I was a stay-at-home mom, this was mostly a cop’s salary. Her husband retired and I returned to work.

“How do other people live this extravagant life? ?”

We see people with less money and more spending (student loans, huge mortgages, credit card debt, etc.) living far more luxurious lives than we do. Our kids say our little ones are cute! — Our homes are a shame, and people here in the suburbs see us as poor.

Missing your boat? We wanted to actively save for retirement and our children’s college expenses. But should we renovate and go to Cancun or Disney World and get takeout every night instead?

How do these other people afford this extravagant life? I don’t hold a grudge against someone else’s fun and high end stuff.

Thank you very much for reading my letter. Just asking this out loud helped.

frugal wife

dear thrifty

Wealth doesn’t mean driving the Tesla TSLA.
+5.93%,
live in a popular zip code, wear a fancy watch and/or take an Instagrammable META,
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holiday. In fact, it can mean just the opposite.It can also mean that you are the following Wealthier than neighbors who live in modest homes undecorated with electric gates and McMansion-style extensions.credit card debt actually to reach a record $866 billion in the third quarter of 2022, According to TransUnion’s TRU, it was up 19% from the same period last year.
+2.61%
Latest quarterly report.

Have you missed it? You probably already know the answer to that question. Whether you’re having dinner at home with your family, vacationing in your car, or laying your head on the pillow at night, you can earn $1 million in retirement savings and keep your costs down as part of 1%. I was. Your home is sure to be full of memories. It’s good that you don’t feel pressured to upgrade to a bigger pile all the time.

How do people meet their living expenses? Some people, especially those in the tech sector (which unfortunately has been hit by widespread layoffs in recent months), are making the most of their 401(k)s and just in case. Set aside 12 months’ worth of money and still have enough to play with. But they don’t represent the majority of Americans. In fact, the personal savings rate (percentage of personal savings to disposable income) fell from 8.9% in November 2019 to 2.4% in November 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic.

“I could miss the memories of having dinner at home with my family, or lay my head on the pillow at night with the relief of knowing I had saved a million dollars.”

Indeed, wealthier people pay more taxes: Some economists say that more investors are paying capital gains taxes on stocks they sold last year, leading to lower personal savings rates. said there may be. But the “oversaving” — household savings relative to what they would have saved had it not been for COVID-19 and the resulting job losses — reached $1.7 trillion by mid-2022. . But his $1.35 trillion of that was held by the top and third income quartiles. To put this his mid-2022 figure into context, in the second quarter of 2021 he reached $2.26 trillion in excess savings.

But some say the recent unemployment in the tech industry doesn’t bode well for people living just for today. Billionaire serial entrepreneur Tom Siebel, whose latest job title is CEO of C3.ai AI,
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Last November, I told my colleague Levi Sumagaisai: “Everyone, big and small, will feel the pain before this is over.” No one works from home in pajamas and gets paid in bitcoin anymore. Unfortunately, this era is going to be a frenetic one. ” He also warned of a major recession ahead.

Ignore your Disney World-living friends and neighbors.
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In 2023, a vacation for a family of four (2 adults, 1 child aged 10 and over, and 1 child aged 3-9) will be $6,320 per person per night, or $316. His five-night stay at Pop Century, his five-day ticket without park hoppers, Genie+ at two parks, quick service meals, snacks, and two table service meals,” the site reads. I’m here.

Old fashioned, but I’d like to book an Airbnb ABNB.
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In the old market town. Plus, the amusement park rides are a headache—he’s second only to the final bill.

Follow Quentin Fottrell twitter.

Financial and ethical questions related to coronavirus can be emailed to The Moneyist at qfottrell@marketwatch.com.

check out Moneyist Private Facebook The group is looking for answers to life’s most vexing money problems. Readers write to me with all sorts of dilemmas. Post your questions, tell us what you want to know more about, or participate in Moneyist’s latest column.

Moneyist regrets that it cannot answer individual questions.

More by Quentin Fottrell:

“We can practically finish each other’s sentences”: I’m getting married in 2023. She wants to consolidate our finances. what’s my next move?

“I want to meet a rich man.

“I want to thrive”: I am 29, work part-time, and have just left a 15-year abusive relationship. What should I do to get back on my feet financially?

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