General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: $20,833.00 per month???? [View all]Chathamization
(1,638 posts)We assume that your children won't spend too many years in daycare and will soon grow old enough that they can enter the public school system. At that point you have approximately $3,000 a month left over, or ~$36,000 a year to do with as you like (as opposed to the ~$12,000 you have now because of daycare). Also keep in mind that ~60% of your mortgage is going to your equity, and you'll get it back when you sell your house or after 30 years when you have a place to stay rent-free. So that's about ~32,652 a year, plus the $15,000 a year from the 401k, so ~$47,652 in savings a year (and this isn't touching on the fact that eventually your student loans will be paid off, and you could cheaper cars or a cheaper house if you needed to).
I understand that you don't feel rich. You still have to pay attention to your finances, you have to think before making a major purchase and perhaps make some adjustments (or not make the purchase), etc. But to have the equivalent of someone's salary as your investment money and at the same time having the equivalent of someone else's salary as "extra income" certainly puts you in a class well above such people.