How much is enough?
PrairieMom wrote: I'm talking total for you and your spouse.
I din't ever want to have so much that my children don't learn what it is like to have to work for the things they have.
I think that a hundred thousand a year would be great.
Nina J replied: I said a hundred thousand.
hawkshoe replied: I voted a million because $100 thousand isn't quite enough. I was thinking more like $250 thousand, but that wasn't an option.
MommyToAshley replied: I would like to have a billion because I would love to do some of the things for charity that the celebrities are able to do. For example,the special Oprah did on Africa... the way she affected the lives of those children is so moving. I would love to be able ot make the kind of change in the world.
ZandersMama replied: I voted the highest one  because I would love to not have to worry where the next pack of diapers is coming from, or where i'm going to come up with the money to pay my rent.....would be nice to have so much money that you just never had to worry at all.
My3LilMonkeys replied: 100,000 would be great household wise....a million would give me the opportunity to do many good things. I'd take either! 
moped replied: I said a million because one hundred thousand isn't enough - still just "get by"......kwim
3xsthefun replied: I voted for 100 thousand.
mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I didn't vote because my choice would be somewhere at $200K. Of course a million would be awesome, so that I can move closer to my parents, afford taking vacations and I can still stay home with the kids, but I figure if DH is making 1 mill a year, then he is working WAY too hard and that's no fun for him! I want him to enjoy the big bucks too, kwim? So somewhere around $200K would be perfect....Oh gosh, I hope that doesn't sound greedy. Any amount would be fine as long as my kids and DH were healthy, but Tara asked as more of a "what do you dream for" question, right? 
MyBlueEyedBabies replied: I would dream a billion. then never have to work another day ever.
What I would love to have would be 100. that is enough to live nicely but not be too greedy (though I would take the billion...or the million in a second)
BabyOwen427 replied: I voted 50 thou cause right now we made 20,000 last year and we did fine. So 50 would be cushy for us.
lovemy2 replied: I voted for a million but have no problem working for it...!!!
Cece00 replied: I voted $100k. Cost of living here is pretty low, and I could pay off my house in a couple of yrs, and we would be comfortable & take more vacations.
lisar replied: I said a million. A hundred thousand isnt enough. I didnt say a billion cause then I would just be being picky. LOL... But I wouldnt mind it at all.
Boo&BugsMom replied: I voted $50,000 because I am thinking realistically here. I could stay home if hubby made that much (less than that even) plus we'd have "play money" and could possibly afford a slightly bigger house. If I were to be a little more unrealistic, I'd love to have a $100,000/year income. Not any higher because to me, money doesn't always bring out the "good" in everything, but that would be enough to have a cushy life along with being able to donate and be charitable, and not too much where greedy relatives would start hounding us for money.
EvesMom replied: I voted 1 mill. I have never known what it's like to live comfortably, since I was young. I think it would be nice to not have to worry about "getting by" and just enjoy life and my family.
Boo&BugsMom replied: You guys know it says ANNUAL household income right? Not just a lump sum of money? I suppose every area is different though. Around here the price of living is fairly low compared to quite a few. I just keep reading that people want a million or more a year and go........  . Holy moly. 
EvesMom replied: The average cost of living in these parts is really high. For a couple with no children it's around 2,000 -3,000 a month that only includes the basics (rent/mortgage, electric, heating fuel, phone). You could image how much it would be for a family of four, with 2 vehicles (don't get me started on auto insurance  ) And if the kids are in diapers...forget it.
The average monthly budget for our family is about 3500 right now (and that's just the basics)but that's going to change pretty soon cause we need a bigger place and the new baby is coming next month . We would get by ok on 100000 but 200000 would be more comfortable. I guess I went a little overboard on the 1 Million
cameragirl21 replied:
exactly. a decent house in my neighborhood starts at 800k and that will likely just be a 2 bedroom so here you really need to make an income of over 300k just in order to be a homeowner.
not to mention the cost of car insurance, among other things.
i am amazed that some people can raise a family on 50k or less, i don't know if a single person here can really get by on that.
Hillbilly Housewife replied: Well our household is somewhere between 50 000 and 100 000 thousand already.  (course that's Canadian funds...  )
I'll say the higher the better. No matter how much money I get - I'm going to live like I do now, maybe with one bedroom more and a housekeeper coming in once a week.... but the more money I have, the less the government does, and I'm all for that. I'd definitely pay for a few schools to open in a couple underdevelopped countries and some other stuff down there too.
moped replied:
I agree.....we are in the 100,000 plus and in this city it isn't enough........we can pay mortage and food and a bit of fun, but really it isn't enough, and I am not being greedy at all!
hopefulmomtobe replied: A hundred thousand was not enough, but there was nothing inbetween, so I chose a million because a hundred thousand just doesnt cut it this day and age. 
Boo&BugsMom replied: Wow, and I thought the price of living around here was high! I can't imagine owning a $500,000 house for just a couple bedrooms. Holy cow! It's interesting the cost of living in different areas. If hubby made about $38,000/year then I could stay home and not work. That's about our income total right now as it is and we are considered a standard middle class family.
moped replied: Jennie, just as an example here......this is a house in the general area where I live, it is small and has 2 or 3 bedrooms
http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?vd=...pertyID=5585741
And this link is very much what we live in - this is an average house, nice but not overly fancy.
http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?vd=...pertyID=5514451
You cannot get a house or a condo for under $450,000 and that would not be the best place ever.
So that is why 100,000 is just not enough to live here.
holley79 replied: I think 100k is comfortable and Annika would still learn the value of the $$.
Boo&BugsMom replied: Jen, here are a few around here. Here's what you can get for your money in Wisconsin!  Depending on the county or city you may also be able to get new construction for this amount as well.
http://www.wihomes.com/property/property.a...ame=MetroMLSVOW
http://www.wihomes.com/property/property.a...ame=MetroMLSVOW
http://www.wihomes.com/property/property.a...ame=MetroMLSVOW
moped replied: Jennie, those are nice houses and even better prices. It is silly in this city, but that is just the way it is I suppose.
SO now I am sure you know why I say that 100,000 just gets you by every month!
EvesMom replied:
WOW! I can't believe how cheap those houses are. And the taxes are sooo low. In my parents town the taxes on their home are over 10,00 a year!
cameragirl21 replied:
here too...the taxes can cost you upwards of 10k a year! 
property values are finally dropping though because it's become ridiculous, no one can afford anything and a home that would normally be worth under 300k is selling for 600k and no one can really afford it, salaries have not gone up to match the insane rise in home costs and those homeowners who are not planning on moving are ecstatic that property values are dropping because it lowers their property taxes.
~Roo'sMama~ replied: I said 100 thousand - to us that would be a lot of money. 50 thousand would be comfortable, 100 thousand would give us enough to live comfortably and have a little cushion. Our income last year was about $35,000 - and that was with Dh working an extra job to make ends meet.
PrairieMom replied:
Wow. That really makes me feel fortunate to be living here in SD. We have a ton of the split foyer homes like in the second link here, only they go anywhere from about $60,000 for an older model to about $150,000 for a nice finished new build.
I live in a quad-multi level with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a double garage and we gave $136,000 for it new. after 6 years we could sell it for $170 easy. You guys should come live here!
Boo&BugsMom replied:
Yep, totally understand!  It's nuts what little you get for your money in some areas. Crazy!
Tara, those prices are outstanding and even better than what we deal with!!! Holy moly! I will admit though, that our city is probably a higher priced community as well. When we move we plan on moving into a surrounding town...bigger houses for less money, and more land. We paid $128,00 for our little 2 bedroom/ 1 bath house. I'd LOVE to have 4 bedrooms for that price!!! If you go way up north in WI, prices are that low, but I can't bring myself to move that far away.
Kaitlin'smom replied: I said a million, so I dont have to work, we can have a nice home and help others. I woudl probably do volenteer work while Kait was in school to fill some of the time, plus DH could have his dream game room. Realy a million might be a bit to much each year so I would donate about 1/4 each year.
J-rod replied:
Amen!
Boys r us replied: Unfortunately no matter what the amount you make, you will always aquire bills to match the income!
100k isn't enough and I think is pretty average of a 2 person income household. I would be very happy if DH made $250k alone..then I could quit work and still shop and do fun things!!
mom2my2cuties replied: Around here the median family income (in the city I live in) is about $150K/year. And the average house costs close to $600K. So I can definately sympathize with those who need the larger amounts to survive. Our townhouse, which is a two story, 3 bedroom townhome, sales for $500K. It isn't unusual for homes to easily run in the millions here.
Available Homes in Brentwood, TN
Now this isn't saying you can't get reasonable housing here but it's few and far between.
moped replied:
I agree 100%. The mor eyou make the more you spend. I always tell DH that if he could make 250,000 then we would all be happy.........but 100,000 + is pretty average for a family
kit_kats_mom replied: If it weren't for student loans, 100 would be fine. That's about what we make. However, our student loans are as much as most people's mortgage payments...in addition to our regular mortgage payment. So I said a million. LOL
Cece00 replied:
Cost of living here must be similar to where you live. Average house (3 bd 2 ba)costs right around $200k for a nice neighborhood.
$100k would be fine with me. I stay at home and my DH makes less than that a year so it would be enough for me to pay off my house & live very comfortably. We live well now, I cant complain, but I wouldnt want all kinds of $$ to live extravagantly because I feel that some people lose a lot (non financially) when they have more money than they know what to do with. Lots of money tends to bring out the worst in people- not everyone, but a lot of people.
Even if we won the lottery, I would give bunches to my immediate family, I would save up for my kids to go to school & not worry about student loans, I'd donate to charities and good causes, and we'd probably buy a really nice house & have nice cars, but I would not turn into one of those people who spends their whole day shopping and sitting in a spa and having plastic surgery every few months. We'd have fun with it, but it would be more important to me to secure my kids futures and be generous. I dont even think I'd never work again, I'd probably just get a job I really liked doing, even if it only paid $12k a year or something.
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