Income needed for 3 kids
- Thread starter morgannicole555
- Start date
-
- Tags
- large families
katrina2017
New member
@morgannicole555 Personally I think you need to be making a million per kid.
/s
Seriously, I everyone’s budget and comfort with finances will vary. No one can answer this but you.
/s
Seriously, I everyone’s budget and comfort with finances will vary. No one can answer this but you.
noahmetoyer
New member
@morgannicole555 Lol come on obviously you can afford more kids the question is if you’re willing to make any sacrifices to make it happen. I have 5 kids on about half that but also had 4 kids when I was a single student mom living on grants and loans and we didn’t starve. I know lots of people who have way more kids making less than quarter of what you do.
Fwiw we’re very comfortable now, no struggling to pay the bills 1-2 trips per year
When I was poor we just did free stuff instead: picnics at the park, skating, sledding, beach trips, nature walks, dollarama crafts, glow stick party, pillow forts, playdough, etc. it was more worry because if anything came up we would struggle but it wasn’t a bad time either.
Fwiw we’re very comfortable now, no struggling to pay the bills 1-2 trips per year
When I was poor we just did free stuff instead: picnics at the park, skating, sledding, beach trips, nature walks, dollarama crafts, glow stick party, pillow forts, playdough, etc. it was more worry because if anything came up we would struggle but it wasn’t a bad time either.
morgannicole555
New member
@noahmetoyer I realize now I came off obnoxious and should Have clarified it’s new salary, bedore taxes and have like $50k in debt bc of a failed business plus some extra expenses we can’t shake quite yet
celoxisppm
New member
@morgannicole555 I’m pregnant with #3, living in HCOL city, making less than you do (~$300k HHI). We also take vacations every year but we budget hard. For example, last December, we flew Frontier on Tuesday/Wednesday because kids fly free on those days. We stayed with family which eliminated housing costs and helped with food costs. We didn’t do expensive activities such as skiing - but we did take our kids to the museum and to a play gym.
Our housing situation could work for about 6 more years, and then we will look into upgrading. Luckily we bought a house in our neighborhood and are looking into rebuilding it since it’s small and outdated (currently renting it out). But we can really only rebuild because we got an inheritance. Without the inheritance, we would either need to suck-it-up in our current home or look for a bigger house in a less expensive suburb. We would budget hard for that as well.
With an extra $100k per year compared, I think you could make it work with your nice vacations and home upgrade? But like others have said, look deep into your budgeting and make an assessment for money suckers from there. Good luck!
Our housing situation could work for about 6 more years, and then we will look into upgrading. Luckily we bought a house in our neighborhood and are looking into rebuilding it since it’s small and outdated (currently renting it out). But we can really only rebuild because we got an inheritance. Without the inheritance, we would either need to suck-it-up in our current home or look for a bigger house in a less expensive suburb. We would budget hard for that as well.
With an extra $100k per year compared, I think you could make it work with your nice vacations and home upgrade? But like others have said, look deep into your budgeting and make an assessment for money suckers from there. Good luck!
morgannicole555
New member
@celoxisppm Thanks for sharing! How was frontier? Good to know re free days
celoxisppm
New member
@morgannicole555 Frontier is a learning curve, once you know the tricks the flight can be good. I would only take it for flights 3hrs or less, but not for cross-country flights personally
morgannicole555
New member
@celoxisppm Whay are the tips? Do you mind sharing? Good to know!
celoxisppm
New member
@morgannicole555 You’ll need a Discount Den membership for the kids fly free on Tuesday/Wednesday deal. Wagons can be checked for free at the gate which makes lugging car seats/kids easier. Personal items (fit on floor under seat) are free but carry on luggage and checked bags you’ll need to pay for.
Something my husband and i did… he flew with the kids on Frontier and I flew Southwest. I took the luggage with me since bags fly free on Southwest. I bought my ticket with points because i have the Southwest credit card (just had to pay TSA fee of ~$11). It was an off-season week so my husband’s round trip flight ticket was $38 (!!). He still had to take a bag cause traveling with kids, which was $100 each way. But that’s our story about how we flew from round trip from San Diego to Denver last year for ~$250 for a family of 4. Haha! Budgeting is like a game for us.
Something my husband and i did… he flew with the kids on Frontier and I flew Southwest. I took the luggage with me since bags fly free on Southwest. I bought my ticket with points because i have the Southwest credit card (just had to pay TSA fee of ~$11). It was an off-season week so my husband’s round trip flight ticket was $38 (!!). He still had to take a bag cause traveling with kids, which was $100 each way. But that’s our story about how we flew from round trip from San Diego to Denver last year for ~$250 for a family of 4. Haha! Budgeting is like a game for us.
morgannicole555
New member
@celoxisppm Wow badass!!! Love it! Thank you!
@morgannicole555 No one can answer you this. It depends on your debt, your lifestyle, what you consider comfortable, your property taxes etc. What salary works for one family could ruin another.
@morgannicole555 I don’t think anyone can tell you this. You need to sit down and get a budget for yourselves. Work out how much you’re spending now, and on what, then estimate how much another child will cost. Then try and live within those means, putting aside the ‘another child’ money for now.
If you find you’re unable to do it, you will have to cut costs or increase your income. Then repeat the above. That will tell you if you can afford it.
If you find you’re unable to do it, you will have to cut costs or increase your income. Then repeat the above. That will tell you if you can afford it.
@morgannicole555 We live in DC, and it’s pretty expensive. We only have 1 child currently, but I’m pregnant with triplets and we’ve already planned out the budget! We will live very comfortably on $800k+ combined income as a future family of 6. We take multiple vacations a year, not including visiting family. We’re planning on buying a second house in the next few years and are doing well in terms of retirement savings. With half of that, we would have to cut back on spending, but it would still be doable. $400k is perfectly fine for a family of 5!
mariefromtexas
New member
@mariefromtexas I’m a school librarian and my husband works in information security. He’s currently a CISO. Obviously he makes the majority of our income 
mariefromtexas
New member
@mariefromtexas Well for one, she’s lying
. Second of all 100k is above average and absolutely just fine. You make adjustments like less eating out etc. most people aren’t even making that much, and they’re figuring it out.
. Second of all 100k is above average and absolutely just fine. You make adjustments like less eating out etc. most people aren’t even making that much, and they’re figuring it out.