[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

One final point, doesn't saying that you need more than $250K to be comfortable in DC just fail to pass the sniff test? If anybody wants to see how $250K can be comfortable in any market, give it to me, I promise I'll show you!

Keep in mind, the budget I laid out is LAVISH. That is a ton of discretionary spending. If you need more than $250K to be comfortable, you need to have your head examined.

Sorry, Schneed, but that's just picking and choosing. You laid out what you believe is an average budget. You missed a number of huge expenses, which we discussed. Let's look at another realistic budget, based of your initial work:

PreTax Income $250,000

Expenses
Federal Taxes -61,229
State Income Tax: Maryland -11,948
Healthcare Insurance: PPO @ $120 per Paycheck -3,120
Dental Insurance: $20 per Paycheck -520
Mortgage: $750K House, $600K Mortgage @ 6.0% -43,168
Childcare (all 3) -43,200
Car Payment 1: $30,000 Car -6,453
Car Payment 2: $40,000 Van/SUV
Car Maintenance -2,000
Gasoline @ $300 per Month Per Car -7,200
Groceries for Family of 5: $1200 per Month -14,400
Electricity & Heat -2,400
Water -540
Cable TV, Phone, Hi Speed Internet, Cell Phone -3,000
Home Maintenance -5,000
Groundskeeping -2,000
Student Loans -15,000
Total Expenses -221,178

Discretionary Income before Federal Tax Return 70,419
Federal Tax Return: Assuming AMT Kicks In 21,407
Discretionary Income 91,826

Discretionary Spending
Retirement Savings @ 10% of Income -62,500
College Savings: 3 Kids @ $300 per Month Per Child -10,800
Vacation -5,000
Christmas, Birthdays, and Gifts -5,000
Entertainment & Merchandise @ $400 per Month -4,800
Eating Out @ $200 Per Month -2,400
Discretionary Spending -90,500

Annual Savings (Loss) ($40,271)

That's a $40k negative budget. I think that covers all of the "lavish discretionary funds". I even took out one of the cars (assuming you have a jalopy that's paid off). You can even remove one of the kids, and it doesn't get you down to break even.

I am certainly not saying you can't live comfortably at $250k. I'm saying it sure ain't "rich" (even from a cash flow perspective), which was the original question.