How much money does a family need to make yearly to live a comfortable lifestyle?

Question

How much would a husband and wife with 2 children and a cat need to make yearly to have a nice lifestyle. Just a nice size home in a good neighborhood, new vehicles, yearly vacation and not having to wory about money all the time.

We aren't looking for an extravagant lifestyle. Just a 9-5 type lifestyle where we can comfortably raise our family and have money for retirement.

Neither of us want high stress jobs that take away from family life. Family, NOT money, is most important to us. My husband works at a bank and is thinking of going back to school. I am majoring in psychology . We are in our early 20's, no children yet.

How much would we need to make yearly (household income) to achieve this?

We live in the midwest.

all that we want? We want a house and 2 cars that are in safe condition. I dodn;t say we wanted a yacht, boats, vacation homes etc. Why is everyone so sarcastic on here all the time?

Wow, looks like somebody is bitter.

Answer 1

If you and your husband are both students then you will not be making the comfortable income you desire. You will be living on your pennies, and doing without, just to get by. However, do not despair. If in a couple years you both have college degrees and are gainfully employed then you should each be making $30-40,000 each and feeling quiet happy. You will find that your first few years of gainful employment are spent saving for the next big thing.... a car, a down-payment on a small home, etc.. Everything will seem out of reach... Don't despair, in a few more years you will be earning $50-60,0000 each. Things will become affordable. You will have enough to your basic needs, and family. Then if you're still both employeed your family income will reach $150,000 and you'll finally feel comfortable. It just doesn't happen all at once.

Answer 2

Well in the midwest you could be rural or metro...so the amount is going to vary with respect to housing costs in your specific area.

I live in western Nebraska, my home cost 72 thousand when we bought it. Three bedroom with attached double car garage on a 60 by 126 foot lot.

Where my daughter lives this would be about a 200 thousand dollar home.

Also, how much of a downpayment will you have on a home? This and the interest rate will affect your payment.

Nobody can answer this better than you and your husband sitting down and making a budget for your specific area.

Answer 3

an average family with a mortage?youll be lucky to make enough to live comfartably.of course it depends on the economy of the country at the time.i think your expectations maybe a tad to high and when you say your family will be the most important,do you mean that one of you will give up work?if not your family doesn't mean much to you at all.here in australia the average family with a mortgage would need $1000 a week to live comfartably and i think your idea of that is rather high.

Answer 4

you would need to make about 60,000.00 a year for a house valued at about 240,000. how many cars ? 2 new ones every few years .add another 15,000.00 family vacation ? to where. anywhere from 10,000.00 to 40,000.00 add it all up. 110,000.00 Can you live well on about 2600.00 per month not including house car and vacation. I think so.600 for utilities and about 500 per week for groceries and going out , and buying stuff. clothes , toys , etc.If something major comes along you could always borrow from your vacation fund. You just wont go to Europe that year. remember that's after taxes. If you need to figure out taxes add another 30 % increase. So I did the math for you. you will need in before tax dollars about 143,000.00
I wish someone would of told me this when I was young. Thanks for asking the question

Answer 5

What's comfortable for you maynot be comfortable to me or for Donald Trump.

Only you can answer this question.

I need to go on a vacation every 3 months....do you?

See it depends on what you need in your life.

Answer 6

I would think from experience about 100 grand a year.is comfortable..

Answer 7

It doesn't really matter what you bring home every year. If you make 30K per year, you will spend it all. If you make 100K per year, you will spend that too. Due to the nature of your question, I would guess that you would live to your financial limit, and perhaps beyond.

Answer 8

Considering all that you want to have I would guess about 100,000 per year.

Answer 9

YOU ARE PATHETIC TO ASK SUCH A QUESTION!!!
YOU'RE CRAZY!!!
THAT IS THE STUPIDEST QUESTION I'VE HEARD ALL NIGHT.
GROW UP.
"JUST A NICE SIZED HOME, IN A
"NICE" NEIGHBORHOOD WITH TWO "NEW" CARS, YEARLY VACATIONS AND "NEVER HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT MONEY" YOU WANT MONEY FOR RETIREMENT AND NON STRESS JOBS AND LETS NOT FORGET THE 2 KIDS. ETC."
YOU ARE A RIOT.
BY THE WAY, THERE ARE FAMILIES OUT THERE THAT LIVE JUST FINE WITHOUT ALL THE "NECESSARY" THINGS THAT YOU SEEM TO "REQUIRE".
YOU BOTH BETTER STAY IN SCHOOL A VERY LONG TIME IN ORDER TO FILL THAT BILL. IT'S GOING TO TAKE "QUITE A BIT" MORE THAN YOU THINK!
THE ONE THING THAT YOU DID NOT MENTION, THAT I FIND STRANGE, HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU PERSONALLY, WAS YOUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION.
SHAME ON YOU. YOU ARE SELFISH AND SELF-CENTERED PERSON.

Answer 10

100k +