Is an annual income of $300,000 enough to do basically whatever you want, within reason?

400k is a LOT better than 300k these days

With 5 kids its not enough to do whatever we want but we definitely can do lots of stuff.

Good lord. Yes 300k is enough to live extremely comfortably with a family in all but the most expensive of places (especially if your spouse also works and makes even a modest amount). So ridiculous seeing people say otherwise. I make half of that and we live very comfortably with 3 kids in a good suburban area with good schools, take a few modest vacations a year, live in a reasonably large and nice home, etc.

“Whatever you want, within reason” is pretty vague.

In our prime earning years, we were happy but lived within our means, squirreled a lot away, carried no debt, and probably made more money than most guessed based on our living standard. Now we’re retired with investments that grew exponentially, allowing us to do anything we want, within reason.

my wife and I accomplish that goal on less than half that amount...and we live in that awful, filthy, expensive place called Southern California!!

1. If you live with debt, then maybe yes or maybe no.

2. If you don’t operate with debt, then $300k should leave you enormously comfortable in 100% of towns in America.

Any other answer is due to not being decent at managing money, expenses, and commitments.

Source: husband and father of 2 in a pricey area out west making it work of 1 income of ~70k

In Scandinavia it would be enough as the housing is not that expensive, healthcare is free etc.

This obviously depends on your household size. For a single person who isn't reckless with their money, it's more than enough. Even for a couple. Once you bring kids into the equation things will change based on the quality of life you want to have for the kids. If you want the kids in sports and private schools and to send them to summer training development camps for their sport so they become great by the time they're in high school, it could be a stretch.

A good neighborhood will have an average household price of at least $300K if you're in most urban areas outside of the outliers like LA and NYC.

Once you factor in the quality of life you want for your dependents then it changes the equation significantly.

I'll bet that the statistics of LRC would surprise you. I find it's better, in my life experience, to assume everyone has a leg up on you, or is not far less than you, at least

No. He only talked about it because he is Canadian and Canada does not have joint filing. He would benefit from joint filing and in Canadian context having income equally split between the two spouses is the way to have something close to that, it's just that most people can't do it (unless you play games with paying the spouse from a business you own)

Private schools would wipe you out . So pick wisely where you live

Yes. If I understand your question. You can mostly not worry about how much your car costs, vacations are not an issue, you certainly dont have to worry about stuff like packing your lunch and shopping around for a phone carrier to save 20$ a month.

But, no 300k nowadays will not buy you a second home/cottage + a boat while having 2 kids with richer taste than you at their age. Having kids knocks that 300K (150K take home) down to about 100K take home. It disappears fast. Your kids are "rich", you still go to work 50+ hours a week and come home, work out and as Jackson Brown said, do it again.

Ha Ha Ha, who is that dweeb?

Comments turned off, what a chicken 🐓

My wife and I are at a little over $1M/year combined (W2's will likely be ~$1.3M this year). We don't worry about making purchases for things in the ~$100 range (new shoes, eating out, etc), usually take two international vacations per year, and are still saving a good amount.

This may fit your definition of being able to buy whatever we want. But that said we're still thoughtful about finding ways to save money, it's not like we're flying first class, etc.

it also depends a lot on what your savings goals are. I could spend a lot more and not save much but am trying to position myself to retire ASAP

Not trying to pry, but do you mind sharing what you guys do for work? Own a business? Rentals? One Mil/year is pretty stellar. Not jealous or trying to be negative at all. Just genuinely curious.

Yeah - I make most of it from a job in tech. The equity grants can give a good amount of upside

A childless “man” talking about how if you earned 500K in the Bay Area you don’t have to send your kids to day care even if you have five children.

Only a person who has never had kids could make that statement. An imbecile.

Regardless of your family situation or location, no one will feel bad for you at $300k but it is not "F U" money. If it is wages you still have "to do" whatever it is that pays you. If you're getting $300k from investments I'd say you're close to being able to do what you want unless it involves supercars and private planes. $300k ain't what it used to be : )

300k Bay Area, 2 kids. We've been in a tiny apartment for a few years now. That's the realty of HCOL unless you're willing to live in the boondocks and commute 2 hrs. Daycare is 60k/year for the two kids, rent is 40k. Those costs add up quick. It's not something that really makes sense until you're here and you see just how wild the COL is.

Other than that we're comfortable, live quite modestly, fly internationally 3-4 times per year, car paid w/ cash, etc. But owning a home will only be feasible when we move back home to the South in 5 years.