Sorry, i should have been a little more clear.
We live in the heart of the city in a condo. There is something to be said about quality of life. Could we buy a mansion in Joliet for $250k, yes. Would we rather live in a $500k condo in Lincoln Park that's only 1500sqft, absolutely.
I'm in sales, she's a teacher.
We're not technically paycheck to paycheck, but we're definitely not saving $7k a month anymore. I would argue that we're extremely good with money.
True statements about declaring dependents and not renting. We used to pay $2,100 to live in a condo in LP that's probably about a $300k place.
I'm not complaining at all. I'm just saying that, depending on where you live, $250k (or in my case $150k) isn't as much as some would think.
In Chicago, or any NICE surrounding suburb, $250k with kids, college education, etc. would be next to nothing. The Nice burbs taxes' are about $24,000/year. So $2k of your monthly income goes to just taxes. Then you're paying $50k+ a year in college education. Insane, I couldn't imagine that.