I absolutely doubt that a single-income engineer with two kids will HAVE TO spend more than 4 grand / month in addition to housing. Based on my personal experience. I wouldn’t call myself all that frugal, but our monthly expenses stay under $2000/month. Granted, I don’t have $600 car payments because the BMW and the minivan are paid off, and I don’t spend $300/month on gas and maintenance. My kids aren’t old enough to need braces, but they are young enough to need diapers, and we just got the twins off the formula. (Now they drink milk like there’s no tomorrow – we usually buy 4 gallons at a time – but it’s a lot cheaper)
But that’s not even the point. The point is, like I said repeatedly, whether you rent or buy, you’ll keep nearly the same amount of money in your pocket. Even ignoring future appreciation, raises, and rent hikes. It is quite feasible for a family with 130K income to buy in 4S today.
