Right now, what makes it possible to do what we are doing — raising three daughters in Southern California — is capital.
We are older, and have paid off both cars, have less than $1k in credit card debt and just ten years to go to pay off our fixed rate mortgage. With an income of $115k we are fine, and are putting money in the girl’s college accounts every month. Of our $7k monthly after tax paycheck, we put about $1900 into property taxes and mortgage, and the rest can go elsewhere.
This economy is brutal for younger people, as they have a very tough time accumulating capital. Income is an important measure, but net worth is a crucial factor. Imagine being in your early twenties, wanting to start a family and living in Southern California. I would look around, scream and run to another state. Of course, I have no idea what state that would be.
