“Our house is pretty small, but we sacrificed on the size of our house in order to get our daughter into Loudoun County schools.”Ĭhild Care: $1,340 (Plus $810 for summer camp) It’s really expensive and there’s just a lot of stress involved with being in this area because everybody’s so strapped for time and everything is expensive.” Major Monthly Expenses ’ Sometimes it just feels like we’re in a whole different world when we meet new people … If we didn’t have my husband’s job, we probably wouldn’t live in Northern Virginia. But interacting with parents and families, I was really getting a feeling for, ‘Oh wow, I can see why Loudoun County is known. I never really noticed it as much until my child started public school. It really is going to depend on who you surround yourself with. So, for us to be able to now travel and go out more is a big difference for us.”ĭespite the increase in salary, she says she still doesn’t feel rich compared to other families living in Loudoun County. We were probably making half of what we are now … we didn’t really go anywhere, no extra hobbies, always eating at home was the norm. I don’t even know how we actually got by. “We could barely survive when he was working. “He was off during the winter,” she recalls. The couple was “living paycheck to paycheck” because her husband was working a seasonal job. That wasn’t the case six years ago though, says the woman of the house. They have two children, a toddler and one in elementary school.įor this family of four, minimal student loan payments, an age gap between their two children and reliable overtime income from the police department mean they are generally able to live within their means. Both 33, husband is a police officer and wife is a program manager for a nonprofit association. Total monthly take-home pay (after taxes): $10,300Ī family of four living in Loudoun County. Husband, 33, Police Officer | Wife, 33, Program Manager Pet expenses: $40 Monthly Budget Breakdown:ĭiscretionary: 6.56% Total Monthly Remainder: -$124 “To save up for two to three annual trips.” “I have a specific diet I have to follow because of a medical condition and that’s expensive.” Insurance the past two weeks I can’t go out to get coffee and I can’t go out to lunch … It’s a constant conversation because we have to check in with each other.
“It absolutely impacts my day-to-day life. “I want another baby, but we can’t afford day care right now.
#Average household budget full
“We pay this off in full at the end of the month.” It’s so difficult to reconcile those two feelings.” Monthly Major Expenses I was the first person in my family to go to college, but I barely make it every month.
It’s assumed that we’re attorneys and we can handle our sh*t … it’s extremely embarrassing. The couple keeps a careful budget and checks in with each other before making any unplanned purchases, she says. “We basically live paycheck to paycheck, and that’s hard.” “Crushing is the right word ,” says the woman of the house. They have one toddler-aged child.įor this Fairfax family of dual-income lawyers, one might assume they’re financially comfortable, but hefty student loans, child care and a medical diagnosis that equals a high monthly grocery bill mean they’re careful with every dollar. Both husband, 36, and wife, 38, are attorneys working for the federal government. Total Monthly take-home pay after taxes: $11,256Ī family of three living in Fairfax County. Husband, 36, Attorney | Wife, 38, Attorney | One Child | Fairfax From a family struggling to pay off six-figure student loans to one who just established financial peace thanks to a well-known money guru, here’s what it looks like to manage a budget for typical NoVA families. The most common themes? Student loans and child care costs can dramatically impact your bottom line. We asked three local families to open up their monthly budgets and give us all the nitty-gritty details. But just because you’re pulling in six figures in this region, doesn’t necessarily make you rich.
The median salary in Northern Virginia is well above $100,000.
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