Home Economics No. 15: Married, 36, and Living in a $3-Million Brooklyn Brownstone on a $837k Joint Income
Home Economics No. 15: Married, 36, and Living in a $3-Million Brooklyn Brownstone on a $837k Joint Income
$12,000 for the mortgage, $7,000 in childcare expenses
Hello! And welcome to the monthly paid edition1 of The Purse!
First off, a big thank-you to all our paid subscribers! Right now, all the money we earn from subscriptions gets funneled back into The Purse to pay for boring things (like the lawyer helping us form an LLC partnership) and fun things (like our first event).
Speaking of which, Erika and I are beyond excited to host the first IRL Purse event, along with Lindsay Dorf, founder of Astor, a financial wellness platform. We’re going to be coordinating small group conversations on a range of money-related topics, like new parenthood and career changes. I really think it will be fascinating and fun, plus I’m super excited to meet members of this community IRL!
You can RSVP here. Paid subscribers get access to a 50% off code, which I’m dropping below the paywall. (If you’re not a paid subscriber because money is tight right now, but you’d like to attend the event, drop me a DM, and we’ll figure something out!)
Now on to today’s Home Economics, which I think is a good one!
Last summer, I wrote about the high cost of housing in New York City and my own real estate anxiety. I called up my favorite real estate agent, Heather McMaster, and asked her who can afford these expensive brownstones? Her response was not surprising:
It’s the predictable (my word, not Heather’s) mix of lawyers, people who work in finance and tech, and folks with family money, she says. But also, Heather adds, a lot of people who’ve just managed to save.
Today’s Home Economics features a 30-something couple who did manage to buy a $3.2 million brownstone without family money. They fit in the “tech workers” category Heather mentioned. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. But also, I think it’s totally badass that they were able to buy their dream home—it clearly took a lot of hard work.
On that note, I’ll stop writing and let the entry speak for itself. Enjoy!
Age: 36
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Relationship status: Married
Age of partner: 37
About me: I live with my husband and toddler in Brooklyn, with another baby on the way. My husband and I both work in tech, and we just bought a townhouse.
Income:
Your job title/salary: VP, customer service, $500,000
Partner’s job title/salary: Senior software engineer, $370,000
Your monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): $22,000
Partner’s monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): $11,800
Additional monthly income: $7,250 rental income from the two units in our townhouse
Total monthly income: $41,050