Hey, big spenders:thirtysomething's Hope and Michael Steadman may seem like the yuppies who have it all, but a hard look at the bottom line suggests that they'd better start pinching their pennies.
Income
Michael's income
Adweek's annual survey of national ad agency
salaries suggests that a job like Michael's — creative directorship
with executive responsibilities — pays a yearly average of $127,000.
After taxes, the Steadmans are left with a monthly income of $7,000
Expenses
Living well
According to Century 21, the Steadmans' house, at
1700 Bryn Mawr Avenue in suburban Philadelphia, cost $230,000,
assuming it was purchased five years ago. Their monthly fixed-rate
mortgage would currently total $2,075
+Property taxes and homeowner's insurance add on $400
+With a four-year loan on Hope's 1990 Mitsubishi Montero, payments
are $500
+Car insurance for the Montero and Michael's vintage Volvo $166
+Yard work, snowplowing, and home maintenance $300
Eating well
According to the USDA, a family of four that includes
two preschool children rings up a monthly food bill of $541
+But since Michael and Hope aren't average (think of all those
dinner parties, bagel brunches, and the briss), add on $300
+And that monthly case of Corvo Bianco comes to $101
Dressing well
Men's designer Alan Flusser says the first-year
start-up for Michael's newly upscale wardrobe — Armani suits, Valentino
ties, Cole Haan shoes, Trafalgar suspenders, a Ferre overcoat, and
Flusser's own shirts — costs $755
+Hope's casual wardrobe, à la the Gap and J. Crew, costs $300
+And clothes for Janey and Leo — including sneakers in constantly
increasing sizes, cost $200
+Dry-cleaning bills for Michael's spiffy new look add on $150
Parenting well
If 3-year-old Janey attends morning nursery school
sessions at Philadelphia's Beginning Learning Center, monthly tuition
comes to $300
+Toys, books, and nonstop recreation for the kids $200
Having it all
Entertainment — including trips, movies, VCR rentals,
home electronics, gym fees, restaurants, and sitters-along with the
occasional guilt — reducing charitable donation $600
What's Left
At the end of the month: Michael's lunch money $112
And now, the bad news: Sources at the show reveal the Steadmans' plumbing will go haywire, and they'll need to redo their kitchen. The cost, according to Remodeling magazine: $20,641.
