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This budget was at the peak of their success. Ellie originally crossed out the $40k she had estimated and wrote in the exact figures. They made $10k more than expected. They also had the free van at the time. Adpocalypse started right around this time and earnings went way down across the platform. A few months after this budget they had to return the van and Ellie drove that used SUV they bought. Ellie also started resenting the viewers around this time.
I think “afford” is very relative and is what is being debated on this board more than how much E&J earned. If at their peak they brought in $600k in a year and still carried “a small mortgage,” then we can assume they didn’t make as much the year prior. We know income fell shortly after this because creators across the platform were upset about it. Many family vloggers started talking about “budgets” indicating a revenue decrease. It would be very generous to say they made 2 million in the last 6 years on YT. This averages out to just over $300k a year. A great wage for sure, but they weren’t exactly set for life. That money is way down now. Even with a lot of things free and assuming they had saved every penny of that money, another new build in a million dollar neighbourhood is a stretch longterm. The larger the home and fancier the neighbourhood, the more even a paid off home is going to cost every year.... plus keeping up with the Joneses goes so much farther than nice vehicles, gardens and landscaping!
Ellie sunk a lot of their peak earnings into the Ice Palace design and landscaping. I bet they spent more on the Ice Palace than they recovered, even with a sellers market! A lot of the peak money they earned was left behind in the boulders in their dream backyard.
Edited to add: 10% of everything they make also goes to the church. This is like a mortgage payment for some people!
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