For starters, your math is off.
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I believe in NYC theyāre called apartments, even if you own one.
Delete NYC
They should remake the 6 Million Dollar Man where he gets normal healthcare for his injuries and buys a house in LA.
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My basic expenses are pretty standard but my rent is $3700/mo. This is for a 3 br lower half of a two story that faces a relatively popular beach in so. cal. (Like, you can jump from my front porch over the sidewalk and onto the sand.)
I lived in Irvine for 3 years with rent moving up from $2300 to 2800 for decent but anonymous unit in a big development, so I see my current situation as paying 1400 over what I would otherwise spend. As the weather isnāt too warm, I probably save $200/mo not having an AC. In this situation Iām not building a nest egg, but Iām not sinking. Getting my current place involved like a 3 mo search for the best deal for a place I really wanted. I didnāt need āon the beachā but I was willing to pay like 300 more for it. Most of the comps for my place (there werenāt may) were around $4500/mo and I had to beat out other applicants. Buying a place just outside the hood a mile from the beach would be like $700k.
I feel I should maybe get a real corporate job as an IP litigation attorney, but I donāt really want to do that. (I like being able to work on cases consistent with my interests and values.) Really, I should just work harder and bill more often and do more marketing, and I could save up a nest egg doing that. Iām not looking to buy a place until thereās a 25% correction. If thatās never, then tough shit to my alma mater.
I think Trump has cost me about $50k a year for all the time Iāve spent being distracted by and paying attention to his dumb shit.
This summer I have been in great shape from working out hard until June and all my friends and girls from the nearby bars love coming over and hanging out and having beers on the porch, listening to sick 00ās alternative tunes, and just chilling at the beach. Iām having a BBQ every weekend, so itās really a bargain after all. And the spare room has been great for all the guests visiting from Nor. Cal. and out of state. (Or so I thought in January.)
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Could we turn this into a class action lawsuit?
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DOJ would argue it was within the scope of his duties.
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4 bedroom house, 2400 square feet
Region: Olympia, WA (1.5 hours south of Seattle, 2 hours north of Portland on the I-5 corridor)
Location: about 1.5 miles from the downtown core. Bike paths from my house take me about 12 minutes to ride to work which is downtown.
Living Situation: Me, Wife, 8 year old daughter, 4 year old standard poodle.
Mortgage: Was $2400/mo on a 15-year but we just refinanced to a 30-year at $1400/mo including taxes. HOA is $400/year.
Health Insurance: $220/mo for the family
Cable/Internet: $250/month
Cell Phone: $40/mo for the wifeās. Mine is on the company dime
Car and camper payments: ~$700/mo for 2 cars and a 26ā trailer
Car Insurance/Gas: ~$300/mo, depending on how much we camp and pull the trailer
Entertainment: A little takeout food every few weeks, maybe $100/mo
Groceries/Food Same - $250/week
Mom Support: $400/mo (Dad died a couple of years ago and left mom in a bad spot so she asks for about $400/mo to help her out.
Total: $4400ish/mo
We refinanced because my wife works for the state and I work for a busy architecture firm that does a lot of state and municipality work. I have no fucking idea what next year is going to look like when state/county/city budgets come out and theyāre fubarād. My wife could get laid off. Iām a bit more essential as I run all of the officeās IT infrastructure, as well as doing physical security consulting.
Wife and I make ~$175,000/yr, so with the refinance we can manage easily on one income.
Yāall do realize that the only people who would answer honestly to this are going to be massively skewed to the upper middle class, right?
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I donāt understand why everyoneās phones cost so much. I pay $15 per month for 3gb data and unlimited everything else. Never even use that much data.
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What, youāre not financing an eDingus XLVIII Omega at $80/month?
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True, but still interesting to see what cost of living is like in different areas. Hopefully we can get some Canadians/Euros to chime in.
Yah, I donāt use my phone that much either. Just very mild web browsing, ordering Ubers, occasional Maps when walking around. I could easily get by on 1GB, but my plan is $10 for 3 GB, so thatās fine. I think in France I was paying like $15-20/month for 1.5GB.
I was thinking of trying to go back and dig up my cost of living in various places I lived back when I made next to nothing. Of course the housing would be pretty different now I imagine.
Location: about 1.5 miles from the downtown core. Bike paths from my house take me about 12 minutes to ride to work which is downtown.
sick setup
Itās pretty sweet, except itās pretty much all downhill to work, which makes coming back a pain in the ass.
My rent is ridiculously cheap for where I am because my m-in-l owns the house. My internet/phone/tv is ridiculously expensive becauseā¦well, itās not just up to me. My health insurance is expensive because of 4 people and two of them are over 50. Everything else is cheap. I think our nut is about $4k/month, but it varies a lot. College and medical expenses happen that probably add another $1k/month averaged out lately.
I complained about poverty in the thread that inspired this thread, but Iāve been paying off debt pretty steadily for the last few years and should be fine before long. I just like to wallow in my poverty to keep the discipline to order off the dollar menu at Del Taco and not buy anything I donāt really need. I want to be out of debt as soon as possible. Debt is the mind-killer.
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Eastern PA suburb
Housing: $1200 all utilities/internet included furnished 1br apt in a decent neighborhood with 0 Trump signs. I live alone.
Phone: $60, more than I need but Iām on someone elseās plan and lazy and I do need reliable backup internet.
Health insurance: $0, hopefully I donāt get sick. $20/m avg for dentist.
Car: Paid cash years ago, $70 for minimum legal insurance, $50 avg for gas and maintenance/taxes.
Food: ~$200 at Costco about once a month. Pre-COVID ~$20 eating out. I spend a lot on meat.
Entertainment: ~$20 on video games and electronics, ~$10 on weed, another ~$25 on replacing my computer every 5ish years.
Random household stuff/gifts: ~$50.
Total: ~$1750/m seems about right, I donāt spend very much.
This is ignoring going to Vegas for WSOP, since it is a work expense, but that adds a bunch to my yearly outlay and I am slightly less of a mega-lifenit when I am there.
I learned the hard way that uninsured motorist coverage is at least maybe worth it. Itās not nearly as expensive as I would have thought. I guess it really canāt be worth it really, but itās pretty cheap.
Iām not saying this applies to your situation, but I think a lot of people are way too fearful of debt. It really depends on your overall situation and the type of debt. This is actually my own natural tendency. As a result I have missed out on a couple of leveraging opportunities that would have really paid off.
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