3 ms·

300 k is ridiculous, but in the coastal regions I would not be surprised if a family of 4 needs 200-250 to feel financially secure.

geggam 8y ago
As a family of 4 who just left the SF Bay area making what you call secure. I can assure you we did not feel secure and were living paycheck to paycheck on that amount.
- froindt 8y ago
  If you don't mind sharing, what were some of the biggest expenses you had leading to you living paycheck to paycheck? I'm a Midwest non-tech worker. I live in one of the 5 largest cities in my state. It's very foreign to me that such a large income wouldn't allow you to feel financially secure. A starting engineering salary in the area is ~65,000. 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments in my complex are $830, $1200, and $1500 respectively. I'm ~2.5 miles from work (7 minute commute via car) and <0.5 miles from a grocery store. Houses in the area with a really good school system are 200-400k typically.
  - geggam 8y ago
    200k == about 11600 take home a month after taxes and insurance Monthly Rent : 3300 ( east bay 45 minute train ride into SF) Utlities : 350 BART riding : 260 BART parking : 60-100 or Drive to SF and Car parking $500 ( instead of the 360 BART ) Groceries : 1400 ( 2 teenage boys eat ) Car payments + insurance : 800 ( 2 cars ) renters insurance : 120 Clothing : 300 ( teenagers outgrow stuff fast ) Cell phones : 300 6930 so far... no savings, vacations, entertainment or misc taken out 4670/4 = 1167 per person a month / 4 is 291 a week per person left for savings vacation misc and entertainment 1 family outing in the bay will run $300 to $ 500 easily BTW to buy a house you typically had to come in with an offer 10-25% over ask and typically a full cash offer would get the house. Good luck buying a house with a mortgage ( the house across the street, in the east bay, went for 699k and it was only 900 sq ft )
    - e15ctr0n 8y ago
      > 'renters insurance : 120' Do you really pay $120 per month for renter's insurance? To be honest, this sounds more like an annual number.
    - extra88 8y ago
      Having 40% of your take-home pay after covering essentials is not living paycheck-to-paycheck. But it's also true that if you're starting with nothing, saving for a down payment in such a housing market is unattainable.
      - geggam 8y ago
        that is 40% for 4 people or 10% each... and you will notice I left out many costs like fuel / car maintenance. Life is different when you arent single
        extra88 8y ago
        My home is single income, two people. I don't see the point in dividing the what remains equally amongst each household member when there are so many expenses that can benefit more than one person and there will be different wants and needs at different times. Living paycheck-to-paycheck means if you miss one paycheck, you'll have bills you can't pay. With the numbers you've provided, I don't see how your income and essentials would force you to not have savings to cover a few months. You didn't mention how many income sources your household has; even if 75% is from one source, having a second source does add a lot of security.

geggam 8y ago

As a family of 4 who just left the SF Bay area making what you call secure. I can assure you we did not feel secure and were living paycheck to paycheck on that amount.

froindt 8y ago
If you don't mind sharing, what were some of the biggest expenses you had leading to you living paycheck to paycheck? I'm a Midwest non-tech worker. I live in one of the 5 largest cities in my state. It's very foreign to me that such a large income wouldn't allow you to feel financially secure. A starting engineering salary in the area is ~65,000. 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments in my complex are $830, $1200, and $1500 respectively. I'm ~2.5 miles from work (7 minute commute via car) and <0.5 miles from a grocery store. Houses in the area with a really good school system are 200-400k typically.
- geggam 8y ago
  200k == about 11600 take home a month after taxes and insurance Monthly Rent : 3300 ( east bay 45 minute train ride into SF) Utlities : 350 BART riding : 260 BART parking : 60-100 or Drive to SF and Car parking $500 ( instead of the 360 BART ) Groceries : 1400 ( 2 teenage boys eat ) Car payments + insurance : 800 ( 2 cars ) renters insurance : 120 Clothing : 300 ( teenagers outgrow stuff fast ) Cell phones : 300 6930 so far... no savings, vacations, entertainment or misc taken out 4670/4 = 1167 per person a month / 4 is 291 a week per person left for savings vacation misc and entertainment 1 family outing in the bay will run $300 to $ 500 easily BTW to buy a house you typically had to come in with an offer 10-25% over ask and typically a full cash offer would get the house. Good luck buying a house with a mortgage ( the house across the street, in the east bay, went for 699k and it was only 900 sq ft )
  - e15ctr0n 8y ago
    > 'renters insurance : 120' Do you really pay $120 per month for renter's insurance? To be honest, this sounds more like an annual number.
  - extra88 8y ago
    Having 40% of your take-home pay after covering essentials is not living paycheck-to-paycheck. But it's also true that if you're starting with nothing, saving for a down payment in such a housing market is unattainable.
    - geggam 8y ago
      that is 40% for 4 people or 10% each... and you will notice I left out many costs like fuel / car maintenance. Life is different when you arent single
      - extra88 8y ago
        My home is single income, two people. I don't see the point in dividing the what remains equally amongst each household member when there are so many expenses that can benefit more than one person and there will be different wants and needs at different times. Living paycheck-to-paycheck means if you miss one paycheck, you'll have bills you can't pay. With the numbers you've provided, I don't see how your income and essentials would force you to not have savings to cover a few months. You didn't mention how many income sources your household has; even if 75% is from one source, having a second source does add a lot of security.