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I treat them as being worth $0, as an unexpected bonus. In other words, determine what you can “afford” (rent, etc.) based on NOT seeing a penny from an RSU.

I treat them as being worth $0, as an unexpected bonus. In other words, determine what you can “afford” (rent, etc.) based on NOT seeing a penny from an RSU. There is no way to be exactly sure what they will be worth. Stock prices not only go up and down but the “long term” (lower tax) date to sell them is even further away. Even well-known companies see major shifts in stock value. RSUs are also a different “class” of stock typically, meaning that in the event of a catastrophe your shares are not at the top of the list. Company goes under? More important investors get their payouts first, your shares may be worth literally zero. Less if you believe in lost opportunity costs, etc.

Kirby64 7y ago
At a publicly traded company, RSUs are definitely not worth $0 and shouldn't be treated as such. I agree you shouldn't base their value at some arbitrary inflated number and should live within your means, but if you truly think RSUs are worth $0, then you also think the company is going to go under (or you get fired) before they vest. I typically value them at some percentage of the current value of the stock (less than 100%) depending on the company. For most signing bonus RSUs you're getting some of them after a year anyways. That's not a long time to wait, so risk/opportunity cost is low. At a startup or some privately traded company, yeah sure. Their value is effectively $0.