8 ms·

I'm a 31 year old entrepreneur. Here are my rough living costs. I've done them on a personal basis. The household costs (including my wife) are double this. I'm

I'm a 31 year old entrepreneur. Here are my rough living costs. I've done them on a personal basis. The household costs (including my wife) are double this. I'm not saying I'm typical, but I am saying that it doesnt need to be as expensive as the article claims. Rent/Mortgage/Prop Tax: $765 (single family home in SF, including office) Utilities: $80 (fast Internet) Insurance (car, home): $60 (free health plan through wife) Transportation: $10 (bike) Gas: $50 Food: $150 Fun: $200 Clothing: $50 (and it shows..) Grand Total: $1365 And I'm not living on Ramen!

MatthewB 15y ago
You have a home in SF for $765/month? That's ridiculously low. The rest of your expenses are low too, well done.
- tomsaffell 15y ago
  Yup, but bear in mind that's between two people ($1300 per month), and after tax break (so looks like $2000 on paper, but is actually only $1300 out of pocket). It's on a 3.75% rate (7 year), and excludes principle repayment (which is not a cost). Includes property tax. So it's very comparable to rent.
  - MatthewB 15y ago
    Im looking for apartments in SF right now and can't find anything (decent) under $1700 for a 1 bed 1 bath. Maybe I just have expensive taste:).
    - timr 15y ago
      No, he's only counting interest on the loan, and his wife is paying half. It's not even remotely a fair comparison to a single founder living in the city. A more realistic "cheap" lifestyle in SF is probably $2500 a month if you're living on your own. And renting is substantially cheaper than owning here, unless you play stupid accounting games to pretend that you're not actually spending money.
      - tomsaffell 15y ago
        >unless you play stupid accounting games What games would those be? What I did was: a) exclude principal repayments (they are not a cost, they are an investment. They are also entirely optional - any house buyer can take an interest only mortgage). b) factor in the tax advantage (which is actual money in my pocket, either by paying less withholding, or by getting a check from the IRS at the end of the year).
  - tomkarlo 15y ago
    While principle repayment is not a cost, it's a cash flow, so you can't exclude it when you're trying to figure out if you can cover your monthly nut. Similarly, you can't include the present value of expected future income from the sale of the business into your current estimate of what expenses you can cover.
    - tomsaffell 15y ago
      Principle repayment is optional (when taking a loan). It only makes a small difference to interest rate [1]. So for the purposes of discussing cost minimization, it is legitimate to exclude it. [1] http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/banking_lending/mortgages/todays_rates?cmsid=P-2266141&lvl1=banking_lending&lvl2=mortgages http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/banking_lending/mortgage...
      - jacques_chester 15y ago
        Pedantic nitpick: Principal is the subject of a loan, or the leader of a school. Principle is an idea that people may hew to and argue about.
      - tomsaffell 15y ago
        Could those who are down voting please explain why.
- marcc 15y ago
  Pretty sure he said that with his wife, household expenses are twice that. Rent is more like 1530. Which is still create for a house in SF.
jyu 15y ago
I'm jealous. 28 and in NYC here. Rent: $1700 (tiny studio in Manhattan) Utilities: $200 (electric and FIOS) Transportation: $120 (subway + occasional taxi) Food: $600 Fun: $400 Maid: $400 Clothing: $100 Grand Total: $3,520
- exit 15y ago
  you need a maid for your tiny studio? you spend $100 in clothing every month?
  - dasil003 15y ago
    $400 dollars a month for said tiny studio? How about learn to pick up after yourself and pay someone $50 to clean the bathroom and dust once a month.
  - keeptrying 15y ago
    I think he means laundry + ironing service + some clothes.
- MatthewB 15y ago
  This looks more like my expenses.
- jscore 15y ago
  I spend about 1/4 of that with same quality of life in Colombia (in a great city) and I lived in NYC. Oh, and I'm 32.
- keeptrying 15y ago
  This actually pretty accurate for manhattan. Though you've missed some biggies: health insurance ($300) and iphone: $110 and hosting,netflix (they addup) etc. And the biggest expense in manhattan is : taking dates out for dinner ($50 a pop usually so about $300 a month) + drinking and hanging with friends ($300 a month easily).
- jeremymims 15y ago
  Damn Dude. You cost double what I do in the same city. I live in a nice-sized apt in Manhattan, eat well, and go out. - Get a roommate and cut out nearly half the rent and half the utilities (two bedrooms aren't much more in a walk up). - You're clearly eating almost all your meals out. You could probably cut this by 2/3 if you went to a Trader Joes and ate 3/4 of your meals at home or made lunch. - Cut out the maid. Buy a nice vacuum and some cleaning supplies. New Total: $1,950. Just saved you $19k next year. Pro-tip: Take dates to Thai restaurants in Manhattan. Many have great ambience and you'll spend ~$30 with a drink each. Super Pro-tip: The girls you want to date in the long run will be happy to pay their share. :-)
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

MatthewB 15y ago

You have a home in SF for $765/month? That's ridiculously low. The rest of your expenses are low too, well done.

tomsaffell 15y ago
Yup, but bear in mind that's between two people ($1300 per month), and after tax break (so looks like $2000 on paper, but is actually only $1300 out of pocket). It's on a 3.75% rate (7 year), and excludes principle repayment (which is not a cost). Includes property tax. So it's very comparable to rent.
- MatthewB 15y ago
  Im looking for apartments in SF right now and can't find anything (decent) under $1700 for a 1 bed 1 bath. Maybe I just have expensive taste:).
  - timr 15y ago
    No, he's only counting interest on the loan, and his wife is paying half. It's not even remotely a fair comparison to a single founder living in the city. A more realistic "cheap" lifestyle in SF is probably $2500 a month if you're living on your own. And renting is substantially cheaper than owning here, unless you play stupid accounting games to pretend that you're not actually spending money.
    - tomsaffell 15y ago
      >unless you play stupid accounting games What games would those be? What I did was: a) exclude principal repayments (they are not a cost, they are an investment. They are also entirely optional - any house buyer can take an interest only mortgage). b) factor in the tax advantage (which is actual money in my pocket, either by paying less withholding, or by getting a check from the IRS at the end of the year).
- tomkarlo 15y ago
  While principle repayment is not a cost, it's a cash flow, so you can't exclude it when you're trying to figure out if you can cover your monthly nut. Similarly, you can't include the present value of expected future income from the sale of the business into your current estimate of what expenses you can cover.
  - tomsaffell 15y ago
    Principle repayment is optional (when taking a loan). It only makes a small difference to interest rate [1]. So for the purposes of discussing cost minimization, it is legitimate to exclude it. [1] http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/banking_lending/mortgages/todays_rates?cmsid=P-2266141&lvl1=banking_lending&lvl2=mortgages http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/banking_lending/mortgage...
    - jacques_chester 15y ago
      Pedantic nitpick: Principal is the subject of a loan, or the leader of a school. Principle is an idea that people may hew to and argue about.
    - tomsaffell 15y ago
      Could those who are down voting please explain why.
marcc 15y ago
Pretty sure he said that with his wife, household expenses are twice that. Rent is more like 1530. Which is still create for a house in SF.

jyu 15y ago

I'm jealous. 28 and in NYC here. Rent: $1700 (tiny studio in Manhattan) Utilities: $200 (electric and FIOS) Transportation: $120 (subway + occasional taxi) Food: $600 Fun: $400 Maid: $400 Clothing: $100 Grand Total: $3,520

exit 15y ago
you need a maid for your tiny studio? you spend $100 in clothing every month?
- dasil003 15y ago
  $400 dollars a month for said tiny studio? How about learn to pick up after yourself and pay someone $50 to clean the bathroom and dust once a month.
- keeptrying 15y ago
  I think he means laundry + ironing service + some clothes.
MatthewB 15y ago
This looks more like my expenses.
jscore 15y ago
I spend about 1/4 of that with same quality of life in Colombia (in a great city) and I lived in NYC. Oh, and I'm 32.
keeptrying 15y ago
This actually pretty accurate for manhattan. Though you've missed some biggies: health insurance ($300) and iphone: $110 and hosting,netflix (they addup) etc. And the biggest expense in manhattan is : taking dates out for dinner ($50 a pop usually so about $300 a month) + drinking and hanging with friends ($300 a month easily).
jeremymims 15y ago
Damn Dude. You cost double what I do in the same city. I live in a nice-sized apt in Manhattan, eat well, and go out. - Get a roommate and cut out nearly half the rent and half the utilities (two bedrooms aren't much more in a walk up). - You're clearly eating almost all your meals out. You could probably cut this by 2/3 if you went to a Trader Joes and ate 3/4 of your meals at home or made lunch. - Cut out the maid. Buy a nice vacuum and some cleaning supplies. New Total: $1,950. Just saved you $19k next year. Pro-tip: Take dates to Thai restaurants in Manhattan. Many have great ambience and you'll spend ~$30 with a drink each. Super Pro-tip: The girls you want to date in the long run will be happy to pay their share. :-)

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]