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> $100k in a LCOL area OK, but it's very easy to live comfortably on $100k in a LCOL area. The idea that these people have no fat in their budgets is risible.
by dionidium 4y ago
> $100k in a LCOL area
OK, but it's very easy to live comfortably on $100k in a LCOL area. The idea that these people have no fat in their budgets is risible. Put me in charge of the books and I promise they'll be in tip-top shape in 6 months. But they'll hate me, because a lot of stuff they've been keeping in the "needs" bucket is gonna find its way into the "wants" pile in a hurry.
If you don't have an emergency fund, then you cannot afford to eat out. You cannot afford two cars. The one car you have better be a used Hyundai. You can't afford to take a vacation. You can't afford those violin lessons. Hell, you can't even afford Hulu or Netflix. Go for a quiet walk and gather your thoughts toward accumulating an emergency fund, because if you don't have one, then you cannot afford any of that stuff.
- jmathai 4y agoIn all fairness, this applies across the board. I agree with you on financial responsibility residing with the individual. $100k in a LCOL or $300k in a HCOL is sufficient to have an emergency fund. And in the same way that layoffs in a LCOL will hurt, it hurts in HCOL as well. I just think that the lifestyle perception that some have of people in HCOL making $300k is very inaccurate. It's not nearly as extravagant as you might think.