Hard to live on 100K per year ?

[ShokWaveRider]

We can live off $40k in Florida, and would live like kings on $100k.

[W2R]

I spend less than half of their $100K spending goal. I purchase whatever I want, and pay for whatever experiences I want. Spending this much, honestly I feel like Queen for a Day (remember that old series? ).

Granted, I live alone but I seriously doubt I could spend more than $50K/year even if I had the income of Bill Gates. I am not that frugal and have thrown LBYM completely out the window in recent years. I know I can't take it with me, but still, there is only so much one person can spend.

I'd say they are full of baloney, especially if "Two can live as cheaply as one" which may or may not be true.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I spend less than half of their $100K spending goal. I purchase whatever I want, and pay for whatever experiences I want. Spending this much, honestly I feel like Queen for a Day (remember that old series? ). Granted, I live alone but I seriously doubt I could spend more than $50K/year even if I had the income of Bill Gates. I am not that frugal and have thrown LBYM completely out the window in recent years. I know I can't take it with me, but still, there is only so much one person can spend. I'd say they are full of baloney, especially if "Two can live as cheaply as one" which may or may not be true.

You may not see yourself as frugal, W2R, but you don’t have expensive hobbies, you don’t drink, you don’t travel, and you are not supporting dependents. So comparing yourself to the people in the article is apples and oranges.

[athena53]

I was a single mother in 2002 living on about that much. I was able to max out my 401(k) but that was about it. My mortgage was $250K, property taxes about $7K/year. Kept the same car for 12 years, so no car payments. House needed occasional repairs; one involved digging up some of the patio around the pool to replace leaky pipes. Putting french drains in basement after a couple of inches of water came into the basement after heavy rains: $8K. No remodeling/updating- just necessary repairs. DS had fallen through the cracks in the public school system and NY Military Academy cost $12/year for 4 years of HS. (Worth every penny.) I mowed my own lawn, cleaned my own house. No child care since DS was 12 when I divorced.

That was with one kid, no child care costs and heavily-subsidized employer health insurance. I had an employer-supplied cell phone. DS did not have one. Mortgage and property taxes in HCOL areas (this was Bergen County, NJ) can eat you alive but if you stay in the area for the job opportunities, you pay through the nose for housing in a good school district. And this was 15 years ago.

So, yeah, I can see it being very hard to make it on $100K/year for a two-income family in a HCOL area, especially if they don't have good employer-provided health insurance (high employee contribution, high deductible or both).

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I See how people's definitions of "fun" are different? If you want "fun", and too many people have the same idea, it's gonna cost you.

Well, if one's definition of 'fun' includes activities that take place on a ocean beach, in tall piney mountain, and the desert, all while living in a relatively temperate climate, you can't go far wrong with many parts of California.

[RobbieB]

Yeah Baby!

My whole goal in life is to have as much fun as possible and as you say CA is quite conducive to accommodating that lifestyle.

[Bamaman]

I was needling my sister for her ridiculous cost of living including two $ million+ homes, a personal Learjet 45, a fleet of Lexus automobiles and paying $80k a year for grandchildren private school tuition. Her granddaughter flies in the jet with her friends to rock concerts.

Her answer was, "Some people's sense of reality is just different from others."

And I see too much golf being played, too much alcohol consumed and a number of their best friends are dying at 70 years old. Careless consumption is just not healthy.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Well, if one's definition of 'fun' includes activities that take place on a ocean beach, in tall piney mountain, and the desert, all while living in a relatively temperate climate, you can't go far wrong with many parts of California.

I do not deny that California has a lot to offer. Over the years, I have made countless trips there.

But a retiree does not have to live in town to enjoy all that outdoor. A worker has to live in town to be close to his workplace. Actually, many of my relatives and friends that I visit have not been to some places that I have been. They are too busy working, and are too pooped out to go out of town.

The "fun" I was talking about was the allure of living in the city core. For example, my nephew in NYC that I talked about went to concerts all the time. He does not go outside the city much.

Even if I had enough money to live in Manhattan, I would not enjoy enough of what the city has to offer, in order to offset what I consider drawbacks. My definition of "fun" is different. My "fun" activities also cost less.

[Sittinginthesun]

Spending this year? A little crazy for us and highest ever.

Total $630,284.99 gross minus income taxes/investing of $456,458.28 leaves $173,826.71 net spending. Some numbers estimated up to Dec 31st.

Includes $13k new furnace/AC, $40k vacation budget (much higher than normal and includes prepaying for a 2018 family trip), $11k in new furniture (way higher than normal), >$15k groceries and alcohol, $22k paying off a vehicle (eliminated 0% loan that bugged me), >$15k in kids activities (camps, horseback riding, rep sports), >$10k in insurance, $15k in property tax, utilities and cable/internet, new washer/dryer etc. etc.

Next year should see similar gross but more in taxes and investing - will estimate $120k net spending.

And we still live beneath our means. No seriously lol. Its all relative. Once kids are gone and I am retired would be very happy with $80-90k after tax spending per year. A few more years of >$200k/year into portfolio and we will be there. Wife already retired.

[Bigdawg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound The "fun" I was talking about was the allure of living in the city core. For example, my nephew in NYC that I talked about went to concerts all the time. He does not go outside the city much.

Just checked the local activies calendar for 2017. Over 150 concerts within 80 miles of my house. Goo Goo Dolls, Andy Grammar, Bill Engvall, Boston, Trace Adkins, Rascal Flats, etc... I have lived in metro areas. Irvine CA, Mpls, San Diego, and many others. Oh boy. It's all about choices. There are numerous LCOL areas w/in easy driving distance of large metro areas so a person can enjoy what the city has to offer w/out the high costs. I lived near west point in the late 90's. Sort of low cost area and could get into and out of the city easily. 60 miles from downtown NYC. 3B/2B paid 115K in 1997 and sold in 2000 for 130K. Zillow has that house at 220K today.

[NW-Bound]

Sounds good to me. But I wouldn't know because I have not been to a concert in a long time, preferring to listen to music by myself in the boonies home where I can turn on the music as loud as I want.

My nephew must like living in NYC for other reasons too. Not all big city residents have the same reasons, but I think they all share the like of the hustle and bustle of the city. We visit Manhattan, Chicago, SF, Paris, London, etc... as a tourist and enjoy the visit, but we never see ourselves living there. This is OK, as we cannot afford to live in those places with the amenities that we prefer.

[savory]

Typically I am sensitive to these reports. I read Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (2011-08-02) and sympathized with the premise of the book. But these articles that say people can't get buy without providing spending habits are fairly useless. I feel bad that I conclude the people being interviewed are clueless about budgeting and in fact with good choices they would have enough.

I guess I wish I really knew what was happening rather than needing to guess and come up with my unproven point of view.

[bclover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigdawg Too bad they only hire pharmacists in HCOL areas like NYC. Wouldn't it be nice if a pharmacist could get a job in a LCOL area maybe an hour or two from NYC? Imagine if we had freedom of choice like that.

LOL except an hour or two from NYC is going to still be HCOL, what you think they haven't figured out they can charge what they want for the NYC refuggees.

I lived in NJ, (I left when my property taxes hit 12,000 a year) and now Philly, don't know about further north but they just built a new apartment building. Had an awesome grand opening. rent for a 3 bedroom apt. $8,000 a month.
A friend of mine just moved from NYC to Philly, a new condo building absolutely beautiful where every condo supposedly offers you a view of Independence Park (liberty bell and all that) his 1 bedroom 1 bath was a cool mil.

Philadelphians are complaining that the NY'ers are raising the cost of every thing here.

[BeachOrCity]

THis is all different strokes for different folks. It’s all priorities lifestyle, location, socializing etc. Doesn’t make anyone right and anyone wrong

Some people would rather live in the big city with the fancy kitchen and restaurant bill than save up to retire. Their choice !

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bclover LOL except an hour or two from NYC is going to still be HCOL, what you think they haven't figured out they can charge what they want for the NYC refugees.

Yep. Plenty of the residents in the area I just described had 2-hour commutes into NYC. There were areas in that radius that cost less if you didn't mind subpar schools, high crime rates or suspicious disease clusters in formerly industrial areas.

[ejman]

Fascinating to me to read about the lifestyles of folks earning six figures ++ and struggling with living costs at their chosen locations. I guess there must be multiple reasons not to live in "fly over country" but I must say I'm happy that the average national family income results in a very comfortable standard of living here in SW Oregon. Last time I looked my NW places me in the top 5% of families in the US. It's amazing to me that that NW apparently would result in my living in a dumpster in NYC or SF. I guess I won't be moving there any time soon.

[Scuba]

As SittingInTheSun said, it's all relative. A person who lives a modest lifestyle in a LCOL are would struggle to spend $100K. On the other hand, someone used to earning and spending at a higher level could easily struggle with $100K income, especially in a HCOL area and supporting kids.

DH & I spend far more than $100K annually and have for many years. We don't live above our means or have lots of debt, nor are we financially irresponsible. Far from it - we retired at 56 & 57 after many years of maxing out all tax deferred savings options available to us as well as accumulating a sizable taxable portfolio to help fund our lifestyle.

We love living in So CA and enjoy living on the beach. Sure, we could cut our property taxes quite a bit by moving into a small house in a middle class neighborhood several miles inland, but why would we want to? Or we could move to a lower tax state and live with less sun and more bugs and humidity, but we don't want to. We worked hard to be able to afford ER and live on the beach in So CA. And we have several expensive hobbies we enjoy (travel, great seats at live events, fine dining, good wine) plus charities we like to support. Even so, we drive 11 year old cars, don't own a boat or a plane, and only own one home which is actually a 1,600 sq ft condo, not a huge SFR.

My point is that not everyone who would have trouble living on $100K per year is a spendthrift with poor financial discipline. Of course it's possible for people to spend far less, but may not be desirable depending on one's priorities.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ejman ... Last time I looked my NW places me in the top 5% of families in the US. It's amazing to me that that NW apparently would result in my living in a dumpster in NYC or SF. I guess I won't be moving there any time soon.

Would you be amenable to live in a dumpster if it has AC?

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Would you be amenable to live in a dumpster if it has AC?

Does it have granite?

[NW-Bound]

There's no photo of the interior.

But surely, it is doable. With an income of $100K, one should still have enough left to buy 1 or 2 sq.ft. of granite for the small countertop.