Comment by gamblor956
3 years ago
To be realistic, even in the Bay, 300k is more than livable if you're targeting a middle class lifestyle with kids and retiring at 65.
If you can't retire at 65 on 300k a year, you're not living a middle class lifestyle. Not even close.
Rent: 4k/month = 48k. Car payments 750/month = $9k. Using your post-tax numbers (which are wrong) that leaves over $100k per year for all the other random stuff you've listed, which is more than most people in the Bay Area make in a year.
(Also, you're math is wrong on the taxes; the rates you use are the statutory progressive rates, not the effective rates (so, for example, the effective rate on $300k would be approx 22% at the federal level assuming standard deduction but no retirement contributions or child credits). FICA is capped at the first $160k of income (meaning you don't pay more if you make more).)
What SF family with children are paying 4K a month on "rent" and what exactly do you envision this rented abode to be that is even remotely liveable with children? Are you living in anything close to reality?
I'm really not understanding this comment.
Go on Zillow and find all the 3-bedroom rentals available under $4k/mo in the Bay Area that are within 45-min commute distance from downtown SF via Bart/Caltrain/Muni. I count at least 1,000.
I live in a modern 1-bedroom apartment within biking distance to work (major FAANG campus) and pay $2,500/mo. My apartment complex offers 3-bedroom units, with private patios, for $3,500/mo. This is a nice community, professionally managed, with pool, gym, BBQ areas and park for kids to roam around.
Isn't that enough to raise children? Most people in major European cities raise perfectly functional and happy families on much less sqft and amenities.
> I live in a modern 1-bedroom apartment within biking distance to work (major FAANG campus) and pay $2,500/mo. My apartment complex offers 3-bedroom units, with private patios, for $3,500/mo.
What complex do you live in?
I'm actually looking to move apartments, want something a bit more modern, and I'm seeing mostly 1-bedrooms for $3500 and 2-bedrooms for $4500 in south bay for anything modern (e.g. anything from Prometheus) and located in a safe area (e.g. not East Palo Alto).
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Is it realistic though?
If I set "max price" to 4k in Cupertino (random SV place) and 3+ bedrooms (2 kids), there's literally 8 results on Zillow.
Rent?
Car payments?
This is a weird form of retirement to me.
Those aren't retirement costs, those are current costs as listed by the OP as reasons he can't save for retirement.
Car payments were calculated based on a 50k new car, so if he's paying more than that he definitely has a luxury car.