Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by purplelobster | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

purplelobster

Number are rough because of different currencies, but:

Expenses: $1500

Children: none yet, but subsidized child care, paternity leave and other subsidies makes it pretty cheap

Food: $500

Housing: $400 (own apartment with my SO)

Student loans: $150

Car payment: no car, bike most places

Income tax rate: 32%, but employer pays another 30%, so effectively 62%

Sales tax: 25%

Insurace: $15

Phone: $15 (cheapest possible plan)

Internet: included in housing

Note: I also lived in the US before, with simliar savings rate, which was even easier.

View on HN

@gregd Well of course, that's the entire point! I didn't just happen to have low expenses, I've been actively lowering them as much as I can! And you have to make some sacrifices to reach a 60% savings rate, but you also realize how much of this middle-class lifestyle doesn't actually make you happier. Why do you spend $1500 on food every month for one person for example?! That's insane. My expense is too high for my taste even though I bring lunch to work and rarely eat out, but that's because groceries in this country are more as expensive than in the US. Eating out costs twice as much as the US. Also why is your housing 3 times mine? If you live with an SO for example you should be able to find something cheaper than $3000. Again, in SF that might be a sacrifice but you have to do something to get ahead.

I recommend reading this: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-...

I have a wife who is in college full-time, 3 children that live with me (2 that do not)...that eats up (pun intended) my food budget. My rent on a 3 bedroom apartment is $1400/month and I had to sign a 14 month lease to get that (after already living here for over a year). They wanted to raise our rent $300/month if I didn't sign the 14 month lease.

I pay for health insurance out of my own pocket, which is over 8000/year.

Look, that sounds like a tough situation financially, but this is not the norm among people on this forum (whom I'm addressing). Also, good news! If your wife manages to find a nice job after graduation, and if you keep your lifestyle the same, you can now put an entire salary into your savings account (or pay off loans, which is the same thing) every month. That's basically what me and my wife are doing.

My food budget is 3 times your food budget.

My housing is 3 times your housing budget.

My student loans are $200/month.

My car payment is 300/month.

Income tax rate 9%.

Sales tax: 0

Medical insurance: $8000/year

Auto (and other) insurance: 1200/year

Umm, I don't mean to sound crass, but if you have 5 kids, 3 who live with you and 2 who do not, and a spouse who isn't currently working, I am not surprised that you find it difficult to save money. At the same time, it's not hard to understand that people who chose to have fewer children would find it easier to save money and get by without needing a trust fund.

It doesn't sound crass at all. One of the children is a foster child who we get no extra money for. She needs a safe place to live and food in her stomach and we're in a position where we can do that. I don't begrudge my situation at all.

What I do have an issue with is "if you can't save x amount per month, you're living beyond your means". It's not that black and white. My trust fund question was legitimate. I also think that if you have a support system behind you (i.e. parents you could ultimately live with if you couldn't find work), it makes taking a year off with very little income, much more likely....as does, having a trust fund backing you up.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com