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Comment by ramesh31 | Hacker News Reader

Debt is the real killer. I will clear 200k TC this year but I live like a broke person. I'm talking ramen noodles and busted ass apartment broke. After housing, debt payments, bills, 401k, taxes, and daily living expenses, I really can't afford anything. Saving for a modest house is a huge goal for me, and I'm in the 90th percentile of incomes. I can't even imagine how the other half is living right now.

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Is this satire? You'd end up with 130-140k post-tax. Are you single? How much are you spending on rent, food and transportation? Genuinely curious. I know it's not an absurd amount of money in cities like San Francisco, it wasn't when I was living in Sydney, but broke?

Why are you contributing to a 401K but have significant debt payments? See Dave Ramesy for a start, then Bogleheads as you climb out of debt and start to save and invest. Best of luck.

>Why are you contributing to a 401K but have significant debt payments? See Dave Ramesy for a start, then Bogleheads as you climb out of debt and start to save and invest.

I have a different philosophy on this. A 401k is basically your life raft of last resort. And it's so tax advantaged that you're throwing away money not to use it. I'd rather pay to hold debt while maintaining and growing my assets, and rely on inflation + asset growth + wage growth chipping away at the debt. If the economy crashes and credit freezes up, a good credit score from paying down my debt won't mean anything. But a bank balance still will.

HSAs and Roth IRAs would like a word with you. Both can be preferred to 401ks in some situations, but the point is take care of debt first.

Is a lot of your comp in equity?

How bad are your debt payments?

Not trying to shame or anything. That just sounds insane that you could be barely making ends meet on 200k

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