How much mney does it tke to live "comfortable?"

[meltdown75]

question vagueness rating: 9.61/10

 

[mrCide]

bout 5-10k more than i'm making now.

 

[sdifox]

subject to personal taste + location. I submit the following formula. At least 1 third of what your house costs.

 

[Xavier434]

For me, it is not about money nearly as much as it is about time and the people I associate with. When I was in college, I didn't have any money ever like most students. Yet, I was more relaxed, comfortable, and genuinely had more fun regularly than ever before. I believe this was true mostly because of the people I lived around and the amount of free time I had.

Now that I am in the "real world", I make plenty of money to make me happy and comfortable but I am not as happy as I was in college because my friends and I just don't have the kind of time we used to have. Regardless, I am not unhappy either and life has been very good to me. I wouldn't change it for anything.

It wasn't always like that though. When I first got out of college, I had some jobs where I was over worked like hell (happens a lot these days being in the software development industry). I really was disliking life for the most part. I eventually found myself a nice and cozy government job which is almost stress free, I make plenty of money, benefits are tremendous, and I have tons of free time. I am so much happier now.

So, I basically concluded that being comfortable was all about being rich in time and the freedom to use it than it was about money. Of course, money doesn't hurt either hehe.

 

[bonkers325]

enough so that you still have 15-25% of your monthly paycheck after all living expenses

 

[xanis]

Enough that I can have a decent car, new or used, a clean, strudy house, lots of food, and enough to go spend on fun stuff.

 

[aceO07]

Similar to what Xanis listed, house + car + food + secure future for family + entertainment.

Considering my location, I'd need to make a bit to be comfortable. The major hurdle is the house.

 

[Kaido]

These people seem to be making it in 100 sq. feet rooms:

http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/100x100/index.html

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Kaido
These people seem to be making it in 100 sq. feet rooms:

http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/100x100/index.html

I'd live just as comfortably in 100 sq if I was single.

 

[ViviTheMage]

it REALLLY depends.

 

[Quasmo]

80k to live comfortably with children and a wife.

 

[Svnla]

It depends on LOCATION <more expensive in the Coasts and big cities> and your STANDARDS/SITUATIONS (some want a new car every 2 years and others want to drive a vehicle until the wheels fall off..and whether you have wife/kids>.

It is very much down to Wants vs. Needs.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Bout 100 bucks. Enough for a beanbag chair and a bag of cheetos. Doesn't get much more comfortable than that.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: BHeemsoth

Originally posted by: ebaycj

Originally posted by: TecHNooB
At least 70k. That's what I want for my starting salary

good luck with that.

It's doable.

I graduate with my BS in CIS this year, and have signed an offer that will put me close to that mark this year.

$62,500 (base salary) + $2,500 (signing bonus) + 3-4% (annual performance bonus).

hehehe, by way of comparison I would have to work 15 years to get raised up to that, in a job that requires a minimum of two degrees with one of them being a Masters.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: sdifox
subject to personal taste + location. I submit the following formula. At least 1 third of what your house costs.

That doesn't work though, because some of us own our homes outright. You can live on next to nothing if you just buy the home you NEED, never use any from of credit after that, and live within your means.

 

[MikeyLSU]

$95,000 does it for me(wife and I combined).

Just got a new job last year that bumped me up $15K and that made everything a bunch easier. I no longer have to worry about the small things, and we just buy what we want pretty much.

 

[gsethi]

All those saying ~25-35k per year...where do you all live ? Over here, I am paying ~25k in RENT alone per year I would say it has to be probably in the ~250k+ range for me (hopefully that will be by sometime next year)

Cant wait till I pay off one of my final business loans (another year or so left and an extra ~40k/year would be nice)

and yes, i am serious.

 

[imported_yovonbishop]

Enough to feed and clothe me so I can save up and so I'm not living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[zoiks]

$150k would be comfortable for me.

 

[drum]

Originally posted by: gsethi
All those saying ~25-35k per year...where do you all live ? Over here, I am paying ~25k in RENT alone per year I would say it has to be probably in the ~250k+ range for me (hopefully that will be by sometime next year)

Cant wait till I pay off one of my final business loans (another year or so left and an extra ~40k/year would be nice)

and yes, i am serious.

:shocked:

 

[aceO07]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands

Originally posted by: sdifox
subject to personal taste + location. I submit the following formula. At least 1 third of what your house costs.

That doesn't work though, because some of us own our homes outright. You can live on next to nothing if you just buy the home you NEED, never use any from of credit after that, and live within your means.

1/3 of house cost is a big big amount here. That's probably at least $200k here. I'd love to make that much.

It's a hike to even save up for a down payment.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed
My Mom & Dad have never made much money every; some people on this board might even classify them as living in poverty (even though we never thought that). In spite of that, we always lived comfortably.

im living comfortably now at about 70ish (single with 3 kidlings and no support) but we were also living comfortably 11 yrs ago when they were all in diapers and i made half that. its all about perspective. my mom raised my bro and i alone with no support for the most part, and we managed to be happy. had things we needed and had some fun on weekends as well. i could also feel like i was living comfortably if i made twice what i make now.

 

[qaa541]

I would say $100K in Silicon Valley to live comfortably and buy all the stuff I wanted/needed for me and the g/f.

Rent is $1500/month
Food is $300/month for me and my g/f
Netflix for entertainment $40/month
Weekend fun $200/month
Gas is $200/month
Utilities $200/month (for winter, hopefully this will drop now that the heater hardly runs)

I would be set on my current salary if I didnt kick back $1k to my parents in SoCal every month. But my folks are at retiring age and I want to help out with the mortgage since it will be my house in the end anyways.

I could save some $$$ if I moved to a place where rent wasn't like some people's mortgages, but then again that is the price of staying in California (and especially the bay area).

Edit:
Forgot Student Loans:
Undergrad $120/month
Grad School $75/month (havent finished and am waiting to transfer to a new school)

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy
Bout 100 bucks. Enough for a beanbag chair and a bag of cheetos. Doesn't get much more comfortable than that.

wow, thats either a really expensive bean bag or a huge bag of cheetos.

 

[Fritzo]

Depends on your part of the country. Also, due to human nature, you never have enough money.

However, I'm in the midwest with a combined income of around $100K, and I live very comfortably (but I have to work a lot to live comfortably for the time that I'm home).