Question of living comfortably and salaries

[Synapses]

So I was reading a post on the Diablo 3 forums today... The subject was towards people building 5 thousand dollar computers to run D3.

So here is my question, a poster commented saying that making 75k a year he thinks its unreasonable to spend more then 1000 on a computer every 3-4 years... due to money being tight. Guy says he is single, no debt, 2 dogs, typical car, living in a small home, with typical bills.

I am sorry but... at 75k, even 5k on a computer every 2-3 years is going to break your bank?

I went through an added up a guess on all my bills in the future living VERY well... It came to $32,040 and that was me adding in additional 800 a MONTH in extra expenses. I never spend more then 300 a month in extra stuff after all my bills.

So if I were making 75k a year, and 32k in bills per year give or take a few thousand due to emergency's ext.... I still CANNOT see how it would hurt the bank to spend 2-3 thousand every 2-3 years on a new computer.

Even living with my girlfriend, and her not working I would still come out on top with almost $30,000 extra going in to my savings account... per year..


Now I am only 23.... is this unreasonable to believe? Am I missing something??

I would ask what you guys make and how well off you are per month/year but I don't want to get personal. As a student in full time college (go GI bill money) I currently make around 1100 a month from the Veterans Affairs Department, and in 2 years ill be making 45 thousand a year... I still cant see how I couldn't live reasonably off that, and that's only my ENTRY level pay.

[Hamma]

One thing to consider is where is this guy living. 75k may be allot in one place but in another you could be barely scraping by. He could be living somewhere in Metro California and barely scraping by :lol:

[Skitrel]

Why would anyone build a 5k computer? It's ludicrous overkill and completely unnecessary.

i5 2500k. Extremely overclockable. $180

4GB RAM, you're not going to need more for at least a couple of years, regardless, ram is cheap. $30

Corsair 120GB SSD $120

Radeon 7970, more than you'll need for years and years. $600

Motherboard, case, hdd, cooler, psu, roughly $300-600

You're looking at $1500-1800 for the dogs bollocks of gaming computers. The only possible thing you could need more for is video editing, add an i7 and get some more ram, $2000.

5000 is utterly ridiculous and there's no way anyone needs that kind of power unless they're doing some serious, serious editing and media work related tasks. If they're not using the power then they've just got more money than sense and suffer from the issue of wanting more power in their machine for no reason at all other than to say they've got a powerful machine. Compensating for something syndrome.

[Synapses]

One thing to consider is where is this guy living. 75k may be allot in one place but in another you could be barely scraping by. He could be living somewhere in Metro California and barely scraping by :lol:

I guess that's true Hamma, I wouldn't have thought it would be THAT big of a difference in living cost. I mean I live in Utah, which is more expensive then Texas... were talking like 900 a month for a two bedroom apartment, probably 1000 for a really nice one.

And I agree Skitrel. I put one together the other day on Newegg for fun (LGA 2011) and hit about 3.5k and that was me building TOP OF THE LINE. It is my dream someday to build one thats just overkill for fun if I have the money, but as it is now I cant see spending over 2k.

[Hamma]

Just a quick search for a cost of living calculator (which is by no means scientific)

If you make 75k in Salt Lake a comparable salary in San Francisco, CA is $128,990

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

If you move from Salt Lake City, UT to San Francisco, CA....
Groceries will cost: 23%more
Housing will cost: 201%more
Utilities will cost: 18%more
Transportation will cost: 15%more
Healthcare will cost: 17%more

[Synapses]

Just a quick search for a cost of living calculator (which is by no means scientific)

If you make 75k in Salt Lake a comparable salary in San Francisco, CA is $128,990

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

If you move from Salt Lake City, UT to San Francisco, CA....
Groceries will cost: 23%more
Housing will cost: 201%more
Utilities will cost: 18%more
Transportation will cost: 15%more
Healthcare will cost: 17%more

Whoa, thats eye opening. Then again that is San Francisco (Hamma I hate you right now, thats when my girlfriend is pushing to get me to live with her.... and she dosent want to work... she wants to be stay at home mom type lol) And im a helicopter pilot >.>

[Hamma]

Honestly I'd never move to Cali. There are much better places to live where cost of living is much lower and you can still make reasonable salaries.

[Baneblade]

My wife and I pull in... over 9000 a month together.


We live in a tent.

[CyclesMcHurtz]

I guess that's true Hamma, I wouldn't have thought it would be THAT big of a difference in living cost. I mean I live in Utah, which is more expensive then Texas... were talking like 900 a month for a two bedroom apartment, probably 1000 for a really nice one.

And I agree Skitrel. I put one together the other day on Newegg for fun (LGA 2011) and hit about 3.5k and that was me building TOP OF THE LINE. It is my dream someday to build one thats just overkill for fun if I have the money, but as it is now I cant see spending over 2k.

I can say that an 850 sqft 2bd 1ba apartment in a FAIR (not GREAT, not BAD) San Diego neighborhood rents for around 1700/mo.

[WiteBeam]

I can say that an 850 sqft 2bd 1ba apartment in a FAIR (not GREAT, not BAD) San Diego neighborhood rents for around 1700/mo.

Yup. I just recently lived up the street from you in Laguna Niguel and our two bedroom apt. was about $1650 a month. The same place in Texas would have been $900.

[Eyeklops]

I bet some of you are forgetting about taxes. When most people say "I make $75,000" a year they are talking before taxes are taken out. Subtract 25% right off the bat for fed/state/ss, then start figuring in any local taxes, sales taxes (if applicable. $75,000 may not go as far as you think. And yes, where you live can mean a huge difference in cost.

[Emrys Myrddin]

75k is nothing, once you get in a 3 or 4k square ft house & bills i hope as a couple you make that each at least..

[Sardus]

I can say that an 850 sqft 2bd 1ba apartment in a FAIR (not GREAT, not BAD) San Diego neighborhood rents for around 1700/mo.

The rents are crazy down there, but you have to admit- it's a really nice place to live. Better to buy a townhouse if possible.

[Sardus]

Just going to put it plainly without getting into anything personal: 75k a year, single, and even living in a high cost of living area like Southern California will not break your bank when it comes to buying the reasonable nice things that you want.

As long as you don't throw your money at lots of stupid crap, gamble, rack up debt, or if you are still paying off huge school loans, you can live comfortably.

Getting married and having kids though...........that's a totally different story.

Better to stay single, LOL

[Legion]

I live in Queens, NY and a two bedroom costs about 1700, my 1 bedroom with 750sq. ft. is 1275/mo.

[Synapses]

I can say that an 850 sqft 2bd 1ba apartment in a FAIR (not GREAT, not BAD) San Diego neighborhood rents for around 1700/mo.

Whoa.. this makes me sad. I wanted to move to Cali but probably not anymore lol.

[Rbstr]

75k is way above median, it's plenty to get by on without any sort of real hardship as a single person in any part of the country. If a single dude can't deal with a 1k expense that happens less than yearly it simply isn't anything resembling a priority.

I can deal with it on 27k (Admittedly at only $500/mo in rent). Of course, others would prioritize differently. Instead of the 1k I spend on a computer ever so often they might spend it on new golf clubs or plane tickets or whatever hobby.
Though, at 75k and still single, I think I could fit both golf and computers...and a nicer car.

But, in general...I agree with the idea that spending much more than 1k on a computer is dumb. Diminishing returns past there, really.

[Synapses]

The cost of living is going up and this is really starting to scare me... gives me this feeling of impending failure of my future and dreams... It almost makes me wonder if its going to be worth living at all in 20-30 years... everything will be so expensive and I get this feeling of depression when thinking about it.

[Rbstr]

Salary goes up with inflation too (well...one hopes, make sure you're going to have training to do something that's useful in the future!).

Hardly anything is more expensive now, adjusted for inflation, than it's ever been.

[Firefly]

I guess that's true Hamma, I wouldn't have thought it would be THAT big of a difference in living cost. I mean I live in Utah, which is more expensive then Texas... were talking like 900 a month for a two bedroom apartment, probably 1000 for a really nice one.

And I agree Skitrel. I put one together the other day on Newegg for fun (LGA 2011) and hit about 3.5k and that was me building TOP OF THE LINE. It is my dream someday to build one thats just overkill for fun if I have the money, but as it is now I cant see spending over 2k.
Where I live, if you want to be single and living comfortably on your own, without any roommates or debt or whatnot, you need to be making well above 85k. In fact I'd suggest a six-figure income unless you want to live in the projects (hint: nobody wants to live in the projects, especially not people making six-figure incomes). Conversely, if I were to move down to South Carolina where the average comfortable single-person middle-class income hovers around 40-50k, a six-figure income would be obscene and, moreover, highly unlikely.

One thing that people seem to forget is that "rich people" don't get rich by blowing a bunch of frivolous money. Just because a guy makes 500K a year doesn't mean he spends 500K a year. Yeah he could probably easily afford a 5k computer rig, but that is irrelevant - it's his mindset, and that's probably why he's well-off.

[CutterJohn]

I can say that an 850 sqft 2bd 1ba apartment in a FAIR (not GREAT, not BAD) San Diego neighborhood rents for around 1700/mo.

I can buy a nice little 2-3 bedroom house here in a decent neighborhood for 50k or less. With a garage.

How do people live in those cities? >_<



As for the PC, 5k is complete overkill, but if its your primary hobby, not egregious. Especially if you want something that can run 3 monitors at 5760x1080.

People easily spend that much on other toys. Boats, jetskis, motorcycles, etc. My brother spends 3-5k a year going on hunting trips.

[Crazyduckling]

I can buy a nice little 2-3 bedroom house here in a decent neighborhood for 50k or less. With a garage.


Where do you live? I need to move there when I graduate.

[CutterJohn]

Where do you live? I need to move there when I graduate.

Des Moines, Iowa.

Nice place. Boring, but nice. :)

[Fenrys]

Some of those numbers boggle my mind. When I was just out of school and renting in Pensacola Florida, I paid $200/month for the master bedroom in a 3 bed 1 bath house. It wasn't in a nice area at all.

[Crazyduckling]

Des Moines, Iowa.

While you're there, tell the state congress to increase funding at UNI. Thanks. (As a student, Price Lab can close. We still need more funding though.)

Well, I guess I won't move to where you're at. I think I'll move out of Iowa. :D

[BUGGER]

Some of those numbers boggle my mind. When I was just out of school and renting in Pensacola Florida, I paid $200/month for the master bedroom in a 3 bed 1 bath house. It wasn't in a nice area at all.

Hurricanes?

In Maine my mother has a 3br, 3bth house; full furnished kitchen and laundry room, with a downstairs apartment with bath and kitchen. Garage, drywalled with heating. And 15 acres. For 1,500.

Here in California I have friends paying anywhere between 2,500 and 1,500 for a 2br 1bth apartment.

[BNuts]

I looked at my W2 income statement this year and almost cried.

Even with the expenses one would allot for a mortgage (I have free housing), medicare / health insurance (I have free health care), and basic utilities (those come with the free housing...) I am a poor sumibich.

Time to move to private sector job.

I need a better computer for sure, not just regarding the impending release sometime in the next few gigalimilion years of PS2 (beta).

My old XPS ain't cut out for squat now.

I've allotted myself a little under 2k to build a new machine, and already got me a sweet new monitor, but 5k!!!!! whoa. That's more than my wife's car is worth.:eek: