Let's say I have a child with special needs, be it giftedness or disability. If I want to provide my child with decent care and quality of life in the SF Bay Area, a household income of $160k is going to make things very difficult. Not impossible, but certainly very hard, and likely harder than anywhere else in the country.
In this case my "spending habits," as you put them, might include expenses like routine hospital or clinical bills, specialist care, or some sort of domestic help. Double all of that if my child is physically as well as mentally disabled, or if my child exhibits some sort of prodigy that I want to nurture properly.
You have to remember that the price of goods and services in this local economy is largely driven by those earning some significant multiple of our hypothetical $160,000.
* Stop working and live on your 160k per month for life
* Deal with kids special needs
* Live in SF
Pick two
Does this really need stated? Do we need a disclaimer at the bottom of EVERY financial story ( * you may need 10-15% more if your kid has special needs)
Sorry if you were somehow offended by my considering the needs of those we rarely consider. You're more than welcome to read through my posting history and see that this is possibly the first time I have ever mentioned the subject on HN. It may well be the last time. And in case it wasn't abundantly obvious through subtext, I'm mentioning it out of personal experience.
I read, and contribute to, quite a few financially oriented threads on HN. I don't see this subject brought up all that often, and certainly not as ubiquitously as you suggest.
I understand what you're trying to say within the narrow context of this thread ('hypothetical: earn $160k and never work again'). It's the whole "Must we hear this every time??? UGH!" aspect of your tone that really bugs me. But this subthread is veering far enough off topic as is, so I'll just leave it at that.
A more realistic one
Housing + utilities 50K
Medical insurance + deductible exp. 16K
Food 20K (will not be good food)
Cell service/internet 2k
So no car no vacation
and around 1K/ month for stuff and all other expenses
$20k annually on food and it won't be good? I'm not sure what groceries you buy and where you eat out, but my family is pretty happy with our food. $400 per week is quite reasonable. Heck, you can shop at Whole Foods with that budget. Sometimes, anyway. The Asian market has much better prices, but they don't sell milk.
But yeah, forgot medical.
If you're doing half your discretionary on housing, that's going to be tough. I suggest moving.
