What is your annual cost of living?
How much are single, WSO reading adults spending each year? For responders, it would be to helpful to specify your region/city and include an estimate of your all-in total costs for everything (housing, utilities, car, insurance, clothes, food, bar tab, vacations, etc.). I'll go first:
Region/City: Los Angeles Annual COL: $60,000 Age: 25-30 Kids: no
Apartment: 3.5k
Car, insurance gas: 1.5k
Food/expense/other: 3k
I'm in another HCOL city in the United States thats not NYC. A nice studio in NYC would cost 5k a month, so the COL of pretty similar since you don't need a car in NYC.
Late 20s.
I would rather be cheap, but have to spend this much at minimum for a decent dating/social life. Need to maintain a "successful" but not gauche image.
You’re paying less than $300 a month? What are you living in a shoe box?
Monthly numbers, not annual.
I'm a month to month guy....
Why do you feel you need to maintain a successful but not gauche image?
LOL we don't bust our asses in finance for girls to think we're poor.
Interesting thread
-HCOL Northeast
-Single 30YO
-COL:
housing 48k
car/parking 15k
eating/goingout/entertainment 36k
vacation 15k
110-120k total COL / year
Man, and I thought I was spending excessively. Feels weird to spend 6 figures on COL as a single person.
Inflation is terrible though. Costs would be probably be around 60% of what they are now for the same apartment, car, food, etc. when I graduated in the mid 2010s.
What you’re not seeing is his comp. He’s probably still saving $100k after taxes
What kind of car?
macan s
Housing: $25k
Credit card: $24k
Student loans: $7k
Early 20s in a Chicago/Boston
Los Angeles, 27-28 years old
Housing $2.9k / month
Car: $400 for loan and insurance
Everything else: probably average $3.5k per month
Add it all up, 81,600 per year. Total comp was $250k last year but hopefully higher this year. Should still save $70k after taxes based on the above, but trying to spend more on living life and may go as low as $60k in savings
24 year old in SF
Rent + utilities: 2,400
Car/parking: 450
Going out/dinners/fun: 1,500
Groceries: 250
All in ~55k without trips etc
NYC, 37
Housing: 5k/month
Transportation: 2k/month
Food/misc: 4.5k/month
Travel: 20k/year
I spend between 150k-160k a year. Basically, I spend my base and save/invest my bonus.
I automatically assume that food budget is all chopped cheese
What’s the breakdown on your $2k a month transportation? Do you own a car or is that all Ubers?
200/month on bus/subway for commuting
300/month in Uber/taxis
2 cars:
600/month garage
350/month insurance
400-500/month gas/car washes/maintenance
MCOL, 30. This include my SO
housing $55k
cars: $14k
Food and going out: $25k
student loans: $8k
travel: $10k
so $112k all in
LCOL Midwest City, mid 20s.
Housing - 12.2k
Food - 7.2k
Entertainment - 3k
Health/Fitness - 2.7k
Travel - 2.4k
Car - 1.8k
30k all in
LA, 25 years old
Special situation where I dont have any housing costs and own a car outright. Total annual expenses around $20-25k. Total comp around $250k this year. So should be saving like 120k depending on taxes
Love the juxtaposition of this comment and the first comment in the thread. First guy spending a lot so he looks rich to women. And then there’s you, spending almost nothing and saving a ton.
No real comment on which one is “right”, just think it’s funny
Do you live at home or are you a fan of van life?
I think special situation means he lives at home or parents bought him a place, or maybe corporate apt. Just guessing
24 yo in Dallas
1400 rent, utilities, etc
250 insurance plus gas
1500 credit card bill
Breaking the rules here, but married, one kid, Midwest. We spend ~$125k per year.
18 y/o, first year college student in a 3rd world country
Spend about 2k usd a year in a T1 city( in my country), I make 100$ a month working a 11-7 job that grinds me like crazy.
Thanks man, I love reading your comments and posts btw.
31 y/o in NYC
Housing: $42k
Food/going out/dates: $20-$25k
Everything else: not material, will spend on other things once in a while
Gross comp: about $400k
Love how your “Partying & Whores” budget tops your food budget.
One burns calories and one increases them, I say it's the right decision
Why do you want to get an MBA?
Reason why you don't like ATL, I thought it was a great city
21 year old college student
1k-1.5k/month credit card expenses between golf, gym, bar tabs and foodlucky enough to have my parents pay for my groceries, rent and food.
have like 14k saved so should last me until when I start my ft position. also planning on going to europe for 1 month after school and in between ft job starting, no clue how much that will cost. 4-5k?
Region: NYC
Monthly COL: About $3500-4500 depending on how lavish we living (this includes rent)
Age: 25-30
Kids: No
Marital: Single and live with roommate.
Region: Texas
Monthly COL: About $10k (married)
Age: 25-30
Kids: No
Single 27
Intermountain West
Housing: 16k
Car/Car Insurance/gas/maintenance: 2k (car is paid off)
Everything else: 17k
COL: 35k
EDIT:
80k base + deferred incentive in projects
.
Thats annual cost. (800 gas/800 insurance/~400 yearly maintenance). I thought this was cheap?!
City: Houston
Income: 110,000
COL: 50,000 (estimated)
Notes:
Single, don’t nickel and dime but also not blowing money on stupid things. No student loans, have a car monthly payment and pay above average in rent.
Obviously the COL is based on my projections but have been tracking it really closely over the past 3 months so will be surprised if I am off by more than +- 5,000.
An intriguing thread.
Region: Southwest USA
Age: Early 30's, no kids, single.
Income: Around $200k.
Annual COL: I've averaged about $50k over the past few years. This year is going to be closer to $60-65k. I splurge on hobbies and save on things I don't care about (cars, big house, etc.)
Housing: $28k
Groceries: $7k
32
Base - $200k
Rent + Utilities - $40k
Food (groceries + takeout) $10k
So looks like my wake up and breath budget about $50K baseline.
The rest I max out IRAs, invest and fuck around & find out on whatever. My avg cc bill on FAFO bs around 5k/mo which includes cabs, going out, travel etc.
Age 27, HCOL city
26k Rent + Utilities
30k everything else
So total 56k
TC is 140k give or take a few depending on bonus
Often feel i am not saving enough, but honestly feels like i'm spending the bare minimum to live alone in a SF
I do max out my 401k
I do go to restaurants pretty frequently and go out on weekends. Otherwise not much of an extraneous spender. My apartment is a shitbox but don't see myself moving until I can afford a baller pad. Everything in between seems like marginal increase in value for a lot more money.
Associate at developer doing AM and acquisitions
Single 27 YO
Apartment/utilities: 9600 (Chicago)
Car: 0
Uber/public trans: 
3k
Food: 3k
Vacations: 5k
Ad hoc: 1-2k
401k: 28ish a year (includes match)
Invest like 2700 a month at least in markets.
Yeah I should spend more
TC: 150 ish
24 y/o (An2)
HCOL in Northeast
Rent/utilities: 2900
CC bill (using as a catch-all for clothing/subscriptions/going out/travel/misc.): try to keep under 2k but ends up being 2500-2750
~67k/year
Edit: TC ~200k
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