moving to bay area - financial planning advice needed

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I don't pay attention to cars, so I don't even know what an Aveo is...but assuming the car was reliable and was in decent shape....I would continue to drive it until it wasn't worth fixing.

This is my philosophy as well.

There are some billionaires who drive old pickup trucks.

You definitely see this in the Bay Area.

Yes, I understand you don't have "luxury fever" but it seems to me you care a little too much about what the "consensus" thinks.

If a person can afford a bit of luxury, why not? I love cologne. Especially high end cologne. Every year I buy one or two bottles of something like Creed ($250/bottle) and that's one of my treats to myself.

The thing about luxury items is that they are often well designed, well made and can last longer or make life easier in some way. Sometimes it pays in the long run to spend more up front. I'm not sure this argument can be made in terms of cars. There's a lot of well-designed "affordable cars." But the argument definitely applies in many areas: like tools, furniture, clothing, etc.

So in this thread, I agree with mysticaltyger in everyting she (he?) has said. But I also kind of feel like, if the original poster can afford the luxury, why not?

[SportyandMisty]

OK ... you are moving from outside the USA. One way to think about this is that moving such a distance is likely to be quite stressful. So to attempt to reduce the stresses over which you have some degree of control, I would suggest purchasing a brand new vehicle. I would suggest going to something like http://cars.overstock.com/63308/stat...id=ZOSCOHP0004 to plan your vehicle purchase. There are others.


Planning assumptions (rounded to be conservative - not exact):

Salary plus bonus of $150,000

California state income tax burden: $17,000
Federal income tax burden: $38,000
Social Security tax burden: $5,000
Medicare tax burden: $2,200

Approximate take-home for the year: about $87,000

Everyone: Did I do this correctly?

At any rate, I think you'll be fine, assuming you decide to pay up to, say, $28K per hear for rent + all related utilities.

[notabene]

Thanks all for the detailed layout of expenses. Amount of $ being saved will differ from person to person, and it's only matter of person discipline. I guess the difficulty I had was the thought of leaving academia where you're often guaranteed a tenure with almost fixed income. There, things are much easier to plan out because you don't get *surprises*. In the industry, all kinds of things could happen, but I guess that dynamic is the fun factor.

I'll keep in mind the tips from (seemingly older) posters. Now it's time to get back to work.

[Daggett76]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

Let's say your take home pay is $7,000/month.
Here's the figures you need to work with:

Apartment: $1700/month
Rental insurance: $30/month
Comcast: $50/month
Electric: $60/month
Water/sewage: $40/month
Car insurance: $60/month
Gasoline: $100/month
Food: $300/month
Clothing/household items/personal grooming: $100/month
Entertainment: $200/month
Medical/dental visits: $50/month
Gym membership: $50/month
Cell phone: $120/month
Household necessities (computer software, electronics, misc): $70/month

Total average spenditure: $2930
Savings: $4070

I'm a single guy living in Mountain View, and I can say that these figures are spot-on. Though I don't have cable, a much cheaper cell phone plan and don't have to pay water/sewage, and use the money I save to travel. But basically it works out to $3,000/month.

FWIW, I drive a used Acura TL, bought with cash. Now I wish I'd bought a new-ish Hyundai Sonata or Kia Optima. I wouldn't worry too much about the car, nobody cares. This ain't Southern California.

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

Food: $300/month

How is the even possible? $10 a day for all your meals is a pretty barren existence.

[notabene]

Originally Posted by gone down south

How is the even possible? $10 a day for all your meals is a pretty barren existence.

Some companies pay for lunches, sometimes dinners.

[ilushka]

Originally Posted by notabene

Hi all,

Of all the websites I've been surfing about, this place seems to be the sweet spot with largest amount of info! I'm very pleased to have found it.

Cut short, I'm fresh out of school, and was offered a position in the bay area with base salary of 130k with approx. 15% annual bonus. I'll be moving from the east coast, so I'll need to consider getting a new car, as well as finding a place to live. I'm a guy, 30yo, single.

I just wanted to get some advice on how to plan financially about the rent and car situation: 1bedroom in a neighborhood close to work would be nice (work is in palo alto/mountain view area), though I don't mind driving <30mins. I know the rents are typically high (1700 for 1bedroom sounds about right?), but I'd prefer to live in a place where a short drive takes me to cafes / bookstores / groceries / etc.

On another note, how much should I plan for the car? I do have the desire to get fancy cars like 328 and all, but at the same time, I'd much prefer to save up that money and buy a condo later (then again, being a single guy and all, certain things are tricky to ignore..).

So, I ask your advice: with the economy and all, how would you plan financially, and where to find housing / what kind of car would be suitable?

328 is an overpriced "social statement" at least go for the 335i. Just know that there are "non-luxury" cars out there that, for same price, will drive circles around the BMW and will cost half in maintenance. The downside is that not everyone will know that you are rolling in it.

Anyways, I'm just kidding, saving money is probably more important.

-- ilya