The Cupertino $90,000 Challenge (San Jose, Santa Clara: student loans, house, neighborhoods)

[zombocom]

Originally Posted by Radical347

But if they knew they were going to have to pay for it from their own reserves, they'd be apt to take better care of themselves and not get sick or injured as much in the first place. (Not to mention, no insurance company administration costs.)

So what exactly do you propose? Hospitals may refuse to treat if a person can't show they have sufficient savings?

Also, I have insurance, but that doesn't mean I go around slurping snot out of people's noses or wandering blindly into traffic...

[neutrino78x]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Okay, my latest pet peeve is hearing constantly on these forums about how people need to make a million dollars to be able to afford to live here.

Recently someone posted that they will be moving to Cupertino with a salary of $90,000 for a family of 3. Only the one salary, so mom can stay home. People responded that that isn't enough money. I don't understand that. I'm hoping you all can explain to me what people are spending so much money on.

Totally agree!

Here's what I see:

If they were to rent a 2 bedroom apartment at 30% of their gross income, that's $2500/month. I see lots of 2 bedroom apts in Cupertino in that price range:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

Don't forget to click "low price" to sort by price with lowest first.

You can get a 2 bedroom for $1700 in Cupertino.

Let's say they're in the 28% tax bracket = $64,800 net after federal withholding. CA tax 9.3% = $8370 (not sure if I'm calculating this correctly, but will go with it, as worst case scenario) $64,800 - $8370 = $56,430 net.

$56,430 divided by 12 = $4702.50 take home pay each month. Less $2500 rent = $2202.50.

I get slightly higher

Marginal Tax Rate Calculator

https://webapp.ftb.ca.gov/taxcalc/Calculator.aspx

Those two combined gave me $68,098 net or 5674 per month. Which means you shouldn't spend more than $1702 (30%) on rent per month, in theory. Craigslist only lists one in Cupertino for that price. But if you remove the Cupertino restriction there are 189 listings for that budget. Including 12 in downtown San Jose, which I think is the best place to live and also the best place to grow up. I grew up in Morgan Hill, which is a suburb of San Jose like Cupertino (comparable size) and it was frustrating in that one had to go either far from where the bus went, or go to San Jose, for most things, and as a kid, that meant you didn't do them.

But yeah I agree with your post.

--Brian

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by zombocom

So what exactly do you propose? Hospitals may refuse to treat if a person can't show they have sufficient savings?

If it's a life or death event, then treat the person and bill them. Work out a reasonable payment plan.

Also, I have insurance, but that doesn't mean I go around slurping snot out of people's noses or wandering blindly into traffic...

Nor do most people. But there are more subtle ways to stretch it (i.e. having one too many drinks, agreeing to work a 7-day work week, driving too fast above the speed limit.) I'm not pinpointing you as doing any of these things, but I am saying these are examples of things that people very well might be careful about doing less of if they didn't think their every sickness/injury would be covered.

[gone down south]

So you're rejecting the entire concept of insurance?

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by gone down south

So you're rejecting the entire concept of insurance?

Not the entire concept, but I am saying in the current state of medical/big pharma/insurance, we've gotten to a point where health insurance does more harm than good.

In general, insurance is like gambling but rather than losses vs. wins it's paranoia vs. peace of mind. But when the average premium alone is upwards of $1000/month (or even $300 which I think is too much), it's just not worth it.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by zombocom

So what exactly do you propose? Hospitals may refuse to treat if a person can't show they have sufficient savings?

No. They usually require you to pay in advance for care if you don't have insurance, unless we're talking about critical care.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I think we've gotten way off the beaten track of the original post. Are you saying that people who make $90,000 in Cupertino don't have family health insurance? Or can't afford it? That's just nuts.

[neutrino78x]

Well like I said you can save nearly 1000 by taking the cheapest 2 bedroom in Silicon Valley available on craigslist. There might be even cheaper ones if you use other sources to search for apartments, too.

I don't know, I live on about $1312 a month after taxes, that's the minimum wage in San Jose. I pay about $400 a month in rent to live in downtown San Jose. That's for a room in someone's apartment.

[neutrino78x]

Originally Posted by Malloric

No. They usually require you to pay in advance for care if you don't have insurance, unless we're talking about critical care.

The ER will do whatever it takes to stabilize your condition, how to pay for it is handled later. This is not a government policy, it is the required ethics of the medical profession, the Hippocratic Oath.

[neutrino78x]

They have a 2 bedroom apartment in downtown San Jose near SJSU (a good neighborhood) for $1275 a month on craigslist. That saves our hypothetical Apple employee $1000 a month.

source http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/apa/4134900419.html