

So, can I survive and save some money earning 72k in California? - berserkpi

Considering that I'm a very austere guy. The only things I buy are books...<p>But CA is known for being an expensive place to live. So could you help me to estimate this? Also, is there a gov site where I can calculate the taxes I'm going to pay?<p>I'm single by the way.<p>Thanks guys.
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mmcdan
To directly answer the question: The median household income for California is
$60833(<http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html>). The average
household has 2.89 people. As a single person, you have more money to spend
than most families in the state. The odds of your survival are high.

To answer your implicit question: I think you are asking "Can I survive and
save some money earning 72K in California while keeping up with the
Joneses(tech-savvy urbanites in Silicon Valley or LA tech scene). Yes you can.
In fact, I rented a room in a large house in SV with full access to
everything(kitchen, living room, backyard, bathroom etc...) for under
$900/month. My roommates were people from LinkedIn, Cisco, etc... Worst case
food scenario is you spend $15/meal, 3meals/day, and 31 days/month...
$1400/month food. Add $100/month bill for your iDevice. Add $100/month for a
monthly public transportation pass. Add $1000/month for the do-whatever-the-
fuck-I-want fund.

With these covered, you are spending $3500/month, or $42000/year.

Assume your take home will be $50k post-tax. You are saving about 8k/year and
living a pretty lavish life for an austere single person.

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shanelja
I find it hard to believe someone couldn't even survive on $72,000 per year,
even in the most expensive areas of America, surely this affords you a certain
level of luxury too?

To put my response in to context, I currently earn the equivalent of $6,350
per year in wages in the UK, plus $3000 in government benefits to make sure
I'm not homeless and I manage to survive. Sure, I can't always afford to eat
(I have enough food in for 4 more days, but don't get paid for 6) but I'm
_surviving_ , I guess people are just used to different levels of survival.

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ashraful
Really? $6k per year in the UK seems a bit too low. Thats what a junior
programmer in Bangladesh (where I live) makes.

I always assumed that salaries for programmers (even without any academic
degrees) would be much higher in first-world nations.

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lumberjack
Actually I'm surprised he got employed without a degree. From anecdotal
experience, in the UK a degree is expected for most programming jobs; the rest
will require formal qualifications of other means.

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shanelja
It wasn't easy, I went through a lot of rejection before I finally found this
job.

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moocow01
You definitely can but its going to be harder to be honest...

72k is going to essentially be 50k after taxes.

Housing will likely be between 1-2k per month. 1k Id say really is pretty
close to the minimum currently (unfortunately) and would probably involve
sharing an apartment. So if housing is 15-20k per year you've got 30-35k left
for everything else which is 2-3k/mo for everything from insurance to 401k to
food to electricity and all those things are somewhat more expensive as well
and it goes pretty fast. You definitely are far from struggling but most
likely wont be a able to be a power saver.

In my experience the costs were not worth it but many people stay for the job
opportunities. For me making a good salary but not being able to save a lot
seemed like being on an endless treadmill. The hope is that you get some stock
options that materialize but it can be a tough place to optimize savings on
salary alone. There are always lots of exciting work opportunities to pick
from though.

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logn
The best paycheck calculator I've found: [http://www.adp.com/tools-and-
resources/calculators-and-tools...](http://www.adp.com/tools-and-
resources/calculators-and-tools/payroll-calculators/salary-paycheck-
calculator.aspx)

ADP's main business is doing payroll so it's a very accurate calculator.

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ryduh
It really depends on which city you live in. 72k is more than enough for most
small cities. Where would you live?

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berserkpi
Mountain View

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Randgalt
No way - well if you live very frugally and don't do very much - maybe

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OafTobark
If I could downvote you I would. I lived in Mountain View and I assure you he
can live there on $72,000 a year no problem.

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javert
You should start the title of a post like this with "Ask HN:". :P

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berserkpi
Yep, sorry about that.

