On: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

[jjav]

> Like many US engineers can easily afford to buy a house outright with $200k+ salaries

That's about 100K after taxes + medical (not included in taxes in the US) and other deductions.

With houses in good markets far above $1M, nobody making $100K net is buying a house outright. Or even being able to buy a house at all.