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Comment by kortilla | Hacker News Reader

What are you talking about? A month of tech salary at $180k annually is maybe $10k after taxes. In the high CoL areas where those salaries are “common”, $2k/mo might get you a studio with a reasonable commute.[1] Throw in utilities and food and you’ll be lucky to make it 4 months.

That is absolutely not a “very, very, very, very long time”. You can’t compare the cost of a studio in Albuquerque with a salary from the Bay Area.

1. https://www.avaloncommunities.com/california/sunnyvale-apart... - 1 bedrooms here start at 2800 and this isn’t even a good location apart from reasonable commutes on the 101.

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If you can build 4 months (or even just 3) of runway on 1 month of salary, it doesn't take long to get a really good buffer in place.

This wasn’t about the ability to build a buffer, it was about what can be done on a single months salary.

Anyway, it takes longer than you think, especially if you had to relocate to take the new job. Once you take into account paying off that type of stuff, paying car insurance, car payment, funding your 401k, etc, you’ll be lucky if you can buffer one month for each month.

It's definitely easy to spend all your money, but with a little budgeting it's not harder to buffer more.

Maybe I've read too much FIRE financial independence content though.

1:1 is still pretty great imo, and really difficult for a lot of people. That's probably about the average rate I put together my savings, and the result is that I get to look at layoffs as a potential paid sabbatical.

Commute to where? You'd have no job.

So what are you proposing? When you get laid off you immediately pay a couple of months rent to break a lease and move to somewhere with a lower cost of living?

Given that moving also incurs a significant cost (outside of a lease breaking fee), you have to be sure you won’t find work for >6 months for that strategy to pay off.

Why are you assuming a studio and not roommates?

The comment they’re replying to said “one month of tech salary would cover a studio rent and feed an adult human for a very, very, very, very long time.”

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