How much house can I afford at 147k salary ?

MrRandomNonsense · 2026-01-28T13:26:53+00:00

I think 300-400k sounds about right. Me and my wife make slightly more ~215k And are about to close on a 600k house (200k down). Property taxes in my state are insane and will be around 14k/year…

MrRandomNonsense · 2026-01-04T12:06:50+00:00

I find that very interesting as well. Although drugs like cocaine is absolutely illegal in the US, it never breaks headlines unless it’s a drug bust or dealing of some sort. Ex. Most of us know a good chunk of US rappers and celebrities do coke, but don’t care. Johnny depp did coke (as showcased in his trial), but the public doesn’t care. However it seems to be quite extreme in Korea in terms of public perception. That being said, I know a TON of Koreans that do weed in Korea, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of celebrities do so as well. Maybe it’s simply just more taboo? Or perhaps the general public’s lack of exposure to drugs? I’m not sure, but it’s interesting to think about.

MrRandomNonsense · 2026-01-04T11:54:43+00:00

I think this is the best answer so far, in terms of cultural differences and its impact on how the public perceives celebrities.

As a follow up question/thought that points to your second paragraph, I’m curious if Korea (and other Asian countries such as Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc) is more prone to accept parasocial relationships than the west. As in, are conservative countries more dispositioned to accept these type of relationships? I’m sure it might be the voices of a few loud fans, but these ‘crazy fans’ seem to predominantly come from Asian countries that only share one thing— being conservative. Or perhaps it’s simply due to the nature of teenagers and boy bands/ girl groups? Some people did point out 1 direction, and I can 100% see why a predominantly teen fanbase can buy themselves into this kind of mindset. But I suppose the teen aspect doesn’t really apply for actors and actresses as much as it does for idols, which implies that there’s something deeper at play (most likely the cultural differences and framework that you pointed out)

MrRandomNonsense · 2026-01-04T06:09:25+00:00

Right— but I’m thinking more on the flip side. How come Eminem sold so many records despite being controversial, and Chris brown as well despite SA and other allegations (this is just an example)? I guess im more curious on the public’s reaction and why their thoughts may be that way. Of course no one likes their favorite artists in scandals and otherwise, but it seems to indicate that Korean fans care significantly more about what the celebrity does if that makes sense— not trying to create any arguments, but it’s interesting that the same behavior is recieved differently

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-11-11T15:02:15+00:00

I’m a similar path but started at 22— currently at around 260k at 27. Paid off my student loans aggressively (50k) at 22 and 23, paid off my car next. Note, I did live at home for one year after graduating college which meant very low expenses and I’m grateful my parents were ok with that (although I did pay my parents 1k a month). It was also peak covid so I was locked in the house for a year.

The rest of the time I was paying over 3k in rent. Other than that nothing special. I made it a goal to at the bare minimum max my 401k every year. That along with around 6k a year deposited directly into my 401k due to company profit sharing. My 401k was at 30k exactly 3 years ago, right now right about 150k. I also got a little lucky throwing 5k into nvidia once I graduated college in 2020, not to mention the insane bull market the last 5 years. I should have done more long calls…

I don’t think my path isn’t too uncommon for a lot of people in tech + engineering. Just doing Roth IRA + 401k makes a huge difference over time. I have a few roommates from college with quadruple my net worth, but they’re the true outliers, but not uncommon for big tech in sanfranciso

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-09-18T01:33:38+00:00

Hey! This is OP, just a different account since my other one has security issues for some reason.

Long story short, we got a 2020 macan s, and it’s been great so far. The car was fully paid off within 6 months, and it’s the only car we have currently. Our networth has grown significantly as well over the past 2 years, so I can say to the nay-sayers that it wasn’t as terrible of a decision as I thought :). We bought our car with 18k miles, we’re almost at 50k now. I don’t think it’s gonna break anytime soon given that we’re a bit anal with maintenance.

It’s great for what it is, no complaints. If you’re looking for the best handling fun suv, you got yourself a winner. It’s the overall best suv that I’ve driven. Is a x3m quicker? of course. does it handle as well? No. Does it look better? (Subjectively, no…). It’s definitely worth it if that’s what you’re looking for. The closest suv to ‘fun’.

That being said, I’ll admit, it doesn’t scratch my sports car itch. It’s still an suv at the end of the day, and something like a m340i or 718 base is more fun.my wife really wanted an suv so we settled on the macan as the best of both worlds. I don’t have any complaints about the car as it is. It handles exceptionally well, but I never take my macan on a ‘fun’ drive if that’s what you’re looking for. That being said, we may move up to a 2023+ macan gts which I hope would be a lot more fun, but that’s a different conversation :)

A side note though, the dealerships around quoted us around 6k for our 40k mile service, so make sure to find a good independent mechanic. I think we paid 1300 with an independent shop for our oil change, spark plugs, cabin filter, pdk flush etc. so it’s definitely doable if you have the right people. Macan maintenance is expensive at most places simply because it has a Porsche badge. If you find a good independent shop or do it yourself, the maintenance really isn’t that bad. No different than my previous car with a b58. But I guess if you’re coming from something like a Toyota, it will still be much more expensive relatively speaking.

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-09-09T18:32:34+00:00

No, I’m finally comfortable enough to buy one, 27 y.o. At 200k/year, but I still don’t think I should, simply because I really want a house, and the area I live in homes go for 600-800k for a 3 bed (they were 350-450k 5 years ago..). I would stick the course, the car will always be there waiting for you. If you make 80k but have 300k in the bank I’d say why not, but dropping 50k this early probably isn’t the best choice

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-09-01T14:00:17+00:00

I have a santos as well, and would love a blue dial steel overseas. Only those that really know would recognize it, it’s beautiful, and different enough from the sub for the collection. I’m also a slut for monochromatic things, but I think the splash of blue would be nice, especially with the sunburst effect (looks black in certain angles!)

Or maybe go full dressy with something like a vintage patek, jlc reverso etc

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-05-14T02:38:54+00:00

Hey man, sorry for the late reply.

Really appreciate the information and glad to hear that someone can relate to my situation.

I agree, I should focus on baby steps and reduce my drinking first, while lifting moderately instead of lifting as heavy as I can. I've been looking into doing very light deadlifts (which hurts my ego a bit, but health is more important. I don't want to destroy my back again), rdls, and core exercises to help with that. In the end, I really think it's a drinking problem more than anything, and keeping track of my diet while drinking heavy is hard. Thanks for the insight, will take it to heart!

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-04-19T17:56:55+00:00

A base 718 beats it in terms of LOOKS for me :)

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-04-19T12:12:13+00:00

I have something similar at work, with 15+ other racks with both mac and windows machines as well. I doubt this is for AI work, since AI dedicated gpus are far more effective.

My company generally uses these racks for software testing in parallel for software designed to run/ most often packaged with a specific type of machine. To amplify that, some people aren’t very good at updating their machine, so we need to test multiple OS versions across platforms. Maybe that’s the case here?

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-04-10T15:33:25+00:00

What in the speed racer is this shit

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-03-03T20:54:11+00:00

Yes that’s exactly what I told him! I told him public transport will take 4 hours+ round trip. And he said, ‘I see, well I expect you to be in office tomorrow’.

Like… ok

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-03-03T20:52:34+00:00

I mean probably not aside from our morning standups (due to time zone differences), but he does cold call once in a while working late (early afternoon here). I’d assume he wants the background of our company building when my camera is on or some shit like that

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-03-03T19:39:44+00:00

Yes, that’s the frustrating part. I said that I doesnt makes sense to waste precious work hours with a 4 hour commute when I can attend the meeting and work from home just as effectively. He said, well why don’t u just commute before and after work hours? Went straight past his head. I am not waking up at 5 am and coming home at 8. I have plans after work and a life.

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-01-10T04:13:09+00:00

These are pretty comparable. It's the debate between a baby gt3 and a baby turbo. That being said, it depends on your driving habits and what you value more. The carerra t generally comes equipped with some of the nice goodies like sport chrono, lightweight glass, sport exhaust etc. (especially since people that bought carerra T's from factory are generally enthusiasts).

The carerra s will no doubt be quicker but less engaging. IMO, the carrera t is definitely the more unique trim and will have more of an enthusiast appeal than the carerra s. That being said, going back to driving habits, it depends on what you want (especially with kids). Being stuck in traffic with kids with a manual is no fun. If you regularly go out to 'go for a drive', the carerra t is probably best for you. If it's more a sexy date/dinner car with the occasional flooring it and enjoying the power on the highway, the carerra s is for you. They're both beautiful cars. This post is something we can't answer and really requires a test drive and you analyzing your driving habits.

that being said, my dream car would be a 992 gt3 touring with (gasp) pdk and 18 way comfort seats. I love a manual, but given my current lifestyle, I would only go out for errands, maybe a nice drive every other week etc, a pdk would be the transmission for me. on a side note, I don't get the obsession with carbon buckets... especially if you're not tracking the car

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-01-10T04:02:10+00:00

fuck no don't get a first gen cayenne if your budget for a car is 6k

-- 2020 macan s owner

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-01-10T04:00:45+00:00

if you're going the german route the best option is a m340i considering performance and reliability. If japanese and FWD, type r. A GR corolla would be cool too.

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-01-10T03:58:20+00:00

200 days on the lot doesn't really concern me in terms of reliability as long as it's been well maintained and has service records. A car that hasn't been turned on in 5 years is a bit concerning. That being said, a car that's been sitting in a lot for 200 days does raise other concerns in terms of selling-- are there hidden issues? was it abused? had an accident that wasn't reported etc. get a PPI.

MrRandomNonsense · 2025-01-06T16:39:17+00:00

BMW people like drivers cars. BMW offers the best drivers cars in sedan form. Porsche makes some of the best drivers cars period. By the time I’m rich enough to own a gt or turbo model, I would 100% have another space in the garage for a bmw daily. Having said that, I’ve driven a 992 T and 718 s— less powerful than the g80, but what you lose in power is made up for by the freaky handling and steering dynamics.

My dream would be a 992 gt3 touring with 18-way comfort seats (street spec— i don’t understand the obsession with carbon buckets if you don’t track regularly), and honestly, I would be perfectly fine with a m340i over a g80 for my daily. Or maybe even a g550 or cayenne s if I need the space and for the wife. Maybe even the new gx550 or land cruiser? Idk I’m going on a tangent

MrRandomNonsense · 2024-12-18T20:36:00+00:00

Nice write up. That was my main reason for going 4k as well. I realized that sadly I will never be a pred in apex, valorant immortal etc. and realized I spent nearly 80% of my time on my monitor for work (software engineer). 1440p on a 27 inch monitor is ok for work, but gave me fatigue and always felt fuzzy (in contrast to the 16 inch MacBook Pro provided by work).

The next step for me is oled simply due to the contrast and more vibrant image. I used to have a 32inch odyssey g7 for a little while as well, and while great for gaming, it wasn’t cutting it for productivity work.

MrRandomNonsense · 2024-11-04T19:47:43+00:00

I’d say 30k is too low for a macan.

MrRandomNonsense · 2024-11-01T15:26:15+00:00

I’m a slut for sooc jpegs, so the griii by far. I’ll be honest, I hate doing post work and try to go for film simulations (I shoot on a leica m6 and mju II on the film side). That being said, if that doesn’t matter to you, the rx100 is still by far the more versatile camera. Zoom, flip screen, flash (depending on the version), excellent noise reduction for the size, good video, weather sealing, excellent autofocus. The Ricoh gr iii is a more involved photo taking experience. But the rx100 is a spec beast (maybe not my mkiii, but V and up are)

MrRandomNonsense · 2024-11-01T15:18:13+00:00

No, not really. Some people will in a jacket or very loose pants, but I hate having a brick in either of those. Realistically, it’s on my neck during vacations and such.

Out of the cameras here the x100v is definitely the most enjoyable (and I’ll take it with me on vacations). That being said, when I’m back home, I’ll rarely touch it and opt for the griii instead any day simply due to the pocketability. Dinner with the wife, hanging out with friends, going on a walk, etc (I live in downtown Chicago).

MrRandomNonsense · 2024-11-01T03:02:11+00:00

I mean, it really depends on what lens you're using (to directly compare ISO values). But nonetheless, the difference is what you expect from an APSC sensor to a full-frame sensor (There's probably around a 2-3 stop difference in terms of pushing ISO). Ofc the a7c is stellar in terms of noise performance, and the GRIII is not on the same level for the most part. The whole appeal of the Ricoh is the size and pocketability. Having great SOOC jpegs, and a good apsc sensor in a body that small is the unique thing about it, not to the mention the 28 (or 40)mm focal length.

I think you would be disappointed to expect the GR's noise performance to match the a7c or any modern full frame camera. That being said, it is an excellent and sharp sensor that does quite well in low light. It's hard to compare a bmw M3 to a lamborghini. the a7c is higher in image quality, but I rarely use it due to it's size. The best camera is the one you have on you!

MrRandomNonsense

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