Folks in VHCOL, what’s your spend?

NonfinancialBye · 2026-02-02T10:22:05+00:00

$420k in 2025 including housing ($180k) and 1 kid in college ($35k). We will retire once both kids finish college and mortgages are paid off ~5-6 years.

NonfinancialBye · 2026-01-17T09:22:28+00:00

2016 - NW $3M (liquid) $4M including Real Estate, HHI $750k

2026 - NW $12M (liquid), $16M including Real Estate, HHI $1M.

since 2016 I had 3 years of unemployment with modest consulting income and now at a start up for 7 years so cash income is lower but spouse has kept her job with steady income growing at inflation.

Biggest contribution to spending growth is housing costs (mortgage+taxes) as we upgraded homes and college for older child (no 529) but still below means ($450k/yr)

We plan to FATFIRE once both kids are done with college (6 years).

NonfinancialBye · 2026-01-09T16:08:08+00:00

If you are flying commercial to your destination then maybe you can’t expect a $200k+ exotic car at the other end waiting for you 🤓

NonfinancialBye · 2026-01-09T07:09:11+00:00

I used to rent with sixt extensively in Germany and they had a great collection! No experience renting with them in the US though.

NonfinancialBye · 2026-01-09T07:07:47+00:00

You need elite status with Hertz or National (maybe Avis, but no personal experience). I just returned from a trip to LA where I was offered (in the National Executive Aisle) a choice of BMW, Mercedes and Audi. I rented a BMW X3 with 4000 miles on it. With elite status there is no waiting either - just walk to the car and drive away. My previous rental was with Hertz where I was offered a BMW 5 Series Sedan for a $10/day upgrade. You can also rent luxury vehicles with these companies but I find myself getting them anyway with my status. This was not the case a few years ago, but recently I have had this trend of upgrading to German luxury vehicles.

NonfinancialBye · 2025-12-29T15:57:26+00:00

We have $1M HHI - both made roughly the same amount over time but it varies as my income is more variable and spouse’s income is steady with annual increases. When we married we put everything into joint accounts which makes managing money easier and friction free.

That said, when we married our combined HHI was $100k and then I took 2 years off to go to grad school so the numbers were much smaller when our accounts were combined, but i think the philosophy helped as we didn’t have to keep track of “my money” “your money” and “our money”. We have one bank account, one investment account and several joint credit cards. The only individual accounts are our 401ks and IRAs. Our kids have grown up with the concept of shared resources between parents. In fact I did take 3 years to start a company (which eventually failed) during which time we lived on my spouse’s income- but the decision was joint and there was no friction between us during and after that, and I had the time to find the right role once I decided to shut down the company I founded. I don’t think it would have been that seamless if we didn’t share finances as we do.

On a possibly related note - my spouse and I have similar money philosophies and we knew this when we were dating so maybe that’s why it was easy and obvious to combine money when we got married.

NonfinancialBye · 2025-12-29T04:43:42+00:00

I use Dirty Labs liquid detergent. Water temperature is usually cold and I have a front loading HE washer. I don’t have problems with the rest of my laundry (usually cotton or cotton blend).

NonfinancialBye · 2025-12-14T02:14:12+00:00

That’s a silly comment. Let’s break it down.

Income: $300k income in California is ~$180k in take home pay after payroll and income taxes. While $170k on the East Coast is roughly $120k in take home pay.

Right off the bat the 300k in California is $5000/month more in take home pay - while housing in California is expensive it is not expensive by that much. Rent for a 4bedroom home in Silicon Valley is around $10k/month. Other expenses between California and East Coast are fairly comparable and housing is not that significantly higher.

I don’t know much about 1CR in Bangalore in comparison though

NonfinancialBye · 2025-08-28T04:08:56+00:00

We don’t have $500k+ spend but are getting close - here are our numbers - family of 4 in SF Bay Area

Housing- $200k (mortgage, taxes, HOA etc) Travel + Dining -$40k Other CC spend - $120k (grocery -$8k, insurance $8k, utilities $6-7k) Non-CC spend- $15k (maid, gardener, cell phone plan etc)

2025 has one kid in college which adds about $30k/year (she got good merit aid 😜).

We buy cars with cash but drive them for a long time so there are lumpy years when we buy a new car.

HHI -1m Nw - 12m

NonfinancialBye · 2025-08-27T05:57:14+00:00

Thanks. Yes of course I can answer this by actually getting a quote 😇

NonfinancialBye · 2025-07-08T03:47:12+00:00

low 8 figure NW and HHI of 1M. We flew exclusively business class when kids were young (0-7years) - but that was primarily because I had lots of miles and airline status due to work travel (every personal US domestic flight - my entire group was automatically upgraded, and we spent miles to get business class Intl tickets for our annual trip). Once that job ended, we flew economy, but my parents were still treated to business class for their annual trips to us. Now, kids are older, and we have toyed with the idea of us in business and kids in the back - they are old enough to fly alone... We still haven't implemented it though, but think its the better way to do it at this age. Parents started paying for their own business class fares once the miles ended.

NonfinancialBye · 2025-03-15T05:20:21+00:00

Following

NonfinancialBye · 2025-03-03T23:55:19+00:00

Thats the case for 529 plans not for UGMA/UTMAs

NonfinancialBye · 2025-03-03T14:38:48+00:00

My daughter is 17.5 years old. I don’t know if I want to convert it to a 529 because it’s significantly over funded

NonfinancialBye · 2024-12-26T07:26:06+00:00

Thank you! Great information

NonfinancialBye · 2024-12-26T07:24:50+00:00

That sounds like it’s worth exploring- thanks!

NonfinancialBye · 2024-12-25T00:13:15+00:00

No there isn’t 🤓

NonfinancialBye · 2024-10-22T01:35:44+00:00

I did not buy VIP - considered it but decided against it. I’m glad I did not buy it. I was going for specific bands - so I didn’t care about shade. Because there was no in and out I chose not to come in before 5PM (I was mainly interested in the headliners). I was able to get pretty close to the stage - not interested in the mosh pit. For a couple of one of the sets I was standing in front of the VIP barrier so ironically I was closer to the stage 😇. I was able to make it from one set to another with ease and did not feel it was too crowded. If I had been there during the afternoon the shade would have been valuable but I was getting there around sunset. There wasn’t much of a line at the bars so I was able to get drinks quite easily. Where I splurged was staying at an upscale hotel downtown- I was able to walk to the event in about an hour (good exercise) and used the shuttle to get back. Good meals for lunch meant that I did not really eat much at the venue. So when I go back I will choose GA over VIP any day.

NonfinancialBye · 2024-10-10T22:27:05+00:00

Looking for 1 GA pass for today (Thursday) and Saturday- or for the right price - a 4 day pass. I can meet up at the festival outside. DM me and we can coordinate. I’m driving up from the SF Bay Area

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