Hi! I’ll be starting soon as a new grad at Microsoft and I’m trying to figure out what I can actually afford when it comes to rent/car/etc. It’s quite confusing going from ramen noodles and walking everywhere to having to get groceries and get a car. My base is 108K and I was wondering what a traditional budget would look like? I’d like to live in a 1BR in Seattle (maybe around Lower Queen Anne) and ideally lease a decent car if that helps! Thanks in advance for your advice!
Which company?
Oh! At Microsoft.
It's gonna be a bit of drive to Redmond. Sign up a lease for a 1br or decide if you want to stay with a roommate, then as days go by you will get a handle on day to day expenses.
TC?
Depends on how much you save. Max out 401k is $18.5k/year, max out HSA is $3400. Not sure if there’s any ESPP that you can buy as well. Is there a goal for how much you want to save a year? If you spend less on housing you can get a slightly nicer car so it depends where you have your priorities
The advice I got when just starting out was spend no more then 30% of base salary on rent.
(After tax base salary)
Lower queen Ann is far from redmond. Stay in redmond if you want to save time commuting everyday, at least 2 hours.
I’be been playing this game my whole twenties in Seattle. PM me and I will send you my entire pay broken down into a budget with investments included. I agree above. 2k or less for rent. I’ve had a car in Seattle forever and finally am scrapping it as I live downtown and it’s cost + ancillaries are invredible when you factor in paying $250 for parking. I can uber pool to work every day for $6 round trip and my company (not micro anymore) allows me to pay with pre-tax dollars. I save $400(payment)+200(insurance)+250 (parking spot)+maintenance and gas.. I usually have Groceries delivered or if needed hop in a zip car- great for hikes or day trips too. In Queen Anne might make more sense to have a car. If you have to go nice car look at inifinitis over Germans. Start investing now. Do not be a fucking idiot and don’t think you need to live a baller lifestyle to stunt on your younger friends. I’m guilty of it and regret it completely. Just allocate buckets and include enough fun in there to not resent the budget but also be comfortable earning and still saving for things. Congrats on graduating! There’s lots of good advice on blind read up
Keep eating the ramen and buy the cheapest car your can. Live in the cheapest place you can rent. Save money until you have enough of a down payment to buy a home. Really you were happy living in student housing you can tough it out a few more years and it'll make A HUGE difference to your long term wealth. You'll see lots of your coworkers rolling in their 100k luxury cars and paying stupid rent. Don't. Bank it. Buy a house. Pay the house off fast. And do all that while maxing 401k. Your future self will thank you.
Can i just ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️! I believe in living wayyyy below your means. It gets hard sometimes visiting friends who live in super fancy apartments, driving the latest cars BUT i’ve reached a stage where none of those things bother me. I know that my sacrifices now will pay off in the long run when i can be debt free, buy things with cash, etc
If you save everything and live a cheap life, you will probably regret it when you are in 40s! I’m not saying don’t save or over spend, but we work to live a good life not live to work and make good savings! You shouldn’t defer your life to the retirement time when there is no stamina left.
If you max 401k and espp, you will have around 55k left after tax. I would try to keep rent(inc. utilities) +car(inc. gas and toll) under 35k.
Live in Capitol Hill instead - more fun and better commute
You can easily afford anything under 2k