OK, but it's very easy to live comfortably on $100k in a LCOL area. The idea that these people have no fat in their budgets is risible. Put me in charge of the books and I promise they'll be in tip-top shape in 6 months. But they'll hate me, because a lot of stuff they've been keeping in the "needs" bucket is gonna find its way into the "wants" pile in a hurry.
If you don't have an emergency fund, then you cannot afford to eat out. You cannot afford two cars. The one car you have better be a used Hyundai. You can't afford to take a vacation. You can't afford those violin lessons. Hell, you can't even afford Hulu or Netflix. Go for a quiet walk and gather your thoughts toward accumulating an emergency fund, because if you don't have one, then you cannot afford any of that stuff.
In all fairness, this applies across the board. I agree with you on financial responsibility residing with the individual.
$100k in a LCOL or $300k in a HCOL is sufficient to have an emergency fund. And in the same way that layoffs in a LCOL will hurt, it hurts in HCOL as well.
I just think that the lifestyle perception that some have of people in HCOL making $300k is very inaccurate. It's not nearly as extravagant as you might think.
OK, but it's very easy to live comfortably on $100k in a LCOL area. The idea that these people have no fat in their budgets is risible. Put me in charge of the books and I promise they'll be in tip-top shape in 6 months. But they'll hate me, because a lot of stuff they've been keeping in the "needs" bucket is gonna find its way into the "wants" pile in a hurry.
If you don't have an emergency fund, then you cannot afford to eat out. You cannot afford two cars. The one car you have better be a used Hyundai. You can't afford to take a vacation. You can't afford those violin lessons. Hell, you can't even afford Hulu or Netflix. Go for a quiet walk and gather your thoughts toward accumulating an emergency fund, because if you don't have one, then you cannot afford any of that stuff.