Today I was reading a thread on r/sanfrancisco about a two-bedroom two-bath rental in the Sunset district costing $6,500 per month. That is both incredible and unfathomable. That amount of money is a bit more than my own monthly take-home, and I honestly do not view myself as making peasant money. A reality where people can spend that much on rent alone is difficult to conceptualize. $78,000 a year just to put a roof over your head.
But obviously there are plenty of people capable of spending those amounts. You watch enough Caleb Hammer and you begin to believe there’s lots of folks out there struggling financially and making stupid decision. On the flip side, there’s lots of folks making really good money and can spend with impunity. Look at this guy who casually spent $635K on a special edition Acura NSX, a practical museum piece because each additional mile is ruinous to its now record-setting evaluation.
Imaging spending house-level money on a vehicle you won’t drive! Meanwhile, I don’t think I’ve made that much money total in all my years of working. I might as well be on a separate planet.
I can see how someone in similar financial situation as me can easily get nihilistic about it. Cost of living is insane, housing prices are beyond the stratosphere, and then there’s social media indicating that it’s only you who is the broke one. Given those circumstances, I too would YOLO what little money I have into options markets or prediction markets. At least that gives me a puncher’s chance to attain the life that seemingly everyone else have. Because working a normal job isn’t mathematically going to get me there.
Maybe I should start lining up at Target on a weekday morning for the latest Pokemon cards release, hoping to score a card worth reselling. Or line up at Harbor Freight for the latest limited tool drop to then resell on eBay for profit. What’s the quickest way to multiple X my money so I can afford life.
I understand those that do. What are we supposed to do when the median rent price is higher than our take-home?
Curva grande.