How much do you need to get by and how hard is it to hit the number? \ stacker news ~econ

How much do you need to get by and how hard is it to hit the number?

412 sats \ 11 comments \ @stack_harder 7 Nov econ

Hi guys, i thought it would be interesting to compare some basic cost of living stats among stackers and ask, how hard is it to hit your basic number?

for me, in Bulgaria with 2 kids , to be comfortable, NOT in the capital , about 2k euros is a number that works for my family. i could reduce that number by up to 1000 euro if my kids didn't go to a private school. also worth noting is i own the house so have no rent or mortgage. if i was renting or had a mortgage, i would simply pay that instead of doing private school, so the number would be similar.

bills are cheap, maybe 10 euro water per month and about 40 euro electricity (this will vary though )

finding a job that pays 2k euros is quite hard outside of the capital city, even if you are a software programmer.

i manage to hit this freelancing, and it's ok, i have a 10x higher lifestyle than i would in the UK and i own a property etc . the downside is a client will randomly leave etc and it puts a lot more strain on the budget, the upside is i am at least the master of my time, which i find very valuable

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10 sats \ 3 replies \ @denlillaapan 7 Nov

the unpredictability of freelancing resonates, man. Clients suddenly drop off (the upside of that is, of course, that you can affect your income upward a lot compared to, say, a schoolteacher on a set wage without overtime).

Live in a pretty expensive place (and spend a little more than I need to on things I could live without). Just averaging my last 24 months I sum to €3,100. Should really sell some chairs, honestly.

I roughly hit that figure over time, but with some insane fluctuations (sometimes over by 100%, sometimes under by 50%), exactly as you mention, depending on clients coming/leaving and work I manage to get in.

20 sats \ 2 replies \ @stack_harder OP 7 Nov

is that 3k as a single guy? quite expensive, but you have some extra for treats and stacking, so not so bad.

as for the drop offers, yeah, although i tell you what pisses me off the most, the ones that give like no notice. had this happen just yesterday - I've in the hospital all week with my youngest daughter who has pneumonia, I'm still working every day, not skipping a beat, and a get an immediate termination notice out of the blue. it's like, FFS, couldn't you have given me a month's notice or something. how would these people feel if they showed up to work one day and were fired on the spot, fucking up their mortgage payments etc

to be honest, it's just a lack of human decency to treat a person like that, freelance or otherwise

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @denlillaapan 7 Nov

yeah. I didn't tell you were I live.

Without doxxing my location, numbeo tells me cost of living is about 130% higher than Sofia, Bulgaria. So the nominal number of euros mostly reflect that, I believe

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder OP 7 Nov

well as long as you're getting by and have some money left to save in btc, the future is bright i believe

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 7 Nov

I've lived in a few expensive cities (Sydney and Shanghai). The salary is higher and more work opportunities, but you pay a lot more for things.

We chose to move more remote and are quite enjoying it. We also have found that if you keep things pretty simple, you don't really need to earn too much. Things like growing your own vegetables, buying necessities when they're discounted can start to add up. I also don't want to spoil the kids too much either.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder OP 7 Nov

yeah, living in the big cities is like paying a premium tax on opportunities , i quite liked big city life in my 20s, got fed up with it and went rural in 30s though , well semi rural

10 sats \ 3 replies \ @Satosora 7 Nov

You have to expand out and figure out a way to keep a steady income. Attract more clients, work on stuff with bitcoin, there are many options.

10 sats \ 2 replies \ @stack_harder OP 7 Nov

i do keep it steady, but because of it being client-based by nature, you get them coming and going, sometimes all at once etc

i do what i can to attract more, but I'm competing with literally all of the 3rd world countries that will work for 5 dollars and hour and not AI as well. shit, even the UK based agencies don't want to know because they also try and hire from the above-mentioned.

i would like to work on something bitcoin related , but I'm not a dev and all the btc jobs i see are for devs etc

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Satosora 7 Nov

Good luck. It might be time to look into a different profession.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder OP 7 Nov

the problem is finding clients in a consistent fashion, lead generation etc. even if I was a programmer, i would still have the same issue. it's really a marketing issue, it's my weakness.

if someone showed me a profession that isn't coding and that could be done remotely (not just companies paying lip service), i would jump into it in a heart beat

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Satoshi__Nakamoto 7 Nov

8 out of 10