Sometimes I go to bed thinking how good life is. From the joys of breathing in clean air to the freedom of making money anywhere there’s internet access, life is pretty great. Sometimes I even go far as to think I’m rich. But then reality smacks me in the face.

Since I turned 40, we’ve been proactively trying to figure out ways to use money to improve our lifestyles. We finally tried out professional cleaners after spending the last 19 years cleaning up after ourselves. So worth it! We now frequently use food delivery apps to bring some of the best cuisine San Francisco has to offer right to our doorsteps. What a life saver after a long day’s work.

So when my iPhone case cracked after I dropped it one evening, it should have been no problem to spend $100 to fix the thing at an electronics shop down the street. They take walk-ins and their turnaround time is only 45 minutes. It’s the perfect amount of time to do some grocery shopping for the family or get a haircut next door. I used them once four years ago and was pleased.

But this time, I decided not to use them because embedded in my iPhone usage plan was a Apple Care policy that I had used once before. The $120 policy states that in case of a cracked screen, I can go to any Apple Store or certified dealer and fix it two times in a two year period. Each time I go, I still have to pay a $29 fee. In other words, if I’m fortunate or unfortunate enough to fix my iPhone twice in two years, the total cost is $120 + $29 + $29 = $178 or $89 for each fix.

Art by CKongsavage.com

Reminding yourself of the why is an important motivator to keep going. Goodness knows it’s too easy to eat one more cookie and find ourselves unrecognizable 10 years later when we live in a free and abundant country.

Since graduating from college in 1999, I’ve been motivated to max out my 401(k) and save as much as possible because I knew there was no safety net. My parents drove an eight year old Toyota Camry to their government jobs. We lived in a cozy townhouse. And they worked until their 60s. After sending my big sister to college, I wasn’t sure they had much to spare if I faltered.

After saving enough money to live off ~$80,000 a year in passive income in 2012, I continued to try and save as much of my after tax income as possible because I was unsure whether I had made the right move. Walking away from a six figure salary at the age of 34 is not normal. Some might even call it stupidly stupid.

Given I’ve survived more than six years of unemployment, there’s a growing chance I’ll continue to stay unemployed for the foreseeable future. That said, I plan to continue saving aggressively for many reasons. I’d love to hear yours as well. 

Let me tell you a sad story. In order to comfortably raise a family in an expensive coastal city like San Francisco or New York, you’ve got to make at least $300,000 a year. You can certainly raise a family earning less as many do, but it won’t be easy if your goal is to save for retirement, save for your child’s education, own your own home instead of rent, and actually retire by a reasonable age.

Although $300,000 is a lot compared to the median household income in the United States of ~$59,000, it’s not an outrageous sum of money once you look at the realistic income statement I’ve put together for this post. All expenses in my example use current prices. I’ve also cross checked the expenses with my family’s monthly expenses now that we have a son to make sure they are within reason.

I use $300,000 in this post because I also believe it is the ideal income for up to a family of four to experience maximum happiness. At $300,000, you aren’t paying an egregious amount in taxes, you probably aren’t killing yourself at work if both parents are working, but you’re still earning enough to live a comfortable lifestyle anywhere in the world.

Half the US population lives on the coasts, therefore, this post is directly targeted at folks who need to live on the coasts because of their jobs, schools, or families. $300,000 is a nice household income to shoot for, but not much more, if you are a coastal city resident who makes less.

Finally, this post should also provide insights to non-coastal city residents on how good you’ve got it if you enjoy living where you are. $100,000 – $150,000 is a rough non-coastal city household income equivalent.