Is a salary of 25 thousand rupees per month not enough? Google techie’s paycheck-to-paycheck survival shocks social media

A Silicon Valley CEO has spoken out about the financial struggles of a well-paid couple who live paycheck to paycheck despite their hefty salaries. Damon Chen, founder of Testimonial.to, shared his surprise to learn that his friend, a Google employee, and his wife spend about $30,000 a month on living expenses. This includes costs for your mortgage, utilities, tuition and groceries.

Cost Allocation

Chen found that the couple’s main expense was the mortgage, which is $17,000 a month on their $3 million home in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, they pay $3,000 each for property taxes and private school fees for their child. Other expenses such as utilities, eating out, groceries, travel, and maintaining two cars add up to a total expense of $30,000 each month.

“My friend told me that he and his wife live paycheck to paycheck. I don’t believe it because they both make good money in tech and he even works at Google. But after doing a little math, I found that he was not lying,” Chen said on X. He stressed that this figure does not include other miscellaneous expenses such as maintaining a home or entertainment services such as Netflix.

Lifestyle problems

Chen expressed concern about the couple’s financial situation, noting that they lacked savings despite their high incomes. He noted that W-2 employees typically take home about 50% of their salary, meaning the couple should earn about $60,000 a month before taxes, equating to an annual compensation of $720,000. “What is the point of living such a life?” – he asked.

Replies from social media users highlighted different points of view on the couple’s financial choice. One user remarked: “This is why I left the Bay Area and will never return. I grew up there and the quality of life is very poor compared to any other city I’ve lived in.” Another user noted that people living paycheck to paycheck typically don’t own a $3 million home. “You are confusing this phrase with “living beyond your means.” They put themselves in a difficult financial situation, but they also have the opportunity to change this at any time,” they added.

Patrick, another commenter, agreed, saying, “It’s not paycheck to paycheck; it’s lifestyle inflation and excessive spending.”