San Francisco, California – A former Goldman Sachs analyst who retired at 34 with a $3 million net worth has disclosed that his family now requires an annual income of over $230,000 to live comfortably in the city. Sam Dogen, now 46, relied on passive income from his investments in stocks, bonds, and real estate to support his family. However, in a recent post on his Financial Samurai blog, Dogen revealed that he had to cash out a significant portion of his investment portfolio in order to purchase property in San Francisco, where he currently resides with his wife and two children.
Dogen emphasizes the importance of aggressively and consistently saving in order to combat inflation and cover expenses such as healthcare, food, housing, and private schooling. He calculated that their annual expenses include $80,400 for private grade school tuition, $24,000 for healthcare, $26,000 for food, and a substantial $68,400 for housing expenses, covering property taxes, maintenance, and insurance.
Furthermore, Dogen predicts that in order to cover the predicted expenses of at least $288,000 in 2024, he would need an income of approximately $420,000 before taxes. Despite the high cost of living, he acknowledges that living in San Francisco provides numerous career and money-making opportunities, which are too appealing to leave for a lower cost area of the country.
However, he recognizes the financial difficulties that many families across the nation are facing due to rising costs and inflation. Dogen, who holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and previously worked as an executive director at Credit Suisse, even suggests that he may have to consider a return to the workforce, possibly as a consultant, after more than a decade of retirement.
With the average annual salary for working Americans standing at $59,400, and $73,220 in California, according to Forbes, Dogen’s family’s financial needs far exceed the average income. This raises questions about the challenges many families face in high-cost cities such as San Francisco and New York, where living comfortably comes with a significant financial burden.
As he weighs his options for his next job and considers the financial implications of potentially returning to work, Dogen’s story offers insights into the complexities of early retirement, income needs, and the financial pressures faced by families living in expensive urban areas. His experience sheds light on the realities of maintaining a comfortable lifestyle while navigating the financial demands of high-cost cities.