This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Raymond Zeng, 24, a Meta software engineer living in the San Francisco Bay area. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been told by many of my friends that my living situation is very “Spartan.” I don’t own a car, couch, or even a TV.
For me, that lifestyle is intentional. I could afford more furniture if I wanted it, or expand my lifestyle to be more spendy.
I work as a software engineer at Meta, earning $306,500 a year, and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I moved about 8 months ago after spending 2 years in Dallas.
I think a big part of personal finance is choosing where to spend money and where not to.
Right now, I’d rather prioritize investing, travel, and hobbies over filling my apartment with things I don’t use very much or experiences that don’t lead me to a fulfilling life.
On average, I earn between $7,000 and $8,000 a month, excluding bonuses and stock options, which make up roughly 60% of my total compensation. My take-home pay is generally around $4,000 a month after taxes and retirement contributions. Depending on the month, I’ll save anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000.
My goal is to retire around age 30, though there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to retirement planning.
How I live minimally to cut costs
My one-bedroom apartment costs $2,600 a month in rent, which I consider a good deal for the area. Similar apartments closer to my office can run between $3,500 and $3,700 a month. I also chose the location because it’s a five-minute walk from a Bay Area Rapid Transit station, with cafes, grocery stores, and boba shops.
I live pretty minimally by design. My living room doubles as both my workspace and hobby area, and instead of owning a TV, I just use my computer since I rarely watch television. I also don’t host people often, so I’ve never felt much pressure to furnish the apartment beyond the basics.
My bedroom setup is similarly simple: a bed, a blanket, a pillow, and a filing cabinet that doubles as a nightstand. One thing I did splurge on, though, was a $400 bidet, which felt worth it as a quality-of-life upgrade.
I also live without a car, which keeps my transportation costs extremely low. Most months, I spend little to nothing getting around, though occasionally I’ll spend about $30 on rideshares or public transit. Otherwise, I’ll walk or use my company’s shuttle service.
I try to keep my food spending modest, too. I spend around $300 a month on groceries and budget another $75 for eating out, though my company subsidizes breakfast and lunch, so I usually don’t even hit that limit.
Most weekends, I spend time in VR with friends who live too far away to see regularly in person. We’ll meet up in person once every few months. In a way, it’s become an accidental cost saver because I’m not going out to bars, restaurants, or other social outings nearly as often.
The things I actually spend money on
I spend about $400 to $500 a month on travel and hobbies, including the roughly $1,000 a year I pay in credit-card annual fees. I use points and travel perks to help offset flight costs, and because my everyday expenses are relatively low outside of rent, I focus more on maximizing signup bonuses than earning points through daily spending.
That strategy has paid off. Last year, I used points to book business-class flights from Los Angeles to Singapore for my dad and me, avoiding what would have been over $5,000 in airfare.
A lot of my discretionary spending also goes toward the furry community, where I design characters, commission artwork, and attend conventions with the same friends I spend time with in VR. The community centers around anthropomorphized personas that people identify with and use as creative avatars. For me, it’s an outlet for self-expression that’s hard to find in my day job in tech.
I’m also saving up for a custom fursuit, which can cost as much as $7,000 depending on the maker.
Another luxury I prioritize is living alone. I know I could save more money with roommates, but having my own space is worth the tradeoff for me.
How I track my money and invest
Depending on stock vesting, bonuses, and retirement contributions, I can save anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 in a month.
I max out my 401(k), Roth IRA, and health savings account every year, and I put additional money into a brokerage account. Right now, I’m invested about 80% in the US stock market and 20% internationally.
I also track everything very closely. Every month, I create a new version of a budgeting spreadsheet that I designed myself. I don’t use a template because I prefer a DIY system where I can add or remove categories depending on what I need to track.
I also keep a larger spreadsheet dedicated to taxes, paycheck projections, and investment growth. Some of the sheets estimate where I could be financially in future years, depending on investment returns and contribution rates.
Right now, I estimate that I could have more than $2 million invested by age 30 if things go according to plan. By age 40, I project that number could grow to more than $7 million, though there are still a lot of moving parts when it comes to retirement planning and market performance.
I also try to stay up to date and open with my plans for feedback, actively participating in a few Reddit and Discord communities, and sharing my numbers and plans on my YouTube channel.
One of the biggest ideas I’ve taken from the FIRE community is to build the life you want and then save for it. However, I’m flexible — if my circumstances change, then so will my retirement plans.
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