# Why I'm f@wked in CA **URL:** \ **Category:** PittSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [April 18, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-im-f-wked-in-ca/196934 "2008-04-18T13:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 12
**Author:** ![beat90tsi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@beat90tsi](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/beat90tsi)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-im-f-wked-in-ca/196934/12 "2008-04-21T14:52:51Z")
> [@chess?](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/chess/36013/4): > > People buying more house than they could afford didn’t work out so well as we’ve seen recently. Going with the old 2.5x your annual income is a pretty safe bet. Just because the mortgage folks say you are ‘approved’ for an expensive house doesn’t mean you should buy one. This should be clear to anyone with a grasp on personal finances. For those that struggle in this area (a large % of the population), the recent housing debacle should be a good real-life example. Although I don’t think any generic multiple of one’s income is an accurate indicator of the price of house he or she can afford. My friend moved from Boston when he got a job with NASA just outside San Francisco. He bought a used Aerostar van, and found some girl on craigslist renting out an extra room for $300/month. It’s certainly not glamorous, but he never has trouble with meeting his financial obligations, even when unforseen things go wrong…which is inevitable. --- _[View the full topic](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-im-f-wked-in-ca/196934)._