High-Earning Tech Workers Living Paycheck To Paycheck: CEO’s Post Goes Viral

A Silicon Valley CEO has sparked a social media conversation, drawing attention to the financial pressures even high earning individuals face. Damon Chen, CEO of Testimonial.to, shared a surprising story about a couple in well-paying tech jobs struggling to meet their expenses due to an expensive lifestyle.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Chen expressed his disbelief when a friend from Google revealed that despite both he and his wife earning substantial salaries in the tech industry, they often found themselves financially stretched. After doing some basic calculations, Chen realised his friend’s financial predicament was, in fact, plausible.

To underline, Chen mentions that the couple’s monthly expenses amount to a staggering $30,000 (around Rs 25 lakh), leaving them with little financial flexibility.

Chen detailed the breakdown, which includes, “Mortgage: $17,000 per month for a $3 million home, Property tax: $3,000 per month, Private school tuition: $3,000 per month for one child, Travel: $2,000 per month, Utilities: $1,000 per month, Groceries: $2,000 per month, Dining out: $1,000 per month, Car payments: $1,000 per month for two vehicles.”

Chen said that the couple spends $30,000 each month, excluding house maintenance, online streaming subscriptions, and other typical family expenses. To sustain such a lifestyle, the couple would need to earn around $60,000 per month before taxes, or $720,000 annually.

The post, which went viral, sparked discussions about the cost and practicality of maintaining such an expensive lifestyle. Chen concluded his post by asking, “What’s the point of living a life like this?”

A user, claiming to be a Mountain View resident, responded to the post, sharing that he earns a decent income but leads a simple lifestyle. He rents, cooks meals at home with his partner, and walks their children to school. Having started their own technology company, both worked hard to save wisely, allowing them to focus more on investments. Despite living in an expensive area like Silicon Valley, they avoid many common financial pitfalls.

Another user said, “I find that mortgage line extremely stressful and would never put myself into that situation.”

The post has garnered more than 8.3 million views on the social media platform.