I live in Dublin :( Only $2,000/mth for a apt than $3,500 in SF....*goes off to cry because the rent is too damn high*

Based on most of these comments, it sounds like “struggling to keep the romance alive” is Reason #5,874,980 not to have kids! ;)

Exactly! It also helped that I went to a university without a football team—instead it was full of creative types like me :)

1. Don’t pick a school based on reputation, only to get yourself into crazy amounts of debt. Nobody cares where you go to college, just that you go.

% of your total monthly budget spent on food: I spend about 10% of my take-home income on food.

Copied from Lifehacker today...

Tech CEO at an industry conference in SF this week: “So do you actually work for this company and know what you’re talking about?”

AMEN. This is what Ramit Sethi defines as "big wins." Stop obsessing about coupon-clipping and focus on big ticket items. If you're worried about cutting lattes when you spend half your income on a new car, you're officially a moron.

I cannot WAIT to read this book! One unique correlation that I have found in my life is that people assume that both my childfreedom and my atheism are simply fads that I'll get over when I'm older. It's so infuriating to think that at 25, I'm considered old enough to have kids, but not old enough to decide not to…

I think what I would stress the most would be "acting your wage." This coincides with "keeping up with the Joneses," because most people feel entitled to things they cannot afford. Determine what you want to do in life and what the average annual salary is for that position. Don't take out student loans more than that…

Will the Pantone orchid lipstick from last year ever come back in stock??? I neeeeeeed it.

LMAO poor LD. Everyone knows that Parli is where it's at!

I understand that for the average student, taking your time might be better, esp. if you don't know what you want to do with your life. But that also means that if you wait, odds are you will never go back to school, or you'll only go back in a desperate attempt to find a better job. Having to support yourself…

1. Get it out of the way if possible. I got my BA in three years, and went to grad school right after. By the time my friends had one degree, I had two. And because I lived with my family at the time, I got enough fin aid for it to be essentially free. I'm now light years ahead in my career.

Exactly, hence the fact that most women decide which side of the fence they're on pretty early in life, while men waffle on making their mind up "someday." They're delusional because they assume they have forever to decide, when biology clearly disagrees.

A thousand times, this! I can't stand guys who are crazy about kids, but only picture the Kodak moments of playing catch and riding bikes. It's an easy decision for them to make, because they assume women will do majority of the work. And because that's how it usually plays out, more women like myself are deciding to…

Yes, absolutely, but only because I had less than $9k in loans, all from my BA in Literature. I moved back home to get my MA in Mass Comm, and because I filed my FAFSA and worked part-time, I didn't have to borrow for grad school. I was fortunate enough to have my parents' financial help, and I landed a good-paying…

Wow! Congrats, you really are kicking ass! I've set my quota at only 20 books this year, but I don't count non-fiction and graphic novels, so I actually read more than that. I also run a book blog at bookclubbabe.net so maintaining it ironically takes up lots of reading time! Feel free to check it out if you need…

I appreciate the idea of including your commute into your hourly rate, but your math fails to take taxes into account. After taxes and retirement savings, my monthly take-home pay has only increased by $1,200, so I'd be foolish to throw it all away on a smaller apartment in the city.

Because there's a massive difference between $1,800 in Dublin and $3,000+ in SF. I'll deal with my commute if I can have a more affordable 1bd without having roommates.