1. Bonz - I was in a similar boat - no health insurance because I am self employed; then I got Blue Cross; guess what? Now I have $50K in medical bills - blue cross denied most of the bills - said they weren't covered in my policy; I had gotton the blue cross because my son had to have an apendectomy & we had no insurance -medical denied us. So I am hoping U don't get ill or have an accident; as far as the high cost of living; I know people losing everything right now - their homes, everything. Because our work was related to the mortgage industry.

2. To LA Transplant...I agree with all you said, except...where did you see homes for $500k?? I lived in Thousand Oaks and our TINY 1,00 sq. ft. post war crackerbox bungalow that needed to be gutted sold for about $700K!!! (we paid $300K but that was 8 years ago) We had a 12 year old Honda Accord and ZERO debt. TOTALLY frugal. Husband made about $125K a year and that BARELY paid our BASIC bills. Condo's were running in the $500K's at least...

3. I wonder how many people here are paying down debt or saving money? In my experience it's very few. They always talk about how they are saving money by doing this or that, but they still can't make ends meet. Why is that? It's almost always because they find another way to spend it! An extreme example of that is a 50,000 dollar car. LOL Oh, by the way....... I know this is off-topic, but my diet is going great! I have lots of great tips to help you lower your calories. As a matter of fact, I did so good today that I going to celebrate with an ice cream bar. Oh....... it's LOW calorie! I can have 2 or 3! Yeah!

4. I make $1200 a month working at gas station. Live alone, $850 a month for a very nice studio. I go to LACC at night, only taking classes I enjoy. Tuition is waived. Grocery bill is about $80 a month. Utility is $30 power & $20 DSL. Have no car and I get cheap bus pass from school about $15 a month. That's it, No other expense at all. Knowledge is power and money. Any other living articles I need I can get free more or less, using coupons, deals etc (e.g rolling CVS ECBs) All kinds of entertainment is free online. But there is one problem: lack of health insurance - it will crush me one day.

5. To P. Marangoni, Telling us you have made over six figures for 10 years and you have credit card debt only makes your situation more dire. You can own a small home/condo, drive a used car and still find true love. If you can't be happy here on a six-figure income, you are buying "things" to make you feel fulfilled instead of surrounding yourself with people that make you feel whole. We bought our first house in 2001 for $125K on combined salaries of $45,000. It was 1BR and only 550 square feet but it was our love nest. I have a friend buying a 2BR condo for $195k and it equals her rent. If your needs are simple you can live a great life.

6. We only dine out once a week and we almost always go to a happy hour where drinks and appetizers are 1/2 price. We usually have to order before 6:30 or 7:30 but two people can have a drink and a great meal for under $25. We have been doing home exhanges for our vacations for about a year. We have exchanged our home for an apartment in Paris, a house in Palm Desert, and a cabin near Yosemite.

7. To anonymous in Indy - I'd forewarn you that I make $40k a year and as a single woman have not been able to afford the real estate out here since condos average $300K and houses $500K. I drive a 5 year old Rav4 and have only been able to live here in Los Angeles because of rent control. The avg. cost for a 1 bedroom apt. is $1080 in a not so scary neighborhood. My co-worker owns a 3 bedroom house in Indy but moved back since her family was here and is moving back in with her mother since she can't afford the rent (her house hasn't sold back in Indy).

8. The theme of most comments, which mirror my own, is that Paul is still blowing a ton of dough. I have taken grocery coupons from an art to a science. The secret? Everything goes on sale. Buy items ONLY on sale and THEN use your double coupons to magnify savings. Thank goodness Paul survived his injuries. But a $50K Porsche? That's nuts. Ditto for credit card debt and car payments. I drive a 16 year old Lexus with 225,000 miles. I pay cash for gas. I clip and use restaurant coupons and no alcohol. I wash my own car. What did I do with all my savings over the years? I also put my daughter through college. No kidding.

9. I am a 36 year old stay-at-home mom from yesteryear. Family of 5 live on one income in west LA in "rented" townhome; waiting for market downturn before purchasing a home. I clip coupons and don't relish the looks I get in the grocery store. People scoff like I am a walmart mommy but it bounces off me--I save 90-100 dollars every time. I attend college & LA Unified volunteering. My husband gets ahead in his job; we have few scheduling issues. He has earns more than 2 combined incomes. My kids grow up with a caring mother who is there for every scraped knee. When they are older, my 2nd income will pay for my pension & investments.

10. Stay away from Starbucks and brew your caffeine fix at home instead. Get rid of the weekly housecleaning service and mow the lawn yourself. Lose some weight by eating at home, you'll keep the money in your wallet and the pounds off. Take a walk, ride a bike or go jogging but for pete's sake- quit the gym!! Get a new car every ten years instead of every 4 or 5. Once you get over tryng to keep up with everyone else (who is probably knee deep in credit card debt or mortgaged to the eyeballs), you find that living in L.A. within your means is possible if you are honest about the kind of lifestyle you can really afford.