$155K HHI and broke - any tips?
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Anonymous
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We have $155K HHI and we are broke. I need advice - maybe I can cut spending somehow? Here are some of our bills:
$2500 - mortgage $1600 - childcare $450 - 2 cars $45 - internet (no cable here) $200 - 2 cell phones (no land line) |
Anonymous
| Can you refinance your mortgage for a lower rate? |
Anonymous
Unfortunately no - we just bought, which is a big reason we are so tight now. it's 3.1% I think. |
Anonymous
| You could easily save on your cars and cell phones. What is your take-home? |
Anonymous
$7300/month take home. We use verizon with data plans - anyone cheaper? We cant save on the cars - one is a work car with free gas/insur for $200/mo. The other is a $13K car loan thats only $250/month, so I think with free gas it's reasonable. In 3 yrs, no more car loan. Maybe I can find household items cheaper somehow, like I wonder what people find at dollar stores? And where can I buy avocados for less than $1 each, etc. Our gym is expensive - $100/month. I've been buying household stuff at home depot, like seed. maybe theres a better alternative? |
Anonymous
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If you are out of contract on the cell phones you could probably go prepaid and save $100 there.
Maybe quit the gym-- and find some cheaper alternatives (even if it means buying an exercise cd or some weights). |
Anonymous
| Post your entire budget. With your salary, there is still a lot of money unaccounted for after the expenses you listed. |
Anonymous
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Wait, so your first listed expenses were 4795...
If your take home pay is 7300, then you have 2505 left over for food, utilities, and your miscellaneous expenses. How much are these things for you typically? I don't understand how you are coming up short. Do you mean you don't have any left over for your 401k or something? |
Anonymous
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You can save a lot on your cellphones - your current plans are ridiculously expensive:
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/10/11/our-new-10-00-per-month-iphone-plans/ You should not borrow to buy a car. If you started walking to the metro/cycling you would not need a 100 dollar gym membership. Buy your produce from H-Mart. Eat less meat and more fresh produce, rice, and beans. Shopping around for seed is not going to save you any money. |
Anonymous
| There are cheaper gym memberships probably. Look into Planet Fitness. |
Anonymous
I should have added: $725 - student loans |
Anonymous
I have a congenital foot problem and a baby, so we need the car, but otherwise great point - I loved metro before DD. |
Anonymous
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Your student loans are ridic. But you still have a lot of unaccounted for fat in your stated budget.
post the whole thing or we can't really help you. |
Anonymous
and $350 - elec, gas, water/sewer, trash collection $100 - life insurance $80 - car insurance $200 - credit cards ($5K) $80 - diapers, wipes, paper goods $120 - work parking |
Anonymous
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