400k budget, with numbers.
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Anonymous
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Base Take home is 11739, deductions are ($1160 401k) + ($600 529s)
Mortgage 3377 Cable and phones 240 Internet 100 Electricity, Water 160 Garbage 30 Health RX (not covered) $222 Car insurance ms $270 Private Club $422 Life Insurance $107 Grocery $1000 Eating Out $600 Medical Co Pays $40 Lawn $100 House Cleaning $280 Peleton $42 PreK and Activities $750 Camps, Childcare + Kids Activities ($1000) Haircuts $100 Leftover each month $2,664 So my question is.. how does this look and how much of this $2664 do you think we could reasonably save each month? We need to replace a new car in the year and want to pay in cash. We want to buy in the summer. I’m considering dropping 529 and 40k direct deposits and just load them up from bonus at the end of year. Something in the $45-60k range and trying to figure out how to get there by June or July. Dropping private membership isn’t an option. It’s a golf club and kid plays and it’s not something you can easily rejoin. We joined without initiation fee. Approximately in Commissions= $200k additional annual (get at end of year) |
Anonymous
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If you get 200k at the end of the year - and it is currently the end of the year - why don’t you hold onto $50k for the car this summer? Where does the bonus go otherwise?
And btw, if you want a car this summer, you may want to start looking soon. |
Anonymous
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You’re better off dollar-cost averaging into the 529s and 401ks instead of fully funding it each December. That puts you dependent of market conditions in one month of the year.
Are you having cash flow issues during the year? Are you not making the commission money available to yourself the following year? |
Anonymous
| If you were taking home a normal amount you would be saving like $6k per month plus retirement. I think that’s generally fine? That’s 72k/yr. Could be better but it sounds like you already have a house, so that eliminates that as a savings goal |
Anonymous
| Your take home is 11739 per pay check or per month? |
Anonymous
Wondering the same. Something is off here. I make 225 and my gross is a little under 10K paid semi-monthly. Even if OP is paid semi-monthly, 11K a paycheck doesn’t make sense for 400K |
Anonymous
Adding that I cite gross here because my 401k comes out pretax. After deductions I take home about 6K per paycheck (after maxing my 401K, HSA, medical insurance and dependent fsa) |
Anonymous
Unless I'm missing something you need to be stashing away money into that 529 big time for college. How many kids? How far off for college? For private, it's heading towards $85K a year and that is in after-tax dollars. We started saving for two kids when they were born but it wasn't enough. And both went to state schools |
Anonymous
Someone making 400k +200k lump sum at year end can pay tuition with cash flow. 529s are a nice bonus to have. |
Anonymous
+1 OP your budget isn't bad but the fact that the first place you think to cut is 401k & 529 is crazy. With more than 1 kid you are not saving enough in 529s already. You spend $600/month on eating out. How are you spending $100/month on the lawn during the winter? Your car insurance is extremely high - raise your deductible. When you need to make cuts you do it to wants, not needs. |
Anonymous
| We make same and have mortgage of $5000. Where do you live and when did you buy! |
Anonymous
| Your numbers do not make sense at all unless you are saying the lump sum 200k is part of the 400k total? |
Anonymous
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Mortgage 3377 Cable and phones 240 - this is super high. Drop the cable, get internet only $30 a month and a different phone plan Internet 100 - crazy high - change plans to a $30 a month plan Electricity, Water 160 Garbage 30 Health RX (not covered) $222 Car insurance ms $270 Private Club $422 - drop this Life Insurance $107 Grocery $1000 Eating Out $600 - cut back Medical Co Pays $40 Lawn $100 - drop this, get two grass cuts only during the summer House Cleaning $280 - drop this clean yourself Peleton $42 - drop this PreK and Activities $750 Camps, Childcare + Kids Activities ($1000) - why do you have activities twice, and prek/child care? Haircuts $100 - a month? Very high |
Anonymous
where can you get internet for 30 bucks a month? Haircuts actually arent all that bad- if you have multiple people in your family. My brother cuts and colors mine when he visits otherwise it would be $75min for me every 3-4 months just for a cut. My DH costs $50 every 6-8 weeks. My son is $30 every 6-8 weeks. Thats an average of 70-80/mo over the year. Does FSA/HSA in your case not make sense OP? We put the max in every year and use it. I pay for vision and dental OOP for all of us because the premiums are more than paying cash with the plans we are offered. All Rxs and copays are pretty much covered and we both have chronic conditions being managed. |
Anonymous
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New PP here. Our gross base is only $300k and this is how the numbers shake out (deductions include healthcare and maxing out 2 401ks) - net is around $14k
$3330 PITI $400 car insurance, gas, parking (no car payments, we buy in cash) $2000 groceries/household and eating out $1000 kids sports/camps etc $300 gyms $200 haircuts and other personal care $500 shopping including gifts $500 utilities including bills like internet and phones $500 charity $500 miscellaneous $1000 travel All the rest gets funneled into 529s, IRAs, and brokerage savings |