What monthly PITI would you be comfortable with?

[Anonymous]

We have a similar take home. 1 student loan, 1 car payment, preschool tuition. Max out 401k and put away for college for 2 kids. We spend 2400 a month (15 yr. mortgage). We live comfortably. Don't stress about money. We can do a few extracurriculars for kids and parents alike. We are happy with our decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$2000 max.

We net $13,500,
rent is $3K
maxing 401K,
2 kids in public, one in college.
2 kids in braces.
few extra curricullars
2 car payments (total $900 a month), paying down some debt accumulated while DH was unemployed. about $20K in credit card debt.

We do not live a fancy life and we do not feel like we're saving very much every month.

do not go about $2K, Life happens and you need to be prepared for changes.

This has to be a joke or you're completely disconnected from reality.

I net about half of what the OP makes and pay 2K for my PITI. It's not hard at all. I am still able to save money every month.

The OP could easily do $3500. If you have a hard time living off 5k after housing and retirement then you're doing it wrong.

I think that you're missing this poster's point. She is telling the OP that [expensive] things come up during the course of a child's life and if you are tied to an expensive mortgage you may not have funds available to pay for them. She is also pointing out that their income may not be stable for the next 30 years and there may be some periods of unemployment. She is merely making a suggestion based on her life experience and frankly I don't disagree agree with her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$2000 max.

We net $13,500,
rent is $3K
maxing 401K,
2 kids in public, one in college.
2 kids in braces.
few extra curricullars
2 car payments (total $900 a month), paying down some debt accumulated while DH was unemployed. about $20K in credit card debt.

We do not live a fancy life and we do not feel like we're saving very much every month.

do not go about $2K, Life happens and you need to be prepared for changes.

This has to be a joke or you're completely disconnected from reality.

I net about half of what the OP makes and pay 2K for my PITI. It's not hard at all. I am still able to save money every month.

The OP could easily do $3500. If you have a hard time living off 5k after housing and retirement then you're doing it wrong.

I think that you're missing this poster's point. She is telling the OP that [expensive] things come up during the course of a child's life and if you are tied to an expensive mortgage you may not have funds available to pay for them. She is also pointing out that their income may not be stable for the next 30 years and there may be some periods of unemployment. She is merely making a suggestion based on her life experience and frankly I don't disagree agree with her.

OP here... just to add.. we are both feds, so barring a disaster, our job/financial situation is as stable as you can get.

[Anonymous]

This has to be a joke or you're completely disconnected from reality.

I net about half of what the OP makes and pay 2K for my PITI. It's not hard at all. I am still able to save money every month.

The OP could easily do $3500. If you have a hard time living off 5k after housing and retirement then you're doing it wrong.

I think that you're missing this poster's point. She is telling the OP that [expensive] things come up during the course of a child's life and if you are tied to an expensive mortgage you may not have funds available to pay for them. She is also pointing out that their income may not be stable for the next 30 years and there may be some periods of unemployment. She is merely making a suggestion based on her life experience and frankly I don't disagree agree with her.

I'm not missing the point. It's just straight up absurd. I get being frugal. But, claiming that you can only spend 2k on housing when she makes 13.5k is nuts. What does she do with the other 11.5k?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This has to be a joke or you're completely disconnected from reality.

I net about half of what the OP makes and pay 2K for my PITI. It's not hard at all. I am still able to save money every month.

The OP could easily do $3500. If you have a hard time living off 5k after housing and retirement then you're doing it wrong.

I think that you're missing this poster's point. She is telling the OP that [expensive] things come up during the course of a child's life and if you are tied to an expensive mortgage you may not have funds available to pay for them. She is also pointing out that their income may not be stable for the next 30 years and there may be some periods of unemployment. She is merely making a suggestion based on her life experience and frankly I don't disagree agree with her.

I'm not missing the point. It's just straight up absurd. I get being frugal. But, claiming that you can only spend 2k on housing when she makes 13.5k is nuts. What does she do with the other 11.5k?

What I don't get about the $2000 figure is that it sounds like PP is a renter, not a home owner, and is paying $3000 in rent now. There's no theory where your PITI needs to be less than what you're currently paying in rent. For one thing, your net pay goes up when you become a homeowner. For another, a portion of your mortgage payment is going towards your net worth, so you can theoretically reduce your savings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This has to be a joke or you're completely disconnected from reality.

I net about half of what the OP makes and pay 2K for my PITI. It's not hard at all. I am still able to save money every month.

The OP could easily do $3500. If you have a hard time living off 5k after housing and retirement then you're doing it wrong.

I think that you're missing this poster's point. She is telling the OP that [expensive] things come up during the course of a child's life and if you are tied to an expensive mortgage you may not have funds available to pay for them. She is also pointing out that their income may not be stable for the next 30 years and there may be some periods of unemployment. She is merely making a suggestion based on her life experience and frankly I don't disagree agree with her.

I'm not missing the point. It's just straight up absurd. I get being frugal. But, claiming that you can only spend 2k on housing when she makes 13.5k is nuts. What does she do with the other 11.5k?

What I don't get about the $2000 figure is that it sounds like PP is a renter, not a home owner, and is paying $3000 in rent now. There's no theory where your PITI needs to be less than what you're currently paying in rent. For one thing, your net pay goes up when you become a homeowner. For another, a portion of your mortgage payment is going towards your net worth, so you can theoretically reduce your savings.

Exactly, where do these people live? Most rentals in the DC area for SFH are close to 3k and up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5K easy

That is totally insane

then most calculators are insane. OP mentioned their NET pay. Gross pay sounds like it is close to $210K/year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This has to be a joke or you're completely disconnected from reality.

I net about half of what the OP makes and pay 2K for my PITI. It's not hard at all. I am still able to save money every month.

The OP could easily do $3500. If you have a hard time living off 5k after housing and retirement then you're doing it wrong.

I think that you're missing this poster's point. She is telling the OP that [expensive] things come up during the course of a child's life and if you are tied to an expensive mortgage you may not have funds available to pay for them. She is also pointing out that their income may not be stable for the next 30 years and there may be some periods of unemployment. She is merely making a suggestion based on her life experience and frankly I don't disagree agree with her.

I'm not missing the point. It's just straight up absurd. I get being frugal. But, claiming that you can only spend 2k on housing when she makes 13.5k is nuts. What does she do with the other 11.5k?

What I don't get about the $2000 figure is that it sounds like PP is a renter, not a home owner, and is paying $3000 in rent now. There's no theory where your PITI needs to be less than what you're currently paying in rent. For one thing, your net pay goes up when you become a homeowner. For another, a portion of your mortgage payment is going towards your net worth, so you can theoretically reduce your savings.

yes, the conservative bent on this forum kills me. I had HHI less than the OP with $4K/month in PITI. You know what I did? I went to a 15 year mortgage and now my payment is $6K/month in PITI. Totally doable. Not sure what you spend all your money on. Rates are historically low, take advantage of them.

[Anonymous]

I think there are two things this OP needs to consider - 1) what if you suddenly need to pay for daycare? That's at least an additional $1k per month (likely more). Or even if your parents continue to watch the child, maybe you want to enroll in a preschool or something for socialization. Plans for other children? 2) Your cars are paid off now and should last at least 5 more years (assuming good condition), but either you need to save for new cars or make allowance for two new car payments in the future. While you can certainly go above $2k, I wouldn't go up to $5k either. Especially not if you want to save for college or have another kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there are two things this OP needs to consider - 1) what if you suddenly need to pay for daycare? That's at least an additional $1k per month (likely more). Or even if your parents continue to watch the child, maybe you want to enroll in a preschool or something for socialization. Plans for other children? 2) Your cars are paid off now and should last at least 5 more years (assuming good condition), but either you need to save for new cars or make allowance for two new car payments in the future. While you can certainly go above $2k, I wouldn't go up to $5k either. Especially not if you want to save for college or have another kid.

This is the best advice so far. Grandma could have health problems and not be able to take care of the kids. That could get real expensive real fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5K easy

That is totally insane

then most calculators are insane. OP mentioned their NET pay. Gross pay sounds like it is close to $210K/year.

I thought everyone knew that those calculators aren't financially prudent. I would spend no more than 30% of my net on housing. Being house poor would suck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5K easy

That is totally insane

then most calculators are insane. OP mentioned their NET pay. Gross pay sounds like it is close to $210K/year.

I thought everyone knew that those calculators aren't financially prudent. I would spend no more than 30% of my net on housing. Being house poor would suck.

because it sucks having an asset worth $1MM being paid for using 3% financing with amazing tax benefits?

[Anonymous]

You need to leave room in the budget for daycare, though. You can't count on a grandparent being able to do it forever. If you save against that possibility and don't need it, you have savings, but you don't want to be in a crunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5K easy

That is totally insane

then most calculators are insane. OP mentioned their NET pay. Gross pay sounds like it is close to $210K/year.

I thought everyone knew that those calculators aren't financially prudent. I would spend no more than 30% of my net on housing. Being house poor would suck.

because it sucks having an asset worth $1MM being paid for using 3% financing with amazing tax benefits?

No. Because everything around here is expensive. And who knows how long Grandma will be able to provide free childcare. It you want to be house poor, go for it. But OP asked what I would be comfortable doing. And 30% is my max.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5K easy

That is totally insane

then most calculators are insane. OP mentioned their NET pay. Gross pay sounds like it is close to $210K/year.

I thought everyone knew that those calculators aren't financially prudent. I would spend no more than 30% of my net on housing. Being house poor would suck.

because it sucks having an asset worth $1MM being paid for using 3% financing with amazing tax benefits?

No. Because everything around here is expensive. And who knows how long Grandma will be able to provide free childcare. It you want to be house poor, go for it. But OP asked what I would be comfortable doing. And 30% is my max.

Where would you live comfortably and safely for 2500$ per month?