How does your family survive making under 200k hhi

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that if you stop going to Starbucks, all of your financial problems will disappear.

[Anonymous]

We have an HHI of $160k. We are a family of four and live in a 3 bedroom townhome -- actually we have another kid but he's at college and when he comes home he sleeps on a pullout couch in the family room. We drive two cars -- one is a new Honda and the other is 8 years old and was bought used. We eat out once a week and usually take one major vacation a year. Kids are in public school; will soon have two in college.

We manage pretty well. I don't feel poor, although I can't buy everything I want either. Would love new furniture, for example, but it's not in the cards right now. We will survive.

[Anonymous]

Wow. 200 K and no savings? What are you doing wrong?
Obviously, you have a leaky ship somewhere. Because 200K is a LOT of money, and your mortgage is not horrendous.

Track your costs everyday for next 2 months. You need help and I have a feeling you do not know what your real costs are. Eating out, maids, hair and nails, pets, lunch at work, extra-curricular activities - these kinds of costs can add up without you realizing it.

[Anonymous]

A couple of years ago we were living on 160K with two kids in daycare and saving plenty. How? we lived in a 1250 sq ft house, had no car, and every vacation was staying with relatives/friends. We ate out/got takeaway once or twice a week (cheap ethnic or pizza).
It all depends on your priorities.

[Anonymous]

Wrong, wrong and wrong. I'm raising three kids on one income with the income you describe. We own our own home on the Hill so we have good school choices. I'm SAHM, so we carry NO credit card debt because it's too expensive. Yes, we only need one six-year-old car because DH walks to work, but when I return after the kids get older, I'll probably take metro. No we don't go out very often, and then we split the entree to save $$ and calories. He's a fed, so we have health insurance, a good retirement and a couple of car (not airplane) vacations yearly. Our veggies are frozen, fresh or organic, depending on our moods. Our parents are elderly, so I help ILs, rather than vice versa. They're not available for babysitting, as they're octogenarians, but since I stay at home, I can help out.

I never shop at thrift stores, although I do watch for specials at Macy's. I don't have time to clip coupons, but that's not a bad idea if you have the time.

We'd rent out the basement, but right now we're loaning the space to a friend in need. Perhaps when he's on his feet, that'll be a source of more income. When the kids are all old enough for middle school, I'll return to work and then we'll get closer to $200K. However, I love our lives now. The kids are cute, the schools are good, the museums are close. I may not take the family to Europe every summer, but I'm pretty lucky.

Here's my take: there are people who just lost long term unemployment benefits out there. They have real problems. DH and I have to tighten our belts to cover overspending during Xmas and to pay for a few new appliances, but we're lucky in love, so we'll be fine.

It's all in the way you look at life.

Dude, I didn't mean that people did ALL of those things. Since you are a SAH mom, you have no daycare expenses. I said that if people do have daycare expenses, they rely on family for help (if not there is no need). I meant that people do some of those things, depending on their income. You also have only one old car, and don't take vacations that involve flying--things I mentioned. I don't mean to say that everyone is maxing out their credit card or foregoing health insurance, but some people "get by" doing these things that people on the board think are abhorrent. My in-laws raised kids, admittedly on a much lower cost of living area, on what, adjusted for inflation would be a bit less than 50K per year, so I'm just noting how they did it.

[Anonymous]

I am a single mom of 2 that makes 145K/yr. About 6 months ago, I took a hard look at my spending bc I was also living paycheck to paycheck and wondering where it was all going. After suggestions from others (some on this board), I was able to cut my grocery budget in half to $100 per month by buying in bulk those items we use when on sale and shopping at places like Aldi's for some items like organic fruit, bread and snack items. I also cut back eating out to one day a week and tend to go to cheaper places now and use groupons, etc. when possible. This fall, I bought a lot of dc's clothes at thrift stores and on ebay and saved a ton. I also now make my own coffee to drink on the way to work and bring breakfast and lunch from home so I rarely spend any money on food during the day.

There are areas where I could make even more improvement but with what I have done so far, I have been able to save an additional $400 per month.

[Anonymous]

OP asked about how people budget their money with less than 200K HHI *and 2 kids in daycare* but half the respondents here have older kids or don't use daycare at all. Daycare is a huge expense. It would be nice to hear more responses from people who are actually in the circumstances OP describes.

[Anonymous]

"How does your family survive making under 200k hhi?"
You can't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a single mom of 2 that makes 145K/yr. About 6 months ago, I took a hard look at my spending bc I was also living paycheck to paycheck and wondering where it was all going. After suggestions from others (some on this board), I was able to cut my grocery budget in half to $100 per month by buying in bulk those items we use when on sale and shopping at places like Aldi's for some items like organic fruit, bread and snack items. I also cut back eating out to one day a week and tend to go to cheaper places now and use groupons, etc. when possible. This fall, I bought a lot of dc's clothes at thrift stores and on ebay and saved a ton. I also now make my own coffee to drink on the way to work and bring breakfast and lunch from home so I rarely spend any money on food during the day.

There are areas where I could make even more improvement but with what I have done so far, I have been able to save an additional $400 per month.

Three people are surviving on $25 a week in groceries and that's WITH you eating out one day a week? There is no way.

[Anonymous]

23:21 here. You are correct and I meant to type "$100 per week".

[Anonymous]

We have one DS in FT preschool, so probably 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of OPs daycare, but our income is almost half yours. I make $100k and DH is on unemployment after getting laid off last fall. I think the main difference for us is that our rent is cheap ($1600 for 2 bdrm apt incl. utilities) and our cars are paid for (1999 and 2003). We also pack lunches and limit eating out. However, we are behind in savings and have about $75k in debt to pay off (mostly student loans and down from nearly $130k a few years ago).

My advice - get on a budget and figure out where your money is going. I use a budget program called YNAB and I highly recommend it to anyone that will listen. It's not about your income, but your spending choices and habits, IMHO.

[Anonymous]

We are a frugal people. All four of our parents grew up during the depression and came of age during the rationing of WWII. With the exception of a house and occasionally a car, we buy when we have the money (pay as you go).

We wash our shirts (only use dry cleaners a few times a year). We don't do Starbucks. We don't buy lunch more than once a week. We eat real food prepared at home. We keep our thermostat at 68' in the winter and 74' in the summer. We did the non sexy stuff to our house first (insulated, roof, efficient heating and Air conditioning). We drive cars until they die, but take care of them so they don't die prematurely. We fix things, reuse things then recycle them. We buy high quality clothes that last and not tons of them ( we have a regular closet- no walk in). We mow our own lawn. We do get an every other week housecleaner. We plan our errands. We plan our purchases. We tithe. We don't go to concerts or plays (except local free or nearly free ones). We use the library weekly. We clean our own gutters. We go to family for summer vacations most years (have a bigger vacation every 2-4 years- use VBRO type of places). We use DH's frequent flyer miles when we fly (which is not often). We host potlucks. DH has a smart phone from work, but the DCs and I have a pay as you go phones that cost $100/year each. We have purchased couches, beds and mattresses, but most of our other furniture is "inherited" (I call it 'early attic'). We have done renovations to our house once we have saved up the money. We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. We use cloths napkins and dish towels instead of paper in the kitchen. We use rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. From the get go, we set our expenses off of one salary and saved as much as we could.

Little things add up. It isn't just the Starbucks habit- it is 12-24 Starbuck type habits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a frugal people. All four of our parents grew up during the depression and came of age during the rationing of WWII. With the exception of a house and occasionally a car, we buy when we have the money (pay as you go).

We wash our shirts (only use dry cleaners a few times a year). We don't do Starbucks. We don't buy lunch more than once a week. We eat real food prepared at home. We keep our thermostat at 68' in the winter and 74' in the summer. We did the non sexy stuff to our house first (insulated, roof, efficient heating and Air conditioning). We drive cars until they die, but take care of them so they don't die prematurely. We fix things, reuse things then recycle them. We buy high quality clothes that last and not tons of them ( we have a regular closet- no walk in). We mow our own lawn. We do get an every other week housecleaner. We plan our errands. We plan our purchases. We tithe. We don't go to concerts or plays (except local free or nearly free ones). We use the library weekly. We clean our own gutters. We go to family for summer vacations most years (have a bigger vacation every 2-4 years- use VBRO type of places). We use DH's frequent flyer miles when we fly (which is not often). We host potlucks. DH has a smart phone from work, but the DCs and I have a pay as you go phones that cost $100/year each. We have purchased couches, beds and mattresses, but most of our other furniture is "inherited" (I call it 'early attic'). We have done renovations to our house once we have saved up the money. We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. We use cloths napkins and dish towels instead of paper in the kitchen. We use rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. From the get go, we set our expenses off of one salary and saved as much as we could.

Little things add up. It isn't just the Starbucks habit- it is 12-24 Starbuck type habits.

I'm the $185k income from earlier. We do almost all of the same things. And still live paycheck to paycheck! Mortgage is $2800/month, student loans $600. We pay off our credit cards every month (about $3,000 including gas and groceries). It's soo frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a frugal people. All four of our parents grew up during the depression and came of age during the rationing of WWII. With the exception of a house and occasionally a car, we buy when we have the money (pay as you go).

We wash our shirts (only use dry cleaners a few times a year). We don't do Starbucks. We don't buy lunch more than once a week. We eat real food prepared at home. We keep our thermostat at 68' in the winter and 74' in the summer. We did the non sexy stuff to our house first (insulated, roof, efficient heating and Air conditioning). We drive cars until they die, but take care of them so they don't die prematurely. We fix things, reuse things then recycle them. We buy high quality clothes that last and not tons of them ( we have a regular closet- no walk in). We mow our own lawn. We do get an every other week housecleaner. We plan our errands. We plan our purchases. We tithe. We don't go to concerts or plays (except local free or nearly free ones). We use the library weekly. We clean our own gutters. We go to family for summer vacations most years (have a bigger vacation every 2-4 years- use VBRO type of places). We use DH's frequent flyer miles when we fly (which is not often). We host potlucks. DH has a smart phone from work, but the DCs and I have a pay as you go phones that cost $100/year each. We have purchased couches, beds and mattresses, but most of our other furniture is "inherited" (I call it 'early attic'). We have done renovations to our house once we have saved up the money. We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. We use cloths napkins and dish towels instead of paper in the kitchen. We use rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. From the get go, we set our expenses off of one salary and saved as much as we could.

Little things add up. It isn't just the Starbucks habit- it is 12-24 Starbuck type habits.

I'm the $185k income from earlier. We do almost all of the same things. And still live paycheck to paycheck! Mortgage is $2800/month, student loans $600. We pay off our credit cards every month (about $3,000 including gas and groceries). It's soo frustrating.

If you're spending 3k/month on things like gas and groceries, there's your problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a frugal people. All four of our parents grew up during the depression and came of age during the rationing of WWII. With the exception of a house and occasionally a car, we buy when we have the money (pay as you go).

We wash our shirts (only use dry cleaners a few times a year). We don't do Starbucks. We don't buy lunch more than once a week. We eat real food prepared at home. We keep our thermostat at 68' in the winter and 74' in the summer. We did the non sexy stuff to our house first (insulated, roof, efficient heating and Air conditioning). We drive cars until they die, but take care of them so they don't die prematurely. We fix things, reuse things then recycle them. We buy high quality clothes that last and not tons of them ( we have a regular closet- no walk in). We mow our own lawn. We do get an every other week housecleaner. We plan our errands. We plan our purchases. We tithe. We don't go to concerts or plays (except local free or nearly free ones). We use the library weekly. We clean our own gutters. We go to family for summer vacations most years (have a bigger vacation every 2-4 years- use VBRO type of places). We use DH's frequent flyer miles when we fly (which is not often). We host potlucks. DH has a smart phone from work, but the DCs and I have a pay as you go phones that cost $100/year each. We have purchased couches, beds and mattresses, but most of our other furniture is "inherited" (I call it 'early attic'). We have done renovations to our house once we have saved up the money. We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. We use cloths napkins and dish towels instead of paper in the kitchen. We use rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. From the get go, we set our expenses off of one salary and saved as much as we could.

Little things add up. It isn't just the Starbucks habit- it is 12-24 Starbuck type habits.

I'm the $185k income from earlier. We do almost all of the same things. And still live paycheck to paycheck! Mortgage is $2800/month, student loans $600. We pay off our credit cards every month (about $3,000 including gas and groceries). It's soo frustrating.

PP here. Get Quicken (or whatever) and see where it is going. We spend around $1000 a month on food/bathroom stuff/household cleaning stuff for a family of four (2 teenage boys), this includes weekly take out on Fridays. ~$200 a month for gas. Our credit card bill (pay off every month and use for cash flow) is ~2k a month.

Our mortgage ( loan, extra payment, taxes and insurance) is ~$2500 per month. No student loans, but we pay around $500 per month for kids stuff that other people do not have (SN children need therapies and they are not cheap- used to spend close to $1k a month). No daycare (teenagers), but orchestra trips and summer camps run high $$ at this age. Both have jobs, so they make their own spending money. We save 20% of gross income in retirement/college savings vehicles/designated accounts. We also donate ~7% of our gross.

Early on, I figured out the more money I made the more I spent. So, we "pretend" we make less by putting a higher % in savings first thing- then we "pretend" it isn't there. If it isn't there, we don't spend it. We all used to live on much less when we were in college or just after, we tried to keep those spending habits by "artificially" lowering our income.