Downshifting to 70K - family of 4 - WWYD

[Anonymous]

Hi all, we moved here from another state. DH really wanted this job so he basically took a 20k pay cut (and a COL increase moving from the Midwest to here) I understand his reasons and all, but now I am finding us in a serious pickle financially.

One big problem is the car situation. We got by beautifully with one car in Chicago. With the location of DH's new job, that is not working so well, and living somewhere else wouldn't fix it. He needs his own car.

I feel silly driving around a pretty nice car that I don't really need while all this is happening. We owe about 3K at 0% (a few more months), the car is worth 26-28k and has just around 30k miles on it. I'm thinking about selling it to Carmax and buying us two cheap cars and not having any more monthly payments. DH thinks this is a bad idea. I know we will lose some money on it, but since I don't need a fancy car, especially until I get a job, it would be better for him to drive a better car if he is the one commuting. I can get by without a car some days, but not every day, plus our minivan does eat up quite a bit of gas so it isn't the most sensible commuter car.

Any thoughts? Is my idea crazy?

[Anonymous]

Sounds smart to me! Oh, and... get a job, OP!

[Anonymous]

How much do you make at your job OP?

[Anonymous]

Wow, that was a terrible idea for him to take a paycut to move to DC.

Agree with PP, you will need to get a job. 70K is barely livable for a family of 4.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I won't discuss the terribleness of the idea. Chicago is not particularly cheap either and DH had a much longer day there. We barely saw him. This new thing is what he really wanted to do and there is room for growth.

I made 43k in my job before we moved. I'm working on it.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to add, in case it wasn't clear in my first post, I am planning to work. No guarantees how that will play out. I have a preschooler at home and am on my own while DH is in training.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and my 43k barely covered daycare and taxes. Not a magic potion.

[Anonymous]

DC is a heck of a lot more expensive than Chicago, OP. If you have one child and need two cars, then yes, get rid of that thing ASAP and get two cheaper cars. And yes, you'll need a job soon.

[Anonymous]

Sell the car. Take away some of the stress.

[Anonymous]

You are the woman who thinks you are entitled to be able to buy a house on that salary, aren't you? I'm glad to hear you have at least gotten some sense and realized you have to work. You should get on that ASAP, as it could take a while to find something, and the longer the gap on your resume, the less marketable you will be.

Of course you should sell the car, but do NOT do Carmax. My DS just sold his car a few weeks ago, and Carmax offered him $6400. He put it on craigslist and sold it in under 2 weeks for $9200. It was well worth the inconvenience of having a couple of people come by to drive it (not many). If your DH disagrees, what is his plan for paying for a new car on top of the one you have? If you can get $26K in cash you can afford 2 reliable but not glamorous cars (think Honda Civic), either fully paid or with a small note.

[Anonymous]

Sell the car, but do it privately so you can get the most money. Buy a couple of 4-5 year old Hondas or Toyotas and call it a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, that was a terrible idea for him to take a paycut to move to DC.

Agree with PP, you will need to get a job. 70K is barely livable for a family of 4.

Not necessarily. My DH took a huge paycut - close to 50%- when he became a fed. It's been worth it a million times over. He quickly moved up the GS scale. Plus, he has better retirement benefits, flexibility, job security, and most importantly job satisfaction as a fed.

We had to live frugally for a few years, but it was certainly worth it.

[Anonymous]

It's basically what we did because we had a car that was more expensive than we needed. I think it's worse the initial loss for the convenience. You need to be able to get around independently, especially if you're going to work.

[Anonymous]

Sell the car but be careful what you buy in replacement. you are going to be doing a lot of commuting so you want something that won't have issues and will be comfortable on the long drives.

[Anonymous]

I might wait a bit to see what kind of job you get. Do you live near a metro system? It might be possible for you to commute only via metro in which case you wouldn't need the second car anyway.