Money Question that is related to Mortgage Question but a bit different

[Anonymous]

My continued thanks.

I like the idea of a stayvacation a lot.

I think I already have disability insurance.

I'll look into a life insurance policy for my wife.

[Anonymous]

If your wife's hair is important to you both, then by all means, keep paying for it.

Just be aware that this is a luxury, and a big expense. Life is trade-offs. If this is more important to you than putting it in your 401k, so be it. Just know it is a choice.

[Anonymous]

You've gotten a lot of good advice, and definitely are on the right track with your plan to sit down with your wife and start tracking all expenses over the next two months to see where the money goes. I'd bet that (in addition to your medical costs (and salon costs)) there are a lot of random expenses in the sundries column. We have one child and I have a tendency to get whatever diapers, wipes, etc., without looking at the costs. If we add another child to the mix, our budget definitely will tighten and I'll probably need to look for ways to spend much less. Another book you might peruse is "Smart Couples Finish Rich." The author really hounds the importance of saving for your future and illustrates how little daily rewards, like Starbucks coffee and a snack, can keep you from the big rewards like vacation and a planned retirement.

[Anonymous]

I will be the lone dissenting voice here about the life insurance or even the large emergency fund. If your relationship with your parents and sister (wife's sister?) is as solid as you seem to present it, and they are extremely well off, these things really do become less important. Plus you can count on a large inheritance. I would still very gradually build up the emergency fund though, both for respectibility sake and because nothing is ever 100% certain in life. But the truth is that even if you find $100-$200 per month to put in an emergency fund right now, it will be years before it amounts to something that would really support you if you lost your job. But be realistic about your relationship with your parents and how much money they would be willing to give you - without any drama - in the event you needed it. I can say that I have awesome family too, very very healthy relationships, who I would definitely be able to rely on. They just don't have much money! LOL!

I grew up in a family that didn't have home owners insurance or car insurance, so life insurance seems like such an extravagence to me. DH and I did finally break down and get it when we had our second child. In our case, basic life insurance it is offered through DH's employer. Any chance your employer offers it? We probably wouldn't have gotten it if we had wealthy families.

Overall though it sounds like you are doing well. Our finances are almost identical to yours: DH makes $130K, I SAH and have a small business on the side which fluctuates greatly but probably makes around $25K/year. No credit card debt, no student loans, small car payment, $1500/month mortgage, $200/week on childcare. I think you might find that a lot of your money is going to the doctors bills. Have you checked out what other health plans are available to you? We switched to an HMO and found that it literally covers everything and we were surprised to find we actually like the doctors better. Remember too that any expenses that are not covered by insurance or your FSA can be a tax deduction.

Anyway, we have recently discovered that we have $800/month to put into savings. This really surprised us. The way I make it work is I pay the savings account on the first of the month, along with all the other bills (DH gets paid monthly). Then whatever we have left we make last for the rest of the month and there is no confusion about how much money we have to spend.

[Anonymous]

An interesting perspective, PP.

It's actually my sister. And I know she could die, too. But in all honestly, BIL would adopt them anyways. He's just that kind of person. If both were dead, my parents would, but I wouldn't really want them there. Hell, in this day and age anyone and everyone could die in a heartbeat. Any day. So you can only plan for so many people dying. If my entire family dies, my kids' problems are gonna be far greater than any life insurance policy could ever fix.

Yes, my employer offers life insurance and I am waiting it to come around. It is offered infrequently without a health check.

Congratulations on saving that 800/month. It's impressive.

I worked on Mint for another two hours yesterday.

[Anonymous]

I know you have put a lot of time into Mint already, but consider Quicken. It tracks many more types of expenditures and assets, and your financial information is on your computer instead of out there on the web. Yes, I know a home computer can be easily hacked, but at least it's a tiny bit more secure than a website.

[Anonymous]

N.B.: You can deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses to the extent that they *exceed* 7.5% if your AGI.

[Anonymous]

which is a high hurdle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:N.B.: You can deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses to the extent that they *exceed* 7.5% if your AGI.

There may also be additional restrictions if the FSA was used (ie you can't double count). I'm not 100% sure on this, but worth checking out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know you have put a lot of time into Mint already, but consider Quicken. It tracks many more types of expenditures and assets, and your financial information is on your computer instead of out there on the web. Yes, I know a home computer can be easily hacked, but at least it's a tiny bit more secure than a website.

not necessarily. if you have wireless access and no security, firewalls or passwords... you can be less secure.