Want to see my budget?

[Anonymous]

I'm sure the question meant medical resident, not US resident.

[Anonymous]

buy a chain and padlock, get a mower and cut your own grass, lock it up outside and cover it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:buy a chain and padlock, get a mower and cut your own grass, lock it up outside and cover it.

Doesn't the moisture from rain/snow damage the motor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure the question meant medical resident, not US resident.

Yes, I posed that question due to the combination of crazy hours + low salary + anticipated increase in income. Sorry, I should have asked more clearly.

OP, why is your interest rate on your CC so high?

[Anonymous]

I hope he is a med resident because it is costing you to have him work. All while the poor kids are schlepped to daycare.
Why can't he stay home with the kids?

[Anonymous]

Your restaurant cost is very low. Do you cook at home a lot or you eat at fast food restaurants? If the latter, please cook at home, healthier for you and cheaper.

We are a family of 3, one meal out costs $60 easy. We eat out 2-3 times on the weekends.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered taking out a consolidation loan to pay off your credit cards? You'll pay them off in a fixed number of months (and can prepay if you can/want to to make it even shorter) and save money on interest in the meantime. Now that only works if you are committed to not charging them back up, of course! If you belong to a credit union, they tend to offer the lowest rates. Even a 13% loan would save you money over that insanely high interest rate you have on your credit card, but you can probably qualify for a lower rate than that.

I don't think your grocery bill is high at all. We are a family of 5 and easily spend $800/mo on just food, not including household items. We cook almost all meals at home and not much gets wasted.

What is $150 shopping? Is that like clothes? And what about ATM/7-11? What does that mean? What are DH work expenses?

I would try to get the Amazon bill down. Subscribe and save does not always offer the best prices. I do subscribe to some things, but only after I've checked the prices and it's clearly a better deal than buying a store brand.

Is the life insurance for both of you? If so then it's not necessarily that high. The older you get the higher the rates are, so depending how long you've had the policies you might not be able to get a better deal anymore.

The $90 for grass seems high to me too. Is the $175 cell for both of you? I pay $85 just for myself and I have a smart phone. And I still think that's too high! I know you have some time left on your K but look into switching when your term ends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You live in Pimmit and hire out the grass? That's the laziest thing I've ever heard. What is that, a twenty-minute task?

DH works 6 days a week, generally 13 hour days. Im a lawyer - we have absolutely no extra time to cut the grass. Plus, we have no shed in which to put a lawnmower.

I have never heard of a lawyer making 80k a year. Are you full time"?

yes ft make 100K

then why is your monthly 4000, something is missing

100000 *.65 / 12 = 5416

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you tried shopping at H-mart for vegetables & fruits? It's cheaper than Safeway or Giant. There's one in Fairfax.

I should check this out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your restaurant cost is very low. Do you cook at home a lot or you eat at fast food restaurants? If the latter, please cook at home, healthier for you and cheaper.

We are a family of 3, one meal out costs $60 easy. We eat out 2-3 times on the weekends.

We order pizza maybe 3 times a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You live in Pimmit and hire out the grass? That's the laziest thing I've ever heard. What is that, a twenty-minute task?

DH works 6 days a week, generally 13 hour days. Im a lawyer - we have absolutely no extra time to cut the grass. Plus, we have no shed in which to put a lawnmower.

I have never heard of a lawyer making 80k a year. Are you full time"?

yes ft make 100K

then why is your monthly 4000, something is missing

100000 *.65 / 12 = 5416

This is about right - I bring about 5600/mo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered taking out a consolidation loan to pay off your credit cards? You'll pay them off in a fixed number of months (and can prepay if you can/want to to make it even shorter) and save money on interest in the meantime. Now that only works if you are committed to not charging them back up, of course! If you belong to a credit union, they tend to offer the lowest rates. Even a 13% loan would save you money over that insanely high interest rate you have on your credit card, but you can probably qualify for a lower rate than that.

I don't think your grocery bill is high at all. We are a family of 5 and easily spend $800/mo on just food, not including household items. We cook almost all meals at home and not much gets wasted.

What is $150 shopping? Is that like clothes? And what about ATM/7-11? What does that mean? What are DH work expenses?

I would try to get the Amazon bill down. Subscribe and save does not always offer the best prices. I do subscribe to some things, but only after I've checked the prices and it's clearly a better deal than buying a store brand.

Is the life insurance for both of you? If so then it's not necessarily that high. The older you get the higher the rates are, so depending how long you've had the policies you might not be able to get a better deal anymore.

The $90 for grass seems high to me too. Is the $175 cell for both of you? I pay $85 just for myself and I have a smart phone. And I still think that's too high! I know you have some time left on your K but look into switching when your term ends.

We save a lot on the diapers, wipes, paper towels, and toilet paper on amazon. and K cups, which is a luxury even at $0.50 per k-cup.

The life insurance is for both of us - we are in our late 30s and it's with NY Life and they are super expensive I guess. I plan to shop around for something different.

Our grass is expensive because our 1/3 acre is really challenging - lots of vertical spaces.

The shopping is like a catch all for all our clothes and home depot stuff - so money is really tight to buy stuff for DD and the house it's terrible.

7-eleven is straight up luxury stuff I know. Like sodas, chips, beer, charcoal, etc. We should watch it there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your restaurant cost is very low. Do you cook at home a lot or you eat at fast food restaurants? If the latter, please cook at home, healthier for you and cheaper.

We are a family of 3, one meal out costs $60 easy. We eat out 2-3 times on the weekends.

I cook everyday save maybe 3 a month. Sometimes 2 meals a day if I work at home. I have a nanny share and the nanny and the kids dont eat sandwiches which is fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure the question meant medical resident, not US resident.

Oh - LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you tried shopping at H-mart for vegetables & fruits? It's cheaper than Safeway or Giant. There's one in Fairfax.

I should check this out!

OP if you are in Pimmit there is an H-Mart on Lee Hwy; near the new Mosiac District. They also have meat and fish and it's pretty reasonable. Also, I would try to find different daycare, that seems pricey to me.