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[quote=Anonymous]We're thinking about buying a new house, and I'm a little freaked out by the size of the potential new mortgage.  We've never really lived on a budget before, but it might be a good time for us to start paying more attention to our expenses, so please let me know how our budget stacks up and also any categories where we should consider cutting back if we need to.  We are a family of 4.  Kids are 1 and 5.  Here is the projected budget giving effect to the new home purchase:

Monthly net income: $13,500
Mortgage: $4,000
Childcare: $1,200 
Grocery: $600
Restaurants: $300
Car payment: $300
Car insurance: $100
Utilities: $400? How much does it cost to heat/cool a 3,000 sq ft house? 
Cable/Internet: $75 (internet is reimbursed by my employer)
Cell phones: none (reimbursed by employer)
Kids activities: $150
Gas: $250
Miscellaneous expenses: $1000

That gets me to $5,200 left over each month, although that doesn't include things like vacations and several weeks of summer camp for our older child.  We also have annual bonuses totaling about $50K after taxes, so that gives us an additional cushion, but of course, that isn't guaranteed and only happens once a year so I don't like to count on it.

My biggest concern when I look at our budget is that we'll likely be cash flow negative if either one of us loses our jobs.  We make about the same amount.  Financially savvy folks, how did you approach that issue when determining the price range for a home purchase?  Am I being overly risk averse? 
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