Reply to Shocked: Our bare-bones monthly cost of living is 5K after taxes! What's yours?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm sure I'll get flamed right and left for this, but our "bare bones" budget is over 10,000 a month. That includes the usual stuff (mortgage, insurance, food, utilities - no car or student loan debt anymore) plus costs for a property we can't sell and the money we give to our parents to keep them from having to live in a box in their old age. If we had to let something go, we could stop paying for the underwater property but we believe in living up to our obligations and instead are living very frugally in order to pay down that debt as quickly as possible. We'll be clear of it in 3 years. I live for that day...[/quote]

I don't think there's anything flameworthy in this post - but I do think you're overstating your bare bones budget.  Specifically with respect to your underwater property.  If you're overpaying and "living very frugally in order to pay down that debt as quickly as possible," that payment is more than required to meet your obligations, and more than your bare bones payment.

Note:  I am absolutely not criticizing your chouces - what you are doing is both smart and praiseworthy.  [/quote]

Well, that depends on how you look at it. True, we could legally pay less on a monthly basis. But, we are obligated to the total debt, not just the monthly payment. That we could get away with paying less on a monthly basis without being thrown in jail (or whatever) doesn't change the fact that we still owe the total. Plus, every month that large amount sits there, it gains compound interest and makes it harder and harder to pay back and we end up paying more and more to borrow the principal. So, I don't consider it truly optional to not pay as much as we can. Just because the bank won't repossess or throw us in jail because we paid only the minimum doesn't mean the consequences aren't very, very serious and very immediate. Every month when I see that interest statement it becomes clear that paying the minimum is not a choice. It's just a question of choosing which terrible consequence you face.[/quote]

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