Reply to Singel parent on $228K income

Forum Index » Money and Finances

Reply to "Singel parent on $228K income"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]And every day some other expense doubles or increases by 10-20%. WWYD? I am 50 and don't own a home.[/quote]

I’ll bite.  I’m a single parent and I make $230.  I understand what you’re saying about the constant increases.  Everyone is feeling that.  But I’m choosing to stuff money into my retirement accounts.  I know where my money is going.  I wish I had enough to have the amount of disposable income I think I should have in my brain.  But as long as I make the choice to save it, I don’t get to spend it today.  So Op—where are you spending your money?[/quote]

$30K/year to retirement 
That leaves $198 pretax
After retirement, taxes, FSA, health insurance premium I see $4660 biweekly. 
So $9K/month.
$3K to rent 
$60 water + $70 electric + $60 WiFi + $60/m subscriptions + $100 cellphone
$800 groceries + $100 pharmacy
$200 gas + $100 car insurance + $100 parking. Car is paid off.
$700 student loans
$400 supplemental disability insurance 
$1000 combined summer camp, vacation & annual travel
That leaves ~$2K for school needs (public school), babysitters, entertainment, clothing & shoes, books, health care co-pays and deductible, gifts, sports for kids, accountant, special services like lawyer or financial advisor when needed, car repairs, computer equipment/office supplies, haircuts, pet food/care & vet bills, home goods, gym/exercise (no gym membership), and everything else.
I barely leave home or shop, have no cable/TV/landline am somehow living paycheck to paycheck apart from the retirement savings.
[/quote]

How many kids?  $800 for groceries seems high to me but I have 2 kids.  I think you're feeling the pinch from the $700 student loans and $400 disability insurance.  That's $1100 in disposable income that is spoken for.  Everything else seems pretty much inline.[/quote]

Exactly what I was going to say. Groceries, gas, and student loans are high. You said you're 50? Why are your student loans still so high? I'm 42 and took out mega loans for law school but I pay a little extra every year and they should be paid off before I'm 50 (well before). I would take some of the money you are currently putting towards retirement and plug do a one off loan payment. Do that once or twice a year until they are gone. How much do you have left?

If you have two or fewer kids, groceries should absolutely be able to come down. What's your food waste like? Do you guys eat leftovers? Is it lots of prepared foods and snacks? Doing some meal planning and trying to get the maximum amount out of what you buy can change that a lot. We spend closer to $400-500 for two adults and one kid, and that includes all lunches. And we eat very well, shop at Whole Foods, no dieting or penny pinching. But we generally make big meals and then eat leftovers for a day or two, meal prep breakfast/lunches/snacks on Sunday so that we don't need to buy a lot of snack items, etc. It helps.

Gas also seems high though I know of course gas is high right now. But any chance you can reduce car usage a bit? Are you in office every day? Any way to incoprorate public transportation or limit your driving a bit? Or look to invest in a hybrid or electric vehicle for next car if you are super car dependent -- it will be an upfront expense that could pay dividends down the road if you have to drive a lot.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics