Reply to Families of five, making under 150k, share your budget

Forum Index » Money and Finances

Reply to "Families of five, making under 150k, share your budget"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are a family of 5 and make 130K.  Our children are 18, 15 and 13.  I have basically been a SAHM since oldest DS was 2 (I worked full time until shortly before #2 was born.)  I went back to work very part time (9 hours a week) when DS #3 started kindergarten.  I work at a preschool during the school year so we only needed child care when I was working full time.  My income is used for kids activities and very modest vacation (cheap beach house for a week, drive vacations to visit family, etc.)

We bought our home in Fairfax County in 1997 so our mortgage is very low - $1600 PITI.  We own modest vehicles and keep them for 10 plus years - we stagger when we buy new so we've typically had one car payment for 4 years, then 2 years with no payment (save that payment for future car downpayment.)  Kids go to Fairfax County schools.

I rarely buy new clothes for myself.  I don't need a professional wardrobe.  DS is in the IT field and wears more casual clothes (khaki pants, polos) so he doesn't have an expensive clothing budget.  I rarely have to go to the dry cleaners - once or twice a year when we get invited to a wedding and have to pull out the "fancy clothes."

DS works 4 miles from home so we have minimal commuting costs.  I often only gas up my car every two weeks.

The only thing we have gotten help with is college education.  My parents paid for my college education and DS did the 12 year plan (worked full time from age 18 and went to school part time - his work paid for his degree via tuition reimbursement.)  I have a childless aunt who has set up 529s for the kids which will cover in-state tuition.  DS #1 is starting at college this week.  We save a modest amount for the kids - our savings will cover books and expenses.  DS and I were older when we got married.  We both had bought first homes on our own - I bought a condo at 27 with no help from parents and DS had bought a townhouse at 26, again with no help.  When we got married, we sold both and were able to put 20% down on a single family home in Fairfax County.  We've refinanced a couple of times to get the interest rate really low.  We made the decision to afford the house on his income alone, thinking we were going to have kids and I would become a SAHM.

The other really smart thing we did - DS started maxing out his 401K at 18 when he went to work full time.  I maxed out the Thrift while I was working and rolled it over to an IRA when I resigned.  We are way ahead on retirement savings.

We don't eat out very often.  There have been several years when we haven't taken a real vacation - we save up to take a nice vacation every few years.  Its not easy living in this area on such a modest budget, but if your housing costs are low, it can be done.  I will admit there are times when I wish I could afford the fun activities, beautiful clothes, and fancy cars that some of my friends have.  But at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade the family time that I have for more things.

Rough budget:
7000 take home pay

Fixed Monthly Costs:
1600 PITI
450 Car Loan
300 Car Insurance
450 Cable/Internet/Cell
400 Utilities 
1000 Food
350 Auto Gas

[/quote]

You sound pretty thrifty, but the "smartest" thing you did is have relatives who can pay for kids' education. [/quote]

The aversion to student loans on DCUM is ridiculous. The smartest kind of loan to get is an education loan - data has shown over and over that wages for college graduates are hundreds of thousands of dollars more over a lifetime than high schools graduates or even some-college graduates. They also have lower rates of unemployment, even during recessions.

The population which gets into trouble is individuals who take out loans and don't finish, so they get minimal benefit from their additional education while getting all of the loans. There are exceptions here and there, but generally speaking, investing in college pays for itself many times over.

I myself took out about $60K in student loans in the 90s, and am still paying them, 18 years out from graduation. My siblings are all still paying theirs, as well. My kids are fortunate in that our HHI is high, so we will likely pay for most/all their college, but we have 4 kids and if they have to take out loans to contribute toward their education, I think that is fine. [/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