Reply to Support a family of 4 on $55k/year

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]And to address the PP, across Virginia, cost of living varies widely.

My husband and I are struggling with this as well. We want to save and live a decent life, but it's hard -- we earn about $180,000 combined, have two children in daycare (about $2,000), pay $2950 in rent in NWDC in a good school district. We have very little savings outside our company retirement accounts.

I worry all the time; not saving enough for our chidlren's eduction, what if something happens to one of us.

We've made all the obvious cuts: only one car, no cable, take lunch, no Starbucks. We spend a lot on groceries, which we are working on trimming (easily $1,000 a month for 4), and booze. We go out to dinner or do takeout maybe three times a month, which isn't THE MOST FRUGAL, I know, but I don't think it's exorbitant. Any time we take a holiday it's to visit family on the east coast, we've flown once in the past, what, 6 years?

UGH.[/quote]

What are you spending on?  You make $180K, say about 23% for taxes, 10% for retirement, that's still $120K or about $10K take home a month.  Take out your $2950 and $2000 and even your $1K for groceries (I agree with others, how can you pay that much!?!? unless you have two teenage boys eating $200/wk of junk) maybe $400 for utilities, you still have $3600.  What do you spend $3600 a month on that you are scraping by with so little savings?  At your current incomes, you should be able to save $1000-2000 per month (at least).

You need to get counseling because someone(s) in your household have no concept of basic budgeting.  You need to reevaluate what needs vs wants are and learn to live within your means and not try to live up to the Jones who make more money than you do because you should not be straining financially the way you are on what you make. [/quote]

Well, I'm not PP but there are a number of expenses you didn't address at all that she could be spending on.  Car payment, car maintenance, gas, transportation costs if taking metro, dry cleaning, kids clothes/shoes/diapers/wipes, maybe kids activities, utilities, entertainment, healthcare, dental work, hair appointments, etc.  Maybe PP can cut costs in those areas, or eliminate costs, but to say that she has 3600 per month extra without even considering these things isn't realistic.[/quote]

This is true. I'm not the poster of that comment, but I'm sure people would think the same thing of our income. "Oh, you pay X in taxes and rent and food, you should have Y left over!" But we have child support we have to pay for my stepson, a chunk of the mortgage on the house we own in another state (renter can only pay enough to cover about 3/4 of the mortgage), two car payments (don't have $40,000 lying around to pay for them in cash and last year, both of our vehicles got to the age where they were going to require thousands of dollars of work just to keep them functional and it wasn't worth it), a student loan payment. We spend a lot in gas and airline tickets in order for my husband to see his son as much as possible (lives 12 hours away). So, yes, he does make very good money and we are fortunate to have enough to spend on these things, but it's not as cut and dry as "Your only bills are utilities, rent, retirement and savings, where the hell is your money!?"[/quote]

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