I make about $50k after taxes.
$2200 for 2 mortgages plus utilities and taxes
$500 for student loans
$400 credit card debt- a year to go on those
$300 for 529
$700 for living ($40 for phone, $200 food, $50 car insurance, $40 gas, the rest is miscellaneous).

Rent is widely variable. Personally, I can't comprehend how 20/30-somethings are paying rents of $2k+ in Arlington and DC. If you have the time to shop around you can really narrow down both cost & location...but again you've gotta have the time and flexibility.

30/M/single/$58k

Monthly budget:
Rent: $850 basement studio in Clarendon (mow the lawn and shovel snow for a reduction, utilities included)
Phone: $110
Internet: $50
TSP: $1500
Roth IRA: $460
No cable, HD antenna works really well locally
Variables:
Food: ~$100 (eat plain & cheap, and never turn down a free meal)
Gas: ~$80
Dry Cleaning: ~$40
Car Insurance + personal property tax: ~$900/year

The budget leaves about $300-$400/month in cash for haircuts, going out/drinking, mini-vacations, and whatever else. When that cash is gone, I lock it up and become a hermit until the end of the month and then the cycle starts again. Planning to continue living at about the same level and saving the difference as paychecks increase in the future in the hopes of retiring early.

Having a paid-off car and zero debt is the trick. Cash-flow does get better as time goes on.

Anonymous wrote:So our budget is 64k/2 adults late 20s and one infant

450- rent. Originally 1400 but we rent our 2nd bedroom for 950
250-300- utilities
Health ins and 401k- ready deducted from our paycheck
Food- 400
Misc- 75
Dog- 100
Going out- 250
Diapers/wipes- 100
Savings-1000
Expendable-around 300

Are you guys graduate students?

Anonymous wrote:I think the people that are claiming 1050 in rent and under are living in income restricted apartments.

I pay $750 a month and it's not an income restricted complex nor Section 8. I live in a nice neighborhood and a few blocks away are the $500,000 and up houses.

I also live in the South so I know that makes a difference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the people that are claiming 1050 in rent and under are living in income restricted apartments.

I'm the $900/mo poster. I rent a basement apartment. If I had a place in an apartment building, a ridiculous amount of my income would go to basic living expenses, and the school district would be awful.

I wonder if the $1050 rent poster lives in the DC area.

That was my other guess, I did the same thing but split it with two other people (landlords owned the whole house, basement had everything we needed including a kitchen) so I was paying really cheap and we were probably paying for 3/4's of their mortgage.

Either the $1050 rent person is like you, doesn't live in DC, or is in income restricted housing.

Anonymous wrote:I think the people that are claiming 1050 in rent and under are living in income restricted apartments.

I'm the $900/mo poster. I rent a basement apartment. If I had a place in an apartment building, a ridiculous amount of my income would go to basic living expenses, and the school district would be awful.

I wonder if the $1050 rent poster lives in the DC area.

So our budget is 64k/2 adults late 20s and one infant

450- rent. Originally 1400 but we rent our 2nd bedroom for 950
250-300- utilities
Health ins and 401k- ready deducted from our paycheck
Food- 400
Misc- 75
Dog- 100
Going out- 250
Diapers/wipes- 100
Savings-1000
Expendable-around 300

Anonymous wrote:I think the people that are claiming 1050 in rent and under are living in income restricted apartments.

Or in group houses.

I think the people that are claiming 1050 in rent and under are living in income restricted apartments.

I'm 23, make $55k and live at home with my parents. No kids, no car payment, no student loans.

$18k to 401k
$6k to HSA
$1k/month to my parents for rent. My older sister told me our parents did this to her also and then they gave it back to her when she bought her house.

Leaves me just under $1k a month for stuff.

I know my situation isn't relevant to many of you but I appreciate what my parents have done for me and are continuing to do for me. I read DCUM and read how many of you believe once we graduate from college we should move out on our own. I'm thankful my parents let me live at home and are enabling me to get my finances in order before moving out. I hope to move out in about 2 years.

$52K, one child

$900 rent, includes utilities
$300 car payment (only 12 more payments!)
$400 health insurance
$100 car insurance
$50-$100 on clothing and personal care items
$200 to help support my parent
$300-$400 groceries
No cable

A chuck of my disposable income goes to travel.

Anonymous wrote:30/F/Single/$55k

$1050 rent
$90 phone
$55 Internet
$400 car payment (i pay extra and I have 2 months of payments left)
$145 car insurance
$25 electricity
$40 gas (heat/HW)

Variables:
$150 gas
$150 food (I eat a lot of free food at work)
$300 credit card bills (2 CC's I need to pay off)
$200 to a personal IRA

That's a great price for rent!

30/F/Single/$55k

$1050 rent
$90 phone
$55 Internet
$400 car payment (i pay extra and I have 2 months of payments left)
$145 car insurance
$25 electricity
$40 gas (heat/HW)

Variables:
$150 gas
$150 food (I eat a lot of free food at work)
$300 credit card bills (2 CC's I need to pay off)
$200 to a personal IRA

It's me and my seventh grader.
$1400 for one bedroom, utilities included
$150ish for tv/cable
$85 for my phone (DD just got a phone a week ago and Grandma will pay monthly bill)
$250ish a month for food (groceries, eating out, Starbucks, etc.)
$30ish on transportation (mass transit)
$25 on toiletries
$50 on gifts
$25 on clothes for DD (Grandma buys the sneakers once a year)

The other thread really has me wondering what are your budgets if you make under 75k?

Our household is right at 72k but I thought we were the minority. No kids yet.

What is your budget and how many people in your family? Ages?