Anonymous wrote:65 for 2 phones? What kind of fairytale is that?

NP and we spend $25 per phone with Sprint. Sister and her DH are on the same plan with us and each line is $25.

We use ynab (ynab.com) for our household budget. It is amazing. Use it for 1 full month, you can see where your money is going. I suspect some of your categories are underfunded, but, maybe not.

The way we budget is to record our spending in quicken and look at where we are spending to see where we are overspending. You can go back 6 months now and put in all your spending from bills and credit cards and make an estimate for cash spending. Credit card info can be downloaded straight to quicken and you just have to designate category once- E.g. Safeway charge to food.

65 for 2 phones? What kind of fairytale is that?

How old are the kids?

That’s crazy tight. Real life always costs more. Significantly more. Just thinking they this weekend’s spending (even though it’s only Sunday morning), we spent over 350 unexpected items. I would add at least 25% buffer.

Clothing? It doesn’t seem like you are buying that much (on this budget) from
amazon, query whether prime is worth the expense?

Personal care? ie haircuts, nails

Health care costs- deductibles, co-pays
Life insurance
Expected non-recurring expenses- this is for those things that happen every month - but are one offs. Something breaks and has to be replaced, budgetary item as s over budget for that month, twisted ankle and need crutches....

How much do you currently have in your emergency fund?

You could put your leftover $420 a month into a “life happens” fund to cover those unusual but not really emergency things to that pop up.

If you’re about to move, there will undoubtedly be things you need to (or want to) but for the new house.

Things missing: life insurance?

Anonymous wrote:The PITI is low so it doesn't seem like you are in a huge house, but roofs, hvac, plumbing leaks, water heater, siding, etc need maintenance and repair. I think maintenance is covered but not unexpected repairs or replacement.

Emergency fund to me is for living expenses in case you lose your job, not for emergency expenses that pop up.

Thanks, appreciate the perspective. We're moving into a relatively new townhouse, with all systems in good condition, but there may still be issues that come up. Should probably have a separate "house emergency" fund!

The PITI is low so it doesn't seem like you are in a huge house, but roofs, hvac, plumbing leaks, water heater, siding, etc need maintenance and repair. I think maintenance is covered but not unexpected repairs or replacement.

Emergency fund to me is for living expenses in case you lose your job, not for emergency expenses that pop up.

Anonymous wrote:vet bills never may be more
kids expenses will be more
household expenses will be more
generally you don't seem to be saving for the unexpected.
do you have an emergency fund?

Vet bills are just for the annual exams, which are predictable -- other than that it'd be the emergency fund. Yes, I have one, and this budget has $300/mo for it ("E-fund"). Could definitely be more, though! I'm torn about putting more $$ into that vs retirement. My logic is that we have a vast amount of low-interest credit for an emergency, whereas I want to give the retirement money time to grow. But it's definitely worth considering.

What household expenses are you thinking of that could be more?

vet bills never may be more
kids expenses will be more
household expenses will be more
generally you don't seem to be saving for the unexpected.
do you have an emergency fund?

Preparing for some life transitions and hoping to have a feasible budget plan. Thoughts?

Take home: $10k/month.

Fixed expenses
Mortgage (PITI) 2300
Childcare 2600
Utilities 300
Auto insurance 110
Phones (x2) 65
Internet 80

Budget for variable expenses
Gas 80
Groceries 800
Household/pet supplies 100

Saving for future necessities
Car maintenance fund 140
Home maintenance fund 100
Summer camp 150
Vet annual checkups 20

Fun stuff
Vacation 200
Media subscriptions 30
Prime membership 10
Adult lunches/spending money/clothing 500 (250/ea)
Holiday/birthday (all family members) 50
Charitable contributions 50

Kid stuff
Kid music lessons 120
Kid other activities 50
Kid clothing 50

Saving
E-fund 300
Retirement 1300
FSA 75

Total: 9580

Have I left anything out? No car payment, hope to keep our one car running until it falls apart (it's a Toyota with 65k miles, so it's got a lot of life left). No 529, but my employer has a dependent tuition benefit, and we're hoping to start one up in a few years. Anything else I'm missing? Does this seem doable/balanced?

Thanks for any opinions!