Anonymous
05/09/2013 12:15
Subject: Re:Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can I ask what kind of charities you are all giving to each month. It is making me feel bad because we definitely don't give this much. We don't belong to a religious community, so we don't give to a church or temple each month.
We give $6,000 a year to our church. $1,000 each to two of our alma maters. $1,500 a year to one particular charity in DC. $50 here and there for neighbors' kids' fundraisers.
I give a couple of hundred bucks to our alma maters, but even that is hard to justify. Personally, I don't think colleges (or churches for that matter) count as "charities." We give to some local charities, like the food bank and services for the homeless, and some overseas charities, like Heifer and microlending charities.
Anonymous
05/09/2013 12:07
Subject: Re:Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:Can I ask what kind of charities you are all giving to each month. It is making me feel bad because we definitely don't give this much. We don't belong to a religious community, so we don't give to a church or temple each month.
We give $6,000 a year to our church. $1,000 each to two of our alma maters. $1,500 a year to one particular charity in DC. $50 here and there for neighbors' kids' fundraisers.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 23:25
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Private school PP here. Absolutely not pulling the kids from private. Our mortgage is low because the schools suck. The school they go to has 100% 4-yr college acceptance rate at competitive schools and prides themselves on finding scholarships for the kids. Current grad class of 10 kids has $3 million in offers. I'm willing to take the risk.
Sending them to private because your schools suck is a great reason. I'm telling you, though, the scholarship stuff is bogus. Reputable schools do not even publish this statistic anymore- "$3 million in scholarships" - because it is known to be so inflated in the industry. The majority of top schools do not even give merit aid. The best way for a school to up that "scholarship number" is to encourage students to apply to lower ranked, less competitive schools where the student is overqualified. That will sure drive up te number to impress people like you, but it will not necessarily be in the student's best interest. This is why many schools do not publish that statistic anymore. Good luck to you, but I genuinely feel sorry for you because you are taking what you hear at face value without realizing that the school is feeding you a manipulative line. There are a million great reasons to send your kids to private school, but I promise you this is not one of them.
I honestly really appreciate the feedback. There are many years between my kids and college apps, and you have given me important food for thought. For now, private works for us. Really, I want them to go to college where they will do well. Our school seems to have a great track record of that but I'm not married to it. I want what's best for them. Unfortunately, we only make 140K. So we're doing the very best we can and constantly reevaluating.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 23:03
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:Private school PP here. Absolutely not pulling the kids from private. Our mortgage is low because the schools suck. The school they go to has 100% 4-yr college acceptance rate at competitive schools and prides themselves on finding scholarships for the kids. Current grad class of 10 kids has $3 million in offers. I'm willing to take the risk.
Sending them to private because your schools suck is a great reason. I'm telling you, though, the scholarship stuff is bogus. Reputable schools do not even publish this statistic anymore- "$3 million in scholarships" - because it is known to be so inflated in the industry. The majority of top schools do not even give merit aid. The best way for a school to up that "scholarship number" is to encourage students to apply to lower ranked, less competitive schools where the student is overqualified. That will sure drive up te number to impress people like you, but it will not necessarily be in the student's best interest. This is why many schools do not publish that statistic anymore. Good luck to you, but I genuinely feel sorry for you because you are taking what you hear at face value without realizing that the school is feeding you a manipulative line. There are a million great reasons to send your kids to private school, but I promise you this is not one of them.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 23:01
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
About $9000 after maxing out 401k and healthcare costs
Mortgage 1,900
Student loans 2,000
Investment property mort and fee 1,100
Childcare 1,500
Car 400
Cable, utilities, 450 (includes prorated water bill)
Commuting and gas 350
Food 750
Formula & diapers 400
Yard 125
Cleaners 250
Savings 500
Misc household/clothes 400
Needless to say, we are aggressively paying down debt. The car will be paid in full in a few months, the student loans in 15 months (yay!!). Then we will increase retirement savings/investments, fund the 529s (DCs are under 3 so still have time to catch up) and save to buy another investment property.
Mortgage 1,900
Student loans 2,000
Investment property mort and fee 1,100
Childcare 1,500
Car 400
Cable, utilities, 450 (includes prorated water bill)
Commuting and gas 350
Food 750
Formula & diapers 400
Yard 125
Cleaners 250
Savings 500
Misc household/clothes 400
Needless to say, we are aggressively paying down debt. The car will be paid in full in a few months, the student loans in 15 months (yay!!). Then we will increase retirement savings/investments, fund the 529s (DCs are under 3 so still have time to catch up) and save to buy another investment property.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 22:21
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It was interesting to see what people did with $375K. Now what about us "poor" folks?
$9500 monthly take home pay (after retirement/health care)
Retirement is 5% and health care is $300 month
$2100 mortgage
$3500 childcare/tuition
$815 student loans
$1000 food (includes dining out and some household goods)
$500 utilities/cable/internet/cell phones
$500 shopping/activities/Target
$300 housekeeper (money well spent!!)
$250 gas/insurance/parking
$100 charity
$50 medical expenses (prescriptions/co-pays)
$100 life insurance
$30 gym
Anyone else?
Savings other than for retirement?
Unfortunately not. We put bonuses and tax refunds into savings. We also try to save on the months where we dont use our entire budget for food or shopping, but its rare.
And yes "poor" was meant sarcastically by DCUM standards. I do not think we are poor or struggling, just broke
No college savings, either?
Do you max out your retirement savings?
No college savings, we will continue to put current tuition/childcare expenses towards college when the time comes.
We each contribute 5% and have employers who match 5%. We are on track to retire with the numbers we want. I also don't care if I work 5-10 extra years.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 22:18
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
$6400 a mo net after maxing out 401K. The rest comes as an of year bonus (~40K ... About $180K HHI)
$2200 PITI
$300 car payment
$800 food
$500 misc expenses (eating out etc)
$500 electricity, water, Internet, tv, gas
$200 insurance (car, home)
$600 mo savings
$1,000 preschool fuckers
Savings per year:
17.5K 401K
13K employer match
30K annual bonus give or take after tax
5K general
$2200 PITI
$300 car payment
$800 food
$500 misc expenses (eating out etc)
$500 electricity, water, Internet, tv, gas
$200 insurance (car, home)
$600 mo savings
$1,000 preschool fuckers
Savings per year:
17.5K 401K
13K employer match
30K annual bonus give or take after tax
5K general
Anonymous
05/07/2013 21:57
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It was interesting to see what people did with $375K. Now what about us "poor" folks?
$9500 monthly take home pay (after retirement/health care)
Retirement is 5% and health care is $300 month
$2100 mortgage
$3500 childcare/tuition
$815 student loans
$1000 food (includes dining out and some household goods)
$500 utilities/cable/internet/cell phones
$500 shopping/activities/Target
$300 housekeeper (money well spent!!)
$250 gas/insurance/parking
$100 charity
$50 medical expenses (prescriptions/co-pays)
$100 life insurance
$30 gym
Anyone else?
Savings other than for retirement?
Unfortunately not. We put bonuses and tax refunds into savings. We also try to save on the months where we dont use our entire budget for food or shopping, but its rare.
And yes "poor" was meant sarcastically by DCUM standards. I do not think we are poor or struggling, just broke
No college savings, either?
Do you max out your retirement savings?
Anonymous
05/07/2013 21:52
Subject: Re:Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:Can I ask what kind of charities you are all giving to each month. It is making me feel bad because we definitely don't give this much. We don't belong to a religious community, so we don't give to a church or temple each month.
I'm the PP at $500 a month to charity.
We give about $100 a month to our church. The other $400, we tend to do all our donations in November and just choose a few charities that are important to us. Last year we gave to our alma mater, my law school, Make a Wish, Heifer International, the Salvation Army, the local senior services center, local animal shelter, and then random $25-$50 donations to friends who are running/walking for whatever organization. Donations to the schools are on the very small side.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 21:44
Subject: Re:Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Can I ask what kind of charities you are all giving to each month. It is making me feel bad because we definitely don't give this much. We don't belong to a religious community, so we don't give to a church or temple each month.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 21:36
Subject: Re:Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
HHI: $197000
Take home: $8700/month (after maxing 2 TSPs, daycare spending account, health and dental insurance)
Mortgage: $2408 (includes home owner's insurance and escrow for property tax)
Daycare: $1452
Charity: $500
Student loans: $320
Utilities (cell phones/cable/internet/water/electricity): $460
Life insurance: $93
529: $400
Car (parking/gas/insurance/repairs): $300
Groceries and household products: $450
Dining out: $450
Medical expenses: $50
Wine: $300
Savings: $1200
Misc spending: $300
The $5k we get back when I file the daycare spending account forms at the end of the year goes straight into savings as well. Good thing, since our HVAC gave out this year, the stoop on our house rotted out, and we owed taxes, which pretty much wiped out our normal outside of retirement/529 savings for the year already...
Take home: $8700/month (after maxing 2 TSPs, daycare spending account, health and dental insurance)
Mortgage: $2408 (includes home owner's insurance and escrow for property tax)
Daycare: $1452
Charity: $500
Student loans: $320
Utilities (cell phones/cable/internet/water/electricity): $460
Life insurance: $93
529: $400
Car (parking/gas/insurance/repairs): $300
Groceries and household products: $450
Dining out: $450
Medical expenses: $50
Wine: $300
Savings: $1200
Misc spending: $300
The $5k we get back when I file the daycare spending account forms at the end of the year goes straight into savings as well. Good thing, since our HVAC gave out this year, the stoop on our house rotted out, and we owed taxes, which pretty much wiped out our normal outside of retirement/529 savings for the year already...
Anonymous
05/07/2013 21:09
Subject: Re:Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
We take home about $9000 a month after retirement, health insurance, charity and flex dependent and health care costs are deducted)|
2200 Mortgage (PITI)
1500 Childcare
400 Gas, car insurance, tolls, car repairs/maintenance
400 College savings for two kids
200 Kids activities
600 Shopping (includes Target, Costco, clothing, makeup and anything non-food related)
800 Food (groceries and dining out)
500 Utilities, TV, phone and Internet
200 Doctor and dentist co-pays, prescriptions, eyecare
150 Housecleaning
80 Gym
Anything left- gifts, home repairs, non-retirement savings, haircuts, etc.
2200 Mortgage (PITI)
1500 Childcare
400 Gas, car insurance, tolls, car repairs/maintenance
400 College savings for two kids
200 Kids activities
600 Shopping (includes Target, Costco, clothing, makeup and anything non-food related)
800 Food (groceries and dining out)
500 Utilities, TV, phone and Internet
200 Doctor and dentist co-pays, prescriptions, eyecare
150 Housecleaning
80 Gym
Anything left- gifts, home repairs, non-retirement savings, haircuts, etc.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 18:49
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:qAnonymous wrote:It was interesting to see what people did with $375K. Now what about us "poor" folks?
$9500 monthly take home pay (after retirement/health care)
Retirement is 5% and health care is $300 month
$2100 mortgage
$3500 childcare/tuition
$815 student loans
$1000 food (includes dining out and some household goods)
$500 utilities/cable/internet/cell phones
$500 shopping/activities/Target
$300 housekeeper (money well spent!!)
$250 gas/insurance/parking
$100 charity
$50 medical expenses (prescriptions/co-pays)
$100 life insurance
$30 gym
Anyone else?
So, your cars are paid for? No vacations? No home repair fund? No debt service other than student loans?
$500 for cable/internet/phones seems REALLY high. I think we're closer to $400 and we have premium TV.
No car payments. No vacations, except driving to visit family or the occasional beach weekend with friends. No other debt. No home repair find. We ought 2 years ago and got a place in great condition and did some major work then.
The $500 includes pepco, gas, water, internet, cell phone and cable.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 18:17
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Private school PP here. Absolutely not pulling the kids from private. Our mortgage is low because the schools suck. The school they go to has 100% 4-yr college acceptance rate at competitive schools and prides themselves on finding scholarships for the kids. Current grad class of 10 kids has $3 million in offers. I'm willing to take the risk.
Anonymous
05/07/2013 17:19
Subject: Family budget if your income is around $180-200K
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It was interesting to see what people did with $375K. Now what about us "poor" folks?
$9500 monthly take home pay (after retirement/health care)
Retirement is 5% and health care is $300 month
$2100 mortgage
$3500 childcare/tuition
$815 student loans
$1000 food (includes dining out and some household goods)
$500 utilities/cable/internet/cell phones
$500 shopping/activities/Target
$300 housekeeper (money well spent!!)
$250 gas/insurance/parking
$100 charity
$50 medical expenses (prescriptions/co-pays)
$100 life insurance
$30 gym
Anyone else?
I seriously hope you meant "poor" in quotes because otherwise this is really offensive.
You see the actual quotes, right ?