Anonymous wrote:No.
Sitting on $300k cash in the bank and another $1.5 MM in the brokerage account.
We would probably be okay for ten years even if both of us lost the jobs.

How damn old are you

Anonymous wrote:Nice men who help pay the bills are jerks who use and abuse you.

Much rather live with next to nothing than sell my body and soul like that

Damn. I thought I was just trying to be a good guy but it sounds like I need to start being a jerk and abusing my wife. Really?

No.
160k HHI from work + ~ 25k investment income yearly (required distributions). Large invested nest egg due to inheritance, but we don't touch it. About $100k cash.

We do basically live paycheck to paycheck day-to-day, since we don't touch the investments. Mortgage is low - house paid off so taxes & insurance run about $1000/mo, but we are about to start 2 daycare payments at about $4k/mo (!). Car payments, bills, etc takes the rest of our take-home. I realize we are very lucky to have the cushion.

Anonymous wrote:I want to know where OP found a 2br condo for $1400 in Alexandria. I live in Alexandria and pay that for a 1br.

Op here. I found it on Craigslist. I had been looking for a really long time for the right place where we could be happy and after a few months I had finally found it. I am currently renting a condo from a private owner. When I viewed the condo it was already empty as the previous tenant had moved out. The owner mentioned that she had been trying to fill the spot for a while with a qualified renter. From what I gathered the place had been empty for a of couple months. I still had one more month to go on my old lease but I really liked this new place! Knowing that she was trying to get a renter asap I explained that I still had one more month to go but really loved the place and would be willing to secure it early (i.e pay overlapping rent on both places for the one month) and I asked her how she felt about reducing the rent by $100 per month. I have always paid my rent on time, sometimes early and in general and am low maintenance tenant. My previous landlord had already made it clear that he was sad to see me go but would give great reviews. The reason I was looking to move was to go from a 1BR to 2BR. By the new landlord reducing the rent by $100 every month I could recover most of the money that I would spend in the overlapping rent and she could secure a responsible tenant asap. She agreed to a rent reduction and everything worked out from there. Most of my current neighbors are owners and take pride in the upkeep of the community. The majority of folks are really nice and there are plenty of families with young children. Overall I'm very happy with the move and I count my blessings each day.

I've always found that renting from a private landlord/owner in a condo community has gotten me cheaper rent and a better living environment than renting directly from an apartment management company. With that being said there are 2 BR's in Alexandria that rent for less than $1400 a month (both from private owners and apt mgmt companies) but you have to be very discerning to make sure that it's a good neighborhood and a good fit.

For example I just now checked out Craigslist and found these 2BR's all under $1400:

$1350: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/4099876039.html
$1100: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/4036813598.html
$1400: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/4096460238.html
$1200: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/4089994982.html
$1078: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/4102264012.html
$1295: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/4102209111.html

Good deals can be found it just takes some time and research and a whole lot of patience

We have some money in savings that could cover us if one of us lost our job. But in that situation, we would take our 3 kids out of daycare and our expenses would be a lot lower. We could only manage maybe a month or two of daycare on just one salary before totally depleting our savings.

Anonymous wrote:I'm still trying to determine if OP WAS married (and therefore can collect child support from the father(s) of her 2 children) or if she used donor sperm

Op here. I am a single mom by choice/ donor sperm.

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Anonymous wrote:Yes or no?

In light of the recent shutdown it seems that some people are scrambling trying to figure out how to pay the monthly bills.

Do you feel adequately prepared in the event that you might suddenly lose your income or do you live paycheck to paycheck?

I'll start...

I'm a single mom of 2 under 2 (toddler and infant). My gross is about $67K per year. No, I do not live paycheck to paycheck.

I'm a single mom of one 4 year old. Do you live in the DC area?

Op here. I live in Alexandria, VA.

do you have child support money coming in? An extremely cheap rent/mortgage? I feel like there is more to your story.

No child support. No family in the area. Dad passed when I was young and mom lives several thousands of miles away and grosses about $20K per year working a customer service job.

Rent on my 2BR condo is $1400. Older car that is paid off. Luckily both of my children are the same gender and since they are so close together in age I've been able to pass most everything from DC1 down to DC2. I also buy most of my children's things on Craigslist, garage sales or consignment sales. I use a cheaper in home day care where I get a discount for 2 kids as opposed to the more expensive commerical day care centers near my job at Farragut North.

I cook most food from scratch, repurpose things where I can, combine grocery trips errands to save on gas, fill up on gas late night/early morning when the fuel temp is cooler and it has not had a chance to expand sot that I can pay cheaper gas prices. Avoid impulse buys. Everything is researched and planned out. If something new is needed it seriously takes me several months to figure out what is the best product for my needs and where I can buy it the cheapest. Keep my windows open as much as possible to avoid AC costs.

I guess it's a bunch of small things that add up and contribute to the larger picture of living simplistically and saving money.

Np here....did you ever think about marrying someone in order to alleviate some of the financial stress? I know this will get flamed but I think about sometimes what I would do if I found myself to be single with children to care for and I think my survival mentality would be to find a nice man who could helps pay the bills. My line of thinking seems so antiquated.....and you seem to have worked out a system that works but not without stress, I'm sure.

This would not be an option right now. I have not had a good experience with men and am not in a place where my heart can be open to a men. If it happens in a few years...down the road I probably wouldn't be opposed to it but it's not something that I'm seeking out.

Anonymous wrote:So many people are so judgmental! Everyone's life is complicated. Some people have a good bank account and a bad marriage. Others have a good marriage and not much money.theres an old Christmas story about a poor husband and wife who secretly sell their own most prized possessions to buy the other a meaningful gift. The husband sells his violin (or some instrument, I forget...) to get his wife a fancy comb for her long, luxurious hair while the wife sells her hair to a wig maker to buy her husband a bow for his instrument. But, anyway, in the end I guess it's the thought that counts.

And in any event, everything can be taken away from you in an instant. You never know. So, as the Zen folks say, don't fool yourself into thinking you can control very much in the end. Have compassion for others.

In O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi", Jim sells his gold watch to buy Della set of hair combs. Della sells her hair to buy Jim a watch fob.

I want to know where OP found a 2br condo for $1400 in Alexandria. I live in Alexandria and pay that for a 1br.

So many people are so judgmental! Everyone's life is complicated. Some people have a good bank account and a bad marriage. Others have a good marriage and not much money.theres an old Christmas story about a poor husband and wife who secretly sell their own most prized possessions to buy the other a meaningful gift. The husband sells his violin (or some instrument, I forget...) to get his wife a fancy comb for her long, luxurious hair while the wife sells her hair to a wig maker to buy her husband a bow for his instrument. But, anyway, in the end I guess it's the thought that counts.

And in any event, everything can be taken away from you in an instant. You never know. So, as the Zen folks say, don't fool yourself into thinking you can control very much in the end. Have compassion for others.

I'm still trying to determine if OP WAS married (and therefore can collect child support from the father(s) of her 2 children) or if she used donor sperm

Np here....did you ever think about marrying someone in order to alleviate some of the financial stress? I know this will get flamed but I think about sometimes what I would do if I found myself to be single with children to care for and I think my survival mentality would be to find a nice man who could helps pay the bills. My line of thinking seems so antiquated.....and you seem to have worked out a system that works but not without stress, I'm sure.