Anonymous wrote:Yes. Based on my experience growing up, our family of 5 is living very comfortably on $7200 a month.

Our Mortgage is $2k
One car paid off, one car loan at $300/month
Utilities around $200
Grocery budget is $1000 (which I find rather generous)
Saving $2000/month
No cable, prepaid phones, eat out 1x month, cook 90% of our meals from scratch and take lunches to work/school
I stay at home with kids

We don't go shopping 'for fun' and only buy what we need. Then we tend to buy better quality.

No 529s or other savings/investments (yet).

Our 'splurge' is yearly travel to Europe to visit family.

Anonymous wrote:This is net after-tax, meaning every month on the first $7500 is deposited into your checking account. With two caveats one your kids went to public school and to your more gauge was $1900 a month.

Family of 3.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



We live on $6K a month after tax and our mortgage is nearly $3K.

Montessori preschool - more than $10K a year
Older child goes to public
After-school activities total about $10K a year
We save to visit close family in Europe and Asia, but can't afford to go every year.

I'm confused. You have 3k in income after taxes, and mortgage, so 36K. Of that you pay 20K for school, and activities, leaving 1333 a month for insurance, utilities, food, transportation, retirement savings, etc . . . And you still save enough to travel to Asia and Europe every few years?

I know it's probably possible to live on 1333 a month, but it's got to be tight. Health insurance, food, and utilities would eat almost all of it. I don't think I'd choose to spend that much on after school activities if it meant making major sacrifices elsewhere.

I apologize: the house maintenance (mortgage + insurance + utilities) are nearly 3K and I left retirement and college savings out of the stated "take home" income. So 6K is after tax and after savings!

We DO invest a lot in education considering our income.
However, for the older one, I calculated he was getting a cheaper and better education with his special needs at a public school and with the appropriate extras, instead of paying for private school. The Montessori preschool is run by a teacher we adore and as Montessoris go, is actually cheap.
We trade visits with our parents and siblings in Europe and Asia.

I have learned to economize and live on a budget, and I have learned to like it. Scoring a designer outfit on eBay for a fifth of the price gives me a thrill. Our furniture is vintage Victorian from Craigslist, to go with our tiny Victorian house. I shop unprocessed and mostly organic at Whole Foods because that's actually less expensive than prepackaged stuff. However, there are 0 impulse buys and near 0 consumable experiences purchased, like Starbucks or eating out or going to a movie. We have Netflix, not cable; pay-as-you-go flip phone, not a smartphone with an expensive plan. You get the idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I find this hard to believe. We have no debt except for our mortgage. I'll breakdown our expenses:

Income: 7800/month
Expense:
1850 = mortgage + tax
600 = all insurance (life, house, car)
350 = cell phone + cable
400 = house utilities ( average) for water, electricity, trash, heat
1000= food
---------
4200 subtotal

I haven't yet added gas, stuff for the house (like cleaning supplies), clothing, etc.. and activities for the kids - which can be a fair amount. Maybe your kid has no activities?

If we don't have any extra expense, like doing stuff on the house, going out, or travel, then we can save about 1500.

OK
2000= mortgage, tax and insurance
$600 YEAR car insurance (home insurance is in mortgage, work provides life, and health was already deducted)
$66 cell phone, no cable
$200 utility
$500 food
Equals 2750 a month

But what about your expensive furniture, vacations and clothes? If that is coming out of savings, then you are not really saving. You are just postponing your expenses, and ideally you should divide them up and add to monthly expense calculations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



We live on $6K a month after tax and our mortgage is nearly $3K.

Montessori preschool - more than $10K a year
Older child goes to public
After-school activities total about $10K a year
We save to visit close family in Europe and Asia, but can't afford to go every year.

I'm confused. You have 3k in income after taxes, and mortgage, so 36K. Of that you pay 20K for school, and activities, leaving 1333 a month for insurance, utilities, food, transportation, retirement savings, etc . . . And you still save enough to travel to Asia and Europe every few years?

I know it's probably possible to live on 1333 a month, but it's got to be tight. Health insurance, food, and utilities would eat almost all of it. I don't think I'd choose to spend that much on after school activities if it meant making major sacrifices elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:No, we spend 11k a month, mortgage is 1800 a month. No child care expenses.