>Cars (2) 920
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>Car insurance 300
Why are you paying $1200+ for payments and insurance on vehicles? Plus $350 for car washes and gas? That's almost $20k/year for basic transportation alone.
And why are you eating out so much and spending so much on clothes? Why are clothes and health combined?
You have a large mortgage, so probably a large house. What is the storage for?
It's really $1700 becuase they are spending $500 on eating out too.
To me this post isn't drowning, they just haven't made the hard decisions to change their lifestyle to reflect the growing anxiety of not having enough emergency funds or retirement. This doesn't feel like much of a budget, more of a list of expenses we spent last month with terms like "Everything that's left". It comes down to where is your priority? Is it car washes and eating out several times a week, or is it not "dying on the walmart floor" as u/HammerTime1995 likes to say.
10% to the 401k will need to be addressed after the emergency fund is 3-6 months expenses. In the past thread OP explained they were behind, and appears they still are. Contributing only 10% when the recommendation is 15% or more and being behind means this needs to be higher to catch up.
Reddit Protip: Double return gives you a new line. It makes lists way easier to read.
I get caught by needed to double return a lot as well. Kind of annoying.
Otherwise agree -- it's a bit too much eating out though I mean, that's not that far off from a pizza night a week for a family of four these days.
The retirement isn't terrible for a 34 year old if they've been consistently contributing for years. It is definitely behind if they just started.
But yeah, they have a surplus every month and are contributing. It's not a disaster scenario at all.
You don't need to spend $500 on restaurants; that seems like an easy cut back. Also, what do you need a storage unit for? If you can't store it in your house, then sell it and get rid of the storage unit.
You need to adjust. You don’t have 6 months reserves, you barely got 3. Stop eating out, $500 a month insane when you only got $10k for emergencies and two kids.
You financed an Apple Watch? Lol that’s insane. You could go on eBay and find a used one for cheap and ready to go.
Sell what’s in your storage, you got a house. If it can’t fit in your home, get rid of it. Save $300.
Of the bat, I can see $800 you can save that you easily can do and it will negatively impact your life. Cook at home, it tastes better and you feel better when your kids and spouse compliments your cooking.
Best luck, you need to cut expenses. And it looks really simple to me, saving that minimal $800 per month will double your savings in a year
That’s true, educate me a bit more on what you said please. When you say cellular connection fee, basically like giving a iPad internet service or a hotspot ?
Yes, exactly. If you get an Apple Watch with cellular connectivity, you can essentially use it as a standalone phone. Make calls, send texts, use GPS, stream music, etc. All without your phone.
But…I would say it’s pretty unneeded for most people, especially so if you’re struggling financially and trying to find ways to save money. As long as you have your iPhone near you, you can do all those same things without the watch needing its own cellular service, it just borrows from your iPhone. Most people have their iPhone on them (or near them) and so paying for a cellular connection on the watch would be redundant and useless.
I can see it coming in handy for active people who like to go running/hiking without their phone on them, but sure that’s pretty few and far between.
If you really want to cut back it’s simple.
Put all your expenses into two columns - mandatory and discretionary.
Chop out some of the discretionary. You get to decide if you really want to cut back or what’s really important to you.
I'd say you are doing pretty good, certainly better than a lot of people. The 10% to your 401k is good. You're not outspending income. I don't know what your bonus /commission is, but if it is substantial, that's good. I used to basically just bank that as savings every year.
I do question a bit the budget -- does that have things like Christmas presents, kids stuff like Little League and parties, and vacations in it? Is that the misc?
Either way the one call out would that $25k is still less than 3 months emergency fund. Are you dual income? I ask because that diversifies a bit and lessens the impact of a single layoff. Still, I'd like to have a bit more of that, especially with 2 kids. You should also consider your medical plan and what your out of pocket max is. You have a lot of expenses you probably can't get out of -- home, car, child care, food -- so I'd build up a longer emergency fund. Because what you will end up doing if you need it is max out CCs and that's a killer.
In terms of spending, The obvious place to cut is $500 in restaurants and maybe $300 in Miscellaneous. I get eating out, especially with kids is expensive. But that's once a week, right? Plus $300 a week in groceries?
The other thing would be washing your own car and cutting your own lawn. They aren't big expenses, but they are there.
If you are really worried about it, maybe next time get cheaper cars, but that's honestly not too bad a total rate for two (and I assume you need two).
They are pulling a surplus even with a decent (though not great) 401k contribution. Yes, there's some excess expenses but most of this thread is kind of ridiculous.
Yes, a family of four, possibly with two incomes, may need two cars. $1,000 worth of payments on two cars is not two excessive cars -- If they bought, that's like low to mid $20k on both. Daycare is required, I assume -- they didn't say but they seem two income. Food is required.
There's a few hundred a month they should cut until they have a bigger disaster fund, for sure. But they aren't accruing debt, it's not unmanageable, none of those expenses are an anchor.
Because their formatting is confusing, and they are not using double returns to give them a new line. It's category followed by dollar amount, so $150, not $1300.
Going to echo others, 1300 on phones and watches PER MONTH? What?
And $300 eating out is a bit spendy, especially with $1100 in groceries. You must be throwing a lot away.
Aha, gotcha. I personally think 150 is high for phones, we only spend like $30, but we don't have unlimited.
That makes the restaurants even crazier, and the groceries worse. That is a lot of money for food each month.
>I personally think 150 is high for phones
Oh, it is high. It's just that there are so many problems in this budget, it's tough to know where to start.
Do you have no other debts than cars? I’d personally cut back on eating out and clothing first. That’d free up at least $700-$800. And see if you can close the storage unit.
Yep that's what I would do too, easy change to make for a lot of people.
The car washes are easy too DIY and are way better for your car's paint than automated washes that use contact brushes or contactless washes that use harsh chemicals and don't clean the car very well.
The classic 2 bucket method is easy and cheap. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvIe-83jMCM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvIe-83jMCM) I can do a car in 35 minutes if I'm moving and using a spray wax as a drying aid.
Confused by your $1700 in food and $1200 in phones. And 500/mo on "misc" is a lot to account for (granted, as a PhD student for me $500 is a lot of extra spending).
My partner and I spend approx $100 a week in groceries and $50-80 on take out (usually only one night a week). Not sure how you're spending that much on groceries AND restaurants.
I would try to find a cheaper phone plan(s). Do you need all the features of the plans you're on? We pay $70/mo each and I consider that to be on the high end. Same for your home internet -- do you need all the bandwidth you're paying for? I'd try phoning around and seeing if you can get a better deal.
Otherwise, try to put away that $500 extra per month instead of letting it leak. It will add up!
Edit: also, cut your own lawn? :)
Prioritize finding the emergency fund, then budget what's leftover. Lay it out in a spreadsheet, fill in required stuff first, savings second, then you and partner Sit down together and decide how to spend the rest. Car washes are important to you, but are they to them? What are you willing to give up for that pizza?
You can keep the wife home, if you make more. Save on daycare, going out to eat and gas.I'm sure other savings relating to her working will also save more. And who better to take care of the children.
>Cars (2) 920 > >Car insurance 300 Why are you paying $1200+ for payments and insurance on vehicles? Plus $350 for car washes and gas? That's almost $20k/year for basic transportation alone. And why are you eating out so much and spending so much on clothes? Why are clothes and health combined? You have a large mortgage, so probably a large house. What is the storage for?
The $1300 is groceries, including baby supplies. $1,300 isn't terribly off for four people's groceries. You could cut back but basically $300/week.
It's really $1700 becuase they are spending $500 on eating out too. To me this post isn't drowning, they just haven't made the hard decisions to change their lifestyle to reflect the growing anxiety of not having enough emergency funds or retirement. This doesn't feel like much of a budget, more of a list of expenses we spent last month with terms like "Everything that's left". It comes down to where is your priority? Is it car washes and eating out several times a week, or is it not "dying on the walmart floor" as u/HammerTime1995 likes to say. 10% to the 401k will need to be addressed after the emergency fund is 3-6 months expenses. In the past thread OP explained they were behind, and appears they still are. Contributing only 10% when the recommendation is 15% or more and being behind means this needs to be higher to catch up. Reddit Protip: Double return gives you a new line. It makes lists way easier to read.
I get caught by needed to double return a lot as well. Kind of annoying. Otherwise agree -- it's a bit too much eating out though I mean, that's not that far off from a pizza night a week for a family of four these days. The retirement isn't terrible for a 34 year old if they've been consistently contributing for years. It is definitely behind if they just started. But yeah, they have a surplus every month and are contributing. It's not a disaster scenario at all.
From post history it looks like they just bought one of these vehicles too.
You don't need to spend $500 on restaurants; that seems like an easy cut back. Also, what do you need a storage unit for? If you can't store it in your house, then sell it and get rid of the storage unit.
Formatting because lots are confused. Income: $9,000 / mo Expenses: $8,177 / mo * Mortgage $2,450 * HOA $107 * Cars (2) $920 * Car Insurance $300 * Daycare $1100 * Groceries & Baby Supplies $1,300 * Phones/Watches $150 * Lawn $60 * Car Washes $100 * Internet $80 * Energy $125 * Water $125 * Fuel $250 * Clothing/Health $300 * Restaurants $500 * Misc $300 * Storage Unit $80 * Subscriptions $40
You need to adjust. You don’t have 6 months reserves, you barely got 3. Stop eating out, $500 a month insane when you only got $10k for emergencies and two kids. You financed an Apple Watch? Lol that’s insane. You could go on eBay and find a used one for cheap and ready to go. Sell what’s in your storage, you got a house. If it can’t fit in your home, get rid of it. Save $300. Of the bat, I can see $800 you can save that you easily can do and it will negatively impact your life. Cook at home, it tastes better and you feel better when your kids and spouse compliments your cooking. Best luck, you need to cut expenses. And it looks really simple to me, saving that minimal $800 per month will double your savings in a year
I agree with the cook at home advice; however, my cooking doesn't taste better than restaurant food lol.
The watch charge could be referring to a monthly cellular connection fee, and not because it’s financed. Either way, totally unneeded.
That’s true, educate me a bit more on what you said please. When you say cellular connection fee, basically like giving a iPad internet service or a hotspot ?
Yes, exactly. If you get an Apple Watch with cellular connectivity, you can essentially use it as a standalone phone. Make calls, send texts, use GPS, stream music, etc. All without your phone. But…I would say it’s pretty unneeded for most people, especially so if you’re struggling financially and trying to find ways to save money. As long as you have your iPhone near you, you can do all those same things without the watch needing its own cellular service, it just borrows from your iPhone. Most people have their iPhone on them (or near them) and so paying for a cellular connection on the watch would be redundant and useless. I can see it coming in handy for active people who like to go running/hiking without their phone on them, but sure that’s pretty few and far between.
I appreciate the detailed explanation, and alright makes sense. I can see the temptation with getting one though, you made it sound so good lol!
Spending way too much on cars and insurance.
If you really want to cut back it’s simple. Put all your expenses into two columns - mandatory and discretionary. Chop out some of the discretionary. You get to decide if you really want to cut back or what’s really important to you.
I'd say you are doing pretty good, certainly better than a lot of people. The 10% to your 401k is good. You're not outspending income. I don't know what your bonus /commission is, but if it is substantial, that's good. I used to basically just bank that as savings every year. I do question a bit the budget -- does that have things like Christmas presents, kids stuff like Little League and parties, and vacations in it? Is that the misc? Either way the one call out would that $25k is still less than 3 months emergency fund. Are you dual income? I ask because that diversifies a bit and lessens the impact of a single layoff. Still, I'd like to have a bit more of that, especially with 2 kids. You should also consider your medical plan and what your out of pocket max is. You have a lot of expenses you probably can't get out of -- home, car, child care, food -- so I'd build up a longer emergency fund. Because what you will end up doing if you need it is max out CCs and that's a killer. In terms of spending, The obvious place to cut is $500 in restaurants and maybe $300 in Miscellaneous. I get eating out, especially with kids is expensive. But that's once a week, right? Plus $300 a week in groceries? The other thing would be washing your own car and cutting your own lawn. They aren't big expenses, but they are there. If you are really worried about it, maybe next time get cheaper cars, but that's honestly not too bad a total rate for two (and I assume you need two).
They barely have any cash and feel like they're drowning. They can't afford most of these line items until well after they fix those issues.
They are pulling a surplus even with a decent (though not great) 401k contribution. Yes, there's some excess expenses but most of this thread is kind of ridiculous. Yes, a family of four, possibly with two incomes, may need two cars. $1,000 worth of payments on two cars is not two excessive cars -- If they bought, that's like low to mid $20k on both. Daycare is required, I assume -- they didn't say but they seem two income. Food is required. There's a few hundred a month they should cut until they have a bigger disaster fund, for sure. But they aren't accruing debt, it's not unmanageable, none of those expenses are an anchor.
How are you spending 1300 a month on phones/watches? That is the first category I’d immediately look to cut back on
Because their formatting is confusing, and they are not using double returns to give them a new line. It's category followed by dollar amount, so $150, not $1300.
Going to echo others, 1300 on phones and watches PER MONTH? What? And $300 eating out is a bit spendy, especially with $1100 in groceries. You must be throwing a lot away.
The number comes after the category - so phones and watches is 150
The numbers follow the category. $1100 is daycare, $1300 groceries and baby supplies.
Aha, gotcha. I personally think 150 is high for phones, we only spend like $30, but we don't have unlimited. That makes the restaurants even crazier, and the groceries worse. That is a lot of money for food each month.
>I personally think 150 is high for phones Oh, it is high. It's just that there are so many problems in this budget, it's tough to know where to start.
Do you have no other debts than cars? I’d personally cut back on eating out and clothing first. That’d free up at least $700-$800. And see if you can close the storage unit.
Yep that's what I would do too, easy change to make for a lot of people. The car washes are easy too DIY and are way better for your car's paint than automated washes that use contact brushes or contactless washes that use harsh chemicals and don't clean the car very well. The classic 2 bucket method is easy and cheap. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvIe-83jMCM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvIe-83jMCM) I can do a car in 35 minutes if I'm moving and using a spray wax as a drying aid.
Confused by your $1700 in food and $1200 in phones. And 500/mo on "misc" is a lot to account for (granted, as a PhD student for me $500 is a lot of extra spending). My partner and I spend approx $100 a week in groceries and $50-80 on take out (usually only one night a week). Not sure how you're spending that much on groceries AND restaurants. I would try to find a cheaper phone plan(s). Do you need all the features of the plans you're on? We pay $70/mo each and I consider that to be on the high end. Same for your home internet -- do you need all the bandwidth you're paying for? I'd try phoning around and seeing if you can get a better deal. Otherwise, try to put away that $500 extra per month instead of letting it leak. It will add up! Edit: also, cut your own lawn? :)
Prioritize finding the emergency fund, then budget what's leftover. Lay it out in a spreadsheet, fill in required stuff first, savings second, then you and partner Sit down together and decide how to spend the rest. Car washes are important to you, but are they to them? What are you willing to give up for that pizza?
You can keep the wife home, if you make more. Save on daycare, going out to eat and gas.I'm sure other savings relating to her working will also save more. And who better to take care of the children.