Category | Monthly amt. | Comments | Annual |
Salary/Wages | $5,417 | $65,000 | |
401(k) / 403(b) / TSP / etc. | $542 | Room to increase? | $6,500 |
Federal Adj. Gross Inc. | $4,875 | $58,500 | |
Federal tax | $97 | 2015 rates, stand. ded., 4 exemptions | $1,163 |
State/City tax | $244 | Guess, using 5.00% * Fed. AGI | $2,925 |
Soc. Sec. | $336 | Assumes 1 earner paying | $4,030 |
Medicare | $79 | $942 | |
Total income taxes | $755 | $9,060 | |
Income before other expenses | $4,120 | $49,440 |
Give (10% tithing, PTA): 7388
...
(overspent by 13412, dipped into savings)
Questions:1. As things stand, you are depleting your after tax savings in order to fund the 401k. Not the worst idea in the world, but as others have noted it would be far better to cut spending now so you have more to invest.
1. Where should we put the few hundreds dollars per month that we can scrape together?
2. I'm guessing we should pay the minimum payments on debts since interest is so low.
3. Should we focus on a house downpayment or retirement?
4. Where should we save for a house? In our online savings account making .5%. In a stock mutual fund? Betterment?
Should we be funding the Roth IRA instead of the 401(k) with no match? Should we keep saving 10% or should we reduce this to put total focus on the House nest egg to build that up quickly?
5. Or should we give up on ever buying a house in order to work towards fully funding both the IRA and 401(k)?
6. How much money should we keep in savings/checking accounts for emergencies versus putting any extra into Stocks?
Goals:Other posters have provided excellent feedback about your budget. I just want to point out that you can't afford a house. Assuming you can pull together a 20% down payment and find a house at the bottom of the range, you're still going to have a mortgage for $280k. With a mortgage rate at 4%, you're looking at a payment of $1336/month. This doesn't include insurance or taxes. You pay $800/month for rent. STAY!
Buy a House! Wife of 14 years is anxious to buy our first house. Homes in our metro are a good $350,000-450,000 for 3 bedrooms.
Where should we put the few hundreds dollars per month that we can scrape together?I don't see the few hundred/month left over. It appears you're overspending, so I would recommend putting the money into an easily accessible savings account to avoid credit cards.
I'm guessing we should pay the minimum payments on debts since interest is so low.Some posters may have a different position, but I would focus on paying off your car loan. I think a loan on a depreciating asset is dangerous. Paying off your car loan will help free up some monthly cash.
Should we focus on a house downpayment or retirement?You can't afford a house, so I would focus on retirement.
Where should we save for a house? In our online savings account making .5%. In a stock mutual fund? Betterment?You can't afford a house. You're already over budget, so a house in your area would be a huge mistake.
Should we be funding the Roth IRA instead of the 401(k) with no match? Should we keep saving 10% or should we reduce this to put total focus on the House nest egg to build that up quickly?Keep contributing to the 401k. No house. Your husband is 43. When does he want to retire? With your current spending ($64,962) and your 401k savings ($7190), your husband will need to work an additional 45 years before retirement if you exclude SS (and I've neglected to include the fact that you spent more than you earned last year).
Or should we give up on ever buying a house in order to work towards fully funding both the IRA and 401(k)?
More info. on our trainwreck of 2014.
Income: 71900 gross, 12000 from overtime. (Husband made 20,000 of overtime in 2013, so this year was tight.)
10% to 401(k) no match 7190
Minus 5920 taxes/SS/disability, 7240 to healthcare premiums!, 2500 FSA contributions
Net pay: 49050
Healthcare premiums are even more this year.
We have so far only been able to claim myself and the 2 kids as tax deductions. Even adding a 10% tithe and one year I bothered to add up all the medical expenses beyond the FSA fund and still the child deductions give us more back than itemizing.
2014 Spending
Dwell: 12973
rent: 9600 (50% of going rate in our neighborhood)
util.: 2351
cell: 410
basic cable/internet/netflix: 612
Give (10% tithing, PTA): 7388
Eat: 8748 (YIKES)
cook: 6447 (some allergy-free foods)
dine: 2301 (some days no energy to cook)
Heal: 6677 (autoimmune disease, special needs child)
Dr. co-pays/labs: 5079 (used 2500 FSA)
Rx: 1280
fitness: 318
Go: 5073 (husband bikes to work most days)
gas: 2400
car ins.: 590
reg.: 131
parking: 71
bus: 430
car maint.: 1287
bike maint./clothes: 207
Used car downpayment: 8470 from savings
Owe: 3494 (will be 325/mo. or 3900/yr for 2015)
BS/BFA loans $8157@1.5%: 2410
used car loan $9685@2.74%: 1084
Travel: 2023 (road trip to relatives, activities, food, first kid-free trip on a weekend)
Learn: 895 (school field trips, summer swim lessons, kid dance)
Buy: 3505 (replaced broken laptop, toiletries, toys, books, library fines, crafts, life ins., Christmas)
Style: 4028 (clothes/shoes, hair, make-up, Christmas) ACK! Ummm...fluctuating weight needed a size-up wardrobe, replacing husband's worn work clothes, various weather shoes, too many kids clothes
Do: 1020 (National Parks, camping, hunting, zoo, family outings, babysitting)
Work: 668 (classes, prof. org. fees, career coach)
Grand total: 64962 (overspent by 13412, dipped into savings)
For years I've asked husband to get a better job in our tech-city metro saying that our basic needs of medical & allergy-free food raises our baseline, and we are behind on goals of house and retirement, but he hasn't budged. He has zero confidence and feels he needs to get training to move from running computer programs to being able to write code.
Anyway, the damage is done, we will move forward from here. We came up with a plan last night on what exactly to cut from the budget. We hope this coming year will be a great turn-around in finances, health, and life.
Yeah, I'm not sure I took the harsh criticism so well as I've been very discouraged from some of the responses which feel like ridicule. I guess I'm too sensitive a person to post on a public forum. I appreciate the people that gave me helpful steps to take and encouragement for the future.
The reduced budget plan:
cutting some Dr. visits that aren't currently effective for their cost
be extremely thoughtful about clothes/general spending/souvenirs
no more PTA donations
selling some small furniture, baby gear
no new books, keeping on top of library due dates
packing more lunches from home
cutting back on babysitting
buying cheap toiletries instead of toxic-free
cutting back on organic food
Small decisions that will hopefully add up. We may look into getting a cheaper car and research moving to a lower cost-of-living area, if these small choices don't make enough of a difference.
Yeah, I'm not sure I took the harsh criticism so well as I've been very discouraged from some of the responses which feel like ridicule. I guess I'm too sensitive a person to post on a public forum. I appreciate the people that gave me helpful steps to take and encouragement for the future.I understand how comments on forums can sting. However, you've taken the feedback and made some actionable steps toward improving your financial situation.
The reduced budget plan:
cutting some Dr. visits that aren't currently effective for their cost
be extremely thoughtful about clothes/general spending/souvenirs
no more PTA donations
selling some small furniture, baby gear
no new books, keeping on top of library due dates
packing more lunches from home
cutting back on babysitting
buying cheap toiletries instead of toxic-free
cutting back on organic food
Small decisions that will hopefully add up. We may look into getting a cheaper car and research moving to a lower cost-of-living area, if these small choices don't make enough of a difference.