Hi all-
Sorry in advance for this being so long!!
My husband and I are due with our third child in November. After I take my maternity leave, I will become a stay at home mom. I don’t plan on putting in my notice until about 3 weeks before my leave is over. All said and done I will be taking about 15 weeks of maternity leave. 3 weeks paid vacation, 6 weeks short term disability (60% pay) and 6 weeks unpaid.
Hoping to get some feedback on our financial plan and any other feedback you feel pertains to this situation. Thanks in advance!
I am 28, hubby is 29. We have a 4 year old and 2 year old.
I currently make $40,000/year, of which I take home about $4,000/year. I max out my 401k ($18,000) and my company matches $4,500. I also pay for health insurance, flex and daycare which totals about $15,000/year.
Husband’s Income:
$86,000/year from full time job
Take home: $5,400/month. Paid 1st of the month. He does not contribute to 401k as it is not a good plan, has high fees and no matching. Once I stay home, he would be paying medical and flex which would amount to about $200/month. Future medical deduction is reflected in his take home above. His job does automatically contribute 5% of his annual salary to a pension.
Rental Property: $450 net profit each month. This goes directly into savings for either maintenance on current rental or additional rentals in the future.
Ebay/consignment business: $500 or so a month profit (obviously varies). All profits go into our savings account to eventually buy more rentals.
Expenses:
Mortgage: $1,775 including taxes/insurance
Tithe: $700/month
Utilities (gas/electric): $150/month
Cell Phones: $150/month
Life Insurance for both of us: $75/month
Groceries: $450/month
Internet: $40/month
Gas: $200/month
Car/umbrella Insurance: $100
Miscellaneous (includes eating out/entertainment): $100/month
4 year old preschool 2 days/week: $160/month
Savings:
IRAs: $920/month
Kids 529 Savings: $250/month
Misc Expenses : $150/month
Investment savings: $150/month
Current Savings Balances:
My 401k: $50,000
Husband’s IRA: $48,000
My IRA: $6,800
Emergency Fund: $6,000
Rental Savings Account (liquid) $13,000
Kids Savings: $4,000 total
No debt except mortgage on our home and our rental.
Our current strategy is to save like crazy until the baby comes. We plan on buying a van this summer (in the $15,000 range) which would require about $7,000 after our trade in. Other than saving for that, we are just saving in general as much as we can.
We've always been pretty frugal but outside opinions are very welcome!