Hi All,
Longtime reader and first time poster. I'm eager to hear your comments and tips on my situation. All information is monthly.
Life Situation: I'm a married 30 something living in a big city in the midwest. We just had an infant daughter and will probably have another in 2 years or so. We recently bought a house in the city (not cheap by the way!) after living out of state for many years to be closer to family and our jobs. We have a car but mostly take public transportation.
Gross Salary/Wages: $11,000/mo
Husband and I both work
Individual amounts of each Pre-tax deductions: $2,100/mo
401k/IRA: $1,200/mo
HSA and FSA: $200/mo
insurance (employer) and dental: $620 - I have PPO, my husband HSA
Transportation: $230 (we both take public transit - my work is 40 miles away by train; husband sometimes bikes when the weather cooperates. This will be more difficult with taking the baby to daycare)
Other Ordinary Income: $20K/yr
We will have some annual income from a family property each year that amounts to ~20K/year starting next year. This money goes into a family account that we don't plan to touch. The property is located overseas and we haven't figured out tax implications of taking from this account.
Adjusted Gross Income: $8,900/mo
Taxes: Federal, state/local, and FICA. $2,300/mo
Current expenses: $5,050/mo
Utilities + Condo Association:$500/mo (includes $120 cell phone, $200 condo association that covers water and maintenance, gas, electric and internet)
Mortgage: [/b] 30 year at 3.625%. Payments of $1,700/mo. Home purchased for $340K remaining balance of $255K
Roth IRA Contribution: $500/mo
*CHILDCARE*: $1,500/mo
Food and entertainment: $800/mo
Car Insurance: $50/mo
Assets: $220K
Retirement Accounts Balance: ~$200K most in target 2050 account; considering switching more $ to index fund
Savings Account: $20K; drained after we put down a large down payment on our home
Liabilities: None other than our mortgage (see above)
Specific Question(s): I know we need to decrease our food and transportation expenses but am feeling really locked in with our fixed expenses of mortgage, childcare, utilities taking up so much of our income. I didn't list other expenses we incur like traveling to visit family internationally. I am looking for a job closer to home to cut down on commute time but transportation cost won't go down much unless I bike (public transit costs more or less the same). I'm stressed out trying to figure out how to pay for college and handle the new $1500/mo childcare cost. It doesn't make sense financially for me to quit work as I contribute half of our income. Thoughts on changes we can make to better plan for the future?