We have now moved to NC! My husband has quit his job to start his own business. He is currently managing repairs and working to sell the house, but will focus on generating income eventually. I work in DC for 1 wk/month now.
Here is an updated version of our current income & expenses: Gross Income: 67,770 (Includes wages + IRA distribution)
Gross Monthly Income: 5,523 + 115 in commuting subsidy = 5,638
Pre-tax deductions:
Dental: 15.6
Health insurance: 124.32
Vision: 1.40
401(k): 331.38 – 6% contribution; get 4% employer match.
Med: 87/month
SS: 334/month
Federal: 682/month
State/local: 262/month
Average monthly take home income: 3,800Current Monthly Expenses (Feb 2017) * Note that we live on last month's income, so this is spending the money we earned in January.
Monthly BillsLot Rent: 785 – We have to rent the land for our mobile home until it sells.
Water & Sewer: 30 – Varies between $10 and $50/month.
Internet: 65
Phone: 95 – 2 Google Fi phones. This will drop in March as I am working from home & using less data.
Propane: 265 – Top off; pay in full discount. Last delivery of the season.
Truck Payment: 140 (6,264 @ 1.99%, small overpayment to nearest 10)
Car Payment: 200 (14,658 @ 1.99%, small overpayment to nearest 10)
Life Insurance: 80
Variable Expenses (up to 2/24)
Groceries: 659 (750 budgeted)
Eating Out: 124 (1/2 - 1/3 what we previously were doing)
Household: 105 - Soap, paper plates, fancypants shampoo/conditioner
Gas: 125 - Less driving in new location + our new-to-us Elantra gets 39 miles on the highway compared to my 25 in the old Rav4.
Parking, Subway & Tolls: 96 -- 1 week in DC + stocking up on subway passes.
Health & Personal Care: 700 -- $540 prescriptions (waiting on reimbursement), $100 cut & color, $20 weight loss subscription, $20 haircut.
Home & Garden: 800 -- Fixing up home to sell, hired retired painted to paint house as a side job.
Spotify & Hulu: 18
HB & WT Fun Money: $100 – Cut from $300 to $100
Taxes: 475
Emergency Fund Savings (295). Current balance 15,300. Trying to get up to 16K.
Some Notes:* We aren't currently saving for vacation, car insurance, Christmas, etc. Focusing on getting the emergency fund up to 16K and selling the house to free up cash flow.
Over the year, these expenses might be:
Vacation: $600 - Camping
Car insurnace: $800 - Rates likely to go down in NC but have to pay transfer tax.
Christmas: $800 - I always aim for 600, but we never seem to stick with it.
Gifts: ? Have to take this on a case by case basis.
* While we live with family, we eventually will be paying somewhere around $250-300 for utility bills and to my friend whose house I will stay at while working. Waiting for the house to sell.
Can we live on 3,800 next month?Yes, but there are some risks:
* Next month we have an abnormal water bill - currently fighting with the management company over it.
* My company still has not set up my HRA, despite switching insurance in January. I have followed up with them and they say they are working on it, but no resolution yet. This is why we had to pay health bills out of pocket. If it is still not set up, we might have more $500+ health care bills.
Specific Question(s): - Where do think you think the budget needs to be changed? What tips do you have for making the budget better?
My impression is that there is not a ton of fat left to cut, since we have cut our allowances, entertainment, eating out etc.
Groceries are trending downward, but since we are also trying to eat healthy and are spread between two households currently, I can't get it down to extreme levels at this time.
I could re-dye my hair to my natural color as to not have to color it, but I want to wait and see if there is still room in the budget for a while.
- What should we do with the proceeds of the house?
Proceeds estimated to be between 30-45K. After I get a new job, we will likely buy a house with a short commute for me. If it takes me a while to find a new job, we will rent in an area better for HB's business in a while after the house sells.
- What would you advise be our next savings goal to be?
Once the house sells, we will have great cash flow (like 500-1.5K) until we make our next transition to a rental or home purchase. We will likely keep the house payoff in savings for a 20% down payment, though of course I open to doing other things with it.
With out current cash, that would be about 4K in checking, 16K in savings, and then house proceeds (30-45K). House ranges we are looking at vary from 175-230K.
Keep in mind that I hate debt with a passion because of our history of 180K+ in debt, and my heart wants me to pay off the truck loan at 1.99% despite the low interest rate...