So, I just wrote this email to MMM as a proposal for a case study - I saw the invitation to post to the forums, and it sounded like a great idea. I've been working on cutting costs for a while, through what I've learned reading MMM and other personal finance blogs, but there's not much further I can go, and I'm getting impatient with my progress.
Here's the skinny:
income:
2,089.69 /monthly or 25,076.22
That's an average number, but I'm paid biweekly, so it's really more like 1928.94 per month, with two extra paychecks over the course of a year.
This also excludes the tax refund that I have so far gotten every year, because I generally pretend that it doesn't exist and use it on loan payments.
Expenses:
Student Loan Payments: $823.17
Rent: 850/mo Includes water, and is in an income-restricted complex, so the price is fixed until we leave.
Electricity: $80/month (varies)
Internet: $25.00 / month
Phones: 62.99/ month for two phones.
Groceries and other spending: 100 - 200/month
Student loan details:
I currently hold a little less than $75,000 in student loans.
The highest rate is 9.5 variable, the lowest is 3.0 fixed.
Yes, I'm stupid. Currently, I'm adjusting my payments on the lower interest loans using programs like Income Based Repayment, in order to divert as much money as possible to the 9.5% loan. Right now the required payment is about $250/month, and we're paying $300. The Income Based Repayment I just mentioned should allow me to add another $150 or so to that amount, and I believe that I can take it even further, and divert another $75-$150 to the high-interest loan.
For the present, my wife and I live on only my income: She's a nonresident alien, and we have to finish her paperwork before she is legally allowed to get a job. We're hoping she'll get her employment authorization in the next month or two, but the time frame on these things varies wildly. For context, I'm 23 and she's 24.
We don't have a car, and use bike and public transit to get around. We have transit passes left over from our (recent) school days, which if we didn't use, we wouldn't be able to go anywhere.
The obvious things I can cut out is the cell phone bill. (I didn't know about those $10/month plans until I came here) Even then, though I intend to do it, it only saves $43 per month.
And...that's about it. We do have a bad habit of going to restaurants and bars more than we ought (that is, ever!), but we're actively trying to curb it, and when I realize we have extra money to do these things, I usually add it to loan payments as an automatic withdrawal so it's not tempting me anymore. However, I'm getting past the point where we can do that without running out of money for groceries.
I earn some extra income by doing freelance graphic design and illustration on the side, but it's not enough to make much difference yet.
So, what it boils down to is that we need to earn more money. She'll be able to get a job soon, and that will help, but there's no telling when that will happen. In addition, I despise my job (I was recently told that it's impossible for me to get more than a tiny raise regardless of merit, no matter what I do) so I want to leave, but the problem is that it takes me an 1.5 hours to commute each way (by train, bus and bike) every weekday, so I don't have a lot of free time to go job hunting, and I can't quit abruptly, even though I'd like to, because there's nothing to fall back on. Right now I'm trying to work out a deal where I can work 10 hour days for 4 days a week, to save 3-5 hours of commute time and give me an extra day per week to work on job hunting and personal creative projects, but I'm pessimistic about this being approved, just because it's unconventional and that makes my bosses uncomfortable. Even if I do find a new job, it's unlikely it will pay much more. I could see earning up to 45k/year if I'm lucky, more likely 30-35k, similar to what I earn now.
Another obstacle, albeit a bit of the complainypants variety, is that this job is depressing and mentally draining, even if I had more time, every day I go it sucks out a little more of my soul, and it's hard to fight that kind of mental malaise, though I certainly do fight it.
So, what now? Is there anything else I can cut? What's the best way to increase my income?