Author Topic: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches  (Read 14313 times)

kaizen

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Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« on: April 22, 2014, 06:12:44 PM »
Income
Me - I currently make $120K before bonus, but it will be about $90K this year due to upcoming maternity leave. My company has a really generous leave policy, and if I went back after 18 wks instead of the full 23, it would be more like $100K but we're playing that by ear (I'm a consultant, so I'll take project timing/desirability into consideration when the time comes - more time home with my infant and toddler is more important to me than more monies).
Spouse - He recently started working at a small brokerage, commission based; he gets a base equal to his student loan payments, so about $19,800. I have no idea what income to expect from him this year other than that, because ultimately it's sales. But, it's an experiment and we've built up our emergency fund and I'm glad to actually live off one (albeit rather large) income and build our frugality muscle.
So monthly income after taxes, health insurance, and 401(k) is about $7300. (I'm looking forward to cheaper insurance when the company gets larger.)

Current monthly expenses
Student Loan: $1651
Day Care: $900 (This will double when I go back to work in Sept or Oct.)
Groceries: $500 (I really don't understand how it is this high. We don't even buy a ton of meat. Too many visits to Whole Foods I think, which is where we get some of our supplements and homeopathic remedies, so there are some health costs hidden in there.)
Rent: $400-$450 (We live with my MIL, and this includes our cell phone bill - family plan - which I'm totally reducing, once our contract(s) expire, to the much cheaper plans outlined on this blog. Sometimes she asks for a little more to help out when she randomly decides to paint something.)
Car Payment: $330 (I wish I'd found this blog before I bought a used car on loan in September.)
Shopping: $300 (Mostly clothes - both of us - and little things on Amazon that add up. Definitely a lot of room for improvement here.)
Health: $300 (WAY overblown lately due to pregnancy complications, lots of pregnancy related supplements, chiropractor visits, a fancy fFn test... plus our daughter has asthma and had a scary episode recently. Also I had been going to a fancy gym for over a year at $175.50/month, for which I purchased a 1 yr subscription to save money on the cost - $1440 total. That is currently on pause due to my medical condition, and when it restarts and then expires, the responsible thing to do would be to start working out at home or at least at the YMCA that's about to open a half mile away, with $70 family memberships. Yes, I expect multiple face punches for that one. But it really did get me working out regularly longterm (something I'd never done before), repaired my herniated abs and got me in the best shape of my life, for reals... and ready to ruin my body again with another child. Ha!)
Charity: $200
Restaurants & Bars: $175 (This is actually down by ~$50% the last few months. It helps that I've been on bed rest and unable to go out much, but we've also been making a real effort to stop ordering takeout, only go out once a weekend at most, and order more frugally. We're often pressured to go out by my MIL, but we can at least push for breakfast as it's a cheaper meal typically. Still room for improvement though!)
Car Insurance: $157
Gas: $140-$190 (This is lower than it was, b/c of bed rest for me but my commute was only 8 mi each way anyway. Also my husband no longer has a hellish 40 mi commute, though he does drive around town quite a bit for meetings.)
House Cleaning: $160 (This probably is a big giant please-punch-me-in-the-face sign, but we really do need someone coming in for period deep cleaning. Especially with my current health issues, and postpartum recovery is going to ensure this continues for a few more months at least.)
Entertainment: $130 (on average, but that's high due to season football tickets to USC; now and then we go to a concert but we don't go to the movies often, usually just Netflix or Redbox things so most months it's like $20)
Personal Care: $50 (mostly hair cuts; I'm growing my hair out so won't need this as often)
Life Insurance ($200K on both of us) - $38

TOTAL: $5431-$5501 (soon to go up to $6331-$6401 with additional daycare, which is why we need to get a handle on groceries, shopping and eating out, sooner rather than later. And Health of course if possible.)
We are currently putting $3K a month to savings, from my paycheck. Obviously this is not sustainable with my husband's current income level, but we've been building up the emergency account savings, and can take some of that back to checking as needed. Also I currently have a buffer in my checking account from FSA reimbursements, but we do need to either bring our spending way down or bring down this amount. (Actually both, b/c we should be paying more into the student loans I'm sure.)


Expected ER expenses
I'll just say $35K as that's a nice big cushion; if we were actually retired we wouldn't need daycare, or housekeeping, or as much gas. But I don't see ER as possible right now because of the housing issue. And I don't plan on retiring to my MIL's condo!


Assets
$150K in a traditional IRA (mostly from recent rollover of my old 401(k))
$40K in Misc Discover Savings Accounts (the emergency funds - getting teeny tiny interest)
$35.5K in various Roth IRAs (American Funds)
$23K in stocks of old company purchase plan(-ish; I try not to pay attn to these since I can't sell some of them for a while, and also b/c they keep growing amazingly well. I sold ~7K to pay for our wedding a few years ago, ~$8K to pay for our trip to Japan last year, and some to fund our midwife for this year.)
$10K in checking right now (this is high b/c husband's base pay for the entire quarter came in early, but I also keep a pretty high buffer)
$10.5K in CDs (this is my extra extra emergency fund - clearly I am too conservative when it comes to savings on hand)
$9K in a Mutual Fund (American Funds)
$6.2K in a Schwab 529 Plan for our toddler
$1600 in Misc Stocks (aka gambling stocks)
$1400 in my new 401(k) (I just joined this firm, hence the low number, but I am putting in the maximum amount for 2014, and getting a 4% match.)
$700 in Spouse's old 401(k) - $700 (yes, he needs to roll this over)
Oh, and really a liability but - 2008 Hyundai Elantra fully paid off (bought new but paid off early... never will I ever buy a new car again)
TOTAL (old age money) ASSETS: $187.6
TOTAL (liquid or liquid-ish) ASSETS: $94.1
*Note: I'm not counting the 529 in either total


Liabilities
$206K in student loans at 7.25% <--- The big scary thing that stresses my husband, and causes him to frequently advise younger folks not to go to law school.
$12.5K Car Loan at 4.59% - 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid (Bought end of last year when my Hyundai was stolen before it was recovered a month later. And before I found this blog. I tried to buy in cash but was convinced by my husband and the salesman that it was better to get the car loan and put cash towards the student loan. Really I should have bought an older/cheaper car, in cash.)
TOTAL LIABILITIES: $218.5K
(MONTHLY = $1,980)


Specific Questions
  • We have a lot of liquid savings. Should we put some of that to the student loans, and if so, how much? My work is steady and solid, but my husband's work is totally volatile right now; that and upcoming maternity leave caused us to go into this 'must build up emergency savings' mode (before finding MMM) - but we could still count the CDs and mutual funds as emergency savings, plus our various credit cards, which go up to like $50K or something, for a really crazy emergency. Another option - put a big portion (what portion?) of the emergency fund into the student loans, but after I'm back at work?
  • Should I consider selling one or both cars and buying cheaper ones in cash? This would be a big hassle but more do-able with the time and energy that late maternity leave should allow me. (I can't wait to be up and about again. Bed rest sucks.)
  • Is early retirement even a possibility for us? Just paying off the student loan in the next 10 years seems like a crazy feat, let alone saving for a down payment in LA - especially after we move out (timing TBD) and have to pay real rent. Though, serious payment of the loan will prepare us for serious down payment savings, and I do think LA is over-priced right now and will drop sooner or later.
  • Anything obvious that I'm missing that we need to consider?
  • I would really like to move out of my MIL's condo... some days more than others. I have agreed to stay until the end of 2015, but for it to actually be an option, we need to prepare to be able to pay insane LA rent. As my spouse reminds me, we'd also be missing out on the huge space we live in, including awesome bathroom and giant closet, and semi-available babysitter (she works full time, more hours than us, but sometimes helps pack my daughter's lunch, and often plays with her on weekend mornings while we sleep in a bit). Should I just suck it up? I need an attitude adjustment don't I?

Thanks everyone. I'm new to the blog and reading through everything sequentially right now, though I think I've already read a majority of the articles out of order. I used to be much more frugal (hence the strong retirement savings) but let my high-falutin' income trick me into thinking I needed a fancy new car in '08, and then too many clothes and shoes and nights out. And my husband is such an enabler - "you make more than me, so of course you can go spend $100 on a Ross shopping spree whenever!" My husband and I are 29 and 30 respectively, and have been married 3 years, but only recently combined finances (and we're not even sharing accounts, I just mean we have all our accounts in one place through Learnvest - it's a process). I had been contributing to his loan principle to some extent but now that the reality of this loan is staring me in the face, it's time to nut up and do something about it. Please provide me as many face punches as necessary to get a real badass strategy for tackling this loan AND saving for early retirement. Maybe I can't be around a ton in my wee ones' younger years, but high school is an important time in their lives too.

Emg03063

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2014, 09:23:46 PM »
Idle curiosity on my part, but if your husband has a law degree, why is he working a sales job instead of practicing law?  If he's licensed, that could be a nice little side hustle, regardless (estate planning, doc prep type stuff not involving trials).

Re: Q1, What's your life and disability insurance coverage look like?   You mentioned you are undergoing a complicated pregnancy.  Your worst case scenario is that you are unable to work due to death or disability.  Look at your coverage there, and plan your emergency savings accordingly.

2.  If you're interested in cutting expenses, sure.
3. Yes
4.  Explore refinancing the student loan.
5.  From a financial perspective, yes, suck it up.  You didn't go into detail about your MIL, but unless she's mentally ill, has a drug or alcohol problem, or is abusive towards you or the kid(s), I don't see how you justify moving.  $450/mo in LA is a sweetheart deal, and the kids get unlimited access to grandma to boot?  Why would you ever want to leave?  Get a hotel room once in a while for 1:1 time with the DH with some of the cash you're saving.  Keep in mind, as long as she's collecting rent from you, your likely inheritance is also increasing, assuming she wouldn't be sharing space with other people if you weren't there.  This seems like a huge win/win if you can stand it.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2014, 09:29:42 PM by Emg03063 »

MDM

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2014, 09:38:37 PM »
Welcome kaizen!  First, best wishes to you and family for a successful delivery.  Now to your questions:
  • If you can't repackage or negotiate a lower rate (can you?), then "as much as you can stand" is a defensible answer.  That's a guaranteed 7.25% return on your money. 
  • You could - but I think you have bigger fish to fry so leaving the cars alone for now seems ok.
  • Sure it's possible - "when" will depend on your eventual income and spending
  • Not sure.  If you are willing to enter your numbers into the spreadsheet linked here and repost (attachment, table, other google docs, etc.) it would be easier for all to see.
  • That's a tough one to judge without knowing the relationships among all of you.  Financially you have to stay - but "money doesn't buy happiness" etc. so...?

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2014, 11:04:55 PM »
I have a few thoughts.  I will warn you in advance, though, that some may rub you the wrong way.  Sorry!
1)  Cut out whole foods.  If you're eating a healthy diet, you don't need supplements. Also, homeopathy is placebo effect.  From a biochemical standpoint, there's no way it can have any direct effect.

Ok, the rude stuff is out of the way.  On to happier things!
2)  Facepunch on the $300/mo shopping.  Eliminate it.  Thrift stores rock.
3)  On the cars, I'd say pay them off, then maintain them, and you may never need to buy another car again.  Or, at least not for a couple decades.
4)  Stop eating/drinking out.  Until you get those student loans under control, you should be running around pants-on-fire.
5)  Unless it is seriously straining your relationship, suck it up on the rent.  You're riding the gravy train there.
6)  Liquid assets.  I'd take your various savings accounts, CDs, mutual funds, and misc stocks, and use them to pay off as much student debt as you can.  You have other assets you can draw on in case of financial emergency (like your Roth IRAs).
7)  If you can somehow refinance the student loans to a lower rate, that will free up monthly income that you'd then be able to apply to principal. 

One other thought:  with your current federal tax bracket (25%), FICA (7%), California's insane tax rates (10%), the cost of childcare ($11k/year), and other work-related expenses (clothes, needing a 2nd car, gas, more frequent take-out food, etc) it might actually be unprofitable for your husband to work in his current job.  And of course, it all depends on how much commission he gets.  Have you run the numbers on how much his job is actually benefitting the family financially?

obstinate

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2014, 12:40:54 AM »
Neither homeopathy nor chiropractic do anything, so cutting those might save you a bit. (Chiropractic does do some stuff but physical therapy does everything chiropractic does at least as well, and isn't filled with a bunch of quacks.) 300 bucks a month on clothes is almost as crazy.

obstinate

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2014, 12:44:49 AM »
All excess income should go to the student loans, and so should as much of your liquid money as you feel comfortable contributing to that purpose. An investment with a 5% risk free real return is a great one.

ChrisLansing

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2014, 04:20:39 AM »
No specific recommendations, I just want to say that your income is about 2.5 times what my wife and I live on, and we still support our grown son (He doesn't need our support but we want him to save money).     Granted we are older than you and your spouse, and we live in a much cheaper part of the country.    Our house is paid for.   Still, your income is quite high compared to most people.   

ER ought to be well within your grasp, if you can get your debts paid and  control your discretionary spending. 


warfreak2

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2014, 05:10:46 AM »
Welcome!

Neither homeopathy nor chiropractic do anything, so cutting those might save you a bit. (Chiropractic does do some stuff but physical therapy does everything chiropractic does at least as well, and isn't filled with a bunch of quacks.)
Yep to both of these; there's a word for "alternative medicine" which is known to be effective, we call it "medicine". For those interested, Ben Goldacre's book Bad Science covers the topic in good detail.

Quote
Current monthly expenses
(Student Loan: $1651 this is not really an expense as it's paying off a liability)
Day Care: $900 (This will double when I go back to work in Sept or Oct.)
Groceries: $500 (I really don't understand how it is this high. We don't even buy a ton of meat. Too many visits to Whole Foods I think, which is where we get some of our supplements and homeopathic remedies, so there are some health costs hidden in there.) Track this in more detail, work out how much you're spending per meal, eat more of the meals which are cheaper. $300 is easily achievable.
Rent: $400-$450 (We live with my MIL, and this includes our cell phone bill - family plan - which I'm totally reducing, once our contract(s) expire, to the much cheaper plans outlined on this blog. Sometimes she asks for a little more to help out when she randomly decides to paint something.)
(Car Payment: $330 (I wish I'd found this blog before I bought a used car on loan in September.) liability, not expense)
Shopping: $300 (Mostly clothes - both of us - and little things on Amazon that add up. Definitely a lot of room for improvement here.) <$20. You already have enough clothes.
Health: $300 (WAY overblown lately due to pregnancy complications, lots of pregnancy related supplements, chiropractor visits, a fancy fFn test... plus our daughter has asthma and had a scary episode recently. Also I had been going to a fancy gym for over a year at $175.50/month, for which I purchased a 1 yr subscription to save money on the cost - $1440 total. That is currently on pause due to my medical condition, and when it restarts and then expires, the responsible thing to do would be to start working out at home or at least at the YMCA that's about to open a half mile away, with $70 family memberships. Yes, I expect multiple face punches for that one. But it really did get me working out regularly longterm (something I'd never done before), repaired my herniated abs and got me in the best shape of my life, for reals... and ready to ruin my body again with another child. Ha!) You know what to do, so no need for a facepunch
Charity: $200 Not going to cross this one out, up to you, but you're practically borrowing money to donate...
Restaurants & Bars: $175 (This is actually down by ~$50% the last few months. It helps that I've been on bed rest and unable to go out much, but we've also been making a real effort to stop ordering takeout, only go out once a weekend at most, and order more frugally. We're often pressured to go out by my MIL, but we can at least push for breakfast as it's a cheaper meal typically. Still room for improvement though!) <$50 if you absolutely must. But remember that you're borrowing money at 7.25% to pay for this transient culinary entertainment!
Car Insurance: $157
Gas: $140-$190 (This is lower than it was, b/c of bed rest for me but my commute was only 8 mi each way anyway. Also my husband no longer has a hellish 40 mi commute, though he does drive around town quite a bit for meetings.)
House Cleaning: $160 (This probably is a big giant please-punch-me-in-the-face sign yes it is! also your hair is on fire!, but we really do need someone coming in for period deep cleaning. Especially with my current health issues, and postpartum recovery is going to ensure this continues for a few more months at least.) <$5 for supplies. Can't your husband do it while you're recovering (or even once you recover?)
Entertainment: $130 (on average, but that's high due to season football tickets to USC this would be a huge waste of money even if your hair wasn't on fire; now and then we go to a concert but we don't go to the movies often, usually just Netflix or Redbox things so most months it's like $20)
Personal Care: $50 (mostly hair cuts; I'm growing my hair out so won't need this as often) $0. You have scissors, right?
Life Insurance ($200K on both of us) - $38

TOTAL: $5431-$5501 this was really more like $3450-$3520, because it shouldn't include loan payments. But it's now $2530-$2600 without even reducing your health costs, car costs, or charity

We are currently putting $3K a month to savings You already have more than enough emergency funds. Your student loan takes priority: put this $3k plus the above spending savings ($900+) towards the student loan, you'll be paying off ~$5550/month

Assets
$150K in a traditional IRA (mostly from recent rollover of my old 401(k))
$40K in Misc Discover Savings Accounts (the emergency funds - getting teeny tiny interest)
$35.5K in various Roth IRAs (American Funds)
$23K in stocks of old company purchase plan(-ish; I try not to pay attn to these since I can't sell some of them for a while, and also b/c they keep growing amazingly well. I sold ~7K to pay for our wedding a few years ago, ~$8K to pay for our trip to Japan last year, and some to fund our midwife for this year.) Holding individual stocks is risky, you get a guaranteed 7.25% return by moving these onto the student loan ASAP.
$10K in checking right now (this is high b/c husband's base pay for the entire quarter came in early, but I also keep a pretty high buffer)
$10.5K in CDs (this is my extra extra emergency fund - clearly I am too conservative when it comes to savings on hand) a $50k buffer is already plenty, that will cover your new expenses for over 14 months. Put these on the student loan.
$9K in a Mutual Fund (American Funds) If this isn't tax-advantaged, pay off the student loan.
$6.2K in a Schwab 529 Plan for our toddler
$1600 in Misc Stocks (aka gambling stocks) Don't gambling when your hair is on fire (or ever, really), take the 7.25% guaranteed return by paying off your student loan
$1400 in my new 401(k) (I just joined this firm, hence the low number, but I am putting in the maximum amount for 2014, and getting a 4% match.)
$700 in Spouse's old 401(k) - $700 (yes, he needs to roll this over)
TOTAL (old age money) ASSETS: $187.6k
TOTAL (liquid or liquid-ish) ASSETS: $94.1k $50k
*Note: I'm not counting the 529 in either total

Liabilities
$206K $161.9k by transferring from assets in student loans at 7.25% <--- The big scary thing that stresses my husband, and causes him to frequently advise younger folks not to go to law school.
$12.5K Car Loan at 4.59% - 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid (Bought end of last year when my Hyundai was stolen before it was recovered a month later. And before I found this blog. I tried to buy in cash but was convinced by my husband and the salesman that it was better to get the car loan and put cash towards the student loan. Really I should have bought an older/cheaper car, in cash.)
TOTAL LIABILITIES: $218.5K $174.4k
(MONTHLY = $1,980 $5550, without any suffering. At this rate the student loan will be gone in a little under 3 years.)

Once your daycare expenses go up to $1800/month, it will actually be profitable for your husband to quit his job and look after the kids; his salary is only 92% of your daycare expenses, and his job also has associated car expenses. Maybe he'll get a raise by then? Or maybe he can move to a part time job, or work from home, if it would reduce daycare expenses. Something to discuss.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2014, 05:22:22 AM by warfreak2 »

TomTX

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2014, 05:28:04 AM »
Once you have a handle on expenses - time to stop being so scattered on your assets.

1) Sell off your non-sheltered stocks. Pay down your loans. No stock gambling. No hanging onto old company stock (whatever is not restricted anymore) Of course it has done well - the market DOUBLED in the past 5 years.  Unless a company was a total dog, everything went up - a lot!

2) Roll over everything you can from various places to a single location, preferably Vanguard. Simple indexes. They are the only major mutual fund or investment company that is not trying to suck money out of you. I mean, American charges load - you should never pay load, and keep fund expenses below 0.5%, preferably WELL below, like around 0.1%

quilter

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2014, 06:38:24 AM »
You said your MIL pressures you to go out to eat. Your going out to eat expenses are $175 per month. If you must go out, change your date habits.
Pack a picnic
Pick up subs and go to a park (split a $5 footlong in half of course) and bring a jug of h2o.

You could save almost all this money

$300 buying stuff. You probably will need diapers, formula etc with a new infant but there are tons of good quality used clothes out there

Others have a good idea on husband staying home. He could do some very pert time side work to keep his hand in.  Maybe consult with a local law firm?  $1800 per month in child are is a huge expense.

Here is an out of the box idea. See what part time employment opportunities there are at the YMCA. They usually come with free membership. If DH could work there in some capacity, say a few evenings and some weekends, you could potentially save $1800 on daycare, $175 on your current gym membership, and he would be out of the house with people.    Some ymca's have daycare, maybe he could work a couple of mornings when the baby was a little older to help socialize the kids. My DH used to teach swimming to kids two nights a week for two hours, and we got free membership.  Then he would stay and workout.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2014, 06:44:20 AM by quilter »

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2014, 02:35:19 PM »
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome to the MMM forum and for your time in reading my case study and advising me and hubs. I'm really excited to start acting on these. I will fill out the spreadsheet that MDM linked to later today and post.

In the meantime, some general notes -
My husband is a JD/MBA; he was able to get a job at a bank after taking the bar/before finding out he passed. He is still a bar member, but he now has 3 years experience in banking. He's had a few near law job opportunities, but the market for inexperienced lawyers from lower tier schools is pretty dismal. He had been pulling in $65K at his previous banking job. His current job is commission based with a rate that goes way up with bigger deals, so there is a high upside. However, deals take so long to close and he's only been at this 3 months, so he has yet to close anything. We don't yet know if he's good at this, but it is good training in real estate finance even if it doesn't pan out and he goes back to banking. We plan for all his commission checks to be split into a saving account for the taxes, and to the principal of the student loan.

On my complicated pregnancy - I've been having pre-term contractions but am now almost at 36 weeks, so it's highly highly unlikely the kid will end up in the NICU, even if I give birth today. My midwife and OB are confident that I'll make it to 38 weeks plus. My only complications in my first birth was needing stitches and antibiotics, so I do not expect to pay much more than what I've already paid my midwife upfront, which is enough to meet my insurance out-of-pocket.

The good thing about this being the second kid is we already have a ton of clothes and used items from number one. We also have a sizable collection of cloth diapers and will buy very few disposable diapers (for the weekend when we travel to a wedding in October). Our main purchases will be calmoseptine, the best diaper cream EVAR, and lanolin. And last time we only ever had to purchase 1 tin of formula due to supply issues. This time around I will be more proactive in avoiding supply issues and will be pumping in the early weeks to build up a milk stash, instead of waiting until just a few weeks before I return to work. Lesson learned! (Last time we relied on the generosity of milk-sharing strangers, and this time I hope to be a donor.)

One other note on the suggestions on my husband's work situation - personally, I'd love to have a "house husband" and I'd love to have a SAH parent for my kids. When I was younger, I planned on being a SAHM, at least for early years. I certainly did not plan on falling in love with someone like this dude, but here we are.

Oh and yeah, I do need to suck it up on the living situation so we can stay here as long as possible. MIL is nuts, but she's not abusive just crazy. Probably I should take up meditation. I definitely dealt with her better when I was not on bed rest and could get lots of exercise endorphins. And it helps her to have us here too; she's underwater on her condo after years of luxury living and abused HELOCs. She's very anti-mustachian and usually paycheck to paycheck despite a 6 figure salary. I worry that I'm getting soft living here, with stuff like how much she runs the A/C and always buys blueberries out of season (sometimes I wake up at 3am and go turn off the super bright lights she's left on all night). My own mom air dries 99% of laundry, never turns on the A/C unless it's above 100, cooks almost everything; my parents also have a veggie garden... (they live about 40 miles from us, so same but slightly hotter climate).

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2014, 02:48:51 PM »
If you are willing to enter your numbers into the spreadsheet linked here and repost (attachment, table, other google docs, etc.) it would be easier for all to see.

MDM, this spreadsheet is beautiful...

One of my key deliverables on my current project is a complicated calculator for my client, set up to be as simple as possible... so I feel a kindred spirit in you.

Now, must resist urge to fill this out during work hours.

MDM

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2014, 03:20:35 PM »
One of my key deliverables on my current project is a complicated calculator for my client, set up to be as simple as possible...
Yes, simple is good.  Thanks for the compliment on appearance - I hope the good will persists after you start entering numbers ;).

Based on the time stamp of your post, you missed an updated version by ~3 minutes.  The version now on Google Drive includes some rudimentary instructions, and incorporates some of the suggestions Mister Fancypants was kind enough to make.

marty998

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2014, 03:22:33 PM »
Neither homeopathy nor chiropractic do anything, so cutting those might save you a bit. (Chiropractic does do some stuff but physical therapy does everything chiropractic does at least as well, and isn't filled with a bunch of quacks.) 300 bucks a month on clothes is almost as crazy.

Thankyou for pointing this out. Chiropractors are not properly trained medical practitioners, and are more than likely to break your neck and your wallet rather than help.

Homeopathic "remedies" are just plain water.


Cassie

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2014, 03:56:58 PM »
Chiropractic is very safe and that is why their malpractice insurance is very cheap. I see one once per month for chronic neck/back pain from a few car accidents and it keeps me pain & drug free.  Yes their are some quacks but know how to separate the good from the bad.  The good ones will never put you on a treatment plan. They will tell you to come back when you need it. The best ones do not have fancy overhead/offices.  Often it is much cheaper then physical therapy. Many insurances now pay for chiropractic care. 

EricL

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #15 on: April 23, 2014, 04:13:01 PM »
Yes, you and your husband in a bad state.  Law School was a particularly bad move - the industry is glutted and the legal system and several thousand lawyers are worse for it - though the schools haven't done badly.  But it's OK.  Lots of people here were/are in such a state.  I myself sometimes think I should hang out a shingle to hire out as a Consulting Defective. :( 

But you're not hopeless by far.  I envy how low your rent is and am amazed you've invested anything at all. 

The student loan: It IS a liability unless your stocks are making super interest to offset the loan interest.  Sometimes they can but more often they don't. 

Groceries: Back in the day, eating like a healthy hippie used to be cheaper, not the other way around.  Whole grain rice, fresh vegetables, etc are cheap and if there's some eco-turd store that tells you different you should shop elsewhere.  You might consider growing your own.  If you take the advice to have your husband look after the children, he could do that and save you on child care AND food.  And I know it's a betrayal of the Man Code but maybe he could knock out some house cleaning too.

Shopping: Thank you SO much for supporting my Amazon stocks! :D But unless you really need the stuff and Amazon nicely undercuts retail, you're hosing yourself.

Health: I can't really criticize (note "Consulting Defective" above) but I will say as long as you're researching and making informed choices a little extra money spent there is NOT money wasted.  If you think you need a face punch now, think how you'd feel racking up several thousands worth of medical bills to fix something that a couple hundred dollars would have.

Charity: Charity begins at home.  Yeah, if you got a little to give you should give it.  But when you succeed at the Mustachian enterprise to become FI you will be able to give a LOT.  Your choice.

House Cleaning: Dead horse + stick * percussion = 'nuff said. 

Adding $3K per month to savings:  Once you kill the student loans, combine Warfreak2 and TomTXs' advice and start your shunting that stock and $3K and any MMM savings from your emergency fund to a Vanguard Fund.  Even if you start with a $0 principal, a $3,500 a month investment at 7% interest will run to $600K in 10 years. 

Finally, while chopping here and there is great, you might be better off just determining what you want to allot to debt payment/investments and living within the rest.  Yes, for ME USC season tickets are a ridiculous waste of money.  But if YOU are a USC fan they're ESSENTIAL.  So buy the tickets without shame and skimp or skip out on some other luxury(s) to make up for the expenditure.   

warfreak2

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #16 on: April 23, 2014, 04:31:44 PM »
Chiropractic is very safe and that is why their malpractice insurance is very cheap. I see one once per month for chronic neck/back pain from a few car accidents and it keeps me pain & drug free.  Yes their are some quacks but know how to separate the good from the bad.  The good ones will never put you on a treatment plan. They will tell you to come back when you need it. The best ones do not have fancy overhead/offices.  Often it is much cheaper then physical therapy. Many insurances now pay for chiropractic care.
The main danger is not that they will hurt you, but that you won't be helped by someone who reads and acts on scientific evidence relevant to their field. Safety isn't the same as effectiveness, and chiropractic just doesn't have an observable benefit over a placebo (i.e. sham treatment from someone who is not a trained chiropractor) in the scientific literature for the vast majority of things chiropractors claim to treat. Insurance companies provide coverage because their customers demand it, not because doctors recommend it; some insurers cover homeopathy too.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2014, 04:36:08 PM by warfreak2 »

Cassie

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #17 on: April 23, 2014, 04:35:21 PM »
Most people seek chiropractic care for muscle pain & regular medicine can not do anything but give out meds. Chiropractic care does relieve muscle pain.

warfreak2

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #18 on: April 23, 2014, 04:40:28 PM »
Most people seek chiropractic care for muscle pain & regular medicine can not do anything but give out meds.
Physiotherapy, for example? Quite a lot of "regular medicine" is not prescribing pills. "Regular medicine" just means things that we know to be effective. If chiropractic were known to be effective, it wouldn't be "irregular" medicine.

Quote
Chiropractic care does relieve muscle pain.
So does the placebo effect, and regression to the mean.

Cassie

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #19 on: April 23, 2014, 04:53:06 PM »
Many insurance companies pay for chiropractic care so it is not "irregular."  In addition when my back is out one of my hips is visibly higher then the other due to the muscles pulling and an adjustment remedies that. That is certainly not placebo effect.  Read up on chiropractic care & all the studies showing the benefits since you obviously speak of something you know nothing about.

Mister Fancypants

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #20 on: April 23, 2014, 08:48:09 PM »
One of my key deliverables on my current project is a complicated calculator for my client, set up to be as simple as possible...
Yes, simple is good.  Thanks for the compliment on appearance - I hope the good will persists after you start entering numbers ;).

Based on the time stamp of your post, you missed an updated version by ~3 minutes.  The version now on Google Drive includes some rudimentary instructions, and incorporates some of the suggestions Mister Fancypants was kind enough to make.

I'll have to check out the new version glad I was able help out.

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #21 on: April 23, 2014, 09:16:52 PM »
I see I missed a new version, but here's my spreadsheet in the old version. That was a lot of work! But worth it...

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #22 on: April 23, 2014, 09:27:39 PM »
I'm amused at how this turned into a debate on the merits of chiropractic and homeopathic treatments.
I will say that although there are some quacks out there (as in any profession), my chiropractors are excellent, and also cheap (yay insurance). The visits are very necessary right now as being on bed rest is not good for the bones. Nor is pregnancy easy on the body in general, but I do look forward to being fit and spritely again in a few months - knock on wood - and not needing the chiro visits anymore.
Same with the ton of supplements I'm on right now, all related to pregnancy.
We are a big believer in homeopathic remedies for my daughter at the first sign of a cold (and back when she was teething we would start with them unless it got really really bad, when we'd get out the Orajel. Orajel can be dangerous for itty bitty babies though, so our doctor advised us to use it sparingly). Colds are the primary trigger of her asthma, and though we do start the albuterol breathing treatments right away too, we all know that antibiotics aren't going to do anything for a cold.
So, I will respectfully disagree with those who advise I lose the chiro/supplements/homeopathics entirely.

MDM

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #23 on: April 23, 2014, 10:55:23 PM »
I see I missed a new version, but here's my spreadsheet in the old version. That was a lot of work! But worth it...
Well annotated - good work!

If the lower paycheck withholding is because you know your 2014 Adjusted Gross Income will be significantly lower than $107K, all is well.  Otherwise, I think the federal tax calc'ns are pretty good and you will owe a lot next April 15...?  No idea about your state/local tax, although another post suggested you'll pay 10% and the spreadsheet assumes only 4%...?

Is the student loan financed over 20 years?  That would give a reasonable match to your current balance.  If it is financed over 10 years then something is off.

Anyway, you seem to have good plans to reduce expenses: now go and execute those plans.  Quick wins (e.g. "cancel Learnvest") are great.  For others (e.g. clothing/shopping), remember it's a marathon, not a sprint, so be prepared to sustain your changes by various positive reinforcements.  Making extra principal payments on the SL and watching the "date of final payment" jump closer might be a good one.

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #24 on: April 23, 2014, 11:52:03 PM »
Thanks MDM!

I expect a 2014 income (non-adjusted) of $105-112K (if hubs gets 0 sales), depending on how long I stay on mat leave, but since my husband is getting a 1099 I do expect write-offs such as all his mileage, his new laptop, part of his cell phone bill, coffees/meals with clients, and so on. Also, I never adjusted the exemptions, but me, hubs, toddler + baby = 4, yes? Looking at previous years, our CA tax rate has been about 5%. Uh... should I be worried?

I'm pretty sure it's a 30 year student loan. It's definitely not 10 years. We have managed to pay an extra $5K-$10K+ each year in the 3 years it's been hanging over us so far.

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #25 on: April 24, 2014, 01:14:26 AM »
You said your MIL pressures you to go out to eat. Your going out to eat expenses are $175 per month. If you must go out, change your date habits.

She pressures us to go out to eat with her: family dinner or family breakfast. When there are two babies, it will be that much more of a hassle and therefore, I hope, easier to say no.

MDM

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #26 on: April 24, 2014, 01:15:26 AM »
Yes, baby makes another exemption - and another $1000 child tax credit - so that will help.  I added the child tax credit calc'n to the spreadsheet - thanks for the beta testing.

Not going to add all the state tax nuances, but you can check http://www.tax-brackets.org/californiataxtable or http://www.tax-rates.org/income-tax-calculator/ or others for estimates.  From a quick glance you are nowhere near the >10% state brackets.  And if your itemized deductions are >> the standard deduction then your federal may also be ok.

Which all means that you have even more cash flow to pay down that student loan balance - good luck! 


kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #27 on: April 24, 2014, 01:23:30 AM »
Liabilities
$206K $161.9k by transferring from assets
(MONTHLY = $1,980 $5550, without any suffering. At this rate the student loan will be gone in a little under 3 years.)

Thanks warfreak2, this is a good list of action items. But, wouldn't it be better to keep the Discover CDs (getting 2.5%) and spend $10K of the Discover savings (getting 0.85%) on the SL instead? After all, in a real emergency, I could still get those before they mature (I'd only sacrifice the earnings), but in the meantime shouldn't I get the higher rate?

I was going to ask the same thing about cashing out the Mutual Funds, but obviously the stock market is more volatile than the guaranteed rate on the loan. I'm probably just emotionally attached to the mutual funds since they're some of my early early savings from my college years. Please face-punch my emotions away.

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #28 on: April 24, 2014, 01:25:45 AM »
Yes, baby makes another exemption - and another $1000 child tax credit - so that will help.  I added the child tax credit calc'n to the spreadsheet - thanks for the beta testing.
...
Which all means that you have even more cash flow to pay down that student loan balance - good luck!

Thanks MDM!!

NewStachian

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #29 on: April 24, 2014, 04:43:56 AM »
Kudos for putting it all out there on the forum. I'm a firm believer that if you do nothing else, tracking your spending is the #1 thing that will get you on the right financial path. By taking the time to compile all that here, it's showing you're committed to it.

Just a small thought here: If you pay $1651 per month to your student loans, that may seem like a lot, but $1244 of that is interest (206000*.0725/12) so you're only putting $407 a month into principal right now. If you could take your charity budget and find another $200 from your spending, you could DOUBLE the rate at which you're paying down principal. Doubling your monthly payment would mean paying the principal 5x faster (right now, at least). Also, at 7.25% and assuming 2-3% inflation, you'd need 9-10% stock returns for stocks to be a better deal than the loans. Add the fact that it's a large stressor in your life, annihilating your debt emergency is probably the best bet.

If I were in your situation, I'd look at my ROTH as my safety net and funnel any and all cash i had into my student loan (I'd keep 2 months of expenses on hand). I would treat that as OMG MY HAIR IS ON FIRE debt. I'd sell all my stocks that have low or no capital gains, maybe offset those with some capital losses, and put that cash into the loan too. I'd sell anything in my house I didn't need on ebay or craigslist. The only money I would invest at this point would be just enough to get my employer match.

I say all that having no clue what it's like to go through a complicated pregnancy and not know what's around the corner with 2 kids, so take it with a grain of salt.

warfreak2

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #30 on: April 24, 2014, 04:59:09 AM »
But, wouldn't it be better to keep the Discover CDs (getting 2.5%) and spend $10K of the Discover savings (getting 0.85%) on the SL instead? After all, in a real emergency, I could still get those before they mature (I'd only sacrifice the earnings), but in the meantime shouldn't I get the higher rate?
This is a good point - up to you how much of your emergency fund you prefer to have in a savings account or in CDs.

I really do recommend you read Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, though.

ch12

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #31 on: April 24, 2014, 05:51:36 AM »
Thanks for putting together your spreadsheet! I'd really recommend Justin McCurry's article on minimizing taxes. http://blog.personalcapital.com/financial-planning-2/average-american-pay-no-taxes/



I'm signing up for face punches myself here, but with $1800 in childcare costs and $160 in cleaning costs, I'd say to just get a housekeeper/nanny. People have already pointed out that your husband working is a net negative, but you say that there's a lot of potential upside. Great. The small amount of money that he earns is going towards his loans, with the extra cost of $1960/month or whatever it ends up costing you to get a nanny.

I also checked things out, and you should think about doing IBR or a similar thing for at least this year.

https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/mobile/repayment/repaymentEstimator.action#view-repayment-plans


quilter

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #32 on: April 24, 2014, 07:39:47 AM »
Many insurance companies pay for chiropractic care so it is not "irregular."  In addition when my back is out one of my hips is visibly higher then the other due to the muscles pulling and an adjustment remedies that. That is certainly not placebo effect.  Read up on chiropractic care & all the studies showing the benefits since you obviously speak of something you know nothing about.

Check why some insurance companies pay for chiro. In NY they lobbied the legislature and they passed a law that it must be covered up to 30 visits. Here is an interesting about why this came to be.  http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=38457
I visited one and was not impressed. All he seemed to want to do was sign me up for 156 treatment sessions over two years.  If your experience has been better, I am glad for you. Different opinions make the world go round.

Back to the OP, I commend you on breast feeding while holding down a full time job. Not the easiest thing to do. And I also hope DH's job works out.  It would be great to get that student loan millstone off your neck.
Also about the eating out. Maybe you could compromise and only have one of you go out with MIL less frequently than you now do.  Even saving $100 per month could help with loan payoff. Dragging a baby and a toddler to a restaurant doesn't seem like much of a break to me.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 07:44:52 AM by quilter »

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #33 on: April 24, 2014, 10:23:31 AM »
I'm signing up for face punches myself here, but with $1800 in childcare costs and $160 in cleaning costs, I'd say to just get a housekeeper/nanny.
...
I also checked things out, and you should think about doing IBR or a similar thing for at least this year.

Thanks ch12. Unfortunately a nanny here in LA would be almost double - on the low end of the spectrum - the daycare cost. I have considered a nanny though, believe me! It would probably be cheaper with a live-in but even so I doubt my MIL would go for that since she'd have to share a bathroom with said nanny.

I just can't bring myself to consider IBR... so so so much extra interest.

And I will definitely check out that article!

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #34 on: April 24, 2014, 10:29:09 AM »
Back to the OP, I commend you on breast feeding while holding down a full time job. Not the easiest thing to do. And I also hope DH's job works out.  It would be great to get that student loan millstone off your neck.
Also about the eating out. Maybe you could compromise and only have one of you go out with MIL less frequently than you now do.  Even saving $100 per month could help with loan payoff. Dragging a baby and a toddler to a restaurant doesn't seem like much of a break to me.

Thanks OP! I'm pretty proud of myself for continuing to nurse despite the obstacles. It was challenging but worth it; every drop I could give my asthmatic child I knew was a +1 for her health. (I was SO GLAD when I could stop pumping and just nurse in the evenings though! Nursing >>> pumping)
I'm really hoping DH's job works out too (obvi); he does a few deals that are getting "close" so we shall see.
I definitely like your idea about compromising on the eating out... Hubs can go with MIL and they can get some father-son time. Cuz yeah, dragging a baby and toddler to a restaurant? How is that relaxing for anyone?!
Also, as a sewing enthusiast myself, I love your name! :)

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #35 on: April 24, 2014, 10:51:47 AM »
Thanks for putting together your spreadsheet! I'd really recommend Justin McCurry's article on minimizing taxes. http://blog.personalcapital.com/financial-planning-2/average-american-pay-no-taxes/



ch12, oh how I wish we had the FSA option still; my previous employer (100K+ employees) definitely had better benefits than my current employer (30ish employees and growing fast, and infinitely more awesome in every other way). FSA for health and day care was one of my methods of student loan savings in previous years... the money was already spent and gone by the time I got the reimbursements, so the reimbursements would go to the SL.

ch12

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #36 on: April 24, 2014, 04:33:24 PM »
I'm signing up for face punches myself here, but with $1800 in childcare costs and $160 in cleaning costs, I'd say to just get a housekeeper/nanny.
...
I also checked things out, and you should think about doing IBR or a similar thing for at least this year.

Thanks ch12. Unfortunately a nanny here in LA would be almost double - on the low end of the spectrum - the daycare cost. I have considered a nanny though, believe me! It would probably be cheaper with a live-in but even so I doubt my MIL would go for that since she'd have to share a bathroom with said nanny.

I just can't bring myself to consider IBR... so so so much extra interest.

And I will definitely check out that article!

You might be overestimating. I checked out craiglist listings (yeah, sketchier than you'd really want), but people who want nannies are offering $100 per day. While it might be a bit higher than $1960, I wouldn't be surprised if you got it into that ballpark. My family hired a nurse for my sick aunt, and they kept her as a housekeeper/nanny for the children after my aunt's death. She is considered part of the family, and I think that she was paid $2000 per month plus bonus. She didn't get room, but she did get board, partially because she was the one cooking.

quilter

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #37 on: April 24, 2014, 08:30:28 PM »
I'm signing up for face punches myself here, but with $1800 in childcare costs and $160 in cleaning costs, I'd say to just get a housekeeper/nanny.
...
I also checked things out, and you should think about doing IBR or a similar thing for at least this year.

Thanks ch12. Unfortunately a nanny here in LA would be almost double - on the low end of the spectrum - the daycare cost. I have considered a nanny though, believe me! It would probably be cheaper with a live-in but even so I doubt my MIL would go for that since she'd have to share a bathroom with said nanny.

I just can't bring myself to consider IBR... so so so much extra interest.

And I will definitely check out that article!

You might be overestimating. I checked out craiglist listings (yeah, sketchier than you'd really want), but people who want nannies are offering $100 per day. While it might be a bit higher than $1960, I wouldn't be surprised if you got it into that ballpark. My family hired a nurse for my sick aunt, and they kept her as a housekeeper/nanny for the children after my aunt's death. She is considered part of the family, and I think that she was paid $2000 per month plus bonus. She didn't get room, but she did get board, partially because she was the one cooking.

Seriously, craigslist?  Scrimping on child care while you drive nice cars, eat out, spent money on clothes you don' t absolutely need is ridiculous. Your children and their safety should be your #1 concern.

ch12

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #38 on: April 25, 2014, 05:33:29 AM »
I just went there to get an idea of what prices were. Eh could go to care.com. Get a list of people with background checks and references. Jeez, I already said that Craigslist was sketchy. Don't yell at the OP for my sins.

quilter

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #39 on: April 25, 2014, 06:10:11 AM »
Ch12. Wasn't yelling, just being a crazy lady. Sometimes I see suggestions that someone might take seriously and perspective is what it is all about. The most important thing is people, especially little innocents, and we live in such a consumer wasteful society sometimes I do go nuts.

kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #40 on: April 25, 2014, 10:10:07 AM »
Well, Craigslist is not all bad for childcare, but does require a LOT more homework. I actually found our daycare on Craigslist; I would have found her faster just walking around the neighborhood but didn't realize at the time how many in-home daycare providers are in our neighborhood.
Having someone in your home all day, focused on just your kids, seems even riskier and therefore would require even MORE homework... maybe it's something I could delegate to my husband to research, but we just have such a good situation going with our awesome daycare/preschool.

myDogIsFI

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #41 on: April 25, 2014, 12:01:29 PM »
Here's the classic MMM article on debt emergencies:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/

You might try re-reading that before making any spending decisions.  That student loan must feel like such a weight - imagine how good it would feel to have that gone before you buy anything.  Maybe write the balance on post it notes and stick them on your fridge and in your wallet.  I think you would be nuts to even consider moving out of the MIL condo until that's gone.

Re: cleaning.  My wife and I recently gave up the regular professional deep clean.  The first time you do it yourself, it sucks.  After that, you develop your routine, and it's easy.  You start to clean stuff on the spot more anyway.  It seems like your husband would have to carry the burden on this for now.  If he hates the loan, he can learn how to use a swiffer.


kaizen

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Re: Reader Case Study - Bring on the Face Punches
« Reply #42 on: April 25, 2014, 04:03:26 PM »
Good call, myDogIsFI - I'm going to make my husband read it, and make myself read it regularly. Haha, maybe a recurring Outlook reminder with just the link.

So, I now have a tidy little to-do list based on the all the above advice that I'm starting to put into action
TaskStatus
Sell BP stockIn Progress
Sell HAFC stockIn Progress
Sell CTSHIn Progress
Move IRAs to VanguardNot Started
Sell Mutual FundsNot Started
Transfer 10K from Discover to SLNot Started (will do this wkd w/ Hubs)
Change $3K monthly to savings to $2K monthly to SL Not Started (will do this wkd w/ Hubs)
   
Note on the "Change $3K monthly to savings to $2K monthly to SL" - Since mat leave is coming soon, we'll keep an extra cash buffer for now, and then up that to $3K in the fall when I'm back to work. This will all result in about $37K for the loans right away, minus some $ put aside for capital gains tax, and $2K additional towards the loans monthly, moving up to $3K monthly additional later in the year. Whoot!