Hi everyone. My wife and I have 3 kids 3 and under. Yeah, we’re crazy and a fairly young family. I dream every day of leaving my day job to start a consulting business, but I’m not sure how to make that transition. I’m basically in my second job out of grad school. Thanks for reading! Questions at the end of post.
Income ($4,766.79 net monthly):
$71,000 annual salary
$5960 monthly gross
$4766.79 monthly net (I have my allowances set to 10 and am on a regular family health plan with Kaiser)
Current expenses ($3,933.72 monthly):
$1233.72 monthly mortgage ($201,000 remaining on mortgage, home purchased in 3/2014)
$150-200 monthly gas expenses
$650 monthly grocery bill
$300 monthly utility bill (electric, gas, trash, water, internet, 2 cell phones on Republic Wireless)
$650 monthly tithing contributions to our church
$800 monthly other (random expenses for us lately, bathroom remodel, doctor visits, new baby, car repairs, eating out once or twice, babysitting, date nights)
$100 monthly contribution to Roth IRA
~$700-$900 monthly deposit to high yield savings
Assets:
Home, value ~$250,000
1997 Honda Accord, 164460 miles (22 mile round trip daily commute to my job)
2005 Toyota Sienna, 95000 miles (used sparingly)
Roth IRA, ~$7,000
Rollover IRA (I just switched jobs and need to do something with this): ~$9,000
High yield savings accounts, ~$9,000
Liabilities: Amount - rate - description
~$201,000 balance on home mortgage at 4.5%
Specific Questions
• Tips on lowering our grocery bill?
• I am halfway considering starting my own consulting business. How much should I have in savings as a cushion?
• What other ways could we improve our savings ratio?
• We haven’t forayed into investing beyond our Roth. What investing advice would you give to a family in our situation?
• Our furnace/water heater are ancient, our windows are drafty, and our house siding is in fairly bad shape. Which DIY project would you tackle first to help out the utility bill?
• Any other tips are welcome!