My wife and I are looking for advice. We made some mistakes when we first started to FI, a bit too much of Ormen and Ramsey and not enough effort towards MI. However, due to medical accidents we had pretty much our entire medical savings wiped out over the past three years (as we had left debt). I had a fractured skull due to an accident, daughter had an infection with her eye that left partial blindness and wife had a car crash. Some of this was covered by high deductible plan, however as I'm a school teacher and our insurance plan begins each year in August, our insurance company rebegin the year Out of pocket expenses, thus having us start again. We had no other way to pay for it, after savings was depleted, except for hospital loans. In addition, both wife and I took higher paying jobs at a charter school to help. We feel we'll be fine long-term financially, but if anyone can give us advice short term, it would help. Daughter has surgery in January ($2000) and July ($1200), wife is pregnant and will give birth in March ($1400). We hope to move closer to our new work (which was taken after we renewed our lease on current home). This will save us about $500 a month in August, including car and rent and food (cheaper area), but also will be about $1100 for deposit (before we regain our current deposit on this house). In addition, as we're Peruvian immigrants, renewal for permanent residency is in July which will run about ($3000) for all three of us.
Now, on income we earn $63,000 a year with 4% increases each September, and work from 7:30-5. I also do some summer work and teaching which nets about another $3000. After taxes and insurance, we net about $3800 a month, but from April to July it'll only be $2300 a month when wife stops working. I do plan on biking to work when she is on maternity leave, and making it permanent when we move closer to work (although, she'll need to purchase a bike). Furthermore, I've had "The Talk" with wife about unnecessary spending so many of the categories below are dropping. The other hard part, is cutting phone bills and saving to visit Peru, as wife is home sick and we haven't been back for four years.
Here's our situation:
We have in assets
2007 Kia Optima - KBB value - $5000, 90k miles
Savings - $2000
457 - $3000
Assets - $10,000
Debt -
Student Loans - $9500
Medical Loan - 12,400
Loan 2 - $9000
- Debt: - 30,900
Net Worth: - 20,900
Monthly Contracts / Bills -
T-Mobile - $150 - two smart phones, contract expires in October 2013 (fee for cutting both lines would be $500)
Energy Costs - $90
Water -
Food - $550
Gas - $150
Dining / Activities - $100
Monthly pre-school cost (daughter is not eligible for public school until next year, this is also only 9 months of the year and we'll be suspending it when wife is not working) - $580
Clothing - $40
Rent - $800 (lease is until August 2013)
Internet - Home Phone and International Calling - $90
Student Loan Monthly - $180
Medical Loan Monthly - $560
Household - $100
Car and Rental Insurance - $80
Random Events (car maintenance, gifts, etc) - $50
Whether it's a punch in the face, simple advice, or tips, I'll take any. Long term we'll be fine as we're cutting things left and right and getting out of shitty contracts and situations we had no business being in in the first place. However, short term we're looking at a shit load of debt, and medical bills and immigration that we can't avoid and don't want to go further in debt. Maybe, someone can see something here I don't or give a better mustachian ideas. Also, we live in Dallas.