Case Study - 28 year old ***32 year old update***

[bcbaseballman]

Hello all,
I am 28 years old married and have 2 children. We life in Wichita Kansas.
Our income is after taxes and IRA contribution(which is $433.34 a month)
We currently our the house we are living in and have right around $29,000 or equity in it
We have $3,500.00 in our checking/saving account and that gets a 2.26% return on it
We have two vehicles: #1: Silverado approx. worth is $9,000 completely paid off #2: Ford Explorer this is the one we have the loan on

This is my monthly budget from last month.
I know I have a couple of things I should do differently but want your guys opinion on how this all looks




***June 2020***

I have been working on this now for two years and I figured it was about time I came back and did an update.

Now I am 30 turn 31 here in a couple of weeks.
We have added another little one to our family last year so that brings us to a family of 5 now (30-30-5-4-1)
I have sold off my Silverado and bought a ford focus to replace it. I was also gifted my fathers old ford ranger (2000 with almost 300,000 miles), and we still have our explorer as our bigger vehicle.

Income:
Me: $43,200 salary +$9,600 for health insurance monthly take home pay before retirement is: $ 3774.18
Wife: ~$10,000 (makes $13.65 an hour at target working approx. 15-25 hours a week) monthly take home is:~$ 800.00
Side Gig: ~600 a month (I buy/sell items I can pick up cheap from auctions)

Expenses Monthly:
Mortgage (includes P&I): $658
Utilities (water,gas,electric,trash):$227
Car Insurance: $150 (3 vehicles)
Car Gas: $160
Car Maintenance: $78
Phone: $75.00
Internet: $50
Groceries: $380
Eating Out: $60
Kids Expenses: $200 (includes preschool cost)
Medical Expenses/Insurance: $416
Household Necessities: $200
Misc.: $200
Pets: $50
Home Improvement: $100
Gifts: $50

Retirement:
Me Simple IRA (through Work): $612.00 monthly with $108.00 Company Match
Wife: Target 401K: 5% of her income with 5% company match

Retirement Totals:
Simple IRA: $21,830
Roth IRA: 7,750
Wife Old company IRA: $12,950
Wife Target: 800

Other Assets:
House: Value: $105,000

Liabilities:
Mortgage: $79,750
Student Loans: $10,256

***January 2022***

Now I am 32
Family of 5 (32, 32, 6, 5, 2)

Income:
Me: $65,000 My company was bought out by a much larger company and I negotiated a
                    nice raise in the process
Wife: ~$13,500 (makes $15.30 an hour at target working approx. 15-25 hours a week)

Expenses Monthly:
Mortgage (includes P&I): $1350
Utilities (water,gas,electric,trash):$350
Car Insurance: $145 (3 vehicles)
Car Gas: $250
Car Maintenance: $100
Phone: $100
Internet: $70
Groceries: $500
Eating Out: $200
Kids Expenses: $100 (includes preschool cost)
Medical Expenses/Insurance: $214
Household Necessities: $280
Misc.: $200
Pets: $25
Home Improvement: $2,505 (was rediculous this year as we completely remodeled our new 
                                            house, used from our savings account)
Gifts: $200


Retirement:
New 401k avaliable will be putting in 6% to get the company match
Roth IRA: maxing out for myself  for the first time
Wife: Target 401K: 5% of her income with 5% company match

Retirement Totals:
Simple IRA: $ 54,000
Roth IRA: 18,000
Wife Old company IRA: $21,000
Wife Target: 5,000

Other Assets:
House: Value: $265,000

Liabilities:
Mortgage: $215000
Student Loans: $8,600

Some big changes since my last update on this. We purchased a new house back in November of 2020. It required a full gut and remodel but it was in the perfect location with just about 2 acres of land (I foresee this being our forever home). Our company was just bought out by a much larger corporation so I will get gaining access to much more and better option for retirement and insurances! Trying to save a much as possible of course. Some months are easier than others.

The attachment was my original budget. I have gotten allot more specific with how it is set up now haha

Net worth May 2018: -$700
Net worth June 2020: $55,177
Net Worth January 2022: $139,400

[fuzzy math]

Are you paid biweekly? I admit to being terrible with spreadsheets. You've done a great job logging and codifying all your spending and I hope that it's because you're ready to get serious about paying off debt and saving.

About the spending itself, I see a few glaring problems.

1) your debt is super high (not news to you I'm sure)

2) your current spending vs income gives you very little room to pay off debt

Have you tried refinancing your loans with companies like SoFi? What are your interest rates like?

Most of the spending waste is coming from 3 categories: vehicles, random crap and fun money for baseball. Pulling in ~$45k a year with that much debt doesn't afford you to have an expensive car or indulge in a lot of sporting events. Your monthly vehicle costs with insurance and gas are costing you 17% of your income. You really need to figure out a way to bring that down. Your baseball habit is robbing you of the ability to pay off your loans. Do you spend like that for other sports or only baseball? Also what the heck is Willow Tree? Are you talking about those figurines? If so this needs to stop immediately.

Your cell bill is super high too. Are you locked in a contract? You should be able to get service for 2 phones for $60 with a good amount of data. You have internet at home so you can use wifi there and save data. Download music at home and don't stream video or music while not on wifi. There is a great guide here for low cost options for each carrier's phone.

The other portion of the equation that's missing is an income from your wife. It appears she may be flipping antiques or furniture? Its a nice idea but it doesn't seem to be making you much money and it's very easy to start spending on items that you intend to sell but can't, or products that you require to be able to rehab items before selling them.

How old are your kids? Is there a plan for your wife to go back to work when they are school aged? What is your degree in? Any chances you can climb the ladder or switch companies to get your salary up? It's really impossible to squeeze blood from a turnip. Your income is that turnip right now.

[MDM]

...want your guys opinion on how this all looks

If you follow the format suggested in How To: Write a "Case Study" Topic and the spreadsheet there, it might get your numbers in a form more familiar to folks here and thus increase responses.

[GOFU]

...want your guys opinion on how this all looks

If you follow the format suggested in How To: Write a "Case Study" Topic and the spreadsheet there, it might get your numbers in a form more familiar to folks here and thus increase responses.

Yeah, man. Hard to tell what's going on here except for the fact that pretty much every dime coming in is being spent. The good news is that at age 28 you have time to change the trajectory.

To @bcbaseballman : What percentage of your gross income each month do you save for the long-term future?

[Hirondelle]

Indeed hard to get to the details. First things that I noticed:

- I don't know how old your kids are, but if they're <10 yo (which I assume considering you're 28) your grocery budget could most likely be lowered. Visit https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/have-a-sub-$200month-grocery-budget/msg1990171/#msg1990171 for some excellent bugetting tips and recipe suggestions. He's a family with two kids as well.
- You owe 20k on a car. That's too much car for both your income level and NW. Get a cheaper car.
- I see "Mom repayment for Truck", why do you have/need a truck? Trucks generally get bad mileage. Get a smaller car with better mileage unless having a truck is 100% essential for your job.
- 10% of your expenses is under the category "random" - that's all waste. Eliminate this category.
- Phones seems high, look into cheaper plans. I'm not US based but others will have suggestions.
- You're saving $109 towards some trip. You don't have money for a trip.

Last note; good job on selling stuff and saving money in retirement accounts. It seems like you're ready for a positive financial turn. If "home loan" means mortgage that's a very nice small mortgage there. Good job on that.

[okits]

The car debt is enormous compared to your income and your student loans (if they're indicative of the cost of your education).  Are you underwater on it?

To earn additional money can your wife care for a third child, either as full-time daycare, or before-and-after school care, or covering school holidays where parents generally have to use vacation days to be home for their kids?  (I know caring for two young kids is hard work but it's an obvious avenue for more income for your family).

If there's any food waste or eating out, rein that in.  If things are being bought new that can be thrifted, look into that.  Do you spend a lot for birthdays and holidays?  What is your career path for higher earnings (and what professional development can you undertake to get there)?  And yes, that "random" category needs some detailed scrutiny.

[bcbaseballman]

Are you paid biweekly? I admit to being terrible with spreadsheets. You've done a great job logging and codifying all your spending and I hope that it's because you're ready to get serious about paying off debt and saving.

About the spending itself, I see a few glaring problems.

1) your debt is super high (not news to you I'm sure)

2) your current spending vs income gives you very little room to pay off debt

Have you tried refinancing your loans with companies like SoFi? What are your interest rates like?

I have started to look into this. currently I have 5 loans at 6.55% and 2 at 3.25%.

Most of the spending waste is coming from 3 categories: vehicles, random crap and fun money for baseball. Pulling in ~$45k a year with that much debt doesn't afford you to have an expensive car or indulge in a lot of sporting events. Your monthly vehicle costs with insurance and gas are costing you 17% of your income. You really need to figure out a way to bring that down. Your baseball habit is robbing you of the ability to pay off your loans. Do you spend like that for other sports or only baseball? Also what the heck is Willow Tree? Are you talking about those figurines? If so this needs to stop immediately.

No do not normally spend this much on baseball/sports. It was part of my vacation to see my brother. Willow Tree was a councilor for my wife's who is suffering with post pardon depression.

Your cell bill is super high too. Are you locked in a contract? You should be able to get service for 2 phones for $60 with a good amount of data. You have internet at home so you can use wifi there and save data. Download music at home and don't stream video or music while not on wifi. There is a great guide here for low cost options for each carrier's phone.

Currently we are locked into a contract. I hope to be out of it here in 6 months or so and then we will be able to change to something allot cheaper.

The other portion of the equation that's missing is an income from your wife. It appears she may be flipping antiques or furniture? Its a nice idea but it doesn't seem to be making you much money and it's very easy to start spending on items that you intend to sell but can't, or products that you require to be able to rehab items before selling them.

I have been flipping furniture now for about 5 years. I have fortunately always been able to sell the furniture that I have picked up. Some months it brings in multiple hundred dollars other it only brings in a few hundred. It just depends on if I can find a piece I think I can make money on (I am rather picky when it comes to purchasing for resale).[/b][/b]

How old are your kids? Is there a plan for your wife to go back to work when they are school aged? What is your degree in? Any chances you can climb the ladder or switch companies to get your salary up? It's really impossible to squeeze blood from a turnip. Your income is that turnip right now.

My boys are currently 2 and 3 years old. my wife actually just got a job that she is going to work nights and weekends. My degree is in Finance. the job I am currently at has a huge upside to it. I have been here a little over a years and have already increase my salary by $7,500.00. It is a small sales company which I believe I can become a part owner here in the next 5 to 10 years with hard work.[/b]

[bcbaseballman]

...want your guys opinion on how this all looks

If you follow the format suggested in How To: Write a "Case Study" Topic and the spreadsheet there, it might get your numbers in a form more familiar to folks here and thus increase responses.

Yeah, man. Hard to tell what's going on here except for the fact that pretty much every dime coming in is being spent. The good news is that at age 28 you have time to change the trajectory.

To @bcbaseballman : What percentage of your gross income each month do you save for the long-term future?

I am Currenly putting away at least 13% of my before tax income into my Companies IRA. Some months if I have access I also invest into my Roth IRA

[bcbaseballman]

Indeed hard to get to the details. First things that I noticed:

- I don't know how old your kids are, but if they're <10 yo (which I assume considering you're 28) your grocery budget could most likely be lowered. Visit https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/have-a-sub-$200month-grocery-budget/msg1990171/#msg1990171 for some excellent bugetting tips and recipe suggestions. He's a family with two kids as well.
- You owe 20k on a car. That's too much car for both your income level and NW. Get a cheaper car.
- I see "Mom repayment for Truck", why do you have/need a truck? Trucks generally get bad mileage. Get a smaller car with better mileage unless having a truck is 100% essential for your job.
- 10% of your expenses is under the category "random" - that's all waste. Eliminate this category.
- Phones seems high, look into cheaper plans. I'm not US based but others will have suggestions.
- You're saving $109 towards some trip. You don't have money for a trip.

Last note; good job on selling stuff and saving money in retirement accounts. It seems like you're ready for a positive financial turn. If "home loan" means mortgage that's a very nice small mortgage there. Good job on that.

- We have been trying to get out grocery budget down for the last couple of months. It started around $550 a month. Thank you for the link to the $200 grocery budget.
- I have my truck because I use to buy and sell furniture. It brings in an extra income that pays for all the gas plus some the majority of the months. I have thought about selling it and trying to figure out another way of bringing in that income but I just have not found a good way of doing it yet
- How do you classify your random items you have to buy each month? The majority of these are for diapers for my boys. My wife's post pardon councilor, and then things like personal hygiene products/ cleaners. etc.. Should I just have those all listed out separately?
- I am sadly stuck in a contract for the next 6 months but at that time I am hoping to find a cheaper phone plan.
- It was a trip to go see my family in Arizona. I know we don't normally have enough money for a trip but it is about the only time we actually go anywhere in the year. We normally spend less than $500 for it as well.

Thank You for your help

[bcbaseballman]

The car debt is enormous compared to your income and your student loans (if they're indicative of the cost of your education).  Are you underwater on it?

To earn additional money can your wife care for a third child, either as full-time daycare, or before-and-after school care, or covering school holidays where parents generally have to use vacation days to be home for their kids?  (I know caring for two young kids is hard work but it's an obvious avenue for more income for your family).

If there's any food waste or eating out, rein that in.  If things are being bought new that can be thrifted, look into that.  Do you spend a lot for birthdays and holidays?  What is your career path for higher earnings (and what professional development can you undertake to get there)?  And yes, that "random" category needs some detailed scrutiny.

I agree our car debt is high. we are not underwater on it though. We bought it when we were going to have another child that was lost. It is a Ford expedition and we got it for the third row seat. we were not going to be able to put three car seats in the back of our focus that she was currently driving. It has been a huge item on my mind, but I know it is a safer car for my family and does allow us to grow into it. I just am not sure what to currently do about it

My wife has actually just got a job here yesterday  and will be working nights and weekends to help bring in some extra income

we actually have very little food waste in out house. I am rather proud of that. I always to the leftovers from the night before for my lunch at work the next day. We very seldom eat out we just prefer a home cooked meal and plus I love to cook so win win! We don't normally spend a whole lot for birthdays or holidays, and that is easy now because they are so young but not looking forward to them being older and wanting more expensive items. for birthdays we only spend $20 on presents and the only other holiday we get them gifts in Christmas which we normally spend less then $75 on.

I am currently working for a small sales company which sells commercial HVAC products. The trajectory for my position is really good, and with hard work I think I can become a part owner here in 5-10 years.

I have listed what the majority of the "random money" stuff actually is in other replies. please let me know if you think I should be doing anything different.

[Hirondelle]

Indeed hard to get to the details. First things that I noticed:

- I don't know how old your kids are, but if they're <10 yo (which I assume considering you're 28) your grocery budget could most likely be lowered. Visit https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/have-a-sub-$200month-grocery-budget/msg1990171/#msg1990171 for some excellent bugetting tips and recipe suggestions. He's a family with two kids as well.
- You owe 20k on a car. That's too much car for both your income level and NW. Get a cheaper car.
- I see "Mom repayment for Truck", why do you have/need a truck? Trucks generally get bad mileage. Get a smaller car with better mileage unless having a truck is 100% essential for your job.
- 10% of your expenses is under the category "random" - that's all waste. Eliminate this category.
- Phones seems high, look into cheaper plans. I'm not US based but others will have suggestions.
- You're saving $109 towards some trip. You don't have money for a trip.

Last note; good job on selling stuff and saving money in retirement accounts. It seems like you're ready for a positive financial turn. If "home loan" means mortgage that's a very nice small mortgage there. Good job on that.

- We have been trying to get out grocery budget down for the last couple of months. It started around $550 a month. Thank you for the link to the $200 grocery budget.
- I have my truck because I use to buy and sell furniture. It brings in an extra income that pays for all the gas plus some the majority of the months. I have thought about selling it and trying to figure out another way of bringing in that income but I just have not found a good way of doing it yet
- How do you classify your random items you have to buy each month? The majority of these are for diapers for my boys. My wife's post pardon councilor, and then things like personal hygiene products/ cleaners. etc.. Should I just have those all listed out separately?
- I am sadly stuck in a contract for the next 6 months but at that time I am hoping to find a cheaper phone plan.
- It was a trip to go see my family in Arizona. I know we don't normally have enough money for a trip but it is about the only time we actually go anywhere in the year. We normally spend less than $500 for it as well.

Thank You for your help

Thanks for clarification!
Good job on lowering the grocery budget already. Considering your kids are still so small, you could most likely win another $50-$100 there (I'm very impressed by the <$200 thread too).
Also glad to hear your wife has started a job and will start to bring in extra money. Regarding the car; I do agree that it's important to have a safe car that fits your family. However that doesn't need to be a new(?) $20k car. I know next to nothing about cars, but I'm sure many others will be able to give you car suggestions for families like yours.
Random things sounds like a big part of that would go under toiletries/hygiene. Sure there will always some misc. or one-offs in any budget and I understood your budget was only a reflection of the last month. Just by calling it random and seeing the baseball expenses it looked like it was actual random stuff (the store names didn't specify type of product so those expenses could be random stuff too - turns out they're not).

And think you're on a good path and improving your spending habits! Good luck :)

[haflander]

Hey OP, 2.67% on your savings account?? Care to elaborate? This sounds too good to believe...is it with a credit union perhaps? What are the terms or requirements?

[bcbaseballman]

Hey OP, 2.67% on your savings account?? Care to elaborate? This sounds too good to believe...is it with a credit union perhaps? What are the terms or requirements?

It is with my credit union in my little town. I believe there are actually 4 locations in small towns throughout Kansas. It is call Golden Plains Credit Union. My mistake it is actually our checking account not our savings and I just check and it is actually 2.26% (for some reason I thought it was 2.67%). Although we basically use it for both because of the return. Our requirements to earn our return is we have to have a minimum of 10 debit card transactions a month, receive paperless statements, and log into our online account once a month.

[okits]

The car debt is enormous compared to your income and your student loans (if they're indicative of the cost of your education).  Are you underwater on it?

To earn additional money can your wife care for a third child, either as full-time daycare, or before-and-after school care, or covering school holidays where parents generally have to use vacation days to be home for their kids?  (I know caring for two young kids is hard work but it's an obvious avenue for more income for your family).

If there's any food waste or eating out, rein that in.  If things are being bought new that can be thrifted, look into that.  Do you spend a lot for birthdays and holidays?  What is your career path for higher earnings (and what professional development can you undertake to get there)?  And yes, that "random" category needs some detailed scrutiny.

I agree our car debt is high. we are not underwater on it though. We bought it when we were going to have another child that was lost. It is a Ford expedition and we got it for the third row seat. we were not going to be able to put three car seats in the back of our focus that she was currently driving. It has been a huge item on my mind, but I know it is a safer car for my family and does allow us to grow into it. I just am not sure what to currently do about it

I'm so sorry for the child you lost.  I haven't been able to figure out how to make further suggestions without seeming insensitive to that, but I'll give it a try.

If you want to do something about that car debt (and aren't really knowledgeable about cars) you could ask the wider forum for recommendations on older models of vehicles that cost less but are equally sized.  You could downsize to a smaller vehicle but buy expensive car seats that are meant to sit three-across in a sedan (like Diono car seats.  Sure, you might spend $1000 on car seats but if it saved you $5-10k in car upgrade costs then you are ahead). 

Glad to hear your wife has started a PT job to bring in some income!  Keep an eye on if the job seems to be mentally helping her (e.g. getting out of the house, spending time with other adults, bringing home a paycheque, intellectual or professional stimulation) or if it seems to be wearing her down.  Especially after a loss and with caring for two young kids, it's worth keeping an eye on her mental health and protecting it.  (Yours, too.)

Best wishes.  :)

[fuzzy math]

Thanks for coming back to update. I'm also sorry for your loss and hope that my questions weren't too insensitive. Your spending on your wife's mental health should be encouraged, perhaps just code it as medical so you get a better overall picture of your medical spending.

I get the idea of special trips - again I may have been projecting since your name seemed to coincide with your trip and all that misc spending.

You biggest albatrosses are the vehicles still and its probably a really sensitive subject on whether you want to keep the expedition (I too bought a minivan while losing a 3rd child). But one of you should have a practical car. Is it possible to sell the truck and buy a cheap trailer (1-2k) to put on the expedition for the 1-4x a month you'd be moving furniture? We have a sub compact car and the minivan. When traveling with 4 or less ppl we use the car. If all 5 of us go out its in the minivan. Your daily commute would be much cheaper and frankly a $9k Silverado is getting to the point where you're going to start having maintenance costs. A van would also be a cheaper / more efficient route for traveling as a family unless you had something huge you were towing (which again isn't a great idea until you're on more solid ground).

[bcbaseballman]

I figured it was time for me to come back and update this. Allot has changed over the last 2 years and allot of that change has been for the better!
Thanks for looking

[Sanitary Stache]

Nice update!

Great job on your net worth and budgeting!

My household is a family of 5 also and we are in a similar income picture.  It is likely you are already taking advantage of benefit programs, but your wife and kids should be getting WIC if they are eligible and your family may be eligible for SNAP and daycare assistance.  Though with your low food and daycare costs, you probably are aware of these programs. 

[chemistk]

This looks like great progress!

I never saw your OP so I don't know the exact details of your job, but I actually am curious about something - how do you guys manage with your wife working PT at Target? Does family help watch the kids? Our family is pretty much identical to yours (3 boys - 5, almost 3, 7mos) and my wife has wanted to do something outside of the house like working but we haven't been sure just how well that would integrate into our current routine.

[bcbaseballman]

This looks like great progress!

I never saw your OP so I don't know the exact details of your job, but I actually am curious about something - how do you guys manage with your wife working PT at Target? Does family help watch the kids? Our family is pretty much identical to yours (3 boys - 5, almost 3, 7mos) and my wife has wanted to do something outside of the house like working but we haven't been sure just how well that would integrate into our current routine.

I work a typical Monday thru Friday 8-5. She works in the evenings and on the weekends. She use to work at Target before we had kids. Switched to a different job for a couple of years after the first two was born. Stayed home for about 1 year. Then went back to target on her current schedule. Thankfully they really liked her at Target and let her basically tell them when she was available. It is tough that's for sure. we do not see much of each other on the week days that she works but we know that this is only a temporary thing. Most likely until our youngest starts school then she will work when they are at school during the day.

[bcbaseballman]

Nice update!

Great job on your net worth and budgeting!

My household is a family of 5 also and we are in a similar income picture.  It is likely you are already taking advantage of benefit programs, but your wife and kids should be getting WIC if they are eligible and your family may be eligible for SNAP and daycare assistance.  Though with your low food and daycare costs, you probably are aware of these programs.

Sadly we make just a little bit to much to receive any of the assistance programs. We just watch our food bills closely and cook the majority of our meals at home.

[tamuaggie2011]

First off, congrats on all the progress! Really well done and the first step to a financial foundation.

My question for you is if your wife would consider a similar position that would pay more? Specifically if she has experience working at Target, going to look at Costco for example. Costco has way better salary/benefits and gives the potential for for employee ownership. Just food for thought, that may have to wait until she can/wants to go work full-time but it would be help with other posters' aforementioned comments on boosting income.

Sometimes the easiest way to raise income is look at companies in similar industries that match our skill set and you find that competitors pay way more.

[marty998]

Woo hoo, congrats on the update! Looks like you guys and making some tangible improvements and it's showing up in your net assets / balance sheet :D

Congrats on the addition to the family.

[Jack0Life]

Great job.
Low income with 3 kids but still making huge progress.

[meandmyfamily]

Wow!  Great progress!

[LWYRUP]

Fantastic!!

Getting on the right track is the hardest part.  You are doing great.  You'll feel even better when you start to see your investments compound.

[former player]

Congratulations: that big a turn-around in your net worth in 2 years is pretty special.

[bcbaseballman]

(he's going to kill me when he sees this, or change his passwords ;))

But seriously, he works his butt off to provide for our family while I'm over here sabotaging his progress. (Definitely not on purpose, it's just so easy to grab a couple things here and there when I'm at work). We owe 95% of this success to him and his determination to set us up for a solid future.

[LWYRUP]

I think you are being too hard on yourself!  You are a team.  You are doing great. 

If you can keep expenses flat while income rises, you are going to start crushing it. 

[Cassie]

You guys are doing great! I have lived in Wichita twice. Extremely nice people and really low cost of living.

[Malum Prohibitum]

Great job!  $56,000 increase in net worth in two years!

[bcbaseballman]

Well it is that time again. I have updated it for this year. Big changes have happened but it is all for the better!

[former player]

Nice work, thanks for the update.

[Malum Prohibitum]

Congrats on the forever home and almost tripling your net worth.

[Fire2025]

Congratulations, way to go with the NW increase and forever home!!!  Thanks for the update.

[Freedomin5]

Congrats on the raise and the new house!

Be careful not to succumb to lifestyle inflation now that your income is higher. Shovel that raise into your savings/investments and you’ll be FIRE in no time!

Also, did I read correctly that you’re spending $700 a month on food (groceries and restaurants)?!

[bcbaseballman]

Congrats on the raise and the new house!

Be careful not to succumb to lifestyle inflation now that your income is higher. Shovel that raise into your savings/investments and you’ll be FIRE in no time!

Also, did I read correctly that you’re spending $700 a month on food (groceries and restaurants)?!

Yes while working on the remodel I got into a terrible habit of just getting whatever we wanted for dinner and didn't plan all that well. Here this last month we have done much better and we are back down to the $300 for groceries and 100 for eating out. want to get our eating out back down to $50 which is were it was before we started our home reno.

[Freedomin5]

Congrats on the raise and the new house!

Be careful not to succumb to lifestyle inflation now that your income is higher. Shovel that raise into your savings/investments and you’ll be FIRE in no time!

Also, did I read correctly that you’re spending $700 a month on food (groceries and restaurants)?!

Yes while working on the remodel I got into a terrible habit of just getting whatever we wanted for dinner and didn't plan all that well. Here this last month we have done much better and we are back down to the $300 for groceries and 100 for eating out. want to get our eating out back down to $50 which is were it was before we started our home reno.

Phew! Glad to hear that it's not permanent!

[SeaWA]

This is a great update. I'm super impressed with the progress in four years. You're doing the hard work now that will pay dividends for the rest of your life.

Keep up the good work!

[JGS1980]

Just curious as some other MMM math wizards may know more about this than myself;

Would it be worthwhile to convert some of you and your wife's Simple IRA or 401K to Roth? With 3 kids and the current generous tax credits, you might be able to get your yearly income up to 100K or more and still pay 0% in Federal Taxes. Can't speak for Kansas state taxes on conversion.

Basically, this may mean you'd pay 0 taxes FOREVER on that $$$

[JAYSLOL]

Wow, you all really got on track!  Well done!  45 year old you with a paid off house and million bucks in the bank will thank the you of today for really kicking ass the last four years

[MDM]

Would it be worthwhile to convert some of you and your wife's Simple IRA or 401K to Roth? With 3 kids and the current generous tax credits, you might be able to get your yearly income up to 100K or more and still pay 0% in Federal Taxes. Can't speak for Kansas state taxes on conversion.

There is a difference between paying 0% vs. paying $0.

Even if someone is currently paying a negative tax amount (aka getting a refund even if nothing was withheld), it's still a question of the marginal tax rate now vs. what one expects for a marginal tax rate later.  Usually Roth conversions don't make sense while still working, but it doesn't hurt to consider them.