Author Topic: Thoughts on my budget?  (Read 2523 times)

Rain

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Thoughts on my budget?
« on: April 03, 2016, 10:42:07 AM »
Hi everyone!  My husband and I discovered MMM almost 3 years ago.  In that time we have made a lot of changes, including paying off $100K in student loans.  I was able to go down to part-time status at work to spend more time with our daughter who is 2.  That caused a large drop in our income, so unexpected expenses (vet bills, house/car repairs) are a bit more stressful than before.  We live comfortably but we don't have much of an emergency fund.  Currently it's only one month of expenses.  The after-tax investable amount in the attached spreadsheet tends to get eaten up by those unexpected things.

I was hoping some of you veterans could give me some thoughts on the attached spreadsheet?  I only filled out the Calculations tab (to the best of my ability).  I'm sure there are a lot of little things we can still adjust, and I know we won't have the momentum of saving/paying down debt that we did before I went part-time, but I'd love to get your thoughts!

Thanks in advance!   

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: Thoughts on my budget?
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2016, 11:33:43 AM »
Groceries are high for only 3 of you. I would try to get that down to 400/month.

hedgefund10

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 148
  • Age: 34
  • Location: Philadelphia, PA
Re: Thoughts on my budget?
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2016, 11:52:53 AM »
Hi everyone!  My husband and I discovered MMM almost 3 years ago.  In that time we have made a lot of changes, including paying off $100K in student loans.  I was able to go down to part-time status at work to spend more time with our daughter who is 2.  That caused a large drop in our income, so unexpected expenses (vet bills, house/car repairs) are a bit more stressful than before.  We live comfortably but we don't have much of an emergency fund.  Currently it's only one month of expenses.  The after-tax investable amount in the attached spreadsheet tends to get eaten up by those unexpected things.

I was hoping some of you veterans could give me some thoughts on the attached spreadsheet?  I only filled out the Calculations tab (to the best of my ability).  I'm sure there are a lot of little things we can still adjust, and I know we won't have the momentum of saving/paying down debt that we did before I went part-time, but I'd love to get your thoughts!

Thanks in advance!


-$750 a month for groceries, what are you eating?
-$100 a month for donations/gifts, what exactly is that?

Travis

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4219
  • Location: California
Re: Thoughts on my budget?
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2016, 11:54:49 AM »
Your Christmas budget caught my eye.  Who are you buying gifts for and what gifts are you buying that Christmas costs you over $1000?

MDM

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 11477
Re: Thoughts on my budget?
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2016, 12:00:53 PM »
Some stream-of-consciousness thoughts below:

Change 0 to 3 in cell G3

You mention withholding an extra $50/paycheck - do you get a tax refund when you file, or do you owe ~$0 when you file?

Change name in A111 (e.g., add "- repaying to 403b") so there is no SL interest deduction in G15.

If you put all HSA contributions into the employer-sponsored plan, you save the FICA taxes on that amount.  Could you put $6750 into that plan, and just not fund the one you do outside of work?  Or did you assume that "employer-sponsored" meant "employer contributions"?

If you don't know where $3000 in Miscellaneous, plus ~$12,000 in "after-tax investable" is going, getting a better handle on those expenses should be a high priority.

Putting the full $6750 into your HSAs seems a good target - sometimes it's easier not to spend if the take home pay is lower....

Good luck!

UKMustache

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 176
Re: Thoughts on my budget?
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2016, 12:09:39 PM »
The other one I would throw in is what house maintenance / car maintenance are you doing that requires such a high allocation?

Unless the plan is to do that until each fund hits X amount and then top it up again where necessary?

bobechs

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1065
Re: Thoughts on my budget?
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2016, 12:36:41 PM »
I see you are not spending anything on guns.

Maybe I'm the first to tell you, but those cats are going to be no use at all in defending yourself -- when shtf.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!