Budget as it is right now. Will probably need to tweak it later

kelley198721

Hi all, here is our budget right now. As I mentioned in my previous thread, our combined monthly take-home pay is $2,680. However, I am estimating a little bit on my pay because I just started a new job last month as an assistant pre-k teacher at an elementary school. I am due to receive my first paycheck tomorrow (finally! I hate how they hold back the first paycheck).

My FI works as a juvenile corrections officer and his job is very stable. As is mine. He just got POST certified, yay! He is also due to receive a 5% raise on his salary by November this year (his one year anniversary). We know this because his boss outright told him when he first started.

As for me, I love my job but I want to receive more pay so I am looking to become a parapro by this fall or next year. I would make more money (though granted, it wouldn't be a lot more) but every little bit helps. 

Right now, I live with my aunt to save money and he lives with his parents rent-free. These are our expenses as it is right now.

Take home pay: $2,680
My rent to my aunt: $200
Our cell phone: $188.15 (we can't lower this because we both upgraded early on our phones a couple months ago)
My car payment: $272.38
Netflix: $7.99
Hulu: $7.99
My car insurance: $81
His car insurance: $50 (FI is on his parents' car insurance and only has to pay $50)
My old credit card: $50 (this should be paid off in full this year. This is when I was a stupid teenager and didn't pay a credit card. It went to collections and back in 2009, they brought a judgment against me. In 2011, I finally began making payments on it and now it's almost paid off! I only have $522 left on it. There is no interest being charged on it.)
Our Capital One credit card: $0. This is in FI's name only but we consider it to be our card. We got it six months ago to build FI's nonexistent credit and we have paid it off in full every single month. FI plans to use this to pay for his gas on his car when we move in together. We try not to charge more than $100 on it per month.
My student loans: $0. I just submitted the paperwork last month for my annual renewal of the IBR plan and apparently, I don't even make enough money at my job to be able to make payments. Of course, this will change once FI and I get married and if we file taxes jointly.
Gas for my car and FI's car: We estimate we spend about $180 combined on our cars. My car is a 2011 Kia Forte sedan and it's in good shape. FI's car is in good shape but his car is also old and has a lot of mileage. Over 230k miles on his car. I'm trying to prepare room in the budget to get a new car for him within the next two years.
Groceries: We estimate that once we're living together, we'll be spending $250 per month on groceries. I really don't know. Neither of us cooks right now but I'm determined to learn how to cook once we get married. I am so sick of going out to eat.

I think that's it for now. So with all that, what should we spend on rent and utilities? I guess utilities for us would be about $200 including electric, water, sewage, trash, etc. I'm thinking we should try to stay under $800 for rent.

ETA: Forgot to add that we have a couples' membership at the YMCA for $67. Though we might drop that if we go with an apartment complex that has a decent gym and pool.

I also pay for health insurance and right now, it's literally $6.23 per month for me. I got it through Obamacare. This will likely change though once FI and I get married and they consider his income. Or I wonder if I can get on FI's health insurance. He gets it through his job. My job offers health insurance but since I want to try to become a parapro later this year or next year, I'm not interested in getting health insurance through my job until I know for sure I'm staying put.

als1982

IMO $250 for two is very little for groceries. What about entertainment? Retirement? Wedding savings?

kelley198721

Entertainment for us is mostly eating out. Though I'm sick of eating out so I would want to reduce to like maybe $50 or $100 max.

FI is already saving for retirement, that gets taken out of his paycheck. As for me, I want to start an IRA next year but I'm waiting until all the craziness from the wedding and moving in together dies down. I know that it's smarter to set up an IRA asap but I just don't feel like I can do that right now.

As for the wedding, we are very fortunate to have friends and family helping us out. Our venue is free, catering is being done at cost by a family friend, we just have to pay for the food.

I already got my dress. My MIL actually opened up a David's Bridal credit card and made me an authorized user because they had a promotion where if you ordered the dress using their card, you could have six months of no interest to pay it off. So my dress is $540 and I have six months to pay it off with 0% interest.

Another family friend is being our DJ for free at the reception and my brother is playing the piano for our ceremony.

We hired a photographer and already put a deposit down. We have about $600 to pay him and that's due on the wedding day.

I've already got a hair and makeup artist and I have to pay them $137 on the wedding day. They are friends so the $137 is for both of them.

We still have to get a florist, FI's suit, an officiant and save up money for our honeymoon. We are getting to stay at a nice condo for free in Florida for our honeymoon thanks to FI's aunt and uncle but we still have to pay for the travel expenses to get to said condo.

I think that's it...I feel like I'm forgetting some other wedding stuff but that's all I can come up with off the top of my head.

For the wedding expenses, FI and I are just planning to cash-flow it, I guess. I think that's the term. We will push back the apartment if we have to until August or September.

short+sassy

I'm not nearly as savvy with budgets as the other ladies on this board, but definitely start cooking for yourself NOW!!!  Not only is it a huge money saver, but it is so much healthier.  And it really isn't that hard to learn.  As long as you know enough to be able to follow a recipe, you can do it!  There are so many delicious and easy recipes out there...some of them even designed for budgets.  To start, I'd stick to recipes that have minimal ingredients and instructions.

It is just my DH and myself.  We probably spend about $350-$400/month on groceries, but then we also aren't really that careful about what we buy.  I'm sure I could slash that by at least $50/month if we focused on cheaper meals.  I'm a huge fan of Winn Dixie's BOGO deals.  Our weekly meals are often centered around what was BOGO that week, lol.

hoffse

Yes I think you need to stay under $800/month if at all possible.  $800/month would be almost a third of your take-home (not quite, but it's getting up there).

The car seems awfully high for your income.  It's about 10% of your take-home.

I agree that $250/month for food is awfully low.  Our grocery budget is $400/month for two, and honestly there are months where we don't make it (these are the months when we pack more lunches).  We shop in bulk for most items.

I think you guys need to see if there's a way to increase your income in the short-term.  It's great that you're paying these things off, but it's eating into your budget and you just don't have much wiggle room.  

I would suggest seeing what percentage of your take-home each category is for you right now.  It should be eye-opening.  I don't fully subscribe to the whole, "You should not spend more than X% of your take-home in category Y" thing (because that really does change as your income goes up and every extra dollar matters less and less), but it's still helpful to break it down so you can get the 10,000 foot picture of what's happening.  

The problem I see here is that your fixed expenses in total (insurance, future estimated housing costs, car payment, credit card, etc.) make up more than half of your take-home.  At your income, that's not sustainable if you faced even a small emergency any given month.  You guys need to be making a lot more for 50-60% of your take-home to be committed so that you're living and saving off of the other 40-50%.  There are definitely income levels where being that leveraged isn't a problem, but I don't think you guys are quite there yet.

The good news is that for every extra dollar you guys can bring in, it can have a huge impact on your overall financial picture.  I think I would spend some time seeing if there are ways you can increase your take-home.

simplyelise

DH and I are on a strict written budget because we're working to pay off his remaining 45k in student loans. I HIGHLY recommend that you guys start doing this. We each get some money for buying lunch out ($60/month) and we budget for one date night a month ($50). With that, we spend $350 a month on food/groceries (this includes shampoo, TP, etc). That is with shopping deals and going to a low-cost grocery store. 

Here's what I get for your full budget once you move into an apartment

Rent: TBD

Utilities: 200 (probably could get less than this, def don't get cable pls)

Cell: 188

Cars: 452 (Payment and gas)

Insurance: 138 (health and car)

CC: 50

SL: -

Groceries: 350

Gym: 67

Entertainment: 75 (all eating out and dates)

Wedding Dress: 90 (540/6)

Other Wedding: 50 (assuming some cashflowing of expenses)

That adds up to $1690. If you add $800 to that, you get $2490. So that's realllly not going to work.

I know you're probably really against it, but the only expense on here that you can cut which would make a difference is the car payment. If you sold the car, how much could you get above what you owe? 

formerlyGDaisy09

Agreed that your grocery budget seems low...H and I struggle to stay under $400 a month (thank goodness february is a short month!). 

Your car payment does seem high. 

Honestly I'd consider cutting the gym membership and running, walking, etc. outside...there's a movement of stair climbers who go to public buildings and climb up and down the stairs, that could be some rainy day exercise. 

Is there interest accruing on your student loans? while you're not paying the rent you expect to be I'd suggest sending that money (looks like about $500) to you student loans, if they're accruing interest, otherwise payoff other debts to eliminate those line-items from your budget. 

Xstatic3333

I agree with PPs, but will add that I never had to pay water, trash, or sewer while renting. Maybe that's a regional thing, however.

Since you're a kid person, could you look into picking up some babysitting? With teaching experience you can charge top-dollar for your area. I used to add about $200/month to our budget just babysitting evenings here and there. I found most of my jobs on sittercity.com.

kelley198721

That's a great idea, I'll create an account on sittercity tonight! I have considered a part-time job but I only see my FI on weekends as it is and I hate to give up that time with him. Plus I am an introvert and I really really value my downtime. I just loathe the idea of going back into retail even if it would bring in extra money. But babysitting sounds like something I could definitely do!

As for my car, KBB says the value of my car is $5,261 if I trade it in. $6,947 if I sell to a private party. 

I owe $8,932. I should be on track to pay it off in September 2018. I don't think it would be a good idea to sell my car, at least not right now. 

simplyelise

In that case, I'd definitely cut back as much as you can right now. (There's really no way to get out of that phone bill? because that is super high). And save save save so that you aren't completely knocked off your feet if you guys have any small emergency. 

As for places to look for cheaper rent, I'd check about property management companies in your area. I've gotten some great places off craigslist for cheap, but the property management co.'s usually have way more properties available. 

kelley198721

I don't see how. My FI and I are both on Sprint. And a few months ago, he upgraded early via the Easy Pay plan. And I upgraded early with the iPhone for Life plan. I mean, I don't see how I can cut costs there. At least not for about two years.

Thanks for the tip about property management companies though! Definitely will contact them next week.

kelley198721

I'm creating an account on sittercity.com right now and the site asks me for my average hourly rate. What should I put down? I've never babysat before and I don't have kids so I don't know what the average going rate is for a babysitter.

Xstatic3333

kelley198721 said:

I'm creating an account on sittercity.com right now and the site asks me for my average hourly rate. What should I put down? I've never babysat before and I don't have kids so I don't know what the average going rate is for a babysitter.

What part of the country are you in? It's very regional.

kelley198721

I'm about an hour and fifteen minutes away from Atlanta. In Northeast Georgia. Kind of a rural area, I guess.

Xstatic3333

kelley198721 said:

I'm about an hour and fifteen minutes away from Atlanta. In Northeast Georgia. Kind of a rural area, I guess.

Hmmm I'm not much help there then!

I'm from MA, but a bit outside of Boston. I charged $12/hour for 1-2 kids or jobs where they are mostly sleeping, and $15/hour for 3+ kids or intensive daytime stuff. I have a teaching degree and infant/toddler/preschool lead teacher experience. Most families tended to "round up" which was nice. Maybe check some other listings from your area to get a good idea of the average?

kelley198721

I checked and the average seems to be around $10. So I guess my minimum will be $10 and max $20 per hour. I'm excited. I hope I start picking up some regular babysitting jobs soon!

hoffse

kelley198721 said:

I'm about an hour and fifteen minutes away from Atlanta. In Northeast Georgia. Kind of a rural area, I guess.

Whoa, where?  I'm from that area too.

kelley198721

In the Gainesville area.

hoffse

hoffse said:

kelley198721 said:

I'm about an hour and fifteen minutes away from Atlanta. In Northeast Georgia. Kind of a rural area, I guess.

Whoa, where?  I'm from that area too.

Well correction: I'm from NW Ga.  But anything other than Atlanta is all sort of the same...

Sisugal

Any way you can get a second part time job? DH too?

Stephanie2167

As a mom with three little ones, the average babysitter charges $10 an hour. In my case, they usually charge $12 an hour (maybe $15 is it's in the middle of the day and they aren't sleeping). Mostly we go out in the evening once the kids are heading to bed.

vlagrl29

WIsh you could get a cheaper cell plan.  We have a family of 4 - DH, I, MIL and her husband are all on tmobile and we only pay $85/month total.  Also if you paid off your car that would allow more cash flow.  PS - learn how to cook before you leave.  I didn't know how to cook either.  When I moved out into my own house I had to call my mom and have her come over to teach me to cook taco salad. LOL

simplyelise

I usually charge about $10/hr, a little bit more if it's lot's of kids. 

You could put up some fliers in your school break room area advertising date night/weekend babysitting services. And keep an ear out among your students' parents to make sure they know that you're available for sitting. They'd probably feel more comfortable with you since you know their kid and are already vetted.

Become a hawk watching craigslist and searching for cheap apartments. I think you definitely need to stick with a one bedroom and try and stay at $700 or less. From my experience, even in crappy apartments, having some wiggle room was more than worth the sacrifice in quality.

I've found this free cookbook to be a great source of cheap, but still healthy meals: http://www.leannebrown.com/cookbooks

If you can cut the gym, do it. 

Here is good explanation of doing a zero-based budget: http://www.gettingfinancesdone.com/blog/archives/2006/08/how-to-create-a-zero-based-budget/

Getting on this budget for us has made it feel like we got a raise in income. It's SO easy just to spend a couple dollars here or there and think they don't matter, but that all adds up.

Does your Pre-K run during the summer? If not, you could probably find a job working at a day camp (maybe the Y has something, or check your local parks and rec) or life guarding. 

For your wedding flowers, consider using a grocery store for those flowers and putting them together yourself. Flowers add up SO quickly, but you can keep the flower budget at around $150 if you do it yourself.

On the phones, I understand you just upgraded and it's probably something you're stuck with, but I'd still probably call your provider and explain to them that you're a bit overextended and the cost has become a burden and are there any options for lowering the monthly amount by cutting something without paying a penalty. It could result in nothing, but maybe they'll allow you to lower your data or something.

blondie42107

Maybe try using one of Dave Ramsey's free budget tools. You enter your total income and it helps you look at expenses and the percentage breakdown.

I know not everyone is a DR fan but just throwing numbers in might give you a better look.

vlagrl29

kelley198721 said:

I don't see how. My FI and I are both on Sprint. And a few months ago, he upgraded early via the Easy Pay plan. And I upgraded early with the iPhone for Life plan. I mean, I don't see how I can cut costs there. At least not for about two years.

Thanks for the tip about property management companies though! Definitely will contact them next week.

I have been seeing commercials from tmobile that they will pay your termination fee if you move your plan to them.  Doesn't hurt to check it out.

Xstatic3333

vlagrl29 said:

kelley198721 said:

I don't see how. My FI and I are both on Sprint. And a few months ago, he upgraded early via the Easy Pay plan. And I upgraded early with the iPhone for Life plan. I mean, I don't see how I can cut costs there. At least not for about two years.

Thanks for the tip about property management companies though! Definitely will contact them next week.

I have been seeing commercials from tmobile that they will pay your termination fee if you move your plan to them.  Doesn't hurt to check it out.

We did this. It worked well with two caveats-rebate came as a Visa gift card, and came 6 weeks after our final Verizon bill arrived (two weeks after it was due) so we needed to borrow from savings for that bill.

kelley198721

So I checked and it will cost $1,161.63 for both of us to get out of our contracts with Sprint. And FI and I are not interested in switching to T-Mobile and even if we wanted to, we couldn't as we don't have the money to pay that bill while waiting to be reimbursed. At least not right now. 

I did some research and came across Boost Mobile. They are powered by Sprint and have the same coverage, same cell towers, etc. Plus they offer unlimited data (which FI loves) and unlimited text (which I love) and you can still have a smartphone with them. And their cheapest plan is $35 per month! I told FI and we're both excited about the idea of switching to Boost Mobile. But we feel like we can't this year. We have too many expenses coming up. But we decided that after our wedding in October this year, things may calm down and maybe we can get out of the contracts then. 

If not then, we'll definitely switch to Boost Mobile when our contracts are up in November 2016. Sigh. I wish I had found this before we upgraded early on our phones!

csuave

I agree with others that cooking isn't too bad.  You can start small with planning a meal 1 or 2 times a week and with really easy stuff like: spaghetti, big spinach salad with hard boiled eggs, grilled cheese sandwich and can of soup, frozen fish sticks and veggies (frozen veggies too if you like, the steam in bag are so easy), grilled chicken with veggies, etc.