Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 0:23:52 GMT -5
Reading Dark Honor's thread and updating my net worth prompted this idea for this thread. Anyway, we don't have a budget per say but I do watch out what we spend on a regular and compare it to previous month, have alerts set in Quicken for when we go over a certain amount set in the different categories. Our net worth has been updated thru April, you can check it here: www.networthiq.com/people/cawiauThe things that jumped at me and I think we could do better: - Tax Refund: already fixed that - Dining out and Groceries: we do love to eat out and cook, but will need to cut it back - Cell phone service: we are stuck in a year contract and it sucks. But still looking into it. - Gas & Electric : I made a thread about that... and thank god our new apartment covers Heat. Amen! - Rent : We are moving in June to an apartment that is $1,275/month. Ok, what do you guys think, what can we improve on for the next 8 months. It was added up for the past 4 months. Salary 30,026.99 Tax Refund 6,795.00 Travel Expenses Refund 4,250.00 Dental (72.25) Medical (704.50) 401K (6,556.87) Roth IRA (4,131.70) Fed Taxes (1,836.87) Soc Sec Taxes (1,652.80) State Taxes (940.43) Net Income 25,176.57 Car Note (2,740.00) E-Z Pass (270.00) Insurance (468.00) Fuel (1,443.61) Service (1,806.09) Traffic Violations (50.00) Total Auto (6,777.70) Dining at work (287.02) Dining out (859.56) Groceries (1,782.10) Total Dining / Groceries (2,928.68) Savings (850.00) Rent (6,680.00) Credit Card Payment (940.00) Cable / Internet / Phone (438.19) Cell Phone (969.67) Gas & Electric (904.48) Water & Sewage (185.02) Vacation (509.60) Allowance (820.00) Clothing (514.66) Electronics (188.63) Apple Music Download (43.25) Movies (Rental/Theater) (249.80) Gym Membership (432.00) Furniture Payment (Installment) (596.09) Medical Doctor (474.70) Vet (287.00) Personal Care / Grooming (276.00) Total Other Expenses (15,359.09) Total Expenses (25,065.47)
Difference 111.10
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 1:00:47 GMT -5
Just realized we are missing a few things in that sheet and I will update it in the morning:
Student Loans (5,210) Car Insurance (940) -> did not include the amount from above*
Those payments are automated and come out of our Money Market account; Quicken did not include it in the calculations (for some reason shows up as investment, and does not categorize the check comes out).
This is money we received as our share of my grandfather estate and her aunt estate (both passed away last year). Anyway we closed the account this month and lent my cousin the remaining $2,500 that was in it.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 4:53:00 GMT -5
Allowance (820.00) Clothing (514.66) Electronics (188.63) Apple Music Download (43.25) Movies (Rental/Theater) (249.80)
So... what does your allowances pay for, when there are catagories for eating out and the above? ... it might be useful to track, maybe not...
Credit card... is that paying off an old balance... or is that another 900 that went to untracked 'stuff' ...?
Car service looks very high... especially for a car with that kind of note? Was there a one time thing? same with med and vet... are those things you expect to continue at that rate?
|
|
azphx1972
Familiar Member
Joined: Mar 2, 2011 22:08:36 GMT -5
Posts: 809
|
Post by azphx1972 on Apr 30, 2011 5:00:39 GMT -5
Where is your gifting budget? I don't see it in your expenses but from your other threads I gather it's not an insignificant amount.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 9:03:24 GMT -5
I gather that the student loans and car insurance now need to be factored into your budget? That's about $1600 a month you will need to come up with now that your money market is closed. (Am I interpreting this correctly? You also have insurance listed under your car expenses)
If your take home is in the neighborhood of $4600 per month (I subtracted the tax return and divided by 4 - does that sound about right?), you are going to be looking at some major lifestyle adjustments in order to factor the student loans and insurance into your budget.
You are right about needing to scale back on the food budget. Obviously, try not to have the traffic violations be a recurring expense.
Collectively, movies, music, cable, electronics seem a bit high. I know you said you were stuck on the cell phones for another year, but do you really need a landline? Are any of these services duplicative? You may need to cut back on entertainment expenses until the credit cards are paid off (and wedding season is behind you).
Your out of pocket medical expenses are a little high if those are recurring costs (and not just a one time thing) - if your employer offers multiple insurance plans you may want to make sure that the one you have selected best meets your needs. Maybe think about an FSA?
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 9:33:48 GMT -5
Yes, why two car insurance catagories? And ouch if the student loans now have to come out of other budget funds....
|
|
Bluerobin
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:24:30 GMT -5
Posts: 17,345
Location: NEPA
|
Post by Bluerobin on Apr 30, 2011 9:45:19 GMT -5
Brown bag your work lunches. Cut your allowance in half.
|
|
phil5185
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 15:45:49 GMT -5
Posts: 6,409
|
Post by phil5185 on Apr 30, 2011 10:49:45 GMT -5
Total Dining / Groceries (2,928.68) Well, if you do this for the next 8 months, someone is going to be really really fat.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 11:04:49 GMT -5
"So... what does your allowances pay for, when there are catagories for eating out and the above? ... it might be useful to track, maybe not..."
Yeah we need to figure that out. The allowance is basically for us to spend as we see fit but then we tend to use our debit card if we are running low on cash.
"Car service looks very high... especially for a car with that kind of note? Was there a one time thing? same with med and vet... are those things you expect to continue at that rate?"
My car needed 4 new tires and brakes. So this is where more of that is coming from. "Where is your gifting budget? I don't see it in your expenses but from your other threads I gather it's not an insignificant amount."
Comes out of our savings account
"our out of pocket medical expenses are a little high if those are recurring costs (and not just a one time thing) - if your employer offers multiple insurance plans you may want to make sure that the one you have selected best meets your needs. Maybe think about an FSA?"
My wife got all 4 of her wisdom teeth removed and we are paid some of the balance out of pocket since the insurance company did not cover it. Still have about $600 left to pay
"f your take home is in the neighborhood of $4600 per month (I subtracted the tax return and divided by 4 - does that sound about right?), you are going to be looking at some major lifestyle adjustments in order to factor the student loans and insurance into your budget."
Yep sounds about right. We will need to cut back out elsewhere to pay for them and this what I am figuring out now. Thinking dining out, groceries, entertainment so far.
"Brown bag your work lunches. Cut your allowance in half."
Yep
|
|
phil5185
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 15:45:49 GMT -5
Posts: 6,409
|
Post by phil5185 on Apr 30, 2011 11:14:57 GMT -5
Total Auto (6,777.70) This looks like a money pit, that extends to $20,333/yr cash = about $31,000/yr of your gross income. Ie, about 1/3 of your income just to haul yourselves around. And your rent turns out to be a similar amount, ie >$30,000 of your gross. So, with 2/3 of your income dedicated to 2 nondiscretionary cost items, you are stuck with only a small amount of income stream left for "all other" (the other 31 items that you list). That very much limits your freedoms about what you can do in your lives, ie, you life memories, your future wealth, your children's college/inheritances, family vacations that your kids will tell their kids about, and so on. You listed $1652 for SS Tax - how about Medicare? That must be about $450?
|
|
RoadToRiches
Familiar Member
Formerly "indebt"
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 11:08:00 GMT -5
Posts: 965
|
Post by RoadToRiches on Apr 30, 2011 11:59:55 GMT -5
Man, that's a lot of dough getting spend!
Here is what I would cut:
Cable Electronics -? Apple store Dinning out and Dinning at work - brown bag! Car expenses - what the heck do you drive? lol
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 12:03:51 GMT -5
Total Auto (6,777.70) This looks like a money pit, that extends to $20,333/yr cash = about $31,000/yr of your gross income. Ie, about 1/3 of your income just to haul yourselves around. And your rent turns out to be a similar amount, ie >$30,000 of your gross. So, with 2/3 of your income dedicated to 2 nondiscretionary cost items, you are stuck with only a small amount of income stream left for "all other" (the other 31 items that you list). That very much limits your freedoms about what you can do in your lives, ie, you life memories, your future wealth, your children's college/inheritances, family vacations that your kids will tell their kids about, and so on. You listed $1652 for SS Tax - how about Medicare? That must be about $450? The cars were definitely not the smartest decision and hopefully I will be out of my car note in a year or so which will save us $450/month. We are moving this June which will free up $400/month (move during winter season since this building covers Heat). I intend to drive my car to the ground, so that in itself should save me some money, except for the few car maintenance/repairs
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 12:04:53 GMT -5
Car expenses - what the heck do you drive? lol I drive a 2008 Kia Sportage and my wife a 2010 Honda Civic. Also remember that $1,800 of that money is for 4 new tires and brakes for my car.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 12:17:26 GMT -5
Seeing these high income budgets has been enlightening. Just goes to show that the more you make the more you spend! On the plus side, you have a LOT of fat in your budget that you could trim if you needed to and the decreased rent should help a lot.
|
|
RoadToRiches
Familiar Member
Formerly "indebt"
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 11:08:00 GMT -5
Posts: 965
|
Post by RoadToRiches on Apr 30, 2011 12:17:46 GMT -5
Man, that's expensive! I don't think my 2002 5 series would be that much. I did my own brakes though, which cost me almost $300 including rotors, pads and sensors that are required. Tires for my car are about $600 per set.
Wherever you went to get your car serviced, don't go there again lol
|
|
phil5185
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 15:45:49 GMT -5
Posts: 6,409
|
Post by phil5185 on Apr 30, 2011 12:56:37 GMT -5
Also remember that $1,800 of that money is for 4 new tires and brakes for my car That doesn't pass the common-sense test, that is more than double what I spent for tires & brakes a couple months ago. But I know a Vette owner that spends that - the rears/fronts are different sizes and it has Run-Flat tires instead of a spare, he spent $1500 for tires - and he says he'll be lucky to get 25,000 miles out of them.
|
|
TD2K
Senior Associate
Once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 1:19:25 GMT -5
Posts: 10,931
|
Post by TD2K on Apr 30, 2011 13:04:29 GMT -5
That seems high for those cars Cawiau. I have a set of Nitto NeoGens on my WRX which are a pretty good handling tire and they ran me $500 for a set. Even a set of Toyo Proxy 4 would run $800, I'd be hard pressed to go much over $1,000 for a set of 4.
|
|
azphx1972
Familiar Member
Joined: Mar 2, 2011 22:08:36 GMT -5
Posts: 809
|
Post by azphx1972 on Apr 30, 2011 13:22:37 GMT -5
Insurance (468.00) Car Insurance (940) -> did not include the amount from above* If I'm interpreting this correctly, that seems absurdly high for 2 vehicles. You're paying over $4200 a year just on auto insurance? What kind of coverage/policy do you have? Have you shopped around for cheaper rates?
|
|
RoadToRiches
Familiar Member
Formerly "indebt"
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 11:08:00 GMT -5
Posts: 965
|
Post by RoadToRiches on Apr 30, 2011 14:43:49 GMT -5
But I know a Vette owner that spends that - the rears/fronts are different sizes .
Yup, my car is the same. Staggered setup. It sucks not to be able to rotate tires.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 15:24:01 GMT -5
Yeah... i think there needs to be some clarification on the autos... payments, maintnance, insurance all seem way too high... i know you are in a high cost area... but still...
Also... the cc... is that also going to 'stuff'... between cc, and allowence and your 'fun' catagories... its almost 700 a month... ?? on 'stuff'...
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2011 1:33:35 GMT -5
Ok I think I am running this report wrong... because I ran it for the past two months only and it seems that I went over by 6K. Ok a bit too late but will look more into it tomorrow. Either I am missing something big or I am ready to start freaking out. Mar-11 INCOME Salary 4,861.29 Salary Spouse 3,232.00 Medical and Dental (253.75) Tax (729.07) Tax Spouse (521.08) 401K (1,166.88) 401k - Spouse (711.04) TOTAL INCOME 4,711.47 EXPENSES Auto (Insurance, ez pass, maintenance, fuel) 683.39 Clothing 193.72 Credit Card Payment 300.94 Dining 370.28 Electronics 64.42 Entertainment 20.61 Groceries 300.39 Gym Membership 144.00 Household 118.65 Medical 287.00 Misc 14.06 Personal Care 24.00 Rent 1,670.00 Utilities (Cable, Phone, heat, etc) 832.46 Savings Account 0.00 Credit Card Payment 249.30 Student Loans 1,273.18 Honda Loan 249.00 Kia Loan 434.61 Roth Ira 265.76 TOTAL EXPENSES 7,495.77 OVERALL TOTAL (2,784.30) Apr-11 INCOME Salary 3,824.47 Salary Spouse 3,232.00 Medical and Dental (203.00) Tax (422.02) Tax Spouse (359.17) 401K (957.67) 401k - Spouse (872.64) TOTAL INCOME 4,241.97 EXPENSES Auto (Insurance, ez pass, maintenance, fuel) 632.11 Clothing 87.20 Credit Card Payment 0.00 Dining 304.15 Electronics 75.66 Entertainment 256.24 Groceries 599.55 Gym Membership 96.00 Household 100.00 Medical 150.00 Misc 8.80 Personal Care 0.00 Rent 1,670.00 Utilities (Cable, Phone, heat, etc) 392.52 Savings Account 100.00 Credit Card Payment 588.26 Student Loans 1,273.18 Honda Loan 249.00 Kia Loan 434.61 Roth Ira 650.00 TOTAL EXPENSES 7,667.28 OVERALL TOTAL (3,425.31)
|
|
SVT
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:39:33 GMT -5
Posts: 1,491
|
Post by SVT on May 1, 2011 3:12:35 GMT -5
Seeing these high income budgets has been enlightening. Just goes to show that the more you make the more you spend! On the plus side, you have a LOT of fat in your budget that you could trim if you needed to and the decreased rent should help a lot. You should see my budget ;D (it's the opposite)...for now at least lol
|
|
SVT
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:39:33 GMT -5
Posts: 1,491
|
Post by SVT on May 1, 2011 3:17:01 GMT -5
Total Auto (6,777.70) This looks like a money pit, that extends to $20,333/yr cash = about $31,000/yr of your gross income. Ie, about 1/3 of your income just to haul yourselves around. And your rent turns out to be a similar amount, ie >$30,000 of your gross. So, with 2/3 of your income dedicated to 2 nondiscretionary cost items, you are stuck with only a small amount of income stream left for "all other" (the other 31 items that you list). That very much limits your freedoms about what you can do in your lives, ie, you life memories, your future wealth, your children's college/inheritances, family vacations that your kids will tell their kids about, and so on. You listed $1652 for SS Tax - how about Medicare? That must be about $450? The cars were definitely not the smartest decision and hopefully I will be out of my car note in a year or so which will save us $450/month. We are moving this June which will free up $400/month (move during winter season since this building covers Heat). I intend to drive my car to the ground, so that in itself should save me some money, except for the few car maintenance/repairs You could soften the blow of depreciation a little and at least get an older vehicle to replace the Civic....like a mid-2000s vehicle or something.
|
|
SVT
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:39:33 GMT -5
Posts: 1,491
|
Post by SVT on May 1, 2011 3:23:50 GMT -5
Ok I think I am running this report wrong... because I ran it for the past two months only and it seems that I went over by 6K. Ok a bit too late but will look more into it tomorrow. Either I am missing something big or I am ready to start freaking out. Mar-11 INCOME Salary 4,861.29 Salary Spouse 3,232.00 Medical and Dental (253.75) Tax (729.07) Tax Spouse (521.08) 401K (1,166.88) 401k - Spouse (711.04) TOTAL INCOME 4,711.47 EXPENSES Auto (Insurance, ez pass, maintenance, fuel) 683.39 Clothing 193.72 Credit Card Payment 300.94 Dining 370.28 Electronics 64.42 Entertainment 20.61 Groceries 300.39 Gym Membership 144.00 Household 118.65 Medical 287.00 Misc 14.06 Personal Care 24.00 Rent 1,670.00 Utilities (Cable, Phone, heat, etc) 832.46 Savings Account 0.00 Credit Card Payment 249.30 Student Loans 1,273.18 Honda Loan 249.00 Kia Loan 434.61 Roth Ira 265.76 TOTAL EXPENSES 7,495.77 OVERALL TOTAL (2,784.30) Apr-11 INCOME Salary 3,824.47 Salary Spouse 3,232.00 Medical and Dental (203.00) Tax (422.02) Tax Spouse (359.17) 401K (957.67) 401k - Spouse (872.64) TOTAL INCOME 4,241.97 EXPENSES Auto (Insurance, ez pass, maintenance, fuel) 632.11 Clothing 87.20 Credit Card Payment 0.00 Dining 304.15 Electronics 75.66 Entertainment 256.24 Groceries 599.55 Gym Membership 96.00 Household 100.00 Medical 150.00 Misc 8.80 Personal Care 0.00 Rent 1,670.00 Utilities (Cable, Phone, heat, etc) 392.52 Savings Account 100.00 Credit Card Payment 588.26 Student Loans 1,273.18 Honda Loan 249.00 Kia Loan 434.61 Roth Ira 650.00 TOTAL EXPENSES 7,667.28 OVERALL TOTAL (3,425.31) It seems like there's just careless spending going on. The above figures what you actually spent for each category for the past 2 months? Almost $300 for clothes? $140 on electronics? Are you just posting your budget at a bad time where you have just really needed these things or is it frivolous spending? Almost $1600 for food for the last 2 months? $900 of it was in groceries, but it wasn't enough food so you spent $700 to eat out? Or do you now have a bunch of food in the kitchen where the groceries should only be maybe a couple hundred for the next couple months. I'm sort of shocked by these expenses man. Damn.
|
|
zibazinski
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 16:12:50 GMT -5
Posts: 47,866
|
Post by zibazinski on May 1, 2011 6:03:56 GMT -5
Well, you can't unload the cars but I'd sure like to know what your wife was driving before she got the 2010. I know you had SL debt up the ying yang before then. Didn't you say her mom was going to pay off her daughter's school loans? Seems like that would have been a much better gift than a wedding but that's just me. I don't like to owe anybody anything. Are these vacations mandatory this year? If not, the money could be used toward debt. Things look so precarious that if one of you lost your job, and you said she was upset at her boss, the house of cards can come tumbling down very easily. I think you know where you can cut and cut you need to do, BIG TIME. Neither of you need MORE clothes, I am sure, if your wife is anything like my spoiled DD, she knows how to get others, like her mother, to pay for her wants instead of her. BOTH of you need to sit down and do some serious cutting. I know she is not really on board but showing her this money throw away might help her see that expenses have to be cut. You may have to grocery shop and plan meals if she isn't on board with doing the same. Cut those allowances again. I know you don't spend all of yours but she does and then some. BOTH of you need to be on board with this for it to work. The cheaper apartment can just mean to one person more money to blow whereas to the other it means saving some.
|
|
zibazinski
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 16:12:50 GMT -5
Posts: 47,866
|
Post by zibazinski on May 1, 2011 7:14:00 GMT -5
I think you also said that this new apt would save something like 400 dollars a month. Can you add extra and make double car payments on your car? That way that debt would be gone faster and there won't be a tendency to spend that "extra" on anything else.
|
|
resolution
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:09:56 GMT -5
Posts: 6,997
Mini-Profile Name Color: 305b2b
|
Post by resolution on May 1, 2011 8:39:35 GMT -5
I keep getting lost going through the numbers. Have you tried going through your expenses by hand? I agree with Daphne that Quicken may be double counting some of the categories or it may be counting a category and then you are adding it in because you know it was an expense. The credit card is a good example.In March you are counting credit cards at 300 and at 249 and in April you are counting them as 0 and 588. Was one paid off and the extra applied to the other in April?
It is hard to read because of the way things are grouped together, you may get better advice if split out your work expenses that are reimbursed so we don't think they are part of your personal expenses. It may also help to group the savings and extra payments on credit cards and roth contributions together instead of having them scattered throughout your other expenses.
I think it is especially important for you to have an accurate budget because you just got your wife to defer so much money into her 401k. The responses here are going to list a dozen lifestyle things to change, but you can't really afford to cut her back more than is necessary or you may get a bad reaction.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2011 9:17:33 GMT -5
I calculated it by hand and it does seem like you are going way negative. You have two credit card payment columns in your expenses. Are you paying off your credit cards in full each month? That would mean you are double counting some expenses. Are you pulling from savings?
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 3, 2024 5:00:27 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2011 9:38:27 GMT -5
Could part of the issue be that you have been paying some things out of the account your aunts left you. Thus you would not be paying them with actual income... although if the account is now gone, you will have to start doing so at this point.
I'm not sure which month the tires/etc were? I thought that was a one time, but maintnance/etc looks kind of similar both months? What is your insurance? Have you shopped it?
You guys spend way too much money. A chunk of which seems unaccounted for... you need to track better, and cut everywhere...
Frankly, and i'm sorry to harp.... but this is why i suggested you do this before you look into moving.... (especially since you are likely to have to move again within a few years)... You have been worried/focused on $400 a month, when you are pay, as Phil noted, a third of your income on transportation... Now, i'm all for minimizing housing costs... but...
|
|
Formerly SK
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 27, 2011 14:23:13 GMT -5
Posts: 3,255
|
Post by Formerly SK on May 1, 2011 9:57:39 GMT -5
We have an old version of Quicken (2004) but I hate the reporting features. We use Quicken to record our raw data (we record every penny spent) and then I make up a budget spreadsheet in Excel for analysis. I suggest you use Quicken for expense accounts (groceries/clothing/etc) and ignore cash flow accounts (cc, car loans). Since we use cc for everything and PIF, Quicken doubles our spending because it "reports" we spent $500 in groceries AND $500 on the cc....even though we used the cc to buy the groceries and then paid it off.
I also find it easier to organize the budget in discretionary/non-discretionary sections. Start with net income. Then subtract out fixed expenses like debt payments/rent/utilities/etc. Then have a section for things like groceries/gas/clothing (things that fluctuate and can be minimized easily if necessary).
|
|