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Forum
-> Household Management
-> Finances
amother
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 Sun, Oct 06 2024, 1:49 am
This is a different type of thread. It's not to brag or say anyone should do what we do and we are very very grateful for all Hashem has given us. The purpose of the thread is solely to show how one family is making it work with the numbers.
4 kids, living out of town (but in a place where there is plenty of kosher food options) and we do get tuition breaks based on our income and family size. Other than that we don't qualify for any programs.
Expenses below are on monthly basis. In terms of savings, we put away 5 percent of salary in 401k (the maximum that the company matches dollar for dollar so with their match we are putting away 10 percent). Additionally as shown below we put away another $300/month. We have no car payments.
Mortgage (including taxes and insurance) $1600
Tuition $3000
Utilities (gas/electric) $250-350
Auto insurance $220
Life insurance $125
Health insurance $400 pre-tax
Medical expenses $500 (average)
Food $850-1000
Clothing, toiletries, gifts, misc $1000
Gas $200
Magazine subscriptions $70
Phones $80
Savings $300
Tzeddakah $250
Let me know what expenses I forgot and I will fill them in! For camp I take the $6000 that I save in tuition for July and August and use for the next summer's camp (which you end up having to pay before the summer begins).
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 1:51 am
I am confused by tuition.
I live in BP which supposedly pays less tuition and pay more than $1000/kid/year.
How much of a break?
Also do you do Mauser?
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cnc
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 1:52 am
| amother Lemonchiffon wrote: | I am confused by tuition.
I live in BP which supposedly pays less tuition and pay more than $1000/kid/year.
How much of a break? |
Her expenses aere monthly. She pays $3000/month.
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 1:53 am
| cnc wrote: | | Her expenses aere monthly. She pays $3000/month. | 😄yeah wow that was a misunderstanding!! Makes way ore sense now
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amother
Wandflower
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 1:57 am
How is medical insurance so cheap?
Lucky for you that your mortgage is so low!
How much is your gross pay?
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amother
Lawngreen
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 1:58 am
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How is health insurance $400?
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 2:00 am
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I added to a previous post - how do you cheshbon tzedaka amount?
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 2:17 am
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All your numbers are very low. Lucky you
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 2:32 am
$150,000 is the gross pay (approximate, give or take a few thousand in either direction).
Mortgage is low because we bought our house for $245,000 out of town, before prices shot up and while interest rates were low.
Health insurance is low because company pays 75 percent of the cost as an employee benefit. But I realized that the $400 (and change) includes only medical and we actually pay more like $600 (and change) including vision and dental. Those all come out of paycheck pre-tax.
In terms of maaser/tzeddakah we follow a psak that you calculate 10 percent after taking off necessary expenses. So reduce gross pay by taxes, tuition, mortgage, food, utilities, insurance and the like. Then take 10 percent of that number. Then reduce that number by certain payments to the school such as building fund. I think we shoot to give $2500-4000 a year in tzeddakah. Of course everyone should follow their own Rav in this.
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 5:02 am
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We are making it in Lakewood on a relatively low salary on a $2,600 monthly mortgage and taxes payment. We bought 15 years ago for 400k and refied at 2.5% . If we bought the same today for 1.2 million at 6.5% there’s no way we could balance our budget. That seems to be one of the divides between those who are more or less making it and those who are under water.
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 7:19 am
| amother OP wrote: | $150,000 is the gross pay (approximate, give or take a few thousand in either direction).
Mortgage is low because we bought our house for $245,000 out of town, before prices shot up and while interest rates were low.
Health insurance is low because company pays 75 percent of the cost as an employee benefit. But I realized that the $400 (and change) includes only medical and we actually pay more like $600 (and change) including vision and dental. Those all come out of paycheck pre-tax.
In terms of maaser/tzeddakah we follow a psak that you calculate 10 percent after taking off necessary expenses. So reduce gross pay by taxes, tuition, mortgage, food, utilities, insurance and the like. Then take 10 percent of that number. Then reduce that number by certain payments to the school such as building fund. I think we shoot to give $2500-4000 a year in tzeddakah. Of course everyone should follow their own Rav in this. |
Our big expense is medical. We have certain out of network costs like orthodontics, vision therapy, physical therapy after trying in network... And then also high deductibles so even with in network obgyn just paid 500 to them between various things I needed recently as someone who is perimenapause.Do you or your kids need any of those? How old is your oldest? But good for you and I say that genuinely, not sarcastically. May you continue to have Hatzlacha!
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amother
Lightgray
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 7:26 am
| amother Foxglove wrote: | | We are making it in Lakewood on a relatively low salary on a $2,600 monthly mortgage and taxes payment. We bought 15 years ago for 400k and refied at 2.5% . If we bought the same today for 1.2 million at 6.5% there’s no way we could balance our budget. That seems to be one of the divides between those who are more or less making it and those who are under water. |
Yes. Housing and tuition are the great equalizers.
Op- how many kids do you have in school?
We bh are paying full tuition for one but in a few short years will have 4 in school and the numbers are staggering(even if discounted)
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 7:46 am
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OP, if you would have bought your house in the past 12-24 months, what would your mortgage payment be?
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 7:47 am
Based on the 5% retirement match and the low medical premiums I'm going to guess you and/or your husband is a federal gov employee. (Same situation for us) The benefits of a federal employee are highly valuable and you can't compare against a non federal employee salary of 150k. Just putting that out there so someone else with that salary isn't wondering what they're doing wrong.
Take someone self employed making 150k and then needing to spend 20k+ on health care and you really can't compare.
We possibly live in the same oot too (considering a lot of ppl here are federally employed) we have 4 children but I'd guess older than yours and our tuition is closer to 4k a month.
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amother
Lightgreen
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 8:03 am
| amother OP wrote: | $150,000 is the gross pay (approximate, give or take a few thousand in either direction).
Mortgage is low because we bought our house for $245,000 out of town, before prices shot up and while interest rates were low.
Health insurance is low because company pays 75 percent of the cost as an employee benefit. But I realized that the $400 (and change) includes only medical and we actually pay more like $600 (and change) including vision and dental. Those all come out of paycheck pre-tax.
In terms of maaser/tzeddakah we follow a psak that you calculate 10 percent after taking off necessary expenses. So reduce gross pay by taxes, tuition, mortgage, food, utilities, insurance and the like. Then take 10 percent of that number. Then reduce that number by certain payments to the school such as building fund. I think we shoot to give $2500-4000 a year in tzeddakah. Of course everyone should follow their own Rav in this. |
Interesting, never knew that maaser can be calculated this way. I never asked how to calculate, but will do so now. But I'm afraid it will be close to zero for me if I deduct the necessary expenses.
The killer for my budget is the mortgage.
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amother
Natural
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 8:12 am
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amother
Glitter
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 8:16 am
Did you include utlities?
Do you not have cleaning help or landscaping?
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amother
Ebony
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 8:19 am
A few things that stuck out with me.
1) having such a low mortgage means that you were able to buy 10 years ago.
If housing prices and mortgages are now what they were, many of us would be much better.
And I hate when people turn it into a moral failing that I didn't buy 10 years ago- I didn't have the down and no one just gave it to me either.
2) I have 5 kids and am paying 3000 a month, the only difference is that I'm paying for 12 months. That's how my schools do it. So I don't have that "extra" money for camp.
3) your utilities seem very low. My water bill alone is $220 a month. No leaks. Efficient appliances. I pay the lowest of all my peers.
Throw in gas, electric, in the summer I can pay close to $500 for utilities.
4) how old are your kids?
The food bill seems on the lower side, but I have 3 teens.
5) how long is your/your husband's work commute? We have significant commutes, with significant gas, tolls, and higher insurance rates.
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amother
NeonGreen
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 8:47 am
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I appreciate this a lot, it’s good to know that it’s all possible. Do you have savings? And if so, how long did it take you to build it up?
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amother
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Sun, Oct 06 2024, 9:07 am
Not op
For maaser I take our salaries and subtract out all tax deductions. I do pay on heath insurance and 401k deductions.
I found using a spreadsheet helped us out a lot. Like this:
https://www.ysccla.com/maaser-template/
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