$300k IS NOT ENOUGH!!

amother

↑ Daphne

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 10:32 pm

amother Scarlet wrote:

It doesn't make sense to have both 50k tuition and 60k housing

If the house was bought over 10 years ago then the mortgage would be much cheaper.

Yes many who have bought in past 2 years have high mortgages..those people are hopefully at stage where they are not are not paying 6 tuitions yet.

I can give you a rough breakdown of my family of 7 living on 8k post tax. In Lakewood.

She doesn’t live in Lakewood. Tuition I think she said it 13-16k per kid.

amother

Khaki

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 10:39 pm

amother Coral wrote:

Don't buy an $800K house
Why the heck should that be the norm?
OOT you can get a nice house for half that amount.

You kidding? Not everyone can just pick up and move oot just like that!
We are living in a tiny apartment in BP and have nowhere to go! A rental with 3 or 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, no yard, no playroom, nothing big (only basic) will cost us approximately 5k monthly for rent! If we want something nicer or slightly bigger we can be looking at 7-8k a month! We have been trying to move nothing doing! Forget about buying!
Then when we try to inquire about other neighborhhoods we are told- nobody will take your kids into school etc.
We are chassidish so no we can't just pick up and move to Georgia or Colorado!

People advised us to "just buy", but I said- no we are not able to "just buy" a 2 million dollar condo!!

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 10:40 pm

amother Wheat wrote:

You mentioned previously that the reason you have savings is because you’ve been at an income level of $300,000 for many years. But you’re just now starting to see the big yearly bumps. What was that income coming from for all those years, it couldn’t have been law

Correct, it came from my own business which I’ve since cut back on.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 10:42 pm

amother Scarlet wrote:

House bought two years ago. Why is it hard to believe that I have 6 kids and only bought a house two years ago? Perhaps I bought a little later in life with 4 kids and then had twins after buying.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 10:43 pm

amother Burlywood wrote:

OP you should really pay off that mortgage in full, tomorrow is never promised

Based on what you’ve written it seems you have the funds for it.

I would, my husband doesn’t want to.

We can’t pay it off totally fully without depleting savings but we can do a majority.

amother

↑ Gold ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 10:47 pm

amother OP wrote:

I would, my husband doesn’t want to.

We can’t pay it off totally fully without depleting savings but we can do a majority.

It probably makes more sense to keep your mortgage and keep your money invested, the mortgage interest saves you on taxes.

amother

↑ Dustypink ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 10:49 pm

amother OP wrote:

$300k pre-tax
$225k after tax
6 kids
Tri state (Monsey/brooklyn/lakewood)

$60k mortgage & property tax
$60k tuition
$24k groceries
$12k utilities
$24k medical & dental
$6k cars (insurance, gas etc)
$6k home & life insurance
$22k maaser
$12k camp ($2k/kid)

TOTAL: $226k

Income is now completely depleted.
And many of the above estimates are actually underestimated.

Here are just SOME of the things that are NOT included in the above list of expenses:

CLOTHING. TOILETRIES. NECESSARY HOME REPAIRS. Haircuts. Chol hamoed trips. Landscaping. Cleaning help. Seminary. Bar mitzvahs. Weddings. Vacations. Birthday presents. Shalach manos. Chanuka tips. Lulav and esrog. Sheitels. School supplies. Extracurriculars. Mikvah. Diapers. LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE.

To answer the OP's question, what can be cut out?

The mortgage is high. If putting down 20% on a $650,000 property as OP mentioned, at 6%, your monthly payments are $2,400. True, that excludes property taxes and insurance. Still, those shouldn't be equal to the mortgage.

Groceries are high, but I'll assume it includes toiletries and the extra food expense if staying home for yomtov.

Utilities are high.

It's unusual to be earning an income of $300,000 without health insurance, unless you're self employed.

Camp is high. If your kids are all little such that they all need to be in camp, some of the other expenses such as food, utilities and medical should also be lower.

Agree that it's still tight though.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 10:53 pm

amother Dustypink wrote:

I don’t know how you calculated that mortgage payment but it’s totally off. 20% down on a $650k house with today’s interest rate will yield you a mortgage payment of $3,400 WITHOUT taxes or insurance. Taxes for a 4 bedroom house in tristate frum communities vary from $12k-$20k.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 11:02 pm

amother Blushpink wrote:

Big law firms in NYC all offer health insurance. Confused why your premiums are so high.

Our medical insurance is subsidized to a certain extent. Still very high. And doesn’t include any dental- braces, check ups, cavities. Or eye care- glasses.

amother

↑ Blushpink

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 11:04 pm

amother OP wrote:

Our medical insurance is subsidized to a certain extent. Still very high. And doesn’t include any dental- braces, check ups, cavities. Or eye care- glasses.

So was your original number made up or is that how much you are paying?

amother

↑ Scarlet ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 11:11 pm

amother Mustard wrote:

Idk. We have a 7k mortgage (bought in the last few years) and have a 22k tuition bill that will iyh be jumping quickly.

22k is not 60k

I think salaries will have to jump soon

There is no other way..no one can afford life on current salaries

amother

↑ Dustypink ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 11:13 pm

amother OP wrote:

No. I just tried again using a different website's calculator. At 5.5%, you're paying $2,952 per month. At 6% you're paying $3,117. Yes, excluding taxes and insurance.

Fwiw property taxes can be less than $12,000 per year, ours are. (Although the flip side is there is a NYC tax.)

amother

↑ Scarlet

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 11:15 pm

amother OP wrote:

House bought two years ago. Why is it hard to believe that I have 6 kids and only bought a house two years ago? Perhaps I bought a little later in life with 4 kids and then had twins after buying.

Plenty of people buy wirh 4 kids. Not 6 TUITIONS Most people buy ( hopefully ) before that

amother

↑ Pear

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 11:17 pm

amother Acacia wrote:

Not the point you were trying to make, but the housing market’s already bad in Minneapolis! The average price per square foot here is only $35 less than Lakewood! Our community is leaving for cheaper pastures too.

Lol! And here I just picked the most out-of -towney out-of- town I could think of! So maybe we should all move to Savannah,GA? Any idea of housing costs there? Smile

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Dec 18 2024, 11:19 pm

amother Dustypink wrote:

No one is getting 6% right now. More like 6.5%-6.8%.

You’re right, Brooklyn has lower property taxes but with the NYC taxes it’s a wash.