trying to figure out how good we are doing financially?
Posted in Personal Finance on 08/13/2009 03:02 pm by admin
This is going to be embarrasing, but i don’t know if we are doing ok or not. I don’t know what the norm is for money leftover after bills but according to a debt/income ratio i did today we are at 34% which is good, i guess.
My husband makes 1333 twice a month (that is what we see after taxes) there is a addtional 125 going straight to our savings account each month on top of the 1333 twice a month.
Our bills are as follows
first check
car-291
insurance-62
elecric,gas,water 200
credit card 170
cable-93
which leaves 517 left for gas and groceries
second check
mortgage 600
home equity 103
home phone and internet 100
cell phone150
which is a little tighter at 380 for gas and groceries
total for the month we have 917 left in our checking, including the 125 that is in our savings its 1042 a month.
I just am curious how we are doing financially? I’m scared to death about this kind of thing and fear we are doing something wrong. We are military so no health ins.
well we’re military so no job loss..and no unexpected medical bills. we really don’t have to worry about that because its a secure job.
no credit card is what we decide to pay on it..that isn’t the minimum payment. We have a home phone and a cell phone because up until a month ago we only had a home phone. Effective the 26th we will no longer have that home phone. The second mortgage was to redo our home, its almost paid off now, it was only 10,000.
oh and why don’t i work? I have two small children and noone to care for them. We don’t live near our families. There is NOTHING wrong with being a SAHM parent.
ARNOLD
08/15/2009 at 7:17 am
ELOY
idk i am just a kid? look up dave ramsey fiancial peace university online. figure it out there. great class.
08/16/2009 at 2:04 am
BRYAN
A study was done that showed the reason why most people who filed for bankcruptcy was due to 1. health problems / medical expense 2. divorce 3. job loss. So, the best way to ensure you’re safe is to have enough reserve. Can you live 3 months or more if one of you lose your job? Can you handle any unexpected medical expenses? You should read this book “All Your Worth” by Elizabeth Warren – it’s really good and an easy read. But sounds like you’re saving enough for an emergency.
08/19/2009 at 2:13 am
MAURICIO
First of all, there is “no such thing” as a secure job. He could die or become permanently disabled tomorrow and you would have nothing but these bills to deal with. You are a military wife and need to learn to be self sufficient and self supporting. Don’t spend your entire life waiting for him to come home. Why exactly don’t you work? You need to. You need to learn not to be scared to death about this sort of thing.
The first thing that scares me here is the second mortgage… not a good idea. Also it appears you have a pretty high credit card debt. Why are you paying for both a cell phone and a home phone.. just a suggestion.
If you have over 900 dollars left over a month, what is happening to it? It seems you can really shave a lot off the 517 and 380 left over for groc each paycheck …. buy less expensive groc for a few months to allow you to save for the college/tech school program you want to attend.
EDIT: Nothing wrong with being a SAHM? Only there might be if Air Force hubby is as controlling and self centered with the money as you say he is. He earns it and only he spends it, like you said. Go to college if you want…. me may not always be there for you and your kids.
08/20/2009 at 11:04 pm
TERRANCE
You are saving too little. Ideally, you should try and save about $300 per month, to build up a reasonable reserve.
Consider if you REALLY need cable. You can rent movies form Netflix or Blockbuster or from the PX. You can watch news from the internet. You don’t really need cable.
What do you spend on that needs $170 per month on your CC? You should be spending discretionary money from the $517 of the 1st check. The $170 represents extra spending, and this means you are spending $687 on consumer items, NOT $517.
08/23/2009 at 6:16 am
BENITO
Hi,
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