Critique my budget

[Roc A Bee]

It looks good to me. I think you can and should increase retirement.

Why does your DH have 750 fun moony? What does that cover?

[ijack]

I would open a Roth IRA and fully fund that for both of you - pull from your savings and you can even fund 2012's if you do it soon.

[kershnic]

I think it's time to think about your medium-term goals. Are you going to stay in this employment/housing situation forever? Maybe think about down payment savings. Having kids? Start saving for these money sucking investments. Increasing retirement is a good idea, but you also have the freedom to start choosing what other things you want out of life and put money towards that.

[kershnic]

Jan 27, 2013 14:12:30 GMT -5 ijack said:

I would open a Roth IRA and fully fund that for both of you - pull from your savings and you can even fund 2012's if you do it soon.

Maxing Roth IRAs is already part of her budget.

[Deleted]

Pay off one of the vehicles so you can drop full coverage on your auto insurance.

But the rest of it looks good.

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2013 13:59:48 GMT -5 lagom said:

Vision 60 (I cannot find/get vision insurance, but this is my yearly avg cost)

So you mean you spend $720 a year on vision? That can definitely be lower. I go to Walmart Vision Center and get an exam every two years and then take the prescription and order contact lenses from lenses.com. Prescriptions are only good for a year so at the end of the year if I'm still happy with my prescription I buy another year's worth. Glasses are even cheaper if you order online.

ETA.  Then I submit the receipts to my Flex Spending account.

[gt7301b]

Jan 27, 2013 14:18:37 GMT -5 lagom said:

Jan 27, 2013 14:07:38 GMT -5 Roc A Bee said:

It looks good to me. I think you can and should increase retirement.

Why does your DH have 750 fun moony? What does that cover?

H is a spender, and I try not to pay attention to what he spends that money on.  It keeps us both sane.  It covers anything he wants.  (clothes, hobbies, cold weather gear)  I also know he's saving some of it for larger purchases that I couldn't care less about.  He also feels the need to make random trips to Anchorage, and I make him spend fun money on gas when there's no purpose to the trip.  

Wow!  I would not be okay with this. I get that it keeps y'all sane, but it sounds like your DH isn't okay with my DH spending twice what I do a month on "fun".

[steph96]

Jan 27, 2013 14:25:29 GMT -5 lagom said:

Jan 27, 2013 14:18:57 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

What's the tipping point for dropping full coverage?  
Should I be able to fully pay for my vehicle if I were in an accident?  
Maybe I'll play with upping deductibles- does that make a big difference?  

If we don't have kids or a house now, should we still be looking to increase life insurance?

Insurance confuses me.  I never know the answer.  

I'm also interested in the answer to this. Does anyone remember the name of the poster who worked in insurance?  I was going to tag her but I can't remember her name. I thought it was puppiesandrainbows but now that doesn't sound right.

[Roc A Bee]

Will your housing costs always be covered? Do you ever want to buy? Have kids?

[AAM2012]

I would never drop comp/collision coverage unless I was in a position where I could afford a car payment if afford to replace my vehicle.

If you're not sure what to do with your money you could always talk to a financial advisor about your options.

[SJ]

Jan 27, 2013 14:20:40 GMT -5 lagom said:

Jan 27, 2013 14:12:30 GMT -5 ijack said:

I would open a Roth IRA and fully fund that for both of you - pull from your savings and you can even fund 2012's if you do it soon.

Roths are fully funded for 2012 and 2013.  
(I'm sorry SaraJoy, I couldn't wait.  Shame me now for not dollar cost averaging).

Haha! No shaming from me! I DCA in some of our accounts, but not all of them. I do sometimes fund our Roth's in a lump and then just buy throughout the year. I missed your budget, but great job on maxing two Roth's for 2012 & 2013.