Can I get budget help?

[screwedup]

I would personally put as much as you can towards CC1 and pay the minimum on #2. When #1 is paid off, I'd roll that over to #2. Do you have an emergency fund / any savings? If not, I'd put $250/mo into an emergency savings account and then the rest towards cc #1. (Some people will disagree with this; I personally am not comfortable without savings.)

[justanotherposter2]

We have about $5000 in a mutual fund that if the world were literally ending, we could access (grandparent gift to our kids, so not really ours to take, though we're the custodians, but would never, ever, ever use it apart from the apocalyspe) and we have family that would help us in a pinch, but no, no savings left after the unemployment.

[oswin]

Ditto screwedup. You're in decent shape to get rid of this debt if you're actually sticking to this budget.

[Deleted]

For the next two months, I'd put $500/mo into savings for emergencies. The additional $370 should go to CC1. After you have $1,000 in emergency savings, I'd back off on savings to $300/mo, with the additional going to CC1. I'd do this until you have a 3 month emergency fund.

[oreos]

Is $400 for groceries/food what you are currently spending? Given that you are in a HCOL area with kids, that seems like it would be hard to do.

$270 for phone/cable/internet is high, especially given how tight other spending is budgeted. Can you decrease your cable package and get by with netflix/library?

[gt7301b]

I'd put a small amount in savings and then I would tackle CC1, followed by CC2. I'd keep the smallest amount you are comfortable in savings because I'd rather tackle the high interest credit cards.

Once the credit cards are paid off I'd open Roth IRAs. I would save in Roth's before the student loans cause they are relatively low interest rates.

[dancingirl21]

I, too, would build up an e-fund over the next couple of months to ensure you have something should an emergency occur. Then I would work on paying down the higher interest credit card in full, while putting minimums toward the second cc. Once the first is paid off, work on the second.

[msmerymac]

Regarding the budget:

Is charitable giving something you can cancel? I'm assuming it's a recurring monthly donation. It's something I'd feel more comfortable with if you were in better shape.

Is $110 auto insurance, auto and life, what? If it's just auto, even with high coverages (which you should have due to your income and home), you can probably get that down. What is your deductible? If you have a low deductible I'd work on saving $1000 in a savings account and then raise your deductible to $1000. Ditto homeowners insurance. If you do not have life insurance, though, I would make that a priority since you have young children.

Is the medical item a debt or routine expenses, like co-pays? Do either of you have access to an FSA or HSA through work? Depositing money in an account pre-tax can save a little bit, plus an HSA can earn interest.

[justanotherposter2]

Oct 29, 2014 15:41:41 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

For the next two months, I'd put $500/mo into savings for emergencies. The additional $370 should go to CC1. After you have $1,000 in emergency savings, I'd back off on savings to $300/mo, with the additional going to CC1. I'd do this until you have a 3 month emergency fund.

Would you build up the 3-month emergency fund (a bare bones budget would still be ~$5000/month with our high mortgage, so at this budget would take 3ish years) before you started increasing retirement savings? We're mid-30s and only have about $100K in retirement right now.

Oct 29, 2014 15:50:02 GMT -5 oreos said:

Is $400 for groceries/food what you are currently spending? Given that you are in a HCOL area with kids, that seems like it would be hard to do.

$270 for phone/cable/internet is high, especially given how tight other spending is budgeted. Can you decrease your cable package and get by with netflix/library?

Yes, we meal plan, coupon, stay away from processed foods and usually buy high-pried items (meat, produce) on sale only.

I will try to get DH to cancel. He wants to maintain the cable for live sports only. The rest is two iPhones and internet, which is discounted through his work. Definitely an area we can cut.

Oct 29, 2014 15:54:40 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

I'd put a small amount in savings and then I would tackle CC1, followed by CC2. I'd keep the smallest amount you are comfortable in savings because I'd rather tackle the high interest credit cards.

Once the credit cards are paid off I'd open Roth IRAs. I would save in Roth's before the student loans cause they are relatively low interest rates.

Thanks! I forgot to mention, I do have a Roth - opened 10 years ago and only funded that year. Now, it sits, until I can contribute again. Hopefully, soon!

Oct 29, 2014 16:04:48 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Regarding the budget:

Is charitable giving something you can cancel? I'm assuming it's a recurring monthly donation. It's something I'd feel more comfortable with if you were in better shape.

Is $110 auto insurance, auto and life, what? If it's just auto, even with high coverages (which you should have due to your income and home), you can probably get that down. What is your deductible? If you have a low deductible I'd work on saving $1000 in a savings account and then raise your deductible to $1000. Ditto homeowners insurance. If you do not have life insurance, though, I would make that a priority since you have young children.

Is the medical item a debt or routine expenses, like co-pays? Do either of you have access to an FSA or HSA through work? Depositing money in an account pre-tax can save a little bit, plus an HSA can earn interest.

Yes, we can. We've already cut our large charitable giving and this is all that remains. It will be very hard to and I want to try to avoid cutting it at all costs.

$110 is auto insurance for two cars. One is the car payment you see, the other is paid in full and used only for in-town driving. We have basic coverage on it with a high deductible. The other car is our main car and has a $500 deductible.

Homeownwers' is packaged in with the mortgage payment. We don't have life insurance, except for a small amount of coverage through DH's benefits package. We received some quotes, got laid off, and then didn't pursue it, unfortunately.

The medical is annual well-visits and yearly eye doctor visits and replacement of contacts. We were wearing glasses to cut this cost, but would like to pick it back up. We do have access to an HSA, but open enrollment has ended.

Thank again to everyone!

[Deleted]

A few quick ideas....

Switch your phones to Republic Wireless immediately. (or another provider like them.)

Please up your retirement investing. 2% is a start, but you could change it to 5% tomorrow and barely notice it after 2 paychecks. Go up until you max out by increase s every 2 months. You will never regret that move.

[Deleted]

Oct 30, 2014 6:50:08 GMT -5 justanotherposter2 said:

Oct 29, 2014 15:41:41 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

For the next two months, I'd put $500/mo into savings for emergencies. The additional $370 should go to CC1. After you have $1,000 in emergency savings, I'd back off on savings to $300/mo, with the additional going to CC1. I'd do this until you have a 3 month emergency fund.

Would you build up the 3-month emergency fund (a bare bones budget would still be ~$5000/month with our high mortgage, so at this budget would take 3ish years) before you started increasing retirement savings? We're mid-30s and only have about $100K in retirement right now. 

Personally, I would prioritize emergency savings, but I know other's disagree and say retirement is more important. That's up to you though, you need to find what you're comfortable with.

[niq]

Oct 30, 2014 6:54:36 GMT -5 @shoegal said:

A few quick ideas....

Switch your phones to Republic Wireless immediately. (or another provider like them.)

If you are in a city, you can even go halfway and switch to T-Mobile. They'll pay your ETFs and their pricing is very agressive (4 lines for $100, so I think two will run you $70 or 80). Just don't download video or listen to streaming music unless you're on wifi.

[mrshandy]

Oct 30, 2014 6:50:08 GMT -5 justanotherposter2 said:

Oct 29, 2014 15:41:41 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

For the next two months, I'd put $500/mo into savings for emergencies. The additional $370 should go to CC1. After you have $1,000 in emergency savings, I'd back off on savings to $300/mo, with the additional going to CC1. I'd do this until you have a 3 month emergency fund.

Would you build up the 3-month emergency fund (a bare bones budget would still be ~$5000/month with our high mortgage, so at this budget would take 3ish years) before you started increasing retirement savings? We're mid-30s and only have about $100K in retirement right now.

Oct 29, 2014 15:50:02 GMT -5 oreos said:

Is $400 for groceries/food what you are currently spending? Given that you are in a HCOL area with kids, that seems like it would be hard to do.

$270 for phone/cable/internet is high, especially given how tight other spending is budgeted. Can you decrease your cable package and get by with netflix/library?

Yes, we meal plan, coupon, stay away from processed foods and usually buy high-pried items (meat, produce) on sale only.

I will try to get DH to cancel. He wants to maintain the cable for live sports only. The rest is two iPhones and internet, which is discounted through his work. Definitely an area we can cut.

Oct 29, 2014 15:54:40 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

I'd put a small amount in savings and then I would tackle CC1, followed by CC2. I'd keep the smallest amount you are comfortable in savings because I'd rather tackle the high interest credit cards.

Once the credit cards are paid off I'd open Roth IRAs. I would save in Roth's before the student loans cause they are relatively low interest rates.

Thanks! I forgot to mention, I do have a Roth - opened 10 years ago and only funded that year. Now, it sits, until I can contribute again. Hopefully, soon!

Oct 29, 2014 16:04:48 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Regarding the budget:

Is charitable giving something you can cancel? I'm assuming it's a recurring monthly donation. It's something I'd feel more comfortable with if you were in better shape.

Is $110 auto insurance, auto and life, what? If it's just auto, even with high coverages (which you should have due to your income and home), you can probably get that down. What is your deductible? If you have a low deductible I'd work on saving $1000 in a savings account and then raise your deductible to $1000. Ditto homeowners insurance. If you do not have life insurance, though, I would make that a priority since you have young children.

Is the medical item a debt or routine expenses, like co-pays? Do either of you have access to an FSA or HSA through work? Depositing money in an account pre-tax can save a little bit, plus an HSA can earn interest.

Yes, we can. We've already cut our large charitable giving and this is all that remains. It will be very hard to and I want to try to avoid cutting it at all costs.

$110 is auto insurance for two cars. One is the car payment you see, the other is paid in full and used only for in-town driving. We have basic coverage on it with a high deductible. The other car is our main car and has a $500 deductible.

Homeownwers' is packaged in with the mortgage payment. We don't have life insurance, except for a small amount of coverage through DH's benefits package. We received some quotes, got laid off, and then didn't pursue it, unfortunately.

The medical is annual well-visits and yearly eye doctor visits and replacement of contacts. We were wearing glasses to cut this cost, but would like to pick it back up. We do have access to an HSA, but open enrollment has ended.

Thank again to everyone!

That's great that you have a Roth. You should be able to withdraw whatever you put in, penalty free. That could act as emergency fund. I would confirm by calling or looking on their website.

[WinterWine]

Are you HSA or FSA eligible. HSAs you can change your contribution at any time for. FSAs are the ones you need to do during open enrollment.

I'd look at transferring your cell to T-Mobile or one that shoegal recommended. I'd also focus on getting $1k in savings right away, upping retirement to 5%, and then snowballing the credit cards.

If your jobs are less secure, then I would shoot for 1 month's mortgage payment in eFund.

[badgergrl]

I have to ask... Why is your mortgage so high and your child care so low? Is someone only working part time? Or are your kids ending care soon?