Anyone up for a budget critique?

[cookies]

I just took a long, honest look at our finances and it makes me kind of want to vomit. We have a lot of life changes coming up (namely, selling our place for a loss and moving to a VHCOL area). We need to save more money to prepare for that and we just aren't saving enough. What changes would you suggest?

(I currently contribute 10% to my 401k, I have a pension. My husband doesn't have the option of a 401k).

Take home: 7785

Mortgage/Insurance: $1810
Utilities: $150
Cable/Internet: $35
Car Insurance: $76
Life Insurance: $76
Parking: $100
Netflix: $16.54
Student Loans: $230
Cell Phones: $85
Public Transportation: $715 (for both of us)
Gym: $21.39
Daycare: $1525
Groceries: $500 (that's our goal, but lately we've spent $700/ish)
Gas and tolls: $125
Cash/Eating out: $250
Cat supplies: $75 (our senior cat got pricey)
Gifts: $50
Shopping: $300 (clothes/random amazon purchases/target/home depot, baby supplies etc)
Hair cuts: $50
Gifts: $50
Total expenses: $6239

Savings:
College Savings: $50
Roths: $1000
Regular Savings: $500

I'd really like to beef up our "regular" savings. We have about $50K in cash accounts, but we're going to lose $20-$25K of that when we sell our place. This obviously sets us back big time when it comes to buying a house after we move. Do you see anywhere we should cut back? I'm guessing you'll say cash/eating out and you're probably right. Ha.

Thanks!

[Awkward]

Woaaaaaah is that $715 for public transportation right?! Yikes. I'm guessing you only have one car?

You have Gifts on there twice.

Have you tried separating out the "shopping" category? Like, knowing how much you spend on your clothes vs. baby clothes vs. random Target crap? Same thing with the Cash/Dining Out category.

You're the first budget I've seen in a while that will admit to having anything but the lowest Netflix plan.

[rosiedozie]

Can you go without a car ( dropping the $100 parking and $125 gas)?

There are certainly other things you can cut, its just up to you on how desperate you are: shopping, groceries, restaurants.

[rosiedozie]

Also, does your H not have any retiremee savings of his own?

[cookies]

Oops, gifts twice is probably somewhat accurate anyway. On Mint I call it gifts/charity, which is probably on average $100/month.

We own our car out right, but we both have to take the bus to work. As you can see, it sucks. The $100 is what we pay to park our car at the bus depot. We used to be able to walk to the bus stop from our home, but because of daycare pickup/drop off we can't do that anymore. When we move, our public transportation costs will decrease, but we'll need to buy a second car and we'll pay more in gas.

I was pretty surprised our Netflix was $16. We only get 1 DVD at a time. I thought it would be cheaper.

My husband only has his Roth IRA and a few thousand hanging around in a roll-over IRA.

[kadams767]

How are you contributing $1000 to Roths? Max for 2 people is $833. So that is an extra $167 there.

[doublemint]

How is the Roth savings $1,000 a month? That would be $12,000 a year, or $6,000 each, which is over the $5,000 limit. So, I am guessing something is wrong here and you may have an extra $167 a month to throw somewhere....unless you are over age 50 or I am missing something....

[cookies]

We made our Roth contributions from April-December this year. It works out to about $1000/month.

[midwest07]

Aug 29, 2012 14:34:59 GMT -5 cookies said:

Oops, gifts twice is probably somewhat accurate anyway. On Mint I call it gifts/charity, which is probably on average $100/month.

We own our car out right, but we both have to take the bus to work. As you can see, it sucks. The $100 is what we pay to park our car at the bus depot. We used to be able to walk to the bus stop from our home, but because of daycare pickup/drop off we can't do that anymore. When we move, our public transportation costs will decrease, but we'll need to buy a second car and we'll pay more in gas.

I was pretty surprised our Netflix was $16. We only get 1 DVD at a time. I thought it would be cheaper.

My husband only has his Roth IRA and a few thousand hanging around in a roll-over IRA.

This is such a minor thing, but you are probably signed up for 1 DVD at a time, plus streaming. If you don't stream, you could cancel that part. Then it's around $10 a month.

I am still astounded at the public transportation cost - are you saying that's the cost for the two of you to take the bus to and from work each month? Is there no monthly pass for $100 or something?

[cookies]

Aug 29, 2012 15:13:55 GMT -5 midwest07 said:

Aug 29, 2012 14:34:59 GMT -5 cookies said:

Oops, gifts twice is probably somewhat accurate anyway. On Mint I call it gifts/charity, which is probably on average $100/month.

We own our car out right, but we both have to take the bus to work. As you can see, it sucks. The $100 is what we pay to park our car at the bus depot. We used to be able to walk to the bus stop from our home, but because of daycare pickup/drop off we can't do that anymore. When we move, our public transportation costs will decrease, but we'll need to buy a second car and we'll pay more in gas.

I was pretty surprised our Netflix was $16. We only get 1 DVD at a time. I thought it would be cheaper.

My husband only has his Roth IRA and a few thousand hanging around in a roll-over IRA.

This is such a minor thing, but you are probably signed up for 1 DVD at a time, plus streaming. If you don't stream, you could cancel that part. Then it's around $10 a month.

I am still astounded at the public transportation cost - are you saying that's the cost for the two of you to take the bus to and from work each month? Is there no monthly pass for $100 or something?

I asked my husband about Netflix and he agreed we can remove the streaming. So, that's $8 saved right there. Yay!

We take the bus from the suburbs into NYC for our jobs. There's no cheaper option, unfortunately. The amount you see above also includes a $90/month metro card.

[ESquared423]

I'm so confused on the public transportation, you each have a $90/month metro card..so what is the other $535 for? I can't believe the $715 doesn't include parking at the bus depot, that's crazy!

[rosiedozie]

How long will your daycare expenses be as much as they are now?

[mrssavy42112]

Aug 29, 2012 15:24:06 GMT -5 cookies said:

Aug 29, 2012 15:13:55 GMT -5 midwest07 said:

This is such a minor thing, but you are probably signed up for 1 DVD at a time, plus streaming. If you don't stream, you could cancel that part. Then it's around $10 a month.

I am still astounded at the public transportation cost - are you saying that's the cost for the two of you to take the bus to and from work each month? Is there no monthly pass for $100 or something?

I asked my husband about Netflix and he agreed we can remove the streaming. So, that's $8 saved right there. Yay!

We take the bus from the suburbs into NYC for our jobs. There's no cheaper option, unfortunately. The amount you see above also includes a $90/month metro card.

I can understand the transportation expense. Many of my Jersey friends who work in the city pay similar. After the cost of the bus/train/ferry into the city, then possibly more buses or trains to get to your destination, it adds up quickly. Is parking at the bus depot really the only option? Are there any garages around for cheaper?

[cookies]

We have no other commuting options at this time. The wait list at the parking garage is 7 years long, so we have to pay $5/day to park. The other lot is $8/day. Ironically, I put our names on a wait list for a garage where we think we'll move. I'd heard it could take a year so I was proactive. Our name came up last week! figures.

Our bus tickets to the city are $375 each. I walk to work once we're in the city, but my husband has to take the subway. It's too far to walk to his office.

Our transportation costs will be slightly less in Nov and Dec because of vacation time.

Daycare costs might go down a little when he moves up to he next room. I can't change centers because they have the best hours and I need the flexibility if I have a particularly bad/long commute.

[cookies]

Just to clarify, tickets are $375 each, but I pay $125 of that pretax out of my paycheck. Hence the wonky total of $715 instead of $840. Yes, that's right. We pay $940 each month to get to work. Excluding gas.

[Roc A Bee]

What do you do with the $1000 from December to April?

[cookies]

Aug 29, 2012 21:03:13 GMT -5 Roc A Bee said:

What do you do with the $1000 from December to April?

My husband's job is seasonal, for lack of a better term, so our budget is different during those months. Income is less, but so are expenses. Any leftover money (~700/month) goes straight to regular savings. I prefer to make the IRA contributions when he's working full-time.