On a more serious note, why not use a program like Mint (www.Mint.com), and start budgeting your life now and get the habit pattern established?
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Feb. 6, 2011 10:51 a.m. Osterkraut SuperDork
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Feb. 6, 2011 12:29 p.m. SVreX SuperDork
A program LIKE Mint is not a bad idea. I'm not sure how I feel about Mint.
They are owned by Intuit. 25 years of experience with Intuit has taught me that owning their stock is probalby a good thing, but depending on them for supporting my business (and life) is sometimes not.
Their products often lead people down irreversible paths.
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Feb. 6, 2011 1:01 p.m. Osterkraut SuperDork
SVreX wrote:
A program LIKE Mint is not a bad idea. I'm not sure how I feel about Mint.
They are owned by Intuit. 25 years of experience with Intuit has taught me that owning their stock is probalby a good thing, but depending on them for supporting my business (and life) is sometimes not.
Their products often lead people down irreversible paths.
I just ignore all their suggestions and use it purely as a budgeting tool. So far it hasn't screwed me there.
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Feb. 6, 2011 9:18 p.m. gamby SuperDork
PubBurgers wrote:
a $640 mortgage
If I had a $640 mortgage, I could own a Lexus LS600h.
$640 here (RI) gets you a rented 1-bedroom apartment. Triple it and you get my mortgage in a normal middle class neighborhood.
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Feb. 7, 2011 7:39 a.m. Clay Reader
Well, anytime you post actual numbers (instead of percentages) you will get alot of "you'll never spend that much" or "you can never live on so little", but I have a few points I'll throw in being a SI2K.
- Don't buy a home budgeting for 2 incomes. Regardless of what you think you'll do or want to do once you have kids, that's a 30 year contract requiring 2 salaries and sometimes plans change. Plan conservatively. Very conservatively.
- If you want kids, plan on paying for life insurance. Luckily it's cheap.
- As others have said, employer health insurance still has copays. I put $1000 in a FSA every year and use it all (and I have some of the best employer insurance you can get). Half of that is contact lenses for two, just so you know.
- Good for you for planning an emergency fund and planning ahead. Getting on a budget before I got married was the single smartest financial decision I ever made!
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Feb. 7, 2011 9:35 a.m. z31maniac SuperDork
^This!
I realise its not possible everywhere to buy a decent house on $95k. But look in older established neighborhoods that aren't run down, instead of some brand new, high falutin edition with same 4 floor plans just in different colors.
We gross more in a year than our house cost, so we could have bought much more, but why? To be house poor?
