Comfortable living after?

We are in the process of buying a house. How do you have after all your bills each month? WE are cutting it close with a few hundred bucks. Any one else?

Re: Comfortable living after?

Hi! It can definitely be an overwhelming process. Definitely do a search on "bills" you will find the info you're looking for. From what everyone says, it gets easier. Good luck!!

Re: Comfortable living after?

can you elaborate about that? Thanks.

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Re: Comfortable living after?

i am sorry. I didn't explain the situation properly. We are looking to buy a house. after we figured out roughly what bills with the morgate and all that will be. We are looking at a $200 difference between what we make and what we pay out. Were you this tight?

Re: Comfortable living after?

are you factoring in the tax break you will get for owning a home??

I would definitely plan out all your monthly expenses-- you do not want to be living hand to mouth.. I have a spreadsheet that helps to figure this out if you want me to email it to you-- FM me your email address.

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I agree with Randella. You don't want to be too tight. Everyone has to decide for themselves what that is. We figured on wanting extra money around for unexpected home expenses, "fun" money, gifts for others, savings, etc. I hope that helps! The spreadsheet sounds like a great idea. We just made a list of everything we had to pay for including groceries, gas, etc. We also looked to cut out anything that we didn't really need. Like I cut back on my cell phone plan since I only use it when absolutely necessary.

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$200 is very tight. That does not leave any room for repairs or any emergency funds.

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I would not be comfortable having only 200 extra each month. Owning a home comes with surprises and they can be quite costly. We know that in a couple of years we will likely have to replace the central airconditioner unit and that will be roughly 2,500. If you think of all the things that can crop up because of home ownership (needing the plumer or electrician) or medical or dental emergencies those things often cost more than $200. I would want to have some savings to fall back on. I think you may be trying to purchase to much house.

Look at your income from all sources
Then look at your expenses (monthly)

food - 400
gas/electricity - for us has reached 250 some months/low of about 75
water - 16 to 21 a month
cable/internet/phone - 100
cell phone 80
gas for car 150
insurance for car 135
maintenance for car 50
homeowners insurance 25
taxes 300
student loans
car loan
consumer debt (credit cards)
other debts
day care


this does not even get into
savings (401k, ira, emergency fund - which ideally covers 6 months of your expenses, savings for your childrens education)
fun (eating out, movies, shopping, vacations)
necessities (clothing, furniture)
etc.

Re: Comfortable living after?

Thanks!

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My dh and us are also in the process of buying. Probably signing a contract this week. (I don't know if I should be or ) Anyhow, we estimated our bills down to the nitty gritty too. We have cash money that comes in but we don't count on it b/c it is not reliable. Our budget with what we make and money left over is/will be like yours $200 left over. I suppose it sounds bad but I asked a lot people who have purchased homes recently and they budget down to about the same. I think maybe it is what houses cost now and what kind of sacrafices we need to make in order to own. My sil and bil budgets down to the wire and saves only $20 a month. Yes twenty dollars. That I think is tight budgeting. However, I plan on putting down less money so I can have approx. $10,000 for emergencies for the first year. I will need (or really want) new furniture and stuff but I will not buy them and just use my beat up furniture for a year to kind of test out unexpected home stuff. I think that if you plan on budgeting down to $200 left over, plan on having savings b/c you never know what will break. But if you have no savings after buying, and $200 is all you save/left over, I would definitely be worried. (Also, my dh and I budgeted high for our expenses, like food $500/month and so on just to make sure everything will be ok)

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Would u consider buying a co-op or condo? That would cost less than a house, allow you to save some more money and build up some equity.

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$200 left over would make me very nervous

$200 goes quick- in the car breaks- if the dishwasher breaks- unforseen things come up all the time

I would not feel comfortable- I would look for something less expensive

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when we got our house we only had a few hundred dollars left for the month, but now that we've been in the house for 9 months, i see that we dont even have that much because of other expenses..Granted, the first year is the hardest because you need to buy so many things...
but maybe you can adjust your paychecks to get back a little more?

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I think $200 is tight. Surprises happen to homeowners.

After moving into the house in August 05.

Here is how out first October went: we realized a dying tree had to be removed, ($300), then our car started making funny noises and needed work ($425) then it rained (we all remember that) , our basement had a foot of water, we had to go buy a pump ($120), and lost a lot of things that were still packed in boxes being kept in basement (no idea on $) and had to replace oil burner motor ($450) and are soon to be installing a sump pump($??) We put the dryer and washer up on cinder blocks ($8 but better than having to replace the appliances) and in doing so the gas line to the dryer broke ($200 to a plumber).

Ok every month isn't like this but most homeowners tell you it happens.

DH and I have both been laidoff at one time or another, things happen. If you aren't going to have 3-6 months worth of expenses in savings after closing on the house how long will it take to save that with a $200 a month cushion. Are you comfortable with that?

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$200 is way too tight

In the first month we had some shingles blow off the roof. That was $125. Our house is only 8 years old.
This month my husband hurt his back and has to go to the chiropractor 3x a week now. That's going to cost us about $200 this month.

Last month our washing machine crapped out. Had to buy a new one.

In the past six months my car repairs have totalled over $500.

No matter how well you plan things always pop up. Not to mention did you budget for birthday gifts? Christmas gifts?

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$200 doesn't go very far. My husband is very handy so we didn't have to hire anyone to fix things but the materials still cost $. we had to reinsulate under our kitchen, redo some old wiring, paint and buy household items (shovels, water hoses, sprinklers etc)

Plus you don't realize how much stuff you need t fill a house.

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also does anyone ever leave home depot and spend less than $100? ...that's kind of a joke betwen us but usually more true than not.

Re: Comfortable living after?