| Posted By |
Message |
summerBaby10
let's be nice
Member since 9/07 10208 total posts
Name:
Wifey
|
If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
We want to place an offer on a house but I am a little nervous with what we would have left over just trying to see if people are around my number & feel comfortable with that. We would have about $1500 left after bills w/o groceries a month (sometimes a little more or so depending on if DH or myself work more hours)
How much money do you have left over after all of your expenses?
Message edited 1/7/2013 8:39:30 PM.
|
Posted 1/7/13 8:38 PM  |
| |
|
olive98
LIF Adolescent
Member since 11/12 791 total posts
Name:
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
Message edited 9/1/2013 9:23:48 AM.
|
| Posted 1/7/13 9:04 PM |
| |
|
summerBaby10
let's be nice
Member since 9/07 10208 total posts
Name:
Wifey
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
after.
|
| Posted 1/7/13 9:31 PM |
| |
|
olive98
LIF Adolescent
Member since 11/12 791 total posts
Name:
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
Message edited 9/1/2013 9:23:10 AM.
|
| Posted 1/7/13 9:38 PM |
| |
|
summerBaby10
let's be nice
Member since 9/07 10208 total posts
Name:
Wifey
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
We spend less than $250 a week on food & daily expenses. I can see that we can do it but it will be tight. I'm trying to look at the big picture because I've never owned a house (we own a apt now) & anything can break down & having that little money left over makes me uncomfortable.
|
| Posted 1/8/13 7:55 AM |
| |
|
blu6385
Member since 5/08 8351 total posts
Name:
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
i never really paid attention on how much we had over because all the bills are paid at different time of the months. But i would think if you have $1500 a month after ALL your bills are paid thats prettu good. that $375 a week for spending on grocerys and what ever else.
|
| Posted 1/8/13 8:36 AM |
| |
|
sleepie76
enjoying every minute
Member since 12/07 3881 total posts
Name:
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
Message edited 1/8/2013 9:20:15 AM.
|
| Posted 1/8/13 9:19 AM |
| |
|
brooke23
LIF Toddler
Member since 3/11 482 total posts
Name:
|
If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
I would just note that even with an expectation of paying regular bills, owning a home brings with it lots of little surprises and unexpected costs that you dont have to worry about when you rent, so you need to make sure you are comfortable. Also, especially on Long Island, taxes seem to rise faster than income so your tax bill will always be increasing.....Its surprising (at least for me) how all the little costs creep up on you :)
|
| Posted 1/8/13 11:54 AM |
| |
|
|
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
Just another thought -
If you want to have more leftover per month, you could always speak to your accountant. Your property taxes and mortgage insurance (which is most of your mortgage payment in the early years of your loan) are tax deductable, so rather than waiting to get it back at the end of the year, you can change the tax exemptions on your W-4 to get less taxes taken out of your paycheck each month. But you would want to talk to your accountant about the best way to do that -- maximize your cash but make sure you don't owe at the end of the year.
|
| Posted 1/8/13 1:32 PM |
| |
|
summerBaby10
let's be nice
Member since 9/07 10208 total posts
Name:
Wifey
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
Posted by Century 21 Dallow - Christine Braun
Just another thought -
If you want to have more leftover per month, you could always speak to your accountant. Your property taxes and mortgage insurance (which is most of your mortgage payment in the early years of your loan) are tax deductable, so rather than waiting to get it back at the end of the year, you can change the tax exemptions on your W-4 to get less taxes taken out of your paycheck each month. But you would want to talk to your accountant about the best way to do that -- maximize your cash but make sure you don't owe at the end of the year.
thank you for this advice! We are not really emotionally ready, meaning, I just had a new baby & have been out of the loop for 6 months &have no idea what's being sold for what, we haven't been pre approved, we haven't sold our apartment or even put it up on the market yet but out of nowhere this house is being sold that belongs to a friend of the family's. It was unexpected as we were hoping to buy in a year but whatever happens, happens, I guess.
sorry for typos, typing on a phone stinks.
|
| Posted 1/8/13 2:00 PM |
| |
|
Teachergal
We made a snowman!
Member since 1/08 3239 total posts
Name:
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
If I didn't have to pay for daycare my answer would be a lot more. :) It really depends on what your bills are per month. Everyone is different. It depends on if you have school payments, daycare, car payments, retirement savings, child savings accts to pay into. There are also lots of house "problems" that come up unless you buy a somewhat new house.
|
| Posted 1/8/13 7:38 PM |
| |
|
summerBaby10
let's be nice
Member since 9/07 10208 total posts
Name:
Wifey
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
Posted by Teachergal
It depends on if you have school payments, daycare, car payments, retirement savings, child savings accts to pay into. There are also lots of house "problems" that come up unless you buy a somewhat new house.
We already took all of these things into account and the $1500 is after all of our bills (& used IL's numbers for utilities since they live in the neighborbood), except for groceries b/c that changes every week. ugh, It's a lot to think about & a very stressful decision.
Message edited 1/9/2013 8:50:08 AM.
|
| Posted 1/9/13 8:46 AM |
| |
|
maymama
my little loves
Member since 8/08 18453 total posts
Name:
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
before or after daycare 
not a ton at the moment. cannot wait for daycare to be a thing of the past!
all bills are paid in full monthly and there is NOT a ton left over.
Message edited 1/9/2013 9:17:49 AM.
|
| Posted 1/9/13 9:16 AM |
| |
|
Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
never enough...
|
| Posted 1/9/13 11:44 AM |
| |
|
|
|
Re: If you own a HOUSE, what do you have left after all of your monthly expenses?
Posted by summerBaby10
Posted by Teachergal
It depends on if you have school payments, daycare, car payments, retirement savings, child savings accts to pay into. There are also lots of house "problems" that come up unless you buy a somewhat new house.
We already took all of these things into account and the $1500 is after all of our bills (& used IL's numbers for utilities since they live in the neighborbood), except for groceries b/c that changes every week. ugh, It's a lot to think about & a very stressful decision.
As others have said, it's a personal decision, and probably based on your comfort level and spending habits. BUT - I think if you have $1500 left over every month AFTER you pay all of your fixed expenses AND put savings away (which you said in an earlier post), then you are in good shape. If the $1500 just has to cover groceries and discretionary spending, that would be more than adequate for me and my family. And in my experience, while it's not ideal, most people don't have that much room after paying all bills (some people can't put any extra in savings, for example).
It's true that things can crop up with a house, but if you have money in savings and money leftover every month (even if you spend $600 in groceries per month, you still have $900 in cash leftover in your budget), you should be fine. I have owned a home for over 4 years. It's not a new house - it is a 1950s house with an older roof and an older CAC system that will probably need to be replaced in the near future. But so far, other than replacing a fence that came down after Sandy and some roof shingles, and replacing the washer/dryer a few years ago, I haven't really had too many unexpected things crop up. It's not like every month you will have $1000 in unexpected repairs with a house. It seems like you will have enough of a cushion to deal with issues when they crop up.
But of course, if you like to go out to eat all the time, or buy a ton of clothes, or take lots of vacations, then $1500 a month extra may not work for you.
Maybe it would help you to track your spending on groceries and other items you didn't account for in fixed expenses (things like gifts, clothes, manicures, nights out) and see how much you really spend per month. Then you can figure out if the house you are contemplating (or similarly priced homes, if you don't buy this one) is affordable, or if you need to have a lower monthly payment to feel comfortable living the lifestyle you want!
|
| Posted 1/9/13 11:57 AM |
| |
|
