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i have found that when you arent locked into a contract, these companies are very willing to cut their prices. im always calling directv to cut the price, and they always do. but verizon wireless wont even talk about it because im locked in. that new every 2 is a killer, my wife just got a new iphone so im locked in another 2 years. im not going to get a new phone for me or my mother in law so when my wife's is up, i have some bargaining power.
you still have power under contract. threaten to cancel...and they transfer you to cancellations/retention, just like every other company. there's probably a lot of smaller charges you're paying for that have nothing to do with the contract term - tell them you're reducing all of those and see what happens...
I guess I will start shopping for food in Pa,which is 20 minutes from me.
Since its cheaper there ill give it a shot.
I used to think shopping at Walmart was cheap but i because its so big with things other than food I got suckered into buying other things.
so I grossed $97,000 last year but the net was $67,000.
I think when people say "I live on less than that and can save" don't understand that they get certain perks that I can't get.
My sis loves talking about her house and her savings but she overlooks the fact she gets food stamps,SSI for her children,and the EIC,and free school lunch.
It actually brings her income up there with mine.(the net range)
ok - you really have to stop the poverty act. "perks"? come on. i realize you have a few mouths to feed, but my younger sister makes less than $20,000/yr in pennsylvania and has student loans, rent, and other expenses and she even saves a modest amount. you're full of excuses.
i don't care how much money you make. $20,000, $200,000....if you don't pay yourself FIRST you won't save.
1. set up a money market account such as ING, Ally, etc.
2. every payday, automatically transfer 10% of your net pay to that money market account.
3. write up a budget based on the remaining take-home pay and NECESSARY expenses (lodging, food, transportation, utilities). then start adding in the WANTED expenses...nicer cell phone plan, excess food, cable, internet, etc.
if you don't want to do it, then don't. but don't complain about your class-status. you're doing significantly better than about 50% of americans. is it easy? heck no. but it ain't hard either.
P.S. shop for groceries with a grocery list. Ignore everything else in the store.
That's how messed up all those handouts are. Where does the $30,000 difference go? Taxes? If so, you make less, and pay more taxes than I.
i bet every april she gets a couple thousand dollar tax return check in the mail...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerseygal4u
$14,000 to the feds, $4,300 to the state of N.J.
$1,400 medicare tax.
$3,600 SS tax.
Sorry,I forgot not to include my pre tax health insurance in the total.
But the total is still incorrect because this year I will owe the feds $3,500.
So its about $27,000.
But in any event,I'm am in no way using this to justify my spending habits.
I could ***** all day about the amount of taxes I pay but that won't help me to curtail my spending habits.
After all,taxes and death are the only certain things in life.
this is hilarious. my gross is less than you, and i pay around $14,000 combined fed, medicare, ss combined. then the nj portion of my taxes is around $2,500. you're doing something wrong...
she's been told this ad nauseum, and the response is something like "i guess i'll have to grocery shop in PA" or "i guess i'll have to move to the ghetto".
yeah - you could probably tell i just made my way through the thread. people with excuses will never really improve their financial situation. driving 20 minutes to save 50 cents on oreos isn't the solution...
your federal and state taxes sound too high too. are you deducting your mortgage interest and taxes? claiming 3 dependents? child tax credit? 13,300 should be right around the base fed taxes on 97 k single with3 kids not deducting anything.
while tolls are optional there really is one only way to get to my job in Central nj from south jersey and that is the NJT.
Otherwise,while I would save on tolls,gas would be more expensive.
I don't qualify for many things because I'm over 75,000. The child tax credit being one of them.
But even if the feds only took 25% of my income there still os state taxes.
you qualify for the deduction though, right? for 2011, that deduction is worth $3,750 per child. right there, you have $11,250 you can deduct from your $97,000 gross. new agi is $85,750. how much interest do you pay on your mortgage? you can also deduct your state and local taxes, correct?
again - you're doing something wrong if you're paying that much in federal and state and i'm not.
i bet every april she gets a couple thousand dollar tax return check in the mail...
this is hilarious. my gross is less than you, and i pay around $14,000 combined fed, medicare, ss combined. then the nj portion of my taxes is around $2,500. you're doing something wrong...
No I don't,that's why I $15,000 in back taxes.
I will admit,my sister does my taxes and she didn't know about the deductions like mileage,uniforms,etc. Only thing she knew was mortgage,and child tax credit.
You say your gross is less than me. Fine,but you pay $14000 combined.
I pay 24,000 combined. I claim HOH,which means I owe more than married couples making the same amt.
you qualify for the deduction though, right? for 2011, that deduction is worth $3,750 per child. right there, you have $11,250 you can deduct from your $97,000 gross. new agi is $85,750. how much interest do you pay on your mortgage? you can also deduct your state and local taxes, correct?
again - you're doing something wrong if you're paying that much in federal and state and i'm not.
No I dont ,at $75,000 it phases out.(the child tax credit)
I think for me It was deducted last year for only $250 per child.
Plus,I'm not hiding any money in tax shelters,no 401k,no Ira,so everything gets taxed.
The op could have been written by me.
The only difference is I have 3 kids,my monthly income is 5000 a month. No savings either,no 401k.
$1,500 mortgage(4 bedroom)
$175 car insurance.
$350 car note
$110(internet and home phone)
$150(satellite dish network)
$800 (groceries)
$120(cell phone bill)
$20(gym membership)
$230(credit cards,student loans)
$420 gas and tolls(soon to go up by 50 dollars a month)
$40(school lunches)
Debt isn't drowning me,nor greed. I drive a cheap korean made car and my home is 1500 square feet.
Don't know where to move to and feel safe. The housing prices in the nice parts of northern NJ are outrageous,and I will not move to Camden or Newark.
I guess there aren't alternatives.
I did try to move out of state,but since nursing wages aren't universal I would have been making only $45,000 in Nc,which would have made Nc unaffordable.(and it was)
Only thing came from the move was the kiddies qualified for free lunch.
People have been picking through this with suggestions, but here is what I see...
The total bills above = $3,915
You claim your monthly income (after taxes) is $5,000
$5,000 - $3,915 = $1,085
I'm sure there are some expenses you are missing, like regular utilities (gas/electric/water/sewer). Let's assume those run you $450 a month, which is on the high side. That leaves you with $635 and you have...put a roof over your head, gotten to work, paid the utilities, eaten, paid for debt service, everything.
I don't see what the issue is if you have $635 a month left over after all that mandatory spending and other items. Sure there are lot of places to save money in what you listed, but I don't see where you are "struggling". You are spending money somewhere that you are counting in.
You are actually in pretty good shape to be able to effect some real change and stabilize your situation if you really think about it and what you posted as your finances is all true and we are accounting for everything.
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