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We were in a similar situation when we were about your ages.
Here's what I would do in your situation:
Take the job and move.
Have her find a job.
Keep both cars.
Rent for now, saving as much as you can while paying down debt.
When you are ready for a family, revisit the stay at home thing and buying a house.
I think others have read between the lines on your question, and it seemed clear what you were hinting at but it probably makes sense to clear up some of the assumptions others have made.
You mentioned that you don't have kids, do you plan to have kids soon after you move?
How in love with this job and the move are you? How stable is it?
Do you know and like El Paso?
Are you selling the car to try and pay off debt, get ride of a payment?
I just can't imagine my wife suggesting to me (or vice versa) that she wanted to stay at home while I worked full time and went to and paid for grad school meanwhile insisting on a nicer and fancier home. It would be one thing if the income were so absurd that it was silly for her to bring in a paycheck, but it sounds like you have some long term goals (retirement, saving for a home, paying off debt, etc.) that will require teamwork to accomplish,
Oh and if you don't know El Paso, I would rent first until you figure out where you want to live.
Personal thing here, but I can't imagine my wife wanting to stay at home and do nothing while I work when we don't have kids (we're 28 and 26). And on top of that, if she is wanting a nicer home when you have auto debt and student loan debt but she doesn't want to work...it's even more of a head-scratcher. Nicer things come at a price. If she wants her own car and a nicer house, then she probably just needs to work.
She doesn't even necessarily need to find a career job if that's not what she wants. But, at a minimum, a retail job, babysitting, coffee shop, etc. would be ok. Just SOMETHING to be contributing to income during the day until you have kids. At that point, it is completely understandable for one parent to stay home.
Now, I'm not saying she HAS to work, but if she is wanting newer, nicer things while she sits at home and you work, it's a little different.
Last edited by Sunbather; 06-13-2013 at 06:02 AM..
I would say that when you move she should find some kind of a job until your first child is born. I think it's great she wants to stay home and be with the kids, I wish more parents would make that choice. I would focus on living on one income--max your 401K and and live off the rest when you move. Put all of her earnings toward savings and/or paying off your student loans depending on the interest rate.
When you have your first child, you will have some money saved, your lifestyle will be such that you won't miss that income. With future raises you can add to your savings, etc.
With an income of already $70k solo in your mid 20s in a small market like El Paso, what is grad school really going to achieve for you income wise that you don't already have?
If nothing else, perhaps it will help punch his ticket out of El Paso and on up the ladder just a little bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitt Chick
We were in a similar situation when we were about your ages.
Here's what I would do in your situation:
Take the job and move. Have her find a job. Keep both cars. Rent for now, saving as much as you can while paying down debt. When you are ready for a family, revisit the stay at home thing and buying a house.
Going from a combined income of $65K to a single income of $70K is a good thing. However, don't mix that up as getting a HUGE raise and that your life will be drastically different. Your family is still only making $5K more per year, which is really $330/mo extra. This doesn't justify a nice house purchase or your family no longer requiring another income, no matter how small that income is.
One question, why does your wife want to be a stay-at-home WIFE and not work? It maybe a personal reason, but I'd hate for the real answer to be that she's lazy for work or that she'll be whipping up some food every day (you both can cook 2 days out of the week for all the meals in a week). Being lazy will be a disaster when and if you have kids. I hear being a mom is more than a FT job.
Do yourself a favor (and your wife) and do not have children until you are at least 30. You will have finished grad school and maybe your student loans will be repaid. Enjoy your twenties without the responsibility of children. Having children will change your whole life, not always for the best.
It sounds great in theory but she'll get bored REALLY fast. Watch out because boredom is easily corrected by shopping, and then you get another whole set of problems.
LOL at some of these responses.
I was a SAHM and am now a SAHW.
I am not bored; I am not a shopper; I am not lazy; I NEVER "do nothing".
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