Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Economics > Personal Finance
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-25-2014, 11:33 AM
 
Location: Florida
4,103 posts, read 5,409,165 times
Reputation: 10105

Advertisements

So I know everyone and every situation is different.....that being said Im curious to see how much most of you have in net income each month as a % or $. Please serious numbers only, dont try to impress anyone here, thats not the point of this. I just personally feel like I dont have enough net income each month. My wife and I bring home 5200 a month after taxes and SS, dont have a State income tax. Our mortgage is 1600 (includes a PMI that will go away and first years tax was based off of old owners lack of a homestead exemption, so the tax portion will go down ~30% for 2014. So its not as much house as it sounds like. Anyways we were stupid after college and bought two new cars so we have 900 a month in auto loans. Add in cable, electric, insurance, gas, and we have a net income of 1600 a month. This still seems to disappear so quickly each month. Is this a high % of take home to have left over (for a 2 person household, no kids yet.)? This is what makes me nervous about having kids is will I be signing up for a LOT more bills with not enough $ to cover them.

Just curious, few questions packed into one I know.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-25-2014, 11:53 AM
 
1,212 posts, read 2,247,043 times
Reputation: 1148
I won't share any personal details but I'll just comment on your own; I think your situation is typical; you can meet expenses but you don't have a ridiculously huge amount left over.

Regarding the kids question, I think that's when people's finances can really go downhill... kids have so many needs and if you're just making ends meet before you have them, it doesn't get any easier afterwards.

If you do want to have kids and have a solid financial footing, either have to significantly reduce expenses or make more money.

I think you're doing ok, if you're not going into debt; you can afford what you have currently.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 12:21 PM
 
18,532 posts, read 15,510,571 times
Reputation: 16214
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguydownsouth View Post
So I know everyone and every situation is different.....that being said Im curious to see how much most of you have in net income each month as a % or $. Please serious numbers only, dont try to impress anyone here, thats not the point of this. I just personally feel like I dont have enough net income each month. My wife and I bring home 5200 a month after taxes and SS, dont have a State income tax. Our mortgage is 1600 (includes a PMI that will go away and first years tax was based off of old owners lack of a homestead exemption, so the tax portion will go down ~30% for 2014. So its not as much house as it sounds like. Anyways we were stupid after college and bought two new cars so we have 900 a month in auto loans. Add in cable, electric, insurance, gas, and we have a net income of 1600 a month. This still seems to disappear so quickly each month. Is this a high % of take home to have left over (for a 2 person household, no kids yet.)? This is what makes me nervous about having kids is will I be signing up for a LOT more bills with not enough $ to cover them.

Just curious, few questions packed into one I know.
Yeah, the cars are too expensive, the house may or may not be reasonable, depending on location.

If you go down to cheaper cars with decent fuel economy, create a budget and stick to it, and avoid taking on any more debt, you can probably afford kids. Otherwise, it'll be quite a challenge. Daycare alone can easily be $800+ each month.

P.S. the term "net" income is often used to mean "after tax" income, so to avoid confusion you should clarify early in your post that you mean "income after taxes and expenses", etc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 12:30 PM
 
Location: Florida
4,103 posts, read 5,409,165 times
Reputation: 10105
Quote:
Originally Posted by ncole1 View Post
Yeah, the cars are too expensive, the house may or may not be reasonable, depending on location.

If you go down to cheaper cars with decent fuel economy, create a budget and stick to it, and avoid taking on any more debt, you can probably afford kids. Otherwise, it'll be quite a challenge. Daycare alone can easily be $800+ each month.

P.S. the term "net" income is often used to mean "after tax" income, so to avoid confusion you should clarify early in your post that you mean "income after taxes and expenses", etc.
Well technically its still net income as its income after taxes and bills, (take home less expenses).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 12:36 PM
 
30,876 posts, read 36,854,288 times
Reputation: 34467
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguydownsouth View Post
Well technically its still net income as its income after taxes and bills, (take home less expenses).
But taxes are mandatory. Bills are at least partly optional. I.E. Cable TV is not a necessity. I don't have cable, and somehow I survive and enjoy life, so please don't tell me it is.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 12:52 PM
 
147 posts, read 305,891 times
Reputation: 228
What you are basically asking is where your money is going. This is why you need a written budget. Track all your spending and budget your expenses for the upcoming month. You will find that you are spending lots of money on frivolous things. If you have goals, you need to prioritize and decide what is more important. Your obvious blunder is the car loans. $900 a month just to car loans? That's not even counting maintenance, gas, insurance, etc. You're easily spending over 30% of your take home pay in transportation. You either need to pay those off ASAP, or sell the cars and get something much cheaper.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 01:02 PM
 
Location: Florida
4,103 posts, read 5,409,165 times
Reputation: 10105
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger View Post
But taxes are mandatory. Bills are at least partly optional. I.E. Cable TV is not a necessity. I don't have cable, and somehow I survive and enjoy life, so please don't tell me it is.
What are you talking about? Net income is income after taxes and bills, thats exactly what Im talking about here.....your free cash.....
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 01:05 PM
 
Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
2,061 posts, read 4,127,343 times
Reputation: 8190
1357 ss and withdrawing from investments at $2400. That's a living expense of $3757/month. Do have other money I can draw out of if necessary but feel I'm doing fine in our 2 person hh on that income~ its more than a lot of people are living on. have never had a car payment in my life, have driven some real beaters but have a minivan now. If I feel the need of a new vehicle have the ability to pay cash. Have bought and paid off 3 homes during my lifetime but never had that high of mortgage payment~ even on the second home I bought 4 years ago on a 5 year contract. Thankfully managed to get it paid off~ so no more house payment~ just taxes, insurance, HOA dues.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 01:08 PM
 
147 posts, read 305,891 times
Reputation: 228
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguydownsouth View Post
What are you talking about? Net income is income after taxes and bills, thats exactly what Im talking about here.....your free cash.....
Majority of people do not deduct bills when calculating net income. Net income is usually what's left over after taxes, SS, etc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2014, 01:09 PM
 
15,756 posts, read 20,346,743 times
Reputation: 20895
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguydownsouth View Post
What are you talking about? Net income is income after taxes and bills, thats exactly what Im talking about here.....your free cash.....

Net income to me is your take home pay. IE your paycheck prior to addressing any bills and such. It could sometimes be after payroll deductions such as 401K contribution and health insurance premiums.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Economics > Personal Finance
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:45 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top