$43,000/year enough for two?

[Terytee]

$43K would be very tight, but doable. Find a cheap place to rent (hopefully it will be in a safe area), clip coupons, take your lunch and coffee to work instead of buying, keep the luxuries to a miniumum, and you can do it. Good luck!

[lurtsman]

TeryTee provides some good advice. I'd suggest a costco or Sam's club membership which usually offers better deals than coupons--though it does cost 40/year for Sam's club (I'm not sure how much Costco is).

When shopping for clothes, using "goodwill" and "the arc" is a great way to lower bills. I think it's been 3 or 4 dollars since I bought clothes (not shoes) at another store. In the last 5 years I've probably spent less than 50 bucks on clothes. We have an abundance of those stores here, which is great for someone on a budget. The arc has better condition stuff, but it is "more expensive". Case in point, I couldn't find jeans I wanted at goodwill. We hit the arc and I found two pairs that fit perfectly. I paid about 8 bucks per pair and they were brand new.

Shoes. We have payless shoe stores. I average 20$/pair and use 2 pair per year.

You can certainly make it for 2 people on 43k. Be intelligent in buying cars. (Nothing newer than about an 03, that'll save you on price and taxes--if things are tight looking for around 93-97) Have the car entirely paid off. Do not carry credit card debt, ever. My wife and I made do in Iowa on about 20k/year while she was going to school. Now that was tight, it was not fun, but I found several areas that I could do without and not really miss it. The city we lived in (necessary for her education) had a higher cost of living than Colorado Springs.

After we moved here our cost of living went up because our standard of living went up. We went from a small apartment to a bigger apartment while house hunting. Then we bought a big house. Less than we could qualify for, but significantly more than the "2x your income" general rule. Our costs now average around 2800/month. (430 goes to an increase in monthly payments on house over the iowa apartment and 200 goes to student loan repayment) The rest goes to things like gas (longer drive to work), better food, and of course inflation in the price of those items with meals out going from 2-3 per month to 4-5, though the average bill for a meal out is still under 10 bucks. (Subway, split a footlong. Panda express with a coupon for a free third entree. Etc)

[ryanek9freak]

$43K will do it, that's around where I am. I have an addiction to Harley parts and guns though......

[legoat29]

a Texan would never tell someone that he is from Oklahoma.

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by legoat29

a Texan would never tell someone that he is from Oklahoma.

OK. Wear a "Don't Mess With Texas" T-Shirt. You'll do fine.