Is having a child REALLY that expensive? (insurance, accounting, expenses)
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.
Eddie doesn't understand that parents don't factor in a tax credit when they budget because it is a drop on the bucket compared to what they have spent on the kid all year. He'll never understand until he has a kid.
Ya, this. If he wants to make a real point, he should use realistic numbers.
Well, if someone's earning $30,000 do they even gave a tax liability beyong SS tax? You have to pay enough to get the refund with the child tax credit. It can take your liability to zero, but that might not save you $1000.
Quote:
The Child Tax Credit is nonrefundable; if your credit exceeds your tax liability, your tax bill is reduced to zero and any remaining unused credit is lost.
So does that mean those things will help the next year? Seems like semantics to me.
For example:
year 1 - $26k take home
year 2 - $26k take home + $2k from year one = $28k
year 3 - $26k take home + $2k from year two = $28k
year 4 - $26k take home + $2k from year three = $28k
Get the point?
It's far from semantics. It's reality. For your argument and budget you can't say daycare cost you x and medical insurance y per month when it cost you more than that by a good margin. If you can make it through that year and had the discipline to set the refund aside then your savings can offset the expense. Your monthly expenses are still higher then you stated in your budget. That's like saying my monthly mortgage is 1400.00 when in truth it's 1500.00 and the interest deduction will lower my tax liability the following year
I sit firmly in the middle. I want the best for my children. But I am not going to create a false world full of elevated expectations. We are middle income and it is what it is.
Sounds rational to me.
I get a sense that most parents will want to raise their children similar to how they were raised (assuming they had a good childhood). For example, working class parents that went to public schools may be able to come up the money to send their child to a $8k/year private school, but they may think "the local public schools aren't the best but they were perfectly fine for me". Perhaps this is why you can see upper middle class parents sending their children to the same working class public school they went to.
Can someone better with taxes confirm; Income of $30,000, married filing jointly, standard deduction plus two dependents, exemptions and deductions mean no fed income tax liability?
Her point is that your $50K house as an example for achievable housing isn't feasible for many people in many regions across the country. Is it that difficult to understand?
Yes, this is my point. It isn't hard for most people to understand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eddiehaskell
Technically everyone has the chance because nothing prevents one from moving to another state. Those that choose to live in more expensive areas should expect a wage in line with their cost of living. For example, I would not live on $10/hr in an area with homes that start at $400k. You'll never get ahead.
Technically. Realistically, moving is expensive. Realistically, there is a reason places have a low COL - because it sucks to live there. Realistically, people don't want to move to these places.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WildColonialGirl
You didn't look hard enough! I found multiple properties under $100,000 in my metro area.
Parking spaces. Parking spaces here sell for more than Eddie's house.
Oh, excuse me for not wasting even more time on this ridiculous thread. I stand corrected. In the Denver metro area, I could get a piece of vacant land or a 1 bed/1 bath apartment with <700 sf. Do you think anyone would mind if I pitch a tent in a vacant lot? There are exactly 4 apartments/condos available right now.
It's far from semantics. It's reality. For your argument and budget you can't say daycare cost you x and medical insurance y per month when it cost you more than that by a good margin.
Semantics. If one looks at child care as costing $150/week or $129.80 after tax credit, it is the SAME thing. It's just a matter of how one chooses to look at it. The only way it would make a difference is if one if so financially strapped during the year that $20/week can mean not being able to pay other bills. If that's the case, I would say this person's finances are spread too thin and they need to do some major cutting back.
Regardless, if we're simply discussing how much money someone making $30k/year will take home, we need to account for all tax credits and deductions. Right?
Quote:
That's like saying my monthly mortgage is 1400.00 when in truth it's 1500.00 and the interest deduction will lower my tax liability the following year
I would definitely look at it like that. Many people do just that when trying to decide whether to pay off a mortgage or use the funds to do something else.
Technically. Realistically, moving is expensive. Realistically, there is a reason places have a low COL - because it sucks to live there. Realistically, people don't want to move to these places.
Moving isn't expensive compared to paying $1200 rent on minimum wage. So no one wants to live in the south? Gee whiz, why are so many transplants flocking to where I live? Perhaps you should go to some of the southern or midwest forums on City Data and ask why so many people (~60% of the population) move to and live in a place that "sucks"?
Would you please, please, please tell me what makes Denver so special? I'd love to know what I'm missing out on!!!
Semantics. If one looks at child care as costing $150/week or $129.80 after tax credit, it is the SAME thing. It's just a matter of how one chooses to look at it. The only way it would make a difference is if one if so financially strapped during the year that $20/week can mean not being able to pay other bills. If that's the case, I would say this person's finances are spread too thin and they need to do some major cutting back.
Regardless, if we're simply discussing how much money someone making $30k/year will take home, we need to account for all tax credits and deductions. Right?
I would definitely look at it like that. Many people do just that when trying to decide whether to pay off a mortgage or use the funds to do something else.
Budgets are typically done monthly vs monthly cashflow. When budgeting you have to account for the total upfront expense because you have to meet said obligations monthly well in advance of a possible rebate which you may or may not qualify for year by year. If you wish to account your actual cost that's fine but won't change your monthly budget. It's only semantics to you because you were incorrect about it
Can someone better with taxes confirm; Income of $30,000, married filing jointly, standard deduction plus two dependents, exemptions and deductions mean no fed income tax liability?
Therefore no child tax credit.
No child tax credit and no federal tax liability would further support my argument. A family earning $30k here would take home almost all of the $30k. I previously added up possible expenses as $815/month + food, car/home maintenance, clothing, misc expenses and child related expenses. Totally doable.
Moving isn't expensive compared to paying $1200 rent on minimum wage. So no one wants to live in the south? Gee whiz, why are so many transplants flocking to where I live? Perhaps you should go to some of the southern or midwest forums on City Data and ask why so many people (~60% of the population) move to and live in a place that "sucks"?
Would you please, please, please tell me what makes Denver so special? I'd love to know what I'm missing out on!!!
Moving creates a situation that is expensive. You have to pay for the move, pay rent to close out where you lived, pay rent for where you are moving, plus deposit, possibly the same for utilities on both sides etc. I'm all for people moving to better their financial situation but to say its not expensive compared to 1200 rent is silly, it is still a large expense that has to be paid upfront before getting anything out of it
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.
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.
