Family survive on $40-60k in Broward for one year? (Fort Lauderdale: apartments, dermatologist)

[formerfire]

I would like to get a number of opinions on whether a family could survive on savings of $40000-$60000 for one year anywhere in Broward county (safe areas)?

Assume public schooling, rental of 3br apartment or home.

Does anyone have rough estimates of costs of electricity, petrol/gas, phones/ other hidden costs?

Thanks for your help - getting down to the nitty gritty of this now as we get closer. Need to know how much $$ we need before we come.

[JimboUSMC17]

It depends on how large your famly is. How many kids? Where in Broward specifically you are looking. Also, do you have any debt? It is possible but you may need to cut back on the luxeries.

[fauve]

We do it (family of 4 - 2 teenagers) but we have no housing expenses other than property taxes or debt and we have substantial savings in case of emergency, although this should at most all costs be preserved for retirement. It's definitely tight. Health care is the killer. Beyond insurance, we spend a minimum of about $7K on deductibles, co-pays and out of pocket expenses for prescriptions. This is in addition to $10K we spend for insurance. We're all basically healthy, altho we each have our own issues with preventive care and regular testing necessary. This year, we're seriously considering skipping some of that, meaning that we're essentially spending $10K for catastrophic coverage. Advantages of earning this little include paying almost no federal income tax and generous financial aid & scholarships for the kids' college tuitions.

Also, I should add that we pay a "group rate" for our insurance. Were we to get this same coverage on the open market, it would cost us around $17,000 assuming we could get it (my daughter and husband both have pre-existing conditions) - I do believe health insurance reform has made it impossible for them to turn us down, but there are no caps on what they can charge us, and I imagine we would be in the highest ranges.

[namomof3]

WOW- I have to admit I am clueless about the health care cost. We pay approx. 6,500/year for a family of 5 under my husbands employer. Spend like 100/year on co-pays (although more now since I see a dermatologist). My husband just had an MRI and we cringed at the deductable however no big deal. Knock on wood that we are healthy. Only prescription is acne medicine. To the OP- your biggest factor will be where you want to live. If you want a 3bdrm in a "safe" area expect to pay AT LEAST 1,200/month. I think next would be cost of food which I spend a ridiculous amount of money on monthly for a family of 5. Don't forget car payment and set aside like 100/year/kid for school expenses like field trips, ordering little classroom stuff, gifts, etc. etc. Oh yeah- last thing- if your kids play sports it can be quite pricey compared to other places. Forexample- in my old town itwas like 50 bucks for little league and 50 bucks for AYSO- that included uniforms. Not the case here. Basically- comes down to the kids!

[formerfire]

Thanks everyone. We are family of 5. Healthcare is $2000 for the first year (travellers insurance)...of course if we got sick I am sure it would be more. The apartments/houses seem to be 12-1500.

Here we pay
Electricity $100/month
Water $100/month
Gas $80/month (thats gas not your petrol/gas)
Cable $125/month
Health $300/month
Phone $125/month
Mobiles $200/month
Car - hmmm that's the next thing i need to look into, what cars cost over there. Any ideas where i can look.
Food - $200/week
Home Contents insurance $60/month

Are any of these included in rentals?
Would we just need home contents insurance? What is that like?
I think your petrol is cheaper its $1.25+ per litre (no idea/gallon)

[hurricaneMan1992]

A lot of people do it because there are plenty of families and not enough 6-figure income jobs for all of them. My guess is many couples with each earning 20-30K. 40K vs. 60K would be a world of difference in terms of luxury though. And BTW I do consider $125 home phone+mobile phone and cable to be luxury. Insurance--pretty much of any type--is among the most expensive in the US.

[formerfire]

Thanks Hurricane, I agree cable, mobiles are luxury and one we can go without if it means being able to live there for a year.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by formerfire

I would like to get a number of opinions on whether a family could survive on savings of $40000-$60000 for one year anywhere in Broward county (safe areas)?

Assume public schooling, rental of 3br apartment or home.

Does anyone have rough estimates of costs of electricity, petrol/gas, phones/ other hidden costs?

Thanks for your help - getting down to the nitty gritty of this now as we get closer. Need to know how much $$ we need before we come.

This is a hard question for me to answer. We have a high family income and I do not have the perspective of living on less here in FL. When we made less we lived in CT, which is a higher cost area, but we did not have children at that time.

I think that money may be tight on $40-$60 but obviously there are people who do it. It might be tough to stay in the nicer ares of Broward for that much money. Not everyone in Broward County makes six figures but in the nicer areas of Broward many (perhaps most) people do make that much.

Health care in the US is very expensive. It is something that absolutely shocks foreigners. If your children have any special health needs you need to be prepared to spend a lot of extra money.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

A lot of people do it because there are plenty of families and not enough 6-figure income jobs for all of them. My guess is many couples with each earning 20-30K. 40K vs. 60K would be a world of difference in terms of luxury though. And BTW I do consider $125 home phone+mobile phone and cable to be luxury. Insurance--pretty much of any type--is among the most expensive in the US.

She asked about the nicer areas of Broward. I doubt there are that many people in Weston who are renting a 3 BR apartment, owning 2 cars (which she will need if the hubby works in Fort Lauderdale) with a couple of kids making $40K per year.

[formerfire]

Thanks Momma Bear - it's good to have a variety of opinions on this. We are doing the number crunching now .

Health in the US is just terrible. We can't even comprehend how it got that bad when we whinge over here its because of a 1-2 year waiting list for elective surgery, which you still get basically free once you make it to the surgery. I wouldn't be without health insurance here, but at least you can and know you will always be ok in a life threatening situation. I have friend who have moved to NY with NO health cover - it frightens me!