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It was just an aside - about how I don't have any sort of financial obligations outside of, really, just the mortgage (and related bills) and my car insurance (and upkeep).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Formerly Known As Twenty
I don't know about the cost of housing and living in general in your area, but where I live, buying a house (and paying taxes, insurance, and maintaining an emergency fund) on that income would be doable, if a bit tight--especially a substantial amount is put down as a down payment *and* the buyer of said home intends to keep the home for at least five years.
In the interest of full disclosure: I'm a professional who makes several hundred dollars more net pay than your stated weekly amount. My monthly mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance) is just over $650.00. For me, buying a home made sense because a.) For the somewhat handy and fiscally responsible person who plans on living in the area long term, buying in Pittsburgh is often less expensive than renting a similar or lesser than nice/large housing b.) I lack any other debts outside of my mortgage. c.) I made sure that my general monthly expenses could be covered by one bi-weekly paycheck. The other check gets chucked into savings to be distributed accordingly (retirement fund, emergency fund, paying myself back any time I pull money out of savings, etc.)
Owning a house does change one's spending priorities (the international travel that I once did for fun is now limited to the North American continent, going out to eat is a special treat, etc.), but then again, when I was a single renter, I lived in much the same way so as to avoid having a roommate. :-)
In closing--if you live carefully, learn how to upgrade/repair things yourself (and have the wisdom to realize when some projects are beyond you and call in the pros!), and are willing to forgo certain niceties and unnecessary luxuries, you could live quite comfortably with a mortgage on your stated income.
The house is actually too big for me, I am feeling now. I am going to seriously consider selling it (it was appraised at $170K "as is"). 2K square feet is just too big. I would like something about $80-100K and the mortgage will be even less than where I'm at.
With some sweat equity I might be able to get upwards of $200K for the house, but I am not sure about how much time I will have on my hands and how much I would be able to do on my own.
"Selling" months are behind us at this point, and if nothing else I'd like to paint a few rooms and see what I can see...for when the "selling" months come back around.
How stable is your job? Is there any chance of being laid off or the job going away? I don't see much cusion if there is even a short hiddup in your income stream.
It was just an aside - about how I don't have any sort of financial obligations outside of, really, just the mortgage (and related bills) and my car insurance (and upkeep).
The house is actually too big for me, I am feeling now. I am going to seriously consider selling it (it was appraised at $170K "as is"). 2K square feet is just too big. I would like something about $80-100K and the mortgage will be even less than where I'm at.
With some sweat equity I might be able to get upwards of $200K for the house, but I am not sure about how much time I will have on my hands and how much I would be able to do on my own.
"Selling" months are behind us at this point, and if nothing else I'd like to paint a few rooms and see what I can see...for when the "selling" months come back around.
Based on all of your threads, your “sweat equity” will likely create a negative ROI.
If you have to buy roller frames, pans, trim brushes, liners, tape, drop cloths, etc... and then do a crap job?
Nah. Just clean the hell out of it, pay a professional to do it right, rent the extra rooms and move on.
There will be no closing costs since I'm buying out my siblings' two-thirds of a house. The down payment is going to be around $8K which will come out of my checking account.
There will be closing costs if you are taking out a mortgage and/or altering the title.
Many jurisdictions charge some sort of transfer tax.
The mortgage company will require you to provide title insurance.
You will need to put an amount in escrow for property taxes.
You may need (or choose) to pay points to reduce your interest rate.
The mortgage company will have a bunch ipof fees they charge.
The jurisdiction will likely charge a title filing fee.
What we know. $2k a month income. Your 401k is not touchable, so doesn't matter. $22k left for emergency fund. No debts.
Monthly debts and I'm being VERY conservative because I don't know your entire situation.
$750 mortgage
$350 groceries
$75 phone
$250 utilities
$250 Gas
$100 medical (co-pays)
$400 Entertainment ($100 a week)
$50 towards shoes/clothes, etc
$60 Car insurance
TOTAL: $2,285
That right there is OVER $2k, BUT what happens when you start dating someone and want to take them out for a nice dinner. That will up your entertainment budget. What happens if you get sick or hurt and need to go to the doctor or hospital and need tests. Now your medical bills are over budget. What about house repairs? If a fridge or stove goes out and you need a new one or your A/C needs fixing. What if your car needs new tires or you need to buy a new car?
Your income and savings is not sufficient. You either need to make more or you need a part time job. PERIOD!
Based on all of your threads, your “sweat equity” will likely create a negative ROI.
If you have to buy roller frames, pans, trim brushes, liners, tape, drop cloths, etc... and then do a crap job?
Honestly, why the personal attack? Where is this coming from? Did I argue with you or attack you in another thread?
Quote:
Originally Posted by CGab
NO, NOT ENOUGH!
What we know. $2k a month income. Your 401k is not touchable, so doesn't matter. $22k left for emergency fund. No debts.
Monthly debts and I'm being VERY conservative because I don't know your entire situation.
$750 mortgage
$350 groceries
$75 phone
$250 utilities
$250 Gas
$100 medical (co-pays)
$400 Entertainment ($100 a week)
$50 towards shoes/clothes, etc
$60 Car insurance
TOTAL: $2,285
That right there is OVER $2k, BUT what happens when you start dating someone and want to take them out for a nice dinner. That will up your entertainment budget. What happens if you get sick or hurt and need to go to the doctor or hospital and need tests. Now your medical bills are over budget. What about house repairs? If a fridge or stove goes out and you need a new one or your A/C needs fixing. What if your car needs new tires or you need to buy a new car?
Your income and savings is not sufficient. You either need to make more or you need a part time job. PERIOD!
I don't know where your numbers are coming from ($400/wk for "entertainment", really?), but I am very frugal and have run the numbers with my situation and doing so I will still be putting away around $500/mth even if I didn't rent out a room/level.
What we know. $2k a month income. Your 401k is not touchable, so doesn't matter. $22k left for emergency fund. No debts.
Monthly debts and I'm being VERY conservative because I don't know your entire situation.
$750 mortgage
$350 groceries
$75 phone
$250 utilities
$250 Gas
$100 medical (co-pays)
$400 Entertainment ($100 a week)
$50 towards shoes/clothes, etc
$60 Car insurance
TOTAL: $2,285
That right there is OVER $2k, BUT what happens when you start dating someone and want to take them out for a nice dinner. That will up your entertainment budget. What happens if you get sick or hurt and need to go to the doctor or hospital and need tests. Now your medical bills are over budget. What about house repairs? If a fridge or stove goes out and you need a new one or your A/C needs fixing. What if your car needs new tires or you need to buy a new car?
Your income and savings is not sufficient. You either need to make more or you need a part time job. PERIOD!
Although I might argue a bit with some of the details of your budget, you are correct that a $2k monthly takehome is pretty marginal.
Somewhere upthread OP said the house was about 2000 sf, which is larger than one person needs. He can bring his budget into balance by taking on a roommate and renting out a room or two. An additional $600+/month would help tremendously.
This is all dependent on being able to carry the house on $750/month. That number is key to this excercise, and given OP’s lack of financial literacy I question whether that is an accurate number.
What we know. $2k a month income. Your 401k is not touchable, so doesn't matter. $22k left for emergency fund. No debts.
Monthly debts and I'm being VERY conservative because I don't know your entire situation.
$750 mortgage
$350 groceries
$75 phone
$250 utilities
$250 Gas
$100 medical (co-pays)
$400 Entertainment ($100 a week)
$50 towards shoes/clothes, etc
$60 Car insurance
TOTAL: $2,285
That right there is OVER $2k, BUT what happens when you start dating someone and want to take them out for a nice dinner. That will up your entertainment budget. What happens if you get sick or hurt and need to go to the doctor or hospital and need tests. Now your medical bills are over budget. What about house repairs? If a fridge or stove goes out and you need a new one or your A/C needs fixing. What if your car needs new tires or you need to buy a new car?
Your income and savings is not sufficient. You either need to make more or you need a part time job. PERIOD!
Your budget is way too high for a single person. $350 in groceries? $400 in entertainment? $500 in utilities and gas? We're 5 and spend less than $600 in groceries, around $200 in entertainment, $100 for 4 phones, $150 gas.
I don't know where the OP is, but I think it's doable.
What we know. $2k a month income. Your 401k is not touchable, so doesn't matter. $22k left for emergency fund. No debts.
Monthly debts and I'm being VERY conservative because I don't know your entire situation.
$750 mortgage
$350 groceries
$75 phone
$250 utilities
$250 Gas
$100 medical (co-pays)
$400 Entertainment ($100 a week)
$50 towards shoes/clothes, etc
$60 Car insurance
TOTAL: $2,285
That right there is OVER $2k, BUT what happens when you start dating someone and want to take them out for a nice dinner. That will up your entertainment budget. What happens if you get sick or hurt and need to go to the doctor or hospital and need tests. Now your medical bills are over budget. What about house repairs? If a fridge or stove goes out and you need a new one or your A/C needs fixing. What if your car needs new tires or you need to buy a new car?
Your income and savings is not sufficient. You either need to make more or you need a part time job. PERIOD!
What single, rather frugal person spends four hundred dollars a month on entertainment (and on what)? I don't make *that* much more than the O.P. does; outside of utilities (which, when averaged out over the course of a year, are about spot-on), the numbers seem a bit on the high side. Erring a bit high is wise (I did this when I was running my own numbers when selling my last house and shopping for the one in which I currently live), but at the end of the day and even allowing for the unexpected and expected things that come with homeownership, renting was simply the more expensive overall.
True, life does have a way of happening (and it will whether he buys a home of not), but given the choice between continuing to rent at his age (late thirties) and purchasing a modest home, buying a home seems like the wiser of the two options--especially if he takes on a roommate.
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