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I'm in Cincinnati too, but I feel we have 7 months ( April to October ) that are good for outdoor activities, with 5 months ( November to March ) which are not good to be outdoors. I just visited Florida this week and the weather was outstanding. I've also visited Florida in June and the heat and humidity are just unbearable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cincyreds45212
I'm in Cincinnati, too and I agree with you 100%. We have five months a year when I can be outside and seven months a year that are completely horrible - gray, dreary, and cold. We had two snow days last week and right now it's 27 degrees and snowing again. I'd love to see the sun again and be warm. I figure when I move to Florida I'll gain seven months.
if you think June is bad, you'll never get thru August
Quote:
Originally Posted by jkratze1
I'm in Cincinnati too, but I feel we have 7 months ( April to October ) that are good for outdoor activities, with 5 months ( November to March ) which are not good to be outdoors. I just visited Florida this week and the weather was outstanding. I've also visited Florida in June and the heat and humidity are just unbearable.
You're better off renting. It really gives you some time to get settled and learn the areas. Plus, if you need to live on one salary its not too bad. We are still renting (almost 2 years now) and its not ideal, but we're grateful. Check out the Bradenton Yacht Club- they were very reasonable, and beautiful! Gene witt and Willis are both A schools (I used to work for Manatee county). The childcare thing is another story. Really look at your finances when you get here--make sure you aren't working just to pay for childcare, that would be insane. There are hiring freezes right now in the school districts, otherwise Id say a job as an aide or other support member would be ideal. Not great pay but good benefits and convenience for the little ones. Also, when looking at homes, keep in mind- not all gated and deed restricted are CDD there's a difference. Im sure you know, but purchase over '96 to maintain GOOD insurance. Companies out here will drop you like a hotcake if you buy an older home- they aren't up to current hurricane standards..
i am a real budget queen, try to stay within the means but there is never any extra!!! my husband and i would love to know what an average electric bill and just the average household cost is to have an idea of a month compared to what were doing here. but i realize thats imposible because it varys for everyone. we are on a budget now of 1200 a week! i save for all the taxes and insurance for the year, i put it away every week to have it when it comes time to pay it. i have an annual and a monthy checking acct. its getting real hard to survive on my anal way of budgeting.theres no extras! between oil and gas prices!!! i ve canceled all fun and extras. i am very lucky to have my inlaws help me with the little one,(still give them money but not like a daycare) i pray they are coming with us and we can find a home with an inlaw. that will be ideal for the situation. i would never work just to have to give it to child care, your right that s insane.
i just know i cant wait to get to florida on the 5th and see whats there.
thanx for the info!!
you have a budget of 4,800/mo and you can't survive?
I know that's including your annual taxes and ins. and that is doing it the right way but still Even when we've had a 2 br. apt. and run our own w/d, we never had an electric bill of more than $125. That's in August in Tampa with the a/c on all the time. TECO elect. I think Progress is a bit less. Our last bill in St Pete was $65. We just got a new a/c unit but I don't think it's a high efficiency rated one. The complex doesn't care how it spends OUR money The apt is the same size and gets no Sun, good in Summer, a bit cool in winter. We're actually running some heat today. You won't have to worry about budgeting for winter heating and you can get an energy audit once you find a place. That'll tell you if you can save some money by making some improvements. The energy companies do them free. Your gas prices aren't going to be better here because the price is over $3/gal and you pretty much have to drive everywhere. The fact is that you make a pretty good income but a lot of people make less and everyone under the, I'd guess 75K mark is "struggling." Since we live on about a fourth of that I'd say there's some wiggle room for those folks but it takes a drastic change in lifestyle. For those of us on the bottom rung and who can't increase our incomes due to age or disability, the next step DOWN is the street. Still, how does a family of 3 spend 1200 a WEEK when they cut out extras???
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdzup3
i am a real budget queen, try to stay within the means but there is never any extra!!! my husband and i would love to know what an average electric bill and just the average household cost is to have an idea of a month compared to what were doing here. but i realize thats imposible because it varys for everyone. we are on a budget now of 1200 a week! i save for all the taxes and insurance for the year, i put it away every week to have it when it comes time to pay it. i have an annual and a monthy checking acct. its getting real hard to survive on my anal way of budgeting.theres no extras! between oil and gas prices!!! i ve canceled all fun and extras. i am very lucky to have my inlaws help me with the little one,(still give them money but not like a daycare) i pray they are coming with us and we can find a home with an inlaw. that will be ideal for the situation. i would never work just to have to give it to child care, your right that s insane.
i just know i cant wait to get to florida on the 5th and see whats there.
thanx for the info!!
I will be moving to Safety Harbor in 3 weeks with my wife and 2 boys ages 6 and 3.
The weather and economy in Cleveland just sucks. We figure it this way...It's better to be poor and warm than poor and cold! LOL
Seriously...Our boys bounce off the walls all winter from October through April. The winter temperatures here hover on both sides of freezing. The snow usually stays on the ground for a few days then it melts and the ground turns to mud. It doesn't snow enough to really get involved in winter type activities and it takes forever for the ground to dry out to be involved with outdoor activities.
The costs of heating a home here have increased 50% in the past 2 years. We live bundled up in our homes for 6 months a year!
Ohio has lost 200,000 jobs since the year 2000. Don't tell me about how bad it is in Tampa!
Salaries in Ohio have plummeted in the past few years. We are no different than the Tampa area in one respect, the growth industry in Ohio seems to be in low paying retail jobs!
I will be moving to Safety Harbor in 3 weeks with my wife and 2 boys ages 6 and 3.
The weather and economy in Cleveland just sucks. We figure it this way...It's better to be poor and warm than poor and cold! LOL
Seriously...Our boys bounce off the walls all winter from October through April. The winter temperatures here hover on both sides of freezing. The snow usually stays on the ground for a few days then it melts and the ground turns to mud. It doesn't snow enough to really get involved in winter type activities and it takes forever for the ground to dry out to be involved with outdoor activities.
The costs of heating a home here have increased 50% in the past 2 years. We live bundled up in our homes for 6 months a year!
Ohio has lost 200,000 jobs since the year 2000. Don't tell me about how bad it is in Tampa!
Salaries in Ohio have plummeted in the past few years. We are no different than the Tampa area in one respect, the growth industry in Ohio seems to be in low paying retail jobs!
I know that's including your annual taxes and ins. and that is doing it the right way but still Even when we've had a 2 br. apt. and run our own w/d, we never had an electric bill of more than $125. That's in August in Tampa with the a/c on all the time. TECO elect. I think Progress is a bit less. Our last bill in St Pete was $65. We just got a new a/c unit but I don't think it's a high efficiency rated one. The complex doesn't care how it spends OUR money The apt is the same size and gets no Sun, good in Summer, a bit cool in winter. We're actually running some heat today. You won't have to worry about budgeting for winter heating and you can get an energy audit once you find a place. That'll tell you if you can save some money by making some improvements. The energy companies do them free. Your gas prices aren't going to be better here because the price is over $3/gal and you pretty much have to drive everywhere. The fact is that you make a pretty good income but a lot of people make less and everyone under the, I'd guess 75K mark is "struggling." Since we live on about a fourth of that I'd say there's some wiggle room for those folks but it takes a drastic change in lifestyle. For those of us on the bottom rung and who can't increase our incomes due to age or disability, the next step DOWN is the street. Still, how does a family of 3 spend 1200 a WEEK when they cut out extras???
thats NOT how much i make thats what our expenses are. $1200 wk.
i cant imagine not budgeting the way i do.saveing for yearly expenses, most people just wing it.
thats prob why it seems so much. but we dont bring that home a week usually, i am scraping as much and then trying to cut things down. such as food. im learning how to be a thrifty food shopper. i have 2 little girls that eat lots.
our electric is set up on a budget and its 189.00 every month. then at the end of the year i usually owe and then it will go up. we have a raised ranch and try to be very conservetive.
our oil last year was 2700. this year... im sure it will be much higher and i dont have that saved like usuall. just having bits at a time delivered. 3.30 gal. then we have a pellet stove and that runs us about 500. so to keep warm its $$$$.
we used to rent netflix , i stopped and our newspaper too. little things add up and we really dont need them. we never go out and eat except the occasional pizza when i dont want to cook.
really we do nothing except for my daughters karate.
so it is alot to live here i guess
but you just saved 3200/yr because you won't have the fuel oil or pellets.
I know what a raised ranch is but anything with a large roof area is going to have a high heating/cooling cost associated with it.
Uh Oh, MS moment here. Did you say you're in Ohio? I don't know how food prices are where you are but they're pretty high here but no sales tax. You can check the Publix circular online or we've found Sweet Bay to be a much better value and great customer service. We don't use much prepared or packaged food. That is the way to save and if you can go to the Open Air Market on Sat. they say you can do well on fresh stuff. But please don't scrimp on food. Keep learning how to eat nutritiously on the cheap. It can be done. We keep kosher so that's expensive but I found a fish market that sells fresh tuna chunks for around $3-4/lb. A pound of fish w/o bones is a lot of nutrition. I use it for stew and have a dozen or 2 ways to do it.
I do want to say that if some of us didn't wing it we wouldn't eat or have gas to get to work. There just isn't enough income at any one time but you are so right to do that if you can. Don't give up the pizza. .You need a little "splurge" once and a while but do learn to cook well and start to enjoy it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdzup3
thats NOT how much i make thats what our expenses are. $1200 wk.
i cant imagine not budgeting the way i do.saveing for yearly expenses, most people just wing it.
thats prob why it seems so much. but we dont bring that home a week usually, i am scraping as much and then trying to cut things down. such as food. im learning how to be a thrifty food shopper. i have 2 little girls that eat lots.
our electric is set up on a budget and its 189.00 every month. then at the end of the year i usually owe and then it will go up. we have a raised ranch and try to be very conservetive.
our oil last year was 2700. this year... im sure it will be much higher and i dont have that saved like usuall. just having bits at a time delivered. 3.30 gal. then we have a pellet stove and that runs us about 500. so to keep warm its $$$$.
we used to rent netflix , i stopped and our newspaper too. little things add up and we really dont need them. we never go out and eat except the occasional pizza when i dont want to cook.
really we do nothing except for my daughters karate.
so it is alot to live here i guess
You will have A/C bills for at least 9 mos out of the year. Depending on the size and effeciency of the house would run you anywhere from $200-300 a month, maybe a little more, if you don't keep your thermostat at 72, could be less but with a family of 4 that would be close. The electric co has a plan where they avg out your bill for a year, if that would work for you. Water bill would be $60 - 100 depending on if you have a pool, do a lot of laundry etc.
There is a also a food network where you can buy quality food for half price. No income limit. If you want more info I can give you the website.
Hope this helps..
Last edited by Keeper; 02-28-2008 at 05:03 PM..
Reason: added
You will have A/C bills for at least 9 mos out of the year. Depending on the size and effeciency of the house would run you anywhere from $200-300 a month, maybe a little more, if you don't keep your thermostat at 72, could be less but with a family of 4 that would be close. The electric co has a plan where they avg out your bill for a year, if that would work for you. Water bill would be $60 - 100 depending on if you have a pool, do a lot of laundry etc.
There is a also a food network where you can buy quality food for half price. No income limit. If you want more info I can give you the website.
Hope this helps..
That would be great! thanx. i love anything to help keep the cost down to make life easier and more enjoyable.
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Oy!
i am very lucky to have my inlaws help me with the little one,(still give them money but not like a daycare) i pray they are coming with us and we can find a home with an inlaw. that will be ideal for the situation. i would never work just to have to give it to child care, your right that s insane. 
you have a budget of 4,800/mo and you can't survive?
Even when we've had a 2 br. apt. and run our own w/d, we never had an electric bill of more than $125. That's in August in Tampa with the a/c on all the time. TECO elect. I think Progress is a bit less. Our last bill in St Pete was $65. We just got a new a/c unit but I don't think it's a high efficiency rated one. The complex doesn't care how it spends OUR money
don't forget
