Quote:
Originally Posted by irmanator
I get 299 after taxes, fiance gets 206 after taxes.
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Just to be clear, that is your weekly take-home, right? That comes out to just $26,260/year that you are living on for a family of 5.
The 2007 HHS poverty level for a family of 5 is $24,130, so you are over that, but not by much. Do you receive any type of public assistance? If not, have you checked if you qualify for any aid?
You list expenses of just $64 less every 4 weeks than your income. That is a razor thin budget. Do you have any savings or emergency fund? With 5 people, a home and 2 cars, unexpected things are bound to arise. How much longer do you have on each of the car loans? Certainly, paying off one or both will greatly help your situation.
I think it is great that you aren't including OT pay in your budget and directing it toward bills, but only if you have a good EF in place. If not, I'd start using that OT money to fund an EF of at least a couple thousand dollars.
Overall, it looks like you are managing well on what you have to work with, and still putting 4% away for retirement. Congrats! As I said, paying off a debt or two and you'll get some much needed breathing room.