Finances and reduction of income

[disneysteve]

1st one is our current income

2nd is down to 1 income

I'm not seeing anything. You may not be able to post links or files because you are new. Can you just post the info in a reply?

[Radiohead1]

Here is the budget

[Gailete]

Is the delta dental an insurance payment each month, or a payment for work done? Almost $1200 for dental insurance is hiway robbery unless someone in the family has some really bad teeth. Most dental insurances I've seen don't cover more than half of anything. Inspect it to see if you can cancel it, assuming this isn't a payment that will be done sometime. At times my dentist has a freebie Saturday where anyone that shows up gets basic work done or you can check if there is a dental school or a school for dental hygienists that can do some of the basics like cleaning for nearly free is not free. I know it isn't the preferred thing, but I went from age 14 until 25 without seeing a dentist as there was no insurance and no money to go. They couldn't believe how good my teeth were at that point. But my first husband had excellent insurance which I really miss since all my meds are doing a horrible number on my teeth and yet again have no dental insurance. Just some thoughts.

Don't know what Lexserve or TimeWarner refer to. Is KU your student loan?

[Radiohead1]

Delta dental is dental insurance.
KU is electric.
Time warner is internet
LexServ is trash service

[Gailete]

Delta dental is dental insurance.
KU is electric.
Time warner is internet
LexServ is trash service

AAs I mentioned above, I would cancel the Delta Dental, unless someone has a mouthful of rotting teeth. Encourage good brushing habits, make sure your water has Fluoride in it or give the kids Fluoride tablets to help prevent cavities, and limit sweets.

Electric all you can do is try to conserve as much as possible. Check with your electric company if they can do an audit of your house and sign up for any programs as I mentioned prior to this post.

There are so many programs out there for folks, with children, that you can take advantage of, you have been paying your taxes and so has your wife, you have done your part and now time to collect, whether via food stamps, the WIC program, etc. I would love to see your wife stay home and raise those kiddos for longer than a maternity leave will give her. There are things that she could do from home to earn money, and with your pay alone depending on your state and the COL in your area, there might be even more programs than I know about at this point.

One thing to do right away if you haven't already, is adjust your tax withholding as if the baby is already born. The IRS doesn't care if you have a baby at 11:59PM on Dec. 31, you can use it as a dependent ALL year. So see if doing that will get you more take home and your wife as well whichever way you choose to go. You will be a 5 member family. I don't know how the new tax law will effect you and your family so that is something you have to figure out.

As I was seeing yet again the commercial for H&R Block and their 'Refund Advance' program, they talk about getting a up to $3000 in tax refunds ahead of when your check will come. I hope that isn't you folks. That is the most expensive way to 'save' money. The IRS is using your money for free all year. A family getting $3K back has been overpaying their taxes $250/month, a $2K refund, $167/month, a $1K refund, $83/month. This may not be you guys, but sometimes seeing the numbers might help some others to get a kick on their bottom to give up this silly practice. If they seriously want that money as savings, have it go directly/automatically out of their paycheck into a savings vehicle that is hard to get at and tap. I can't imagine what getting a return even bigger would do if you can get it directly monthly instead of overpaying. As we are self-employed we have to guesstimate yearly what our taxes might be. It is tough to do. But folks on regular paychecks in the income level you are in without a lot of savings and investments throwing off taxable income need all their pay in their paychecks.

[Radiohead1]

The only refund we get is when we add up all of the medical bills we have had throughout the year and have a huge deduction.

I was thinking about recharacterizing my wife's $1300 in Roth contributions to increase our refund as well. Thoughts? I know that's a meager deduction.

[Radiohead1]

Also my daughter has $1k in dental work pending in march so we can't really cancel it right now or we would be looking at a $2.5k bill.

[disneysteve]

Almost $1200 for dental insurance is hiway robbery

I emphatically second this.

You are paying $1,186.68/year for dental insurance.
In comparison, I am paying $189.28/year for dental insurance.

Drop that first thing Monday morning. That's insane. There's no way you are getting anywhere near your money's worth from that policy.

[Radiohead1]

I emphatically second this.

You are paying $1,186.68/year for dental insurance.
In comparison, I am paying $189.28/year for dental insurance.

Drop that first thing Monday morning. That's insane. There's no way you are getting anywhere near your money's worth from that policy.

Which company are you paying that amount with? This policy covers 4 people including 2 children.

[disneysteve]

Which company are you paying that amount with? This policy covers 4 people including 2 children.

Horizon BC/BS of NJ. It covers my wife, daughter, and I.

Certainly don't cancel it right before a planned procedure but after that, I'd certainly be looking for much more affordable coverage.

[disneysteve]

I was at work when I posted earlier but I've had a chance to look over your budget more.

What is all the stuff highlighted in blue? I see that you zeroed most of it out if she stops working but I'm not sure why? Won't you still need car repairs, haircuts, pet stuff, etc.?

I also see that you dropped your Food cost by $200 if she stops working. Why is that?

How much is the car worth and how much do you owe on it?

How much do you owe on the credit card?

Unfortunately, the bottom line no matter how you run the numbers is that if you can't make ends meet with her at home, then she needs to continue working. If you can boost your income by 12K, you should do that regardless of whether or not she stops working. You need that extra money now to knock out your debt and be able to feed your savings.

[Gailete]

Ask the orthodontist if he will take payments. Any monthly payments of less than $98 puts you ahead of the game on the dental policy and HOW MUCH will that policy cover? I would just about bet at most, maybe $1K leaving you guys on the hook for the rest anyhow. As a mom that dealt with orthodontia, I can guarantee you that most kids, 1. won't die without braces and 2. don't really need them on a specified date or month. What will happen if she must wait a year when money might be a bit looser? We had to put off my son's braces for years and his teeth were described by his regular dentist as if someone had just thrown them in his mouth. But when push came to shove we had to wait to see if his undersized jaw would catch up in growth or they would have to do surgery. Well we waited, didn't have to have the surgery and now he has a nice smile. But putting if off isn't going to hurt unless she has eating and nutritional problems.

The next thing is, I guess I feel so strongly about your situation because in many ways it reflects my life as well. Squeezing pennies till they screamed. But your budget has left a few things out that you are forgetting about at this point. Will your wife be breastfeeding, or will you be using formula? Formula is expensive which is why I suggested the WIC program. They may not pay for all of it, but they will cover some. I nursed my kids as I had no money for formula. When my youngest was born, I had a hard time getting him to nurse. By 4 days in I was frantic as he wouldn't latch on and all I could see was buying formula that we didn't have the money for. Some very blessed nurse, helped calm me down and showed me a new way to hold him, he latched on and that was the end of that. He was 10# 7 oz. so he was a handful to hold at the beginning and he was my autistic kid who from day one was different in actions than his brother. The other thing that goes hand in hand with feeding is diapers. Unless you get about 3-4 dozen cotton diapers and some plastic pants, you are going to be in a world of expense buying diapers. Even without cloth diapers, diaper wipes (make your own), etc. your laundry costs are going to go up unless your baby is taking care to never spit up on you or itself. Mine were upchuck fountains. I think I used more diapers as burp rags than on their bottoms. You two have apparently gone through all this before, so it is old hat, but it isn't reflected in your budget. Unless she has done it already, you or your wife need to get on some frugal boards, especially those that deal with baby stuff, children's needs, saving on groceries, utility bills, etc. This needs to happen whether or not she quits your job. Your budget is super tight anything to loosen it up should help.

Take advantage of every offer that you can that is sent your way. Especially those frugal forums, applying for WIC, applying for children's health insurance through your state if you have that, food stamps, county supported day care, etc. There are so many things I wish I had known when I had my kids, but the internet hadn't arrived yet, so I went on what my mom had done. We moved from CA to PA by train when I was 2 months old. Another woman on the train who hadn't caught on to mom discretely nursing me under her sweater, thought she was starving me and offered to buy me milk! My mom also couldn’t have afforded formula and disposable diapers were a joke back 60+ years ago.

I got a notice from an electric company yesterday that if I switch suppliers, after 2 months I will get $50, and some other pluses along the way. Let me tell you, I will be taking them up on the offer at least temporarily. $50 is $50.

I use CVS as my pharmacy and you can sign up and every 10 prescriptions you fill you get $5 in bonus bucks to use on anything in the store, up to $50 worth a year. I always get the full $50. I also take advantage of shopping for certain groceries there. It is the only place that I have bought coffee for years. I buy cereal when it is on sale there for $1.99/box. Let me tell you that for years, I would have never bought any food other than a candy bar at a drugstore as I figured that the food on the shelves had been ‘collecting dust for years'. Not so. It is frequently rotated and empty shelves are restocked almost daily. I know that because I am at the store so often. I have a CVS card that they track my purchases and give me a bonus bucks at the end of each quarter. I learned all this about CVS from a blog from here. If you don't have a CVS, see what deals your drugstore has. Compare prices for your meds as needed to be sure you are getting it for the cheapest price each fill up. I know Rite Aid and Walgreens have giveaway programs as well. Make sure that every store you routinely shop at you have their loyalty card. My hubby has one for the hardware store and gets discounts. Grocery stores give the best deals to those who carry the cards.

Don’t be afraid to tell people what you might need in the way of baby things. I assume this is the end of babies for you possibly, so you don’t want to buy things like baby swings, walkers, play pens and I don’t know what is considered essential these days for kids (most is essential) but if you know someone is past a certain stage with baby things, see if you could have a loan and take exceptional care of any loans. I remember loaning out my favorite maternity top to get it back with paint spots on it! A church friend who must have been storing her stuff forever, gave me parts that made a bassinet, highchair, pram, and other assorted stuff that you could reconfigure into different pieces of baby equipment.

Sorry so long. But I know sometimes the panic of near so panic of not knowing how to pull something off, you tend to miss things that have obvious solutions. It is easier if I just tell you some solutions that you can use or not as the spirit moves you and that way you don’t have to think them up.

[Radiohead1]

I currently make $50k and got a job offer out of state for $57k. I am worried about the relocation costs and costs of prepping our house for sale because we only have $1k in savings (quasi following Dave Ramsey plan). Is this increase worth it to move 200 miles away?

[scfr]

I currently make $50k and got a job offer out of state for $57k. I am worried about the relocation costs and costs of prepping our house for sale because we only have $1k in savings (quasi following Dave Ramsey plan). Is this increase worth it to move 200 miles away?

What is the $57K? Cash pay only? What is the total compensation package for the job in the other state? In other words, what (if any) benefits are offered? Would you get medical insurance from the other job? (That could be a deal maker, right?) Any other benefits that you aren't getting now? Would you lose any benefits?

Where do you think your long-term prospects (for promotions, pay increases) are better? I know that this is impossible to know, but what is your educated guess?

What is the cost of living where you are now vs. what it would be if you relocated?

What impact do you think relocating would have on your quality of life? One good thing about moving only 200 miles is that it would still be feasible to occasionally visit family and friends who might live in your current location.

[Radiohead1]

What is the $57K? Cash pay only? What is the total compensation package for the job in the other state? In other words, what (if any) benefits are offered? Would you get medical insurance from the other job? (That could be a deal maker, right?) Any other benefits that you aren't getting now? Would you lose any benefits?

Where do you think your long-term prospects (for promotions, pay increases) are better? I know that this is impossible to know, but what is your educated guess?

What is the cost of living where you are now vs. what it would be if you relocated?

What impact do you think relocating would have on your quality of life? One good thing about moving only 200 miles is that it would still be feasible to occasionally visit family and friends who might live in your current location.

There is a $360 month health insurance stipend.

I don't think there is much opportunity for promotions at either place. I am the only employee at my current firm so there is no where to go. The prospective firm is small and has established personnel. Architecture doesn't present much opportunity for advance. After licensure you are either a partner or an architect. There is not much in between.

Cost of living is similar. Housing is more expensive at prospective job location.

We would have no family support. No one to watch our kids if something were to come up at minute.