DFD

Got it so I got my answer. Overall consensus is pretty much, no.

My vote echos the general consensus. Nobody here is poor, IMO

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 11:26 am I have actually reached that point in my life where some of my peers are starting to have health problems and a couple died last year. So I've glanced at some of my purchases and wonder if I really needed to add that to the estate sale. I am going to try and live life a lot cleaner this year.

well stated as usual my dude.

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 11:54 am One thing I realized is how much we spend on restaurants... I think we will cut that back as spending a midwest mortgage on take out food is

Eh, you have to ENJOY life too man, but personally limiting eating out is good for both your waistline and your bottom line. I like to limit nice >100 dollar nights out to once a month and limit other restaurant trips to once a week. We are not militant about it by any means, just generally.

I guess the real thing is how is Max's and his life partner moving to part time going to fuck up his spread sheets.

Yea we don't eat at fancy places more than 2-3 times a year... but take out is like $50-70 for 2 after tax and MANDATORY tip nowadays. So that adds up super fast.

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:22 pm Yea we don't eat at fancy places more than 2-3 times a year... but take out is like $50-70 for 2 after tax and MANDATORY tip nowadays. So that adds up super fast.

indeed it is, that shit will catch up to you FAST AF FR.

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:22 pm Yea we don't eat at fancy places more than 2-3 times a year... but take out is like $50-70 for 2 after tax and MANDATORY tip nowadays. So that adds up super fast.

Tipping for counter service or takeout bothers me but now that everyone has moved to the stupid tablets where your choices are like 20% minimum I do it too, otherwise you look like a

Local prices at places we go to are up 40-100% since we moved in 22 months ago. Mortgage is up about 20-25% due to insurance and tax increases. Income is up... 3%?

Wife has an extra 2 weeks of vacation for this calendar year only (total of 5 for this year) and they will be spent cleaning/organizing/painting another room in the house and doing yardwork, because the budget for both vacation and paying other people to do anything is... zero.

Yea I’m budgeting my pay to go down 30-40% this year so all this “raise” talk to me is

Just hoping to keep my job and health insurance

We can survive a ~50% income cut without changing anything besides savings, but I am worried that we will see a larger cut since only one of us has a "real" job. Technically we can stay here on a pair of local minimum wage jobs if it comes down to that.

Oddly, health insurance isn't something that I care about much right now. They don't cover any of my shit anyway.

Valkyrie wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:14 pm We can survive a ~50% income cut without changing anything besides savings, but I am worried that we will see a larger cut since only one of us has a "real" job. Technically we can stay here on a pair of local minimum wage jobs if it comes down to that.

Oddly, health insurance isn't something that I care about much right now. They don't cover any of my shit anyway.

That’s a lot into savings. Earn it and burn it, Val. No sense in earning that much if it’s just going to savings.

The goal is to be done with the grind and spend time on things we actually care about while we are hopefully still physically able to do so... or to pay for healthcare since we both have potentially major health issues which could at any time render us unable to work AND stuck with huge bills.

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 11:54 am

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 11:26 am

Yeah the real question here is whether the budget guy/spreadsheet guy/bean counter/LIFE IS DEPRECIATION guy here, Marshal Zhukov, is really gaining anything by a budget. Because errbody pulls their weight at Chez Zhukov, the AZN ain't eating Bon Bon's and driving a Range Rover to buy Gucci bags, she's driving her BEATR Acura to her techbro manager jerb and pulling it. If putting her on a budget is like putting her in the stockade and then she divorces you, was the budget effective?

On a personal note I spent way too much money last year on.........shit. I have actually reached that point in my life where some of my peers are starting to have health problems and a couple died last year. So I've glanced at some of my purchases and wonder if I really needed to add that to the estate sale. I am going to try and live life a lot cleaner this year.

I look at life through so to me it is important. Budgets are important. They got me where I am. And I am trying to stay here.

If say I set target for ourselves and then blow past it (which is happening). It warrants a lifestyle change/adjustment. One thing I realized is how much we spend on restaurants... I think we will cut that back as spending a midwest mortgage on take out food is

There is a debate on future cars/houses etc. How the F do you fit that into life without having a budget? do you know how much your car/house etc is TRULY costing you. Or do you wake up one say and say... omg my savings is negative every month how can that be?! For example... I have a line item for house repair... $200 a month, does it get hit every month? no... but it sure as hell does over the course of the year. And this way I don't have a "surprise furnace repair" guess what... I budgeted for it.

That's the idea... I get it the average american loves to play four square at the dealer and shop payments but that's not how I or most of you here operate so I was trying to align and see if y'all are doing budgets at home.

Fun Fact: Our 1900 square foot desert shitbox costs $2500/month in taxes, insurance, HOA, utilities and maintenance services. That's w/o mortgage and w/o a single nickel in repairs. Granted I have stupid Direct TV that needs renegotiated or ditched. Pretty sorry number.

Yea no kidding. Home ownership is wild … boom or bust. One can make the biggest financial mistake of a lifetime by buying the wrong house or at the wrong time

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 11:54 am There is a debate on future cars/houses etc. How the F do you fit that into life without having a budget? do you know how much your car/house etc is TRULY costing you. Or do you wake up one say and say... omg my savings is negative every month how can that be?! For example... I have a line item for house repair... $200 a month, does it get hit every month? no... but it sure as hell does over the course of the year. And this way I don't have a "surprise furnace repair" guess what... I budgeted for it.

In terms of a car, I have $500/month ingrained in my head. So, when I had a car payment, even though it was $3xx, I was tossing $500 at it. Now that the GTI is paid off, I stuff $500/month into a high yield savings account. That way, when it comes time to replace the GTI, I'm going to have a healthy down payment, if not the ability to just pay cash for the thing. That is, unless I get a 0% loan and then have more of an incentive to let the money sit in the bank and chip away at the principle each month. So, when I say "budget," I mean we don't sit down each month and crunch numbers or keep a spreadsheet or any of that nonsense. I do have numbers in my head.

For fun car stuff, if I want to make a bigger purchase, I'll utilize PayPal Credit as places like Summit Racing will do 0% for 12 months for things over $300, or eBay will sometimes do 0% for 24 months for purchases over $500. My projects typically get financed through this method of grouping a bunch of stuff together for a large purchase and paying it off before the 0% promotion expires.

As for unexpected things, we've had them pop up. The HVAC system took a shit one year, the sump pump failed and flooded the basement another year. It just goes back to the 50/50 split. The new HVAC system cost us $7000, so I covered $3500 and she covered $3500. We both just have good habits of keeping a healthy savings account, so the unexpected stuff hasn't put us in a bad spot.

We have started to discuss looking at a new house, but that is going to take some convincing on my end. We currently have a 15 year mortgage at 2.5%. I really can't fathom ditching that for something at 2x the interest rate with the way prices are now.

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:06 pm

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 11:54 am

I look at life through so to me it is important. Budgets are important. They got me where I am. And I am trying to stay here.

If say I set target for ourselves and then blow past it (which is happening). It warrants a lifestyle change/adjustment. One thing I realized is how much we spend on restaurants... I think we will cut that back as spending a midwest mortgage on take out food is

There is a debate on future cars/houses etc. How the F do you fit that into life without having a budget? do you know how much your car/house etc is TRULY costing you. Or do you wake up one say and say... omg my savings is negative every month how can that be?! For example... I have a line item for house repair... $200 a month, does it get hit every month? no... but it sure as hell does over the course of the year. And this way I don't have a "surprise furnace repair" guess what... I budgeted for it.

That's the idea... I get it the average american loves to play four square at the dealer and shop payments but that's not how I or most of you here operate so I was trying to align and see if y'all are doing budgets at home.

Fun Fact: Our 1900 square foot desert shitbox costs $2500/month in taxes, insurance, HOA, utilities and maintenance services. That's w/o mortgage and w/o a single nickel in repairs. Granted I have stupid Direct TV that needs renegotiated or ditched. Pretty sorry number.

that is wild.

We are at about the same but with a mortgage. Payment is $2200 on the 15 year including insurance/taxes, utilities around $200 if you include streaming services, but typically under. I mean the house ain't really all that but apparently we're ing it right. Also only owe like $250K and this piece is somehow worth a half mill.

No other expenses have come up with it other than wants, I'm sure eventually some things will break as it's 50 years old.

D Griff wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:07 pm

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:06 pm

Fun Fact: Our 1900 square foot desert shitbox costs $2500/month in taxes, insurance, HOA, utilities and maintenance services. That's w/o mortgage and w/o a single nickel in repairs. Granted I have stupid Direct TV that needs renegotiated or ditched. Pretty sorry number.

that is wild.

We are at about the same but with a mortgage. Payment is $2200 on the 15 year including insurance/taxes, utilities around $200 if you include streaming services, but typically under. I mean the house ain't really all that but apparently we're ing it right. Also only owe like $250K and this piece is somehow worth a half mill.

No other expenses have come up with it other than wants, I'm sure eventually some things will break as it's 50 years old.

Taxes $333
Electricity $620
Water, Gas $200
Yard Guy $200
Pool Guy $130
Cable& Internet $230
HOA $170
The rest is homeowner's insurance, earthquake insurance, special yard charges (no, I'm not trimming palm trees) and the like.

Yes I could mow my own yard and maintain my own pool, but nahgonnahappen 5 months of flaming orb time, plus I'm not giving up my Saturday to do chump work, already use that time on cars.

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:49 pm

D Griff wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:07 pm

that is wild.

We are at about the same but with a mortgage. Payment is $2200 on the 15 year including insurance/taxes, utilities around $200 if you include streaming services, but typically under. I mean the house ain't really all that but apparently we're ing it right. Also only owe like $250K and this piece is somehow worth a half mill.

No other expenses have come up with it other than wants, I'm sure eventually some things will break as it's 50 years old.

Taxes $333
Electricity $620
Water, Gas $200
Yard Guy $200
Pool Guy $130
Cable& Internet $230
HOA $170
The rest is homeowner's insurance, earthquake insurance, special yard charges (no, I'm not trimming palm trees) and the like.

Yes I could mow my own yard and maintain my own pool, but nahgonnahappen 5 months of flaming orb time, plus I'm not giving up my Saturday to do chump work, already use that time on cars.

Electricity for a 2010 Charlotte mortgage…

D Griff wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:32 pm

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:49 pm

Taxes $333
Electricity $620
Water, Gas $200
Yard Guy $200
Pool Guy $130
Cable& Internet $230
HOA $170
The rest is homeowner's insurance, earthquake insurance, special yard charges (no, I'm not trimming palm trees) and the like.

Yes I could mow my own yard and maintain my own pool, but nahgonnahappen 5 months of flaming orb time, plus I'm not giving up my Saturday to do chump work, already use that time on cars.

Electricity for a 2010 Charlotte mortgage…

Yeah, that's
Ours is barely over $100-$120/month.

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:49 pm

D Griff wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:07 pm

that is wild.

We are at about the same but with a mortgage. Payment is $2200 on the 15 year including insurance/taxes, utilities around $200 if you include streaming services, but typically under. I mean the house ain't really all that but apparently we're ing it right. Also only owe like $250K and this piece is somehow worth a half mill.

No other expenses have come up with it other than wants, I'm sure eventually some things will break as it's 50 years old.

Taxes $333
Electricity $620
Water, Gas $200
Yard Guy $200
Pool Guy $130
Cable& Internet $230
HOA $170
The rest is homeowner's insurance, earthquake insurance, special yard charges (no, I'm not trimming palm trees) and the like.

Yes I could mow my own yard and maintain my own pool, but nahgonnahappen 5 months of flaming orb time, plus I'm not giving up my Saturday to do chump work, already use that time on cars.

Yo dog, are you running a weed greenhouse ? $630 in electricity?

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:21 pm

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:49 pm

Taxes $333
Electricity $620
Water, Gas $200
Yard Guy $200
Pool Guy $130
Cable& Internet $230
HOA $170
The rest is homeowner's insurance, earthquake insurance, special yard charges (no, I'm not trimming palm trees) and the like.

Yes I could mow my own yard and maintain my own pool, but nahgonnahappen 5 months of flaming orb time, plus I'm not giving up my Saturday to do chump work, already use that time on cars.

Yo dog, are you running a weed greenhouse ? $630 in electricity?

The sad thing is, having lived the desert lyfe, his thermostat probably isn’t even set crazy low.. I’d guess mid to high 70s? But when it’s 120F during the day and 90+F at night, your AC is working double time all the time.

SAWCE wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:37 am

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:21 pm
Yo dog, are you running a weed greenhouse ? $630 in electricity?

The sad thing is, having lived the desert lyfe, his thermostat probably isn’t even set crazy low.. I’d guess mid to high 70s? But when it’s 120F during the day and 90+F at night, your AC is working double time all the time.

It makes sense. The house I rented in Miami had a pool and it was hot AF and our power bills were insane there as well. This house is very shaded in the summer and our electricity is actually less then than winter, even though winters here are quite mild.

D Griff wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:32 pm

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:49 pm

Taxes $333
Electricity $620
Water, Gas $200
Yard Guy $200
Pool Guy $130
Cable& Internet $230
HOA $170
The rest is homeowner's insurance, earthquake insurance, special yard charges (no, I'm not trimming palm trees) and the like.

Yes I could mow my own yard and maintain my own pool, but nahgonnahappen 5 months of flaming orb time, plus I'm not giving up my Saturday to do chump work, already use that time on cars.

Electricity for a 2010 Charlotte mortgage…

Yeah its the worst part.

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:21 pm

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:49 pm

Taxes $333
Electricity $620
Water, Gas $200
Yard Guy $200
Pool Guy $130
Cable& Internet $230
HOA $170
The rest is homeowner's insurance, earthquake insurance, special yard charges (no, I'm not trimming palm trees) and the like.

Yes I could mow my own yard and maintain my own pool, but nahgonnahappen 5 months of flaming orb time, plus I'm not giving up my Saturday to do chump work, already use that time on cars.

Yo dog, are you running a weed greenhouse ? $630 in electricity?

That is the flat monthly rate they send out....which mostly averages out. Obvi things are low now. Thing just keeps going up and up. Should have put on solar 5 years ago.

SAWCE wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:37 am

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:21 pm
Yo dog, are you running a weed greenhouse ? $630 in electricity?

The sad thing is, having lived the desert lyfe, his thermostat probably isn’t even set crazy low.. I’d guess mid to high 70s? But when it’s 120F during the day and 90+F at night, your AC is working double time all the time.

When we're here at night in June-August, 72-73 at night, obviously we turn it up during the day when we are gone.........but not too far or you can't make it back during the worst times. Other factor is owning a pool......even with an efficient variable flow pump I'm sure that's at least $150 a month.

Desertbreh wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 9:29 am

max225 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:21 pm
Yo dog, are you running a weed greenhouse ? $630 in electricity?

That is the flat monthly rate they send out....which mostly averages out. Obvi things are low now. Thing just keeps going up and up. Should have put on solar 5 years ago.

Other factor besides heat is the pool pump.