I barely have money left over after paying bills?

Question

I barely have money left over after paying bills?
ok i make about 2200 a month. my fiancee makes around $800 a mth.she gets child support from her kids dad at 325 a month. the kids are 4 and 2. right now its so hard for me and my fiancee to budget money. part of me is wondering if the bills are too high or we just need to cut down on stuff. right now we have rent- 825. car payment- $360. car insurance- $226. cable- $75 $103- cell phone plan- 1400 minutes for 89.99. $10- text messaging both lines. $4.00- roadside assistance. $325 student loan- its in default. trying to get it out. gas for car-$400. yes about 100 a week. and lets not forget laundry and groceries. the reason my gas is so high is because the 4 year goes to school goes to school out of our district. he was already registered before we moved. also i live about 30 minutes from my job. and its a lot of stop and go traffic in philly.

Answer 1

Here are some ideas on perhaps cutting down some of those expenses:

1. you didnt mention this but if you all are eating out.....stop! that alone eats alot of your money

2. fix your lunches instead of eating out with co-workers

3. drop that $10 text messaging

4. if your cell phones are not under contract then consider a pre-paid (cricket is unlimited talking for $25 mth) or get 1 phone plan, add the extra phone for $9.99 and both of you talk to each other free....just limit your other calls

5. call around for cheaper insurance if possible....see if you can get a lower monthly rate from somewhere else

6. don't know how many bedrooms you have but cut down to a 2 bdrm because the kids are still young and can share a room

7. i hate to say this but lose that cable for a while....stick with basic/local if possible

8. as for your student loans....get them out of default and into deferment, you should qualify for hardship....so work on getting that done now before they garnish your check

these are just a few pointers to get you started

Answer 2

What you need to do is steam line your debt. Register the four year old in a school that is closer. You should do that when you move not drive them to where you used to live. The cell phone bill is way too much. You do not need to have text messaging. If you have more than basic cable you need to get rid of the extra. You would also have to cut down on things. Do you do your grocery shopping at the discount stores? I would do that if you do not. Why is your car insurance so high? I would shop around on that also. The road side assistance bill would probably be cheaper if you paid it by the year. You need to get a little money saved also. I would cut out anything that is unnecessary for now.

Answer 3

Here's a plan for you...


There is $3325 coming in every month.

Rent........................... $ 825
Car........................... $360
Insurance....................$226
Gas.............................$400
Cable..........................$103
Cell Phone..................$110
Roadside....................$4.00
Student Loan..............$325

Total $ 2353

Leftover..................1072.00

By the looks of that you should be able to make the loan payment and do just fine. You should also be saving money too...Maybe you forgot to include a bill..do you pay for water, electric, heating fuel?

If I were you, this would be my plan.

I would make a plan to only rent for a period of time and plan to purchase a small starter home. If you can pay $825 in rent, you can pay that for a house payment but you'll OWN something when it's all said and done. Start saving 200 a month for a down payment.
Cut back on things that are not necessities like the cell phone plan and the cable. You can find a cheaper plan out there (I pay 30 a month and if I call the phone co on occasion I pay 25) Cut back to a simple cable plan. Move the 4 year old to a school within the district. He'll be fine. Kids adjust easily. Shop around for cheaper car insurance OR sell the car and buy something with a much lower payment. If you can get 3000 or more out of your car, buy a used car and pay it off in cash. If the car has no payment you can get by with liability only insurance and your rate might drop to 80-100 a month. Get a car that is economical when it comes to gas and you can save 200 or more. Pay off the school loan with the extra money you save. There is interest on that loan and being in default will screw up your credit rating. Make a payment plan on paper and stick to it. Pay more than the minimum and get it paid off. When you finish paying the loan off, take the money you have been paying and add it to your monthly savings.

This is what my plan looks like.

Rent................$825
Car..................$0
Insurance.......$100
Cable..............$25
Cell Phone.....$30
Loan...............$400
Gas.................$200

My plan works out to $1580

That leaves 1745 a month for food and other expenses for the kids. You could easily save 1000 a month for one year and have $12,000 for a down payment on a house this time next year! What a nice Christmas gift for you and your family.

Hope that helps :)

Answer 4

Cut out cable. I'd consider that a luxury item and it's obviously not something you can afford right now. If you re-register the 4 year old for school in the district where you now live, will that help cut down on the gas bill at all? If so, do it. Also pay attention to your other driving habits and see if you're making unnecessary trips or driving so far out of the way to save money on groceries that you're spending the savings plus more on gas to get there. We live in Southern California and both my boyfriend and I have a one-way commute of about 45 minutes to an hour and our total gas bill for the month is around $250, which includes a monthly drive to his parents' house about 2 hours away.

Do you actually use all of your cell phone minutes and the text messaging? Take a look at what you're actually using each month and consider a smaller plan. If you have a home phone (land line) in addition to the cell phones, GET RID OF IT!!

Plus, remember that we're fast approaching the new year, so it might be a good time for one or both of you to start looking for a new job that would pay more. You might also take a realistic look at how much (if any) you're spending on what I call entertainment items - dinner out, DVDS for you and/or the kids, coffee drinks, etc. Figure out your average monthly income and then factor in all of your average monthly expenses that you HAVE to pay. See where you are and then slowly add in cable, internet, dinner out once a month...my guess is that you'll either discover there's more there then you thought and aren't paying attention to where it's all going or you'll find that there's no way you can meet expenses on your current income.

Good luck!

Answer 5

First of all, just because the 4 year old was registered in one school doesn't mean you couldn't have had him transfered to the district you live in. Why does your cell phone plan need text messaging? I find that funny because my cell phone plan gives me free texting and I have never used it and have had the same plan for over two years. I'm wondering about car payment and insurance...what kind of car do you have that wold bee $226 a month for insurance. Cable television...cut back, learn to read or to actually hold a conversation. I don't understand you and your fiance bring home more than I do...Have pretty much the same expenses, I live in an area where the cost of living is higher and I'm not whining about not being able to make ends meet...My daughter gets child support but that's it. All there is is my income and her child support...if it's not obvious you NEED to cut back then you aren't looking at things realistically.

Answer 6

You bring in a lot of money... the problem is you spend it all. Do you really need cable and internet? Roadside assistance is a waste of money. You may think it's only $4 but it's the little things that add up fast. Do you eat out often? Pack your lunch for work and eat dinner at home... that will save you a lot of money. Do you drive a gas efficient car? I traded in my SUV for a Honda and love it. I can fill my tank with $25. You need to write down everything you spend money on for one month and then agree to make changes. Do you have a college savings or personal savings? If not, you need to seriously make some financial decisions that will benefit your family.

Answer 7

Once that car is paid off- KEEP IT. Don't finance another car, drive it till the wheels fall off. Shop around for cheaper insurance- what your paying is really high, even for Philly. Register the kid in the local school- if you live in the city it's all the same school district anyway. Now is a good time to change, it's midway through the year.

Answer 8

Stepping back from the details, the simple answer is to make more money and/or spend less money.

Sounds like you are on the right track on planning the household budget. Since you are in Philly, is mass transit a better choice over driving? If you have credit cards, I would rip them up except for one in case of emergency and pay off the balances. Can you or your fiancee work more hours to make more money? How much longer do you have to pay off the car?

Good luck.

Answer 9

Welcome to the real world. It is hard making ends meet and even harder when you have kids. Before you two became one household, you really should have talked about real life. Like her getting a job and asking family to watch her kids while you two work to make ends meet. Or her applying for daycare assistance.

This is a snapshot of what your life will be together. The big picture is not much better as you two will probably have another kid eventually and need more money.

You need a phone for emergencies and work but the text messaging is a luxury and you should get a basic no frills plan.

You do not need cable. People live fine without it. She doesn't work, she can entertain HER children without cable TV. ANd she has housework and children to keep her busy. If she gets bored, she can read abook she gets from the public library.

Reality is, she is going to have to work. If you can't afford daycare, she can work when you are home to watch the kids.

Answer 10

well it seems like a lot of bills for you 2
you should cut down on some bills that you don't really need
like cable,or or text messenges on ur cellphone,or stuff like that
i mean it's cool to have cable and all the cool stuff but sometimes you have to realize how hard is to have and cut it down for a wild
i mean i would do it
i was having problems like that not so long ago and i had to make desitions about it and here i am having lots of bills but not like before that i had to use credit card to pay rent or other bills and i was just adding up more on my credit line
and yeah i don't have cable and i get very bored
but i know that i just can't aford it