I thought I'd lay it all out on the line. There isn't any word yet on Dh getting laid off, but given the climate in the company now, I want to prepare. Seems like it's only a matter of time.
Here is what we're brining in and sending out every month.
Income: $5496/month
Mortgage 1700
preschool 790
Car 220
Cable/phone/internet $157 (cut cable, new bill unknown, probably about $100)
Electricity 150
Gas 100
YWCA $80
Netflix $10
EF savings $300
529s $400
My freelance income is sporadic, and that income, which averages to about $1000 a month is generally used to pay extra to the mortgage and car loans, and fund the IRA and Roth IRAs.
Plan: budget of $250/ week for groceries, gas and entertainment/incidentals. Family of four, two little kids who eat a lot. (I'll try to stay closer to $200.)
Plan is to sock any extra into savings and to snowball the debts.
Any other suggestions?
Budget for potential layoff
June 9th, 2012 at 02:51 am
June 9th, 2012 at 05:01 am 1339214475
You could get by for a very long time and not eat very much into savings at that rate!
June 9th, 2012 at 07:38 am 1339223886
June 9th, 2012 at 01:07 pm 1339243653
Also, preschool at $790 a month is a huge expense for you. Is it absolutely essential if both you and hubs are home? Think of the money saved if you didn't have that expense.
June 9th, 2012 at 01:36 pm 1339245402
June 9th, 2012 at 02:58 pm 1339250284
The preschool bill doesn't start until September. The sticky bit is we pay this A. for the kids, because quality preschool is great for them, and B. so I can work and have a kid break.
We signed a contract in February, and there isn't really a way to withdraw. We'd still owe the school money. It'd be sticky. This will be the last year this expense will be so big. The oldes goes to (free!) kindergarten next fall, and the bill will fall to about $300/month for the youngest. That will be a relief.
I'm hoping we won't have to deal with a layoff, but I'd feel better having a plan already in force. I may suspend extra payments to the mortgage, but I would like to still try to pay off the car. It will save us one bill a month PLUS the extra we have to pay for full coverage car insurance.
As for electricity, it might be lower than $150, maybe around $100. I've barely had to run the air since we had our house insulated. Yay insulation!
We will also have to pay our quarterly water bill and car insurance for two cars sometime in early July, but those expenses are not regular, monthly bills and have therefore been excluded from my calculation.
June 9th, 2012 at 03:14 pm 1339251270
June 9th, 2012 at 04:39 pm 1339256373
I'd at least inquire with preschool about getting out of the contract. Maybe there would be scholarships or ability to pay the tuition over a longer period of time. Or if you had to pull the kids out, they might let you out of contract once they find kids to replace yours....epecially if the place has a waiting list. I'm not saying you need to get out of it, because I see the value when two people are working to find a job and make an income. It is just good to have the information.
June 10th, 2012 at 02:31 am 1339291894
June 10th, 2012 at 03:03 am 1339293801
June 10th, 2012 at 04:12 am 1339297920