Layout:
Home > Comments got me thinking...

Comments got me thinking...

February 4th, 2006 at 12:59 am

I was asked about my monthly payments for rent, utilities, phone, etc. as I did not have them listed on my budget. We are extremely fortunate to have a very cheap, compatible living situation in staying with my parents. We like to be here, they want us to be here...and we are saving a ton of money to boot. In looking over my expenses for last month, I am wondering where I would fit in a housing payment if I needed one. On a good month, we only have several hundred left (although since we have a good emergency fund already established, we pay every bit we can toward student loan and car debt, meaning there usually is nothing left anyway after we pay loans). I guess if we had a housing payment, we would not have made nearly as much headway in other areas. It really makes we wonder how other families can do it.
Our income last year was $25k, plus some unemployment benefits after DH lost his job. Certainly on the lower end of the spectrum for a family of four, but I know there are many, many more people who make a lot less. And I don't know how we would have been able to make ends meet if we owned a home. When we owned a very modest home in a city, our mortgage was $450, utilities ranged from $100-400, phone was another $50...plus all the miscellaneous expenses associated with home ownership - would have easily totaled $1000 a month. It's hard to see where that money would have come from under our current circumstances.
However, like I said, we are so very fortunate in our circumstances. so much so that I am able to work only part-time, and DH is able to go back to school. A lot of saving brought us to this point we are now at - we have a comfortable emergency cushion to rely in if need be. We could have easily wasted away the savings we had each month on material things, but instead we cook from scratch, buy nearly everything used, and just don't accumulate a lot to begin with.
I don't know where I am going with all this...just a kudos to everyone out there who is making do with little. We are not extravagant people by any means, but I still can see the difficulty in making ends meet.

0 Responses to “Comments got me thinking...”

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]