Zguy28 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Yea, just live in the middle of nowhere and have an $800/mo housing payment (I did the math on your mortgage). Easy! Actually my mortgage payment is slightly higher (I have never refinanced from my original rate), but I did get in before the housing bubble inflated. My house is worth almost double what I paid. New houses here now are $300K and up. I never said it was easy either. Just be frugal and content. His take home is still ~5000 after charity. Just got to budget right and minimize debts. He could afford double his current mortgage. Mortgage 1600, food 500-600, car 300, electric 175, tv/net 150, cell 150, not sure what other expenses but after the items listed he'd still be sitting at 2875 and then a college class. Not out of the question at all. And you can afford to put away for retirement and still take the wife out every week on a little date for coffee and conversation apart from the kids. And we used to do it on $65K up until 2 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I went from FFX to Union Station for a year. It was not fun, but doable. Sterling and Manassas are significantly further out. Manassas you have to deal with 66 which is HOV and a disaster generally. Sterling you'd have to take 7, which would take forever, or pay for the toll road twice a day. The gas and tolls would seriously eat into whatever money you saved by living in the exurbs.Manassas is indeed further out than Fairfax, but New Carrollton is also further out than DC. Plus, from Manassas you should be able to take a more southern route and go up 395. I can't say much about the Sterling commute since my brother who lives in Sterling is fortunate enough to also work there. Does anybody have an estimate as to the monthly cost to use the toll road to commute? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 People seem to be forgetting that he said 3 kids and a wife...that he has to feed, clothe, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xameil Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Damn...after reading all your posts about housing costs, I'm glad I moved to Clifton Park, NY... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve09ru Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 People seem to be forgetting that he said 3 kids and a wife...that he has to feed, clothe, etc.not forgetting that but it doesn't come at a cost of 2000+ a month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Usually no, but for all we know his children go to private school. You have to account for all costs. Insurance being a big one. At least 2 cars, bills that insurance doesn't cover, entertainment, activities, family vacations, etc. 2k is not a lot of money when you have so many expenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Just noting that if you live in PW and commute to DC every day, that your car isn't going to last and your auto budget is going to sky rocket. The further you commute the more you spend on gas, but also auto maintenance, repairs and buying cars more frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Try paying 15k in property taxes for a 3 bedroom house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 This is a funny thread. I recently had my heat pump replaced, quite costly. Kids, car, gas. You can get by for only so long, repairs have to get done, unexpected expenses. Kids drain my wallet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Another thing I saw in this thread, pardon my not recalling who it was. Something like, 'many of us feel entitled and are struggling because their degrees are worthless'. Sorry, I meant to quote it but I have a lot going on right now. Hmm... perhaps many of you chose a major that was useless ? Perhaps you could have made a different selection to lock in on ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Another thing I saw in this thread, pardon my not recalling who it was. Something like, 'many of us feel entitled and are struggling because their degrees are worthless'. Sorry, I meant to quote it but I have a lot going on right now. Hmm... perhaps many of you chose a major that was useless ? Perhaps you could have made a different selection to lock in on ? While I don't disagree with that, I also think that society has been pushing college too much. People are pressured into going to college just to get a degree regardless of whether or not it's meaningful. Back in the day, having a degree meant something and separated you from the crowd even if it was a degree in English or Philosophy, but now you need a degree just to be considered for work. I think we'd be better of cooling down the college hype and pushing more people to go to trade schools or apprenticeships and the like. I think it'll help benefit those who go that route in that they're not paying for an expensive degree they won't use while actually learning a marketable trade, and it'll benefit those who DO go to college because the reduced demand will help to bring tuition back down to a reasonable level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchogs Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Folks make lots of discretionary expenses that they cannot afford- including cars, commute, housing, kids, vacations, entertainment, vacations, eating out. Live based on what you earn, not on what your neighbors think is normal. Be weird like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 While I don't disagree with that, I also think that society has been pushing college too much. People are pressured into going to college just to get a degree regardless of whether or not it's meaningful. Back in the day, having a degree meant something and separated you from the crowd even if it was a degree in English or Philosophy, but now you need a degree just to be considered for work. I think we'd be better of cooling down the college hype and pushing more people to go to trade schools or apprenticeships and the like. I think it'll help benefit those who go that route in that they're not paying for an expensive degree they won't use while actually learning a marketable trade, and it'll benefit those who DO go to college because the reduced demand will help to bring tuition back down to a reasonable level. While that's a simple way to look at things.... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/26/business/fewer-us-high-school-graduates-opt-for-college.html As a father of a kid in college, a lot of my daughters friends opted out of the college route. Many are now waiters or waitresses. Some are following some trade be it electrician or plumber or hair stylist. Many of them with or without a college degree find themselves in a similar bind. Not marketable with or without a degree. There isn't a high demand for people with a useless college degree or people with no education trying to vie for a spot in a trade job. What do you suggest everyone does who doesn't go to college? Give a real solution? It's not easy on either side of the fence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vilandil Tasardur Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Another thing I saw in this thread, pardon my not recalling who it was. Something like, 'many of us feel entitled and are struggling because their degrees are worthless'. Sorry, I meant to quote it but I have a lot going on right now. Hmm... perhaps many of you chose a major that was useless ? Perhaps you could have made a different selection to lock in on ? I think it was me you were recalling, and I was specifically talking along the lines you are. I know quite a few people from college that are struggling because their degrees are meaningless. That's their bed to lie in. Like I said originally, I think my generation's biggest challenge is finding the jobs. Realistically, we can DEFINITELY live on 40-50k just fine (or if we can't, we're idiots). We just can't manage to land those jobs. For some, it's because the degrees are useless. But for many more, it's that there are many "adults" in their 30s that have 8-12 years of experience also looking for work, and often settling for those 40-50k jobs. I'm very blessed to not be in the traditional job market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 While that's a simple way to look at things.... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/26/business/fewer-us-high-school-graduates-opt-for-college.html As a father of a kid in college, a lot of my daughters friends opted out of the college route. Many are now waiters or waitresses. Some are following some trade be it electrician or plumber or hair stylist. Many of them with or without a college degree find themselves in a similar bind. Not marketable with or without a degree. There isn't a high demand for people with a useless college degree or people with no education trying to vie for a spot in a trade job. What do you suggest everyone does who doesn't go to college? Give a real solution? It's not easy on either side of the fence. Well at least they don't have college debt to go along with their inability to find work It seems to be a tough problem, and I can't say I have a magic solution. Welding would probably be a good trade to learn. I think I recently saw something about there being a need for more welders, so that would be one area to look at picking up as a trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Well at least they don't have college debt to go along with their inability to find work It seems to be a tough problem, and I can't say I have a magic solution. Welding would probably be a good trade to learn. I think I recently saw something about there being a need for more welders, so that would be one area to look at picking up as a trade. There aren't 1000's of welding jobs. Truth is debt is debt, and unemployment is unemployment, and the inability to pay for your living expenses is just that. Even my daughters friends who have a "trade" are struggling to pay their own rent, live on their own, successfully transition into society. Hoping to be a welder doesn't fix that issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 There aren't 1000's of welding jobs.You sure about that? I've got one article from last year stating there's a shortage of about 250,000 welders. https://www.businessreport.com/article/worse-than-it-has-ever-been-as-louisiana-gears-up-for-a-massive-industrial-expansion-welders-are-in-short-supply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 You sure about that? I've got one article from last year stating there's a shortage of about 250,000 welders. https://www.businessreport.com/article/worse-than-it-has-ever-been-as-louisiana-gears-up-for-a-massive-industrial-expansion-welders-are-in-short-supply You got 1000's of welder job openings? Sorry I didn't hammer home the point. Doesn't matter how many people do something, it matters how may people are needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vilandil Tasardur Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 And let's be real, as much as we might talk about it, many people aren't cut out for being "welders" (or substitute any other type of highly skilled by physically grueling style trade). Now, on the one hand, that's their problem. They need to find out what they are cut out for and pursue it within reason (read, not an art historian if they have no intentions of academia). But on the other hand, we need to face the fact that at least some of why people aren't cut out for it is because we do a terrible job of empowering people to go for it. How many women would make excellent car mechanics, plumbers, HVAC, etc? We don't really know, because from a young age we condition our young women that these aren't jobs or skills they need to concern themselves (for a myriad of different reasons, some innocent, some not, but nevertheless harmful). But actually, I think one of the really big problems for college students, is that we do a TERRIBLE job of helping young people understand what their degrees are good for. It seems like jobs are so highly specialized, but degrees so highly generalized, that it's challenging to really understand what your career paths are. I was a biology major. There are dozens of directions to take a biology degree in. But you largely need to know what direction that will be by your junior (if not earlier) year and you need to be pursuing that heavily. You can't just graduate with a general biology degree with a little micro work and a random vertebrate class and a little of this and that here and there and expect to get yourself a job with just your B.S. There are many jobs out there, but you've got to start tailoring for them early. Of course, that means that young people need to answer the "what the **** am I going to do as a grown up" question before the month leading up to graduation. And we need to stop perpetuating the horrible lie that is "it's okay if you don't know". NO, it's not ****ing okay if you don't know. You need to now. It IS okay to change your mind, and it is okay to do a 180 if you're wrong or don't like what street your driving on, but for the love of God start driving somewhere. Neutral only carries you are far as the road is downhill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 College is indeed a business, and some of it can be a racket, like any business. You want an underwater poetry degree? Sure, we'll sell it to you and put you in debt for decades knowing full well it is a worthless endeavor. BUT, if yo're not lucky enough to fall into a great internship or if the economy is not right and trades are not hiring apprentices, then you must have an education. My son's a college sophomore, and these are questions we struggle with as well. My main concerns areA/ get an education in something marketable.. something people need and will need. (He's going with computer engineering). Art degrees and such..no good. Degrees for dying industries,, ie: journalism,, no good. and B/ Do not come out of college 85k in debt. It's a necessary evil,, you will likely carry some debt out of college,, but holy crap the burden the system will gladly place on a student.. on a new working member of our economy.. it's crushing. and of course colleges maximize profits at the gunpoint of 'you MUST have this education or you will flip burgers forever".. , book prices are outrageous,, deals with book companies that means used books are disallowed are a slap-in-the-face F-U shakedown. It's not as easy as it once was to help your kid plot their future. the line is not as clear, and the negatives are HUGE. Question. How many of you are what you wanted to be when you entered college or left high school? I AM, luckily, but it was a LOOONG Strange trip to get here, and for many years, it was a dream that was impossible. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 This is a funny thread. I recently had my heat pump replaced, quite costly. Kids, car, gas. You can get by for only so long, repairs have to get done, unexpected expenses. Kids drain my wallet. Yah I just dropped 11k on a new hvac. Even the cheap quotes came in at $8k I have turned down relocation to Baltimore twice in my career. It always comes back to money. The entire northeastern corridor is a joke, quite frankly I wouldn't move to DC for anything less than $300, and even then it better be a great freaking professional opportunity. Oh and my wife would still have to work We don't live anything close to a flashy lifestyle, either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatBuzz Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I said before that I don't have kids and that it is a choice we made for many reasons, one being the $$$ it frees up. So I'm wondering how many of the people here, before they had a child, sat down and did a budget to figure out if they actually should have a kid? I feel like that's the smart thing to do but don't know many people who actually did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 You'd save some money by eating at Olive Garden once in a while. Just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I said before that I don't have kids and that it is a choice we made for many reasons, one being the $$$ it frees up. So I'm wondering how many of the people here, before they had a child, sat down and did a budget to figure out if they actually should have a kid? I feel like that's the smart thing to do but don't know many people who actually did it. I would think most middle class folks do this. The poor and the wealthy I guess it doesn't matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGoonie55 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 At least your toll lanes are cheap DaGoonie. True, west bound on the Narrows bridge is free. East bound is $6. That bridge makes $15M a quarter....It will still take 20 years + to pay it off. Then I'm sure the hippies here will keep the toll on for a number of years to fatten up the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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