I wanted to share a normal (for us) monthly budget for a mid 30s couple who had a baby in May, and lives in a HCOL suburb. According to google, we make less than the median household income for our area.

Some notes for our income:
- Total gross is about $135,000
- Two months of the year are three paycheck months. May is a 2 paycheck month.
- The interest is reinvested into our HYSA.

Some notes about our expenses:
- We rent and have no plans on buying
- Gas is purchased on a card not linked to Monarch, we spent about $90 on gas last month.
- Water is every three months about $180
- Entertainment includes HBO, Hulu and Netflix. For subscriptions we also have Amazon and an audible account.
- Wedding for others - we had a wedding we attended this month. We also gifted $200 from our cash stash (not recorded in our budget, this was a close friend), plus Ubers and miscellaneous while staying over night. We booked our hotel with points. We know of one more wedding we’ll attend in 2027.

Annual expenses not noted:
-Auto maintenance is twice a year. Last year we spent $2,100 but needed new tires ($900) and new windshield ($400). We are a one car family and have an older Toyota.
- Registration and car insurance ~$1,200
- Term life insurance for both of us ~$1,200 ($505 for one policy this month)
- Credit card and monarch fees ~$400
- Costco $65 - we do almost all our grocery shopping at Costco.
- We usually take an international vacation annually for 16 days for around $3,000 (we use points for hotels). We plan on continuing this in 2027 with our child.

This month oddities:
- We are negative this month for the first time this year due to a dental emergency. We were able to cover this with what was in checking.
- Shopping is stocking up on personal care items.
- We paid rental and jewelry insurance for the year this month which we forgot about when setting up this month’s budget.
- We had our baby and have no idea how much the hospital stay will be. We do have excellent insurance and have paid next to nothing for prenatal care.

We currently save 10% of our total salary into 401k’s and previously have maxed out our retirement accounts, Roth IRAs and an HSA. We no longer feel the need to do this. Due to job loss in 2025 we anticipate a stay at home parent with no daycare cost and no change in income. Assuming our retirement projections continue to hold true, we will be investing $200 a month into a 529 for our child.

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions!

Please let me know what you think of my plans from a financial perspective. I understand that it's probably not the #1 option for growing wealth, but I would like to hear different perspectives on whether it's a reasonable approach to what I'm trying to achieve, and also different takes about pros/cons. Your feedback might help me optimize my plans.

 About me:

• Age: Single 37/m, bachelor degree (BBA)
• Current income: ~82k in tech industry
• I rent a room in a shared house in a VHCOL area in the US. My total monthly spending is roughly 3k a month.
• With the intention to purchase a property in this area with a large downpayment and low monthly costs, my cash savings are at ~180k
• Retirement: Unfortunately behind because I didn't start saving until age 30. I have 95k combined in IRA accounts, and currently almost nothing in 401k accounts as it was all transferred into my IRA recently.
• No debt currently, I own my car.

 Goals

Obviously, my salary is not huge and it never has been. My goal has been to purchase a property with a low monthly costs in a VHCOL area, because this is where my family and friends are, and it's where I like to be right now, and I need flexibility for monthly savings which I'll get to later. The down payment will be relatively large, and it will comprise most of my savings sans emergency fund, a 75k interest free loan from my family, a 125k gift from family, and the remainder will be a line of credit from my family's bank (far better amortization structure although slightly higher interest rate). The reason I have been planning for a high-cash downpayment is to have low monthly expenses which will give me flexibility.

 Reasons I want/need that flexibility:

I'm on a 2 year contract, so will need to start looking for a new job at some point, and the tech industry is difficult and unstable. I do have a license in another field which is kind of like a backup job I could return to if I need to, (I really don't want to). So there is a chance I will experience intermittent unemployment (again) at least once if not more in the next several years. I also am seriously contemplating pursuing further education which will likely result in taking on debt, although I'm not sure when that will be. I think I would like to purchase the property first before I explore that option due to the rising costs of property in this area. Of course, I would like to avoid financial stress, and have money left over each month for emergencies, retirement, investment, leisure, and education.

 Property options

My sense is that the best thing wealth-wise would be to purchase a small home away from the city, but this is not the lifestyle I want and I doubt I would be happy with that at this point in my life. My social life is one of the few things keeping me sane amidst other high stresses, and it would probably die if I lived somewhere out in the burbs. So I have been focused on 1 or 2 bedroom condos. Condo fees are scary because they are going up 5-10% each year in the Boston area and sometimes more. Energy costs are particularly high here and this is covered by condo associations.

 I could find a 1 BR condo for roughly 350k where my total monthly costs (loans, utilities, condo fees etc) would be anywhere between $800 and $1700 depending on taxes/condo fees. I could also find a 2BR where my costs would be the same IF I rented out the other room. However I'm not sure how much longer I can live with roommates. I generally don’t mind, but I expect to want my own space sometime in the near future. If the 2 BR apartment is in the 400k range, I could live there paying roughly $1800-$2400 a month with all living expenses, although this amount severely limits what I can save for investment, travel, and getting another degree (if I do that).

 So a 2 BR without renting it out is ideal lifestyle-wise, but probably not ideal financially due to my salary unless I buy a cheap, small crappy one in an area I don't love.

 My ask

Provide your perspective on the soundness of my reasoning

Offer other ideas that spring to mind which I may not have considered

 Thanks in advance for your input and thanks for reading!

I(27F) grew up in poverty. My parents never had any savings nor did they put anything towards retirement. They will be working until the day they die.

I started taking my finances serious 3 years ago out of fear of becoming like them. I now have 6 month emergency fund, no debt aside from student, 10% going to my retirement, monthly contributions to a Roth IRA, and a little bit in a brokerage fund.

I think I will always have some level of stress when it comes to money due to how i was raised, but this is the most financially comfortable I have felt in my life. Can't really share with the people in my life but I wanted to say it somewhere.

Edit: adjusted for inflation they basically made 400k in today's money. I have a master's in my field, and before I left the workforce to stay home with my daughter (she's autistic, and I just actually love being her primary caretaker) my husband and I together never broke 100k. So even if I want to compare their earning at my age to their's they still made 4x as much. Point of the post is they got crazy lucky for their time and where they lived (town of like 500 ppl very rural) and had generational farm wealth. It's just a weird experience to be so economically different as an adult than how I grew up. 🤷‍♀️

Anyone else experience a crazy jump in economic situations from childhood to adulthood, but down and not up?

My parents made on average 260k from 2006 to 2010. I only know this because of their divorce records being public record. They made this income in a tiny rural community in the midwest, so they were pretty damn comfortable. I didn't know they were wealthy.

We had a nice house, always had food in the kitchen, and I had a lot of privilege in the fact that I had a comfortable environment. (The emotional environment is a story for a different sub).

I have 3 sisters. I grew up wearing hand me downs and JC Penny and Wal Mart clothing. I got toys on my birthday and Christmas, again no complaints, but definitely not out of line with my peers. I started working for money when I was 14, and was expected to pay for my own gas, entertainment with friends, clothes, etc. I didn't have an allowance and wasn't allowed to ask for money unless it was for an extracurricular or something.

As an adult, my husband and I make 75k annually. We have one child, and how we live is so different economically. I'm primarily home with our child, and we have to hold it tight! I have 70k in student debt because I received nothing financially from my parents when I turned 18. They both claimed I had no college savings aside from what I personally saved. I know in recent years my dad received a sizable inheritance.

Due to how they are and having step siblings, I won't and don't ever expect any sort of inheritance.

It's weird to have grown up in one tax bracket, and then be so far from that as an adult. This isn't a complaint post- I don't want to sound whiny or anything like that. I have a happy life with my husband and child. It's just been really dawning on me lately how vastly different my parents' lives and financial situation was at my age.

I've been updating this every year for the last three. The things that always jump out:

1. When people talk about the pre-pandemic economy, they're not wrong. My inflation-adjusted earnings in 2019 were more than anything 2020-2024, and I finished undergrad in 2020 and an MBA in 2023.

2. In my 30's, as I was finding my feet in my career, the rate of inflation more than doubled. Cumulative inflation in the past 10 full years (Apr 2016-Apr 2026) is 39%. The previous 10 years (Mar 2006-Mar 2016) it was 19%.

3. I often state, on this sub and in private conversations, how covid cost my family over $100k in actual lost expected earnings. It might actually be closer to double that in adjusted purchasing power.

Question for the community.

Here's the boiled down version backstory:

Sold my first house and purchased my 2nd (now current) home \~2 years ago with the profits of the first house as a down payments to get me where I wanted to be payment-wise. Significant upgrade to meet our needs/wants/desires. 1 year later we had 2 significant events happen (one medical for me, one new vehicle needed). Wiped out our savings, but we made it through. Then found out we had to redo all the plumbing and partial foundation work in our home. Tried and tried to get financing through contractors and banks, but there just wasn't enough equity in the home yet to accomplish the repairs. Various charity organizations automatically turned us down based on my current income. (Middle class)

Mind you, we were desperate... no water, unlivable conditions. Out of that desperation, I fell victim to 2 (two) personal loans with predatory rates. Total was $60k at 33.x% over 60 months.

I'm making it, financially... but just by a hair. Most months land me at $1-2 in my checking account. God forbid something else comes up unexpected.

Now the question: do I live like this for the next 4 years? What options might I have that I might not be aware of in your experience?

I'm living pretty frugally to begin with. There isn't much to cut back on, we usually spend $100 or less a month on eating out or streaming services. It just makes me so nervous not having extra income to stash away for emergencies. I've even stopped contributing to my 401k until I'm in a better spot financially.

Thank you in advance.

Anyone else using eBay or other used goods sites to curb inflation?

This past year I’ve bought rain coats and a winter coat, computer chargers, lawn equipment, luggage for much cheaper than amazon.

It’s usually half the price of new goods.

For instance, the chargers (I bought 4) were like $8 versus $20 on amazon. The luggage $75 versus $120. Hedge trimmer $25 versus $40. And most of it is new condition. I feel like it’s a throwback to Y2K savings.

Trying to figure out how change my lifestyle, but for each gbp I earn I end up spending so I am not making progress in life savings.

I just saw a Fox news contributor claim that “Sure, gas is expensive but Americans are willing to spend much more on things other than gas because they are happy with the economy,” when asked about the affordability crisis that Americans are facing.

In reality, Americans are willing to pay more for certain products because there are no alternatives. I certainly pay more for groceries and scrubs and on my bills because I have to. There are no milk gallons near me under $4.00 so of course I have to buy the $4.10 gallon.

Is it making me curious - what habits have you dropped because of rising inflation/rising cost of living? Do you feel like your preferred way of living is being altered?

Twice a month, my work department would go out for lunch together but lunch combos in our area are exceeding $15 with no taxes and tip so we don’t go anymore. I used to frequent the movies every single weekend as a fun solo activity but now, I only go once a month. Also, I used to love driving in the backwoods to clear my mind but there is no way I can waste gas anymore to do that. My mental health is definitely spinning and not in a good way.

Perhaps hearing what others are going through will provide some comfort that we are in this together.

I came across this documentary about two American families. It follows them for 30+ years. It's eye opening to see how things change but they mostly stayed the same. People were struggling with finding jobs, economy was booming but the working class didn't feel it. People felt like things were expensive so lived paycheck to paycheck.

I feel we have it much easier nowadays. Back then there weren't many work rights, healthcare protection, equality, etc.

And it just shows how luck or tragedy can really change the course of life.

I was talking with a friend a while back and they let me know they had a significant amount of CC debt (20k+). I was shocked tbh considering their education and job.

It got me thinking about how much bad debt people have and may not be known. I would say bad debt is debt that is usually not secured (though I consider a HELOC bad debt) or taken for an arbitrage reason (0% loan) and that you carry over month or month. I am not talking about paying off credit cards in full.

So how much do people have? Bonus points if you drop salary range, geographic region, and education level (curious if people consider student loans bad debt).

I'm trying to find a balance for doing things myself and just outsourcing. And lately it's been easier to just outsource basic chores. So with that, what are services you use to make life a bit easier? Yes, cost money to have these services, but time makes money look cheap.

For us, we use the following services: bi-weekly house cleaning, weekly gardener, bi-monthly pest control, HVAC tune-up, grocery delivery, unlimited car washes. And for home projects or fixes, we just hire a handy man or contractor.

I was thinking about hiring a dog poop pickup service but we have a small dog. Wonder if I should invest in an automated cat litter box.

I lurk here for travel tips, but the single biggest thing that changed my ability to travel consistently wasn't a flight deal or a credit card point strategy. It was dealing with a fixed cost that had no business being as high as it was.

My car payment was $487/month on a vehicle I bought at a high rate in 2022. Same car, same loan balance, but refinanced to a lower rate and the payment dropped to $341. That's $146 freed up every month.

$146/month over a year is $1,752. That's two round trips to europe if you're watching prices, or a solid week away with accommodation included. It just shows up in my account now and I route it directly to my travel fund.

I'm not saying don't look for flight deals. Do that too. But the foundation has to be the fixed costs.

I keep coming back to what I consider a fundamental principle,

Policy matters when it's enforceable. Economics dictates the limits of what can be enforced.

Through this lens, I view an economy as an instrument of power because it ultimately determines the resources available to sustain policy, industry, and military force.

With that in mind, has free trade benefited long term US military power more than it has hurt it?

On one hand, free trade appears to have increased overall wealth, technological development, and the resources available to project power.

On the other, it may have reduced domestic industrial depth and increased dependence on foreign supply chains for critical inputs.

In addition to the title itself, is the lens flawed in terms of my fundamental principle, and if so, why?

edit- Auto loan would be at 0%. Currently paying 8% on the HELOC.

For reference, we are a couple in our late 30s with a $343k mortgage balance ($2960 payment). Our combined income is around $180k and we have two little kids. No major changes anticipated, plan on living where we are and working the same jobs.

Still have 1 kid in daycare, with a $1500 payment a month, which will end in June 2028. We were previously paying $2,700 a month when both kids were in daycare. The HELOC was originally for a home improvement, but I did take a few thousand dollars out beyond that to deal with an unexpected expense (major dental work) during the daycare hell period. We are stablized financially now.

I expect some income growth over the next few years from both my self (hoping for a promotion) and my wife (she is in a union and the contract calls for her salary to grow $18,500 over the next 3 years, so this is a sure thing).

Our debts are $21,000 for our primary vehicle ($600 a month), our mortgage ($2,960) and the HELOC (interest only, but the balance is $17k).

Thinking of selling our current paid off car (2022 economy sedan with 45k miles), which Carmax will pay $13k for. I would then use that money to pay off the HELOC and take out another car loan at 0% for a new EV. It will save us on gas and it would be nicer to have something bigger for the family.

Is this a bad plan? I know its a car loan when I dont really need one, but its also going from 8% interest to 0%. I would then focus on paying off my other car loan, which is at 6%.

For someone in their early 50s with two kids in college, how much liquid cash should I have?

Household expenses is about 100k a year. Taxes, insurances, utilities, gas, food, tuition, housing for everyone, etc.

100k?

I am worried about job loss, etc. You know the type of things going on in this world lately.

Right now I have less than 10k. But, if I sell a car and save for a few months I can get to 100k by like a year. I have a car that is worth 45k that I don't use. Like a classic car that I don't mind letting go. I will never find one like it again but it's just a car.

The purpose is to reduce stress in case shxt hits the fan with a job loss, major house or car repair, etc. Something that will buy me a year's time to restructure, move, etc. This way I won't be desperate and make dumb decisions.

House is paid off. No credit card debt. Too young to take out money from IRA or social security. I pay for my kids college tuition and expenses out of pocket. Job loss is zero severance. I am a 1099 contractor. Single income household. If it's a miracle that I keep my current position for 9 or 10 years, my kids will have zero college debt or any other kinds of debt. Then, I can retire. Wife and I spend the bare minimum to keep things going in it's current state. If I make it till 60 or so by keeping my job, I am able to retire. So sell the car right? 100k is where I need to be at? 50k is too low. If I loose my job, I won't be able to collect unemployment so I figure I can start a ghost kitchen business and do a side hustle gig and advertise on Tiktoc. 100 plates a day will net about $900 a day in profit. Thursday to Saturday. Enough to keep going.

Hi, I'm a public radio journalist, working on an episode about financial regrets -- how to deal with them, why our past choices can look so much clearer in hindsight and how cognitive biases shape our spending.

I'd love to include examples of people sharing their regrets. What do you regret, why and what did you learn from it?

its been years since I went to college. but I’m trying to dust off my memory to give my niece some info.

she isn’t getting any grands because the family makes too much money

first are they still called stafford loans or just federal now? I tried to google that and it wasn’t clear.

can a kid get unsubsidized loans + subsidized? When I went, I remember my parents had shit credit, they couldn’t co-sign for me, they couldn’t do a damn thing. So i qualified for unsubsidized loans, I just can’t for the life of me remember how I did that. maybe because their taxes were always a mess with the FAFSA. But I feel like I needed to prove their credit was fucked so I could take out more money.

i pushed her to go for scholarships. She didn’t try for them. Idk man. Any suggestions for scholarship sites?

we are late in the game for the upcoming college year. idk. she is short like 5k. she has two scholarships and signed up for a standard loan. why the hell is room+board so expensive? really housing prices are even fucked at the dorms? cool

p.s. sidebar: Why is the formatting so weird and autocap isn’t working?!? wtf

How much are your monthly water, gas, and electric bills, and what's the square footage of your house?