whytdrumer
Confused about dryer sheets
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2015
- Messages
- 6
Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forum, so i wanted to introduce my self and also get some advice and feedback on where I am, and how I can improve.
Sometimes I get discouraged when I read stories of people retiring in the 30's because I'm 29 right now and it seems that the other late-20's folks are way ahead of me. I'm married with two kids (20 months and 4 months, and we would like to have more). My wife works part-time at a christian private school and I work in marketing as well as do some consulting on the side.
Other folks my age make salaries twice of mine and have two working adults, so it gets discouraging sometimes because I feel behind. We don't have any debt except the home and a few investment properties, but those are rented out and are being paid down so I'm not worried.
I'd love to hear your thoughts/critiques on my budget and current situation. I’m working towards getting extra spending down to where I’m saving 50-60% of my income but this has been a challenge so I'm also focusing on increasing my income. Currently I am at 40-48% (it varies each month).
My Gross Salary: $65,000
Wife's Gross Salary: $15,000
Income from real estate: $8,400
Income from consulting: $35,000 (this varies because clients come and go)
Total Gross Income: $123,000
Total Net Income (assuming 25% tax bracket): $92,000
The below numbers are our monthly expenses.
Mostly Necessary: $2746
Right now we save everything that isn't an expense. Our saving's rate in August 2015 is 46%. We do tithe 10% each month which is roughly $900.
We put in $400 into our emergency savings each month as well as $500 into a special savings account earning 4%.
Intentional savings total- $900
Current Assets:
Total Assets: $208,300
Debts: none (other than mortgages on each property)
Here are things I plan on doing to reduce our expenses and increase income:
JC
I'm new to the forum, so i wanted to introduce my self and also get some advice and feedback on where I am, and how I can improve.
Sometimes I get discouraged when I read stories of people retiring in the 30's because I'm 29 right now and it seems that the other late-20's folks are way ahead of me. I'm married with two kids (20 months and 4 months, and we would like to have more). My wife works part-time at a christian private school and I work in marketing as well as do some consulting on the side.
Other folks my age make salaries twice of mine and have two working adults, so it gets discouraging sometimes because I feel behind. We don't have any debt except the home and a few investment properties, but those are rented out and are being paid down so I'm not worried.
I'd love to hear your thoughts/critiques on my budget and current situation. I’m working towards getting extra spending down to where I’m saving 50-60% of my income but this has been a challenge so I'm also focusing on increasing my income. Currently I am at 40-48% (it varies each month).
My Gross Salary: $65,000
Wife's Gross Salary: $15,000
Income from real estate: $8,400
Income from consulting: $35,000 (this varies because clients come and go)
Total Gross Income: $123,000
Total Net Income (assuming 25% tax bracket): $92,000
The below numbers are our monthly expenses.
Mostly Necessary: $2746
- Mortgage: $1250
- Groceries: $300
- Health Insurance: $605
- Car expenses (insurance and gas): $250
- Phones: $60
- Internet: $72
- Netflix: $9
- Utilities: $200 (we just moved into a new home so still calculating this)
- Personal spending money: $200 ($50 for me and $150 for the wife because I'm doing BJJ)
- Dining/Date money: $100
- Gifts: $20
- BJJ (for me): $110
- Baby sitting: $250 (my wife's mother watches the kids so this is more of us paying her for helping us out).
- Special dog food: $50
Right now we save everything that isn't an expense. Our saving's rate in August 2015 is 46%. We do tithe 10% each month which is roughly $900.
We put in $400 into our emergency savings each month as well as $500 into a special savings account earning 4%.
Intentional savings total- $900
Current Assets:
- Investment property #1: Duplex: $250k with $151k mortgage (cash flows $550/m)
- Investment property #2: SFR: $90k with $68k mortgage (cash flows $250/m)
- Available cash: $43,500
- Stocks: $3,800
- Roth IRA: $5,000
- Commodities: $15,000
- Specialized savings account: $20,000 (this is a specialized whole life insurance policy that acts as my own bank)
Total Assets: $208,300
Debts: none (other than mortgages on each property)
Here are things I plan on doing to reduce our expenses and increase income:
- Continue to grow my consulting business so I can eventually go full time.
- Later this year we will be changing our insurance which will reduce that by $200.
- I could bike to work every day but I live in Texas and about 6 miles away so the heat gets to me. What are your thoughts?
- Once I go full time in my business I will bike more which should drop the car expenses by $50-80.
- I am currently using Airvoice but could switch to Republic wireless which would drop the bill by roughly $25.
- I plan on reducing our Internet speed saving about $25-30/m.
- Doing some home efficiency updates should reduce utilities by $50/m.
- I plan on buying more real estate to keep growing my passive income.
- What are your thoughts on where I am now?
- Where do you see room for improvements?
- How can I reduce my expenses?
- How can I reduce the time until retirement? (I'd like to retire in 5-10 years)
JC