November 2013 Moms

s/o, since we're all talking about #2: budget question

I considered posting this in the other thread, but I didn't want it to get burried or threadjack.  

For anyone who feels comfortable sharing, what are tricks and techniques you use to budget?  Moms of more than 1 (or planning): how did adding a second/third affect your budget?

One of DH's biggest concerns is putting money away for DD's (and future children's) college. My argument is that getting pregnant now, vs a few months from now, isn't going to make that big of a difference in the long run, but he's all freaked out about our budget right now.  I also think if we can't pay for all of their college, it isn't a huge deal, where he feels like we need to (even though we both paid our own way through college).

I'd love to pick your brain for thoughts!

Re: s/o, since we're all talking about #2: budget question

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  • @sing2phins FHA loans are not one and done deals. You can use them repeatedly as long as the home you are buying meets FHA standards (like, the junked-out foreclosures that I buy do not meet FHA standards). You might contact a lender if you are interested in the requirements. 


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  • JoeLies said:

    I do projections a lot, based on what we're spending/saving, but we've been living below our means for so long that we haven't really HAD to budget.

    This, I feel, is our main problem, we've never had to budget (not that we're rich or anything, but we make enough for 2 people to live comfortably - not 3 or 4, maybe 5 people :-p). DH doesn't want to sit down and write up an actual budget.

    I get you on hating to move, but our house was supposed to be a starter house. I want a gas stove and big yard, so I'm not terrified about the idea of moving.

  • @sing2phins I feel pretty confident about that. I was a private banker before I became a CPA. Things have changed since 2009 so it's definitely worth checking with someone who is in the know and current on their info, but here's what I know: There are requirements for borrowers (ie credit score, debt to income ratio) and requirements for the house, but it's ok for repeat homebuyers. I am seeing a caveat in my quick google research-- you can only have one FHA loan with greater than 75% LTV outstanding at one time. 

    So, if your current FHA home loan is greater than 75% of its value, then you might be looking at selling that home first and using a rental for a short amount of time before you close on your new home. 

    Some people also sell their home and go through closing, but then rent their home back from the homebuyer until they close on their new house. 

    HTH, but I just wanted you to know you're not excluded just because you've used it before. It might take some fancy footwork and shuffling, but I think the two scenarios I've laid out are fairly common work-arounds.


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  • cagoldicagoldi member
    edited January 2015
    @CaiShov we aren't quite as frugal, but we have similar thoughts about saving aggressively. That's a major hurdle for me when we consider number 2. I struggle with knowing what we save for college will be split and I don't love that idea.

    When I say we can't afford private school for two kids, that's not exactly true. We could afford it as in our income allows for that but a more accurate statement would be that we're not comfortable with that expense.
  • I seriously need someone to sit down with me and make feel comfortable with investment strategies that include risks. I'm not looking into a 529 because the idea that I could potentially lose capital scares me.

    which is why all of our savings are currently in CDs I can deposit into or a savings account. You know being the smallest possible return at no risk.

    We aren't doing a 529. A's college money is in a stock account I manage. Pete is very risk averse also.

    He is a lot more comfortable having CD's. It took me forever to convince him to take advantage of our company stock purchase plan. You have two purchase periods, and during each they will look at the PPS on the first and last day during that period. They offer the stock at that lower price plus a 15% discount. Basically, it would have to go down 15% for you to lose a dime. He's up over 300% since he started buying a few years ago. That's the only investment I've ever talked him into.

    In the meantime, I "gamble" on (volatile) microcap biotech stocks.
  • Kfran84 said:
    @caishov That is awesome! 

    I will say that when we were starting out and our incomes were a lot tighter and we had credit card bills and car loans, Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book and his website were very helpful to me in budgeting and planning debt-attack strategies. 
    DH and I took "Financial Peace University" by Dave Ramsey. Changed. Our. Lives. We took this class and I read "The Millionaire Next Door" and basically have changed my life and the way I look at building wealth.

    I think doing a budget every month with your SO and using cash for some spending categories is a good way to get a grip on spending. Handing over cold hard cash makes it very real for me.

    @kfran you do need your own HGTV show!
  • Dh is our financial guy and he takes care of most of our savings, college funds, etc. so I don't have anything helpful to contribute there. One thing I have done though is started meal planning and making a weekly grocery list. I pretty much only keep enough food in the house for that week, so I don't end up buying extra and wasting it. I use coupons and look for deals, and for a family of five (granted three of us are 5 and under) I can usually keep our weekly trip under $100.

    This is pretty big for us. I use to be the kind of person who decided daily what I was in the mood for for dinner and then hit the grocery store. When I did that I always ended up buying extra stuff and it really added up!

    Anyway, that's probably not super helpful, but that's one budget thing that has really helped our family!
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    Married to DH since 4/2008, mommy to three beautiful boys 9/09, 10/11, 11/13
  • edited January 2015
    @lizB8943 It's really kind of amazing how much money it has saved us. I was the same way, I would run into the store for chicken for dinner, and leave with chicken, wine, a loaf of bread, another side, dessert….. and a bunch of other crap. I was spending soooo much money. I picked up one of those smallish leather bound notebooks from TJMax and every Sunday I write down what our meals are Monday-Friday and then a shopping list underneath. We never go to the store without doing that anymore!

    Edit to correct tag
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    Married to DH since 4/2008, mommy to three beautiful boys 9/09, 10/11, 11/13
  • edited January 2015
    I posted in the wrong thread!! Sorry! Moving my slipper post to the daily thread!
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    Married to DH since 4/2008, mommy to three beautiful boys 9/09, 10/11, 11/13
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