Please help me figure out projected budget

amother

Thu, Aug 14 2014, 5:06 pm

I generally budget by looking at what I've spent in the past, but now looking ahead at changes I'd like to make I'm having a hard time putting together theoretical numbers. I've been offered a job that's better than what I currently have but would be more hours and travel and I need to figure out if it's worth it because the higher income would disqualify me from medicaid and food stamps (can we please NOT turn this into a judgment thread? Thanks. This is about my reality; DH is in school and Plan A was to wait for him to graduate and then have a higher income all at once and be totally independent. This offer came up unexpectedly, I really did not want to increase my hours but we could use the money and I need to figure out if after all is said and done, will it really end up being more money)

We live in NYC. Projected income from new job would be around $50k for a year. Our family is two adults and two small children.
Without assistance, how much should we expect to pay for:
Taxes/SS taken off that
Health insurance for 2 adults and 2 children
Food for 2 adults and 2 children (I do a lot of cooking from scratch and buying on sale but I don't go crazy over it - will not just buy whatever I want but I'm not going to sacrifice too much time and energy on couponing/comparison shopping/bulk buying/etc. So figure medium-frugal food budget)
Transportation - MTA commute for both parents, 5 days a week (this I could do the math myself, just putting it on the list because I'll use this list for myself too)
Babysitting/daycare for one 2-year-old (previous job did not necessitate that for various reasons), 20+ hours per week
Schoolbus for one child, if we decide to move closer to the job offer which would be farther from school
Electricity for 2-br apt in NYC (current home includes it in rent but we hate the place, half of reason for working harder for better job is to move)

self-actualization

Thu, Aug 14 2014, 5:19 pm

When you say around 50k - if it's not a salaried job I would be very careful taking it. If you don't get paid on the chagim, etc, it can turn into a big loss of money. Would the job pay health insurance? Do you know for sure that you would lose all of the benefits - what about Child Health Plus for the kids - I have heard that the payments are on a sliding scale. You will need to ask -

1) Bonnie the benefits specialist from this website
2) an accountant to immediately do a W4 for you and let you know what your post-tax monthly take-home amount would be.
3) Which schools make you pay for a school bus in NYC? Do you mean for a pre-school?
4) Changing your apt at the same time is probably not the best idea - you need to process the change in a vacuum without suddenly adding lots of money to your rent.
5) Does the job have the possibility for advancement in the future? Will you be learning good skills such as computer proficiency or knowledge of a particular field?
6) Which benefits in particular are you afraid of losing? Food stamps? Do you currently receive Section 8?

Basically, you are in a tough situation now, and you will be in a tough situation after taking the job, with the added hassle of finding a babysitter for your 2 year old. But here's the news flash. Next year your 2 yr old will be 3, IY"H, so you will need to pay anyway for school, whether you are working or not (unless you want to keep your 3 y o out of school). And also, what if your DH doesn't find a job after school ...

amother

Thu, Aug 14 2014, 5:38 pm

Thanks for helping me think this through.
1) Possibly CHP would continue at lower cost than regular health insurance. As a preliminary, asking others on this site who may be in a similar situation what I should expect to pay.
-) My current job is also not salaried. I work in a therapy-type capacity and get paid per client. But it seems that this agency has plenty of cases and even if there weren't so many, their pay is significantly better than what I make now. No benefits though.
-) When estimating the 50k, I took into account chagim etc based on my current job.
3) I have no idea whether school bus is extra. This is why I'm asking. I currently live walking distance from schools. Oldest is in kindergarten so that's preschool for now but next year would be regular school.
4) We were looking for a new apt anyway, our current neighborhood is more expensive and harder to find nice rentals than the one near the job, and the job would be almost an hour each way commuting if we don't move. So I would consider the job even without moving, but once changing to that job moving is starting to look good too.
5) No possibility for advancement within the job itself, but it could help me get a reputation around.
6) current benefits we have are food stamps, WIC, and medicaid/FHP (kids are on medicaid, adults on FHP - I think the cutoffs are different.

I am well aware that my 2-yr-old will be in school next year, not sure what bearing that has on my current situation.

The point of DH being in school is to qualify for more/better jobs, there isn't really a point in asking "what if he doesn't get one" at this point. What do we gain by saying that? Currently he has no job, in about 2-3 years he will qualify for a professional job and we won't be so limited in living/working near his school.

Adding to health insurance question, what typical copays add up to.