Should $1100 a week be enough?

amother

Honeydew

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 12:06 am

My husband works for his father for the past 15 years or so and gets paid about 1100 a week. We live in NY and are K"H B"H expecting our 3rd. his father won't give him a raise because he thinks that's plenty. We are struggling terribly. Owe the grocery $2000 and can't afford to spend on anything extra...

Should that be enough? To live comfortably?

LittleDucky

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 12:19 am

This really depends on a lot of factors. No matter where you live...
1100 a week is 57,200 a year.
How much is rent?
Utilities?
Do you have to pay tuition? How much?
Do you work? Can you work?
How much is insurance? Medical issues that require multiple copays a month?
Car costs? Bus fare?
What are your taxes?

Use this information to create a budget of fixed costs. Then try to see your variable costs. Does it fit into 57,200 a year?

Now, you say you are in debt- how have you been living thus far? This is not to judge- just to help you think... There are ways to cut down and each person will have their "musts" and others will say that it is wasteful.
Cleaning help?
Entertainment costs? Gifts?
Clothes for adults and kids- how often do you buy? Where do you buy? Do you get something fresh for YT even if their current wardrobe still fits?
Do you shop around for groceries? Sales? Coupons? Doing without if the price isn't good enough?
Do you eat chicken during the week? Meat? Yogurts?
Do you buy challah, dips, salads, desserts etc for shabbos? Prepackaged snacks?
Flowers for shabbos?
Do you eat out ever? Sodas from a vending machine?

amother

Oak

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 7:08 am

frw wrote:

You may earn alot of money and still be eligible for medicaid in nyc.

I just looked up the income eligibility chart for NY. For a family with 8 children (I don't know know how many people are in your family) 223% FPL would be $7599 per month ($91,188 a year). $2000 a week would be $104,000 a year.

So I don't understand how earning $2000 a week can get Medicaid.

mommy3b2c

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 7:18 am

I cannot live on $1100 a week. It seems from this site that many people somehow manage. Either way, if your husband id due for a raise and a good worker, he should get one. It does not sound like his relationship with his father his healthy. Besides, who wants to work in a dead end job? He should look for a new one.

amother

Ecru

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 8:36 am

OP try $600 (net) a week. Yes that's what we live on. No, we have no debt (no student loans, car loans or mortgage either) .

Although you need to sit down and see what you need in order to feel ok staying at this job. Comparing your income to anyone else's isn't much of a help.

amother

Navy

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 8:47 am

mommy3b2c wrote:

Many people manage because they don't have a choice.
There are 2 ways to survive when income doesn't match expenses. Either, they found ways to live within their means or go into debt.

Then obviously there are ways to try to improve income, change jobs, add jobs etc.

I for one am in a position that we don't manage, we're working on changing that. Meanwhile, we are in debt but I cut all unnecessary expenses, I buy minimal food, literally barely enough. We are not on programs.

Sometimes, people are stuck in their situation and there are many factors involved. I've learnt to survive on little.

When kids were younger, $1100 a week was very decent, now that I pay a few tuitions, it's way too little.

amother

Sapphire

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 8:54 am

I don't think $1100 is enough for a family of 5 in New York. We bring in about $1350/week and have one child, and it just covers all our expenses. With full tuition, high rent, car payments, insurance, etc there's really not much left over for savings at the end of the month. I think we live pretty reasonably- we're not extremely frugal but we try to be careful and save where we can. It's enough for us for now but definitely not long term.

amother

Chartreuse

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 9:12 am

We are a family of four living in around 1100 a week. We manage we are bh not in debt at all and even put a little away. However we definitely live frugally. I dont have any cleaning help and we dont have a.car because we are in work/school very local.

amother

Copper

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 9:39 am

What is enough or not has nothing to do with the real issue, which is what salary your husband should be getting for the work he's doing. For some reason, heimishe workplaces have this bizarre tendency to set wages according to each person's situation, so you have single women working for peanuts, married women making more but not as much because she's assumed to be the secondary earner, and married men paid according to their family status. Aside from being blatantly illegal, this is just not how it works on the outside. You are worth whatever the market deems your job to be worth. If you're an investment bankers, you can make 1100 a day regardless of family status. If you're a Walmart greeter you will be lucky to make 1100 a month regardless of family status. I have no idea what your husband does or what he should be paid, but how many children you have or what FIL deems enough for your needs is irrelevant. Your FIL may have done Dh a favor by hiring him, but he is NOT doing him a favor by paying him. Your husband is working for and earning that money. If you feel he's not being paid what he's worth, he should look for a job that will.

2cents

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 10:56 am

I don't see that it's your fil's business how much you 'should' be able to survive on. Your dh has a right to get paid a fair rate for work that he does. And as a man supporting a family, he also has a right to have savings to fall back on.

His yearly salary is around 55,000. For a full time job, with 15 yrs of experience, that's not much.

Can he peacefully look for another job, or will it automatically cause a rift in the family? If not, what's the long term plan- is he taking over for his father eventually and being trained for that? Or is he in a menial position that is 'dead end'?

amother

Pewter

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 11:00 am

amother wrote:

Is $1,100 his weekly net income that he comes home with or gross income before taxes are deducted?

Optione

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 11:15 am

We make about $1100 a week after maaser, tax and our insurance (health and car).

By the week:
Rent $350
Babysitting $300
Groceries $100
Utilities $25
Savings $50
Kids insurance $15
Tuition for 1: $100

That leaves a little more than $150 a week for gas, copayments, diapers, household items etc.

We are a family of 5 in NY.

SRS

Fri, Apr 08 2016, 1:20 pm

You are asking the wrong questions. How much can your husband make in a similar job with a non-family employer? More? Than he needs to leave the family business. Less? Then he is overpaid for what he does.

One can fit their expenses to their reality. Or, one can fit their realty to their expenses by picking up more work, taking a different job, being proactive about the situation.

I'm guessing that if, after 15 years, your husband has not put out his own shingle or jumped to a non-family employer, that he won't find more compensation in the market unless he is banking on something long term, like being handed the business outright.