Kolel- working | Imamother

amother

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 2:56 pm

Hi imamothers
We are going through the big transition of DH leaving kolel and starting work.
We have been very blessed to have been supported for many years, it’s now time for us to go out in our own.
I would like to know how others work out their finances.
How much of your earnings go on:
Mortgage/rent
Utilities
Groceries
Car
Tuition
And other expenses.

We have two children in school, renting apartment, 1 car.

We are tracking all expenses for 3 months right now and have a meeting set up with an organisation to help us budget and save.

Would like to hear how it works for you guys.

mha3484

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 2:57 pm

You need to say where you live. I can post my expenses but I am in the midwest and my mortgage is at least 1/3 or 1/2 of those in the tri state so it would not help you.

stillnewlywed

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 3:16 pm

If your expenses didn’t increase, then your DH salary needs to be minimum the amount that you were getting in support. If he is making less you will need to budget and cut down on expenses to save money. If he is making more, then you can keep your lifestyle as is and put the rest into savings to buy a house or whatever...
The percentage of the salary that you use for rent/tuition/food etc won’t change. Not sure what your question is...

amother

Jade

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 3:27 pm

stillnewlywed wrote:

This.

If by working more will be coming in than the ‘support payments’ - probably best to keep your lifestyle the same for awhile and save the difference.

amother

Green

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 3:27 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Most of what you listed are fixed expenses- rent, tuition, car. Once you take those out, you'll see how much you have to budget for other categories.

amother

Slateblue

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 3:29 pm

We live OOT, both work full time, and have 3 kids, with the oldest being in kindergarten.

For us, childcare is the biggest monthly cost. We have 3 kids, with the oldest in kindergarten. Our mortgage is around $1100/month and our one tuition is $350/month. But our childcare total is approximately $3,000 per month.

That childcare total includes year-round daycare for the youngest, preschool tuition for the middle child, day camp for the older two kids, before and after care for the older two kids (at school and camp), and additional babysitting. It does not include kindergarten tuition for the oldest, which I put in the "tuition" category above.

My employer provides dependent care flex savings, so I set aside $5K a year on a pre-tax basis for childcare. This is effectively a savings of $1500 or so. Not much, but helpful. We also receive vouchers for kindergarten and up, so the costs for the younger kids will decrease in the next couple of years.

amother

Green

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 3:46 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

We’re moving back from Israel, we are still settling.
Support wasn’t a set amount.

That's a totally different question. In that case, you'll want to hear about expenses specific to your city.

stillnewlywed

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 3:49 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

We’re moving back from Israel, we are still settling.
Support wasn’t a set amount.

Do you or DH have a job set up?
You will have to take your salary, calculate fixed expenses based on where you are moving to and then use the rest for extras.

amother

Lilac

Sat, Aug 03 2019, 3:04 pm

So your question isn't about transitioning from kollel to work, it's about living expenses in the place you are moving to in the US. I don't know if you are willing to share where you are planning to live, but that may be what it takes to get helpful answers.