Budgeting tips for newlyweds

Log in / Sign Up

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following My Posts Bookmarks

Private Messages Advanced Search Rules New User Guide FAQ Advertise Contact Us

Forum -> Household Management -> Finances

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Fri, Feb 23 2024, 12:05 pm

So I recently got married and bh expecting our first child. My husband and I both work, together we bring in about 6k/month, no parental support. It sounds like a lot, but where we live rent is expensive. Rn we got lucky with a cheap rent but it won’t be like that for long and I’m nervous for when we have to move…
Our expenses right now add up to about 4k a month including maaser, housekeeper, things like wig wash, and an extras budget of about 350. The rest goes to savings.

The thing is I’m finding it hard to keep to that 350 budget. There are so many things that I need that aren’t expensive but add up and before I know it I’m way over my spending budget… I can only imagine what it’s like once I have the baby!

Should I relax a little? I know we save a lot but I like that and It’s easier to start learning to keep to a budget now then later on and I also don’t wanna feel like I have to cut back too much once we’re paying higher rent.

Any tips please! I want to plan well and be smart but at the same time not scrimp and live miserly just bec I’m worried for the future.

amother

Babyblue

Fri, Feb 23 2024, 12:28 pm

Please get life insurance if you don’t have it yet. Now that you’re almost parents, you need to be covered in case the worst happens chas vshalom. It can be very cheap if you get term coverage and that’s all you need.

Please make sure to go on a baby moon vacation - traveling will get a lot harder once you have a baby. Is there a country you always wanted to visit? Go there! There’s a sweet spot in your third trimester where hopefully the nausea is gone but you’re not huge enough that walking hurts yet. That’s the perfect time to go. It’s worth the money, you’ll remember it for a lifetime.

You're not earning enough to be spending willy nilly but don’t live miserably either. This is your time to live free but also to save. Life will get a lot more expensive once you have a child and you’ll be less able to save for a house which these days requires an absolutely massive down payment unless you want to be paying your entire income to the mortgage.

amother

Darkblue

Fri, Feb 23 2024, 12:36 pm

I know standards have changed since I got married 20 years ago, but I had no cleaning help for many years. In a small apartment there is no reason you and your husband shouldn't be able to keep things clean

amother

Latte

Fri, Feb 23 2024, 12:40 pm

amother Darkblue wrote:

Yea especially
Now before a baby, there’s a lot more time to clean and not as much mess. Or atleast maybe get less cleaning help? How often do they come? We get every other week and we have a toddler. Before baby we also had every other week but not in the beginning of marriage I think after a few years we started getting cleaning help. Also I don’t think wigs need to be washed every month that sounds like a lot -unless you wear it every single day? Can you switch off between wig and fall , tichel so you don’t need to wash so often

amother

Buttercup

Fri, Feb 23 2024, 12:41 pm

Agree that you should get life insurance and take a vacation. Other than that I’d say try to stick to the current plan because you’re doing great and it’ll only get harder to save as expenses rise.

amother

Outerspace

Fri, Feb 23 2024, 12:45 pm

It all sounds ok.
I’d just encourage to get used to tracking because it’s a good habit to have especially when life shifts like after a baby and you’re trying to figure out where the heck did all the money go.

amother

cornflower

Fri, Feb 23 2024, 12:46 pm

If you have things you need that aren't in your budget, maybe you have to adjust your budget to account for more of the things you need.

When I was in your shoes, we tracked our expenses for 3 months on a spreadsheet. Anything we paid money for got put on the sheet.

After 3 months, it was easy to see what categories and expenses came out month after month that we had to account for. That's how we created our budget.

Then there were one off expenses like a piece of furniture or a vacation. It's unrealistic to expect the budget to accommodate those. Those come straight out of savings (or money that would go into savings) and should not be included in your extra 350.

The 350 would include random expenses that don't happen routinely. Like a shoe repair or a birthday present for your nephew.

amother

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:36 pm

amother Darkblue wrote:

amother

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:41 pm

[quote="amother OP"]
We were fine in the beginning but im working and pregnant so having someone come once a week to clean the bathroom and mop is a huge help… I can probably manage without but it’s worth it for me. But something to think about

amother

Beige

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:42 pm

I know this sounds crazy but I wish I would have bought a house way earlier in my marriage. I didn’t know about equity and stuff.
Now we have a handful of kids bh married over 10 years, looking for a house and kicking ourselves that we didn’t buy a long time ago.
A starter home can go a long way. To live in or to rent out.
But I’m not a financial advisor and I’d advise you to get financial advice before taking my advice lol. If that makes sense.

amother

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:45 pm

amother Beige wrote:

It makes sense! We want to buy as soon as possible.
What’s equity?
How much do you need for down payment?

amother

Beige

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:55 pm

amother OP wrote:

It makes sense! We want to buy as soon as possible. For us the issue is more affording the mortgage than the down payment… 6k/month is our whole income but that’s what the rate is now and it’s not affordable
What’s equity?

Educate yourselves, it’s so worth it to know this stuff

I’m prob not the right person to explain it but basically Equity is how much of your house you own. So if you buy a house for 100k, (haha) and put down 20%, you own 20% of your house the day you close on the house. your monthly payments include
1- principal (money towards the amount you borrowed)
2- interest (the bank charges you to lend the money)
3- property tax
4- homeowners insurance

There are two ways to increase how much equity you own, ie what portion of the property is yours and not the banks:
1- the portion of the monthly payments that go towards principal increase how much less you owe the bank, and thereby you own more. (The beginning of a 30 year mortgage the monthly payments are more paying for the interest and less is principal, only a small portion, as the years go on you pay less and less interest and more principal)

2- your property goes up in value, so if the houses on your block sell for 150k and 200k, and you get your house reappraised, your house might be Worth 175k. That extra 75k that wasn’t included in your house purchase is yours to keep. (So if you want to borrow money from the bank with your house as a collateral you can now borrow 75k more than what you already paid towards your 80k loan.)

And then if you want to buy a bigger house for a growing family after ten years and now your house is worth 250k, and you only paid down 25k of the 80k you borrowed when you bought your house, when you sell your house, 55k will go to the bank, but you’ll have 195k to put towards a new house.

I hope that makes sense and was accurate. Maybe someone else can weigh in to confirm.

amother

White

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:58 pm

I also strongly suggest that newlyweds get into the habit of giving maaser. It doesn't necessarily get easier, but it is very rewarding and an excellent channel for bracha for your family.

amother

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 10:02 pm

amother White wrote:

I also strongly suggest that newlyweds get into the habit of giving maaser. It doesn't necessarily get easier, but it is very rewarding and an excellent channel for bracha for your family.

Thanks. Yes we give maaser bh

amother

Yellow

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 10:09 pm

I strongly oppose the suggestion of a babymoon. When I'm pregnant, I don't enjoy much and the pregnancy takes over everything. I can't do many activities I usually enjoy such as bikeriding, hiking, or even long walks.

I'd much rather encourage you that after the baby is born, and before you get pregnant with the next one, the two of you go somewhere without the baby. You'll "need" that break much more then and you'll also enjoy yourselves more, even with less time away.

amother

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 11:06 pm

amother Latte wrote:

Every other week is a good idea I didn’t think of it. I do the laundry myself anyway
I have three wigs, I don’t wash them every month but we add it in anyway, each wig is on its own schedule lol

amother

Grape

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 12:34 am

Keep the cleaning help if you need it, I have one toddler and have had cleaning help once a week for 2-3 hours since I was pregnant and it makes such a difference to my life, some things just wouldn't get done otherwise.
Re babymoom, only do it if you feel that you will have the energy to enjoy it, I know I would not have enjoyed a babymoon.
Either way, it sounds like you're doing great with budgeting.

Page 1 of 1