M had his last day on Sunday, which means we need to adjust our budget in two ways - 1) for the drop from his income and 2) for the additional expenses we will need to cover.
Increased expenses:
- Health care. This is, by far, the biggest expenses. We are planning to do COBRA for a few months, as both of us are actively job searching. This will allow us to stay on our existing insurance, as establishing care at new specialists for me takes months. Covering all four of us each month will cost $2950. The state of health care in this country is absolute insanity.
- Internet. The company M worked for provided a monthly internet reimbursement, as he had a hybrid WFH/work in the office role. Monthly cost = $70.
- Cell phone. Similarly, the company M worked for also provided full cell phone coverage. He is now joining our shared Fi plan, which will add another $40 to our monthly plan. (Our total is $160 for the four of us, for unlimited plans, including international. It's actually a really affordable plan for four, although certainly not the cheapest out there.)
- Car charging. We've been charging our electric cars for free at work for years (since we got an electric car). We charged up on Sunday, and will now have to find an affordable place to charge, or install charging at our house. Cost per month increase = ? I'm going with $50/month, but I honestly have no idea. I'll update our budget as we get a more solid estimate.
- There are plenty of other miscellaneous options (portable life insurance, free food & drinks at work, a gym, etc), but we're still working on estimates for all of those.
This corresponds with a very expensive season of life for us, with one kid in college, one graduating from high school & starting college, and all of the expenses associated with that. But, thank goodness we've been financially conservative for years, and can afford this. Because, the job market is really something these days. More to come, as we begin additional belt tightening!
If you have any inspiring money savings from your household, please share! We all need motivation, and I love hearing how everyone else is stretching their budget!
First, congratulations on being prepared! I was not back in the Great Recession, owed on my house and had to move several hours away, and it was brutal. You have that house paid off and that is fantastic! You also have the boys college taken care of for four years and another cheer for that! Now, for my suggestions: if you don’t have a job with health insurance by the time COBRA ends, the ACA used to only require income, not equity in property, so you should qualify for a cheap plan. I know it is more complicated for you bc of health issues. My biggest suggestion is to get a teaching job with the state so you have health insurance and maybe a pension. I would think with y’all’s science and tech/math background y’all would make fabulous teachers! My state is always on the lookout for math and science teachers and gives new teachers from industry time to get their teaching certificate. My standard cheap fallback for protein is various dried beans and peas with rice. I do not can like my grandma did, but have found that freezing berries works great!I generally find them for free, at least blackberries or mulberries from trees. I think you can freeze all your lemons and avocado from your tree but you would know more than me. Dandelion greens are very nutritious and great to top beans and rice with. I know that sounds strange but it is true. We have Dollar Tree and Dollar General here to stock up on antibiotic ointment for cuts, bandages, cold meds, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap etc. My biggest suggestion is to proud of yourself for how well you have prepared. If you ever need to move to a cheaper place you should do well on the sale of your home but I am not sure if taxes would really be less elsewhere, or if you would be as happy as you seem to be there. You have access to beautiful camping places where you live, and that could make for cheap get away trips. Really, you have got this if you can get the insurance covered especially! Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you are having to go through this and hope both you and M find employment sooner rather than later, though I know how competitive the job market is right now.
ReplyDeleteI don't envy you having 2 in college at the same time right now. I'm just glad you planned their education funds. So many people don't.
I know it will be hard and you might have to cut some things you do or have done in the past. I know for me things I take as necessities are really luxuries and I could cut quite a bit from our spending if/when I need to.
You are indeed correct about health care costs being insane! I'm so sorry all of this is coming at y'all at once, but what a relief to be able to stress so much less. This is a great lesson in why it pays to be conservative with money and having that emergency net.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me furious that you have to come up with that much money for health coverage that will really cover nothing unless it is catastrophic. This country needs help!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a horrendous amount for health coverage. I can not even imagine having to come up with that cost every month. I wonder if the university has a medical plan for its students? I know that at one point our universities did under the student fees.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
What i was thinking too! UofO has $300 month plan-https://health.uoregon.edu/uo-student-insurance
DeleteIt's the same price to add one kid or two kids to our plan, and Nick is not yet covered by a University/College. - HP
DeleteWhy do you think the job market is so tough now? Could M take a gander with start up
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few reasons. 1) We're in the bay area, where there have already been a lot of layoffs, so lots of great candidates searching. 2) Mid-senior level roles are the ones most impacted by previous layoffs & consolidation, so generally just fewer roles to apply to. 3) Concern generally about the economic climate & forecast, so companies are very conservative with new hires/open roles.
DeleteM is applying at startups as well, and would probably prefer that. - HP
I probably should sit down and figure out a budget - I've been winging it since Hubby died. My house note recently went up $400 and that's gonna hurt. Cell phone, internet, and natural gas all went up as well. I can eat cheaply, thank goodness, but I would be in a pickle without the health insurance I have. I will be reading along to get a lot of helpful info!
ReplyDeleteI dug through our credit card bills to look for recurring charges, and found $60 or so to cut. We both tried LinkedIn premium, but neither of us thought it added enough value to justify the cost.
DeleteThat's a big increase in your house note. Was that due to increased insurance cost, or something else? - HP
Not sure if this is a duplicate as my initial comment went *poof* prior to finishing it. Here goes: Americans will never believe spending $2,000 in taxes annually for universal coverage is better than paying $8,000 annually in premiums. And even with excellent private coverage I have a looong wait for appointments/specialists.
ReplyDeleteLike you, our kids could get coverage through their schools, but our plan is the same for one or all kids.
DD is at a school with an excellent medical and dental school. She has visited the health clinic, but refused to see their dental clinic when she chipped a tooth her first year. She waited until she came home for Thanksgiving (and couldn’t get an appointment until Christmas break) to see the family dentist practice. Funny not funny: In the course of the conversation the dentist who treated her told he he earned his DDS at her school and asked why she didn’t get treated there!!!
-Meg B.
As for money-saving tips, one thing that can help is meal prepping and bulk buying for household necessities—it can save quite a bit over time. Also, it can be helpful to evaluate subscriptions or memberships that may no longer be essential. Sometimes, small changes can have a big impact in the long run.
ReplyDeleteWishing you strength as you go through this season of transition and all the belt-tightening adjustments. Keep your focus on the long-term stability, and I’m sure things will stabilize!
www.melodyjacob.com