I am in the process of interviewing to hopefully start school either this fall or January. My husband and I are going through our budget and finances, trying to figure out how much everything will cost.
From our calculations, we will have minimum expenses of $4,500 per month, NOT including my school tuition, books, and fees. We have been downsizing, liquidating and paying everything off. (No car loans, no credit card debt, and almost no mortgage, etc.).
One of our biggest expenses is day care. If my husband works full time, it might not be worth it. We are thinking of him staying home with our kids, who are 2 and 3. I will take out enough school loans to live off of and pay for school. However, that puts loans at about $150,000 for the entire program.
Has anyone else done this? Has anyone else taken out $50,000 per year just to live off of?
gator i have no problem with organ donation..before i was dx with ca i had a notation on my drivers license that i was a donor
but i have a problem with the charges that are levied against the donors family, at least in the one case that i know about
the main in his twenties was declared dead on sat afternoon but was kept on life support till harvest team and md could be rounded up...HIS family was charged for this time, in icu yet, his father was sent the bill, when his brother checked the dates he realized that donor had been in er only a couple of hours when the papers had been signed and the hospital was trying to tell the aged parents that this money was due for the time when all were 'doing everything that could be done to save his life.\'
Expenses of $4500 per month with no debt? You guys must be living like Kings!
You're gonna need to become a CRNA just so you can support your current lifestyle!
I was kind of wondering about that. If there is no car or credit card debt, and hardly any mortgage...$4,500 a month seems like a ton of money just to live on.
This is for a family of four. $1300 - $1900 per month just for day care. Remember, this is for a 2 and 3 year old and for all of you who have kids in day care, you know it is not cheap. We don't have the option of our family or friends watching our children full-time for free.
Private health insurance costs anywhere from $750 per month to over $1000 per month. Individual health plans are more expensive with younger children and get cheaper once they are school age. These policies also don't cover pre-existing conditions. So if you have asthma, htn, etc., none of those expenses of Rx's, dr.'s visits, etc. will be covered.
So, just day care and health insurance is $2000-$3000 a month. That leaves us with $1500-$2500 per month to live off of. If there is anyone who seriously thinks that this kind of money would allow a family of four to live like kings, I would like to know where you live and how you do it.
Our Estimated Budget
Housing PITI = $1000 per month (Hillsborough county Florida taxes are 2.4% of your purchase price, so a $250,000 house has taxes of $500 a month!)
Gas & Elec. = $200
water and sewer = $100
HOA = $50
Car ins. = $200
fuel = $350
Car Maint = $100
Food & toiletries = $600 (No, I don't think this is excessive for a family of four.)
Health ins = $750 (My husband is self-employed, so for those who have no idea what it costs to get individual insurance, $750 is actually cheap)
Life Ins = $100
Cell phones = $100 (no house phone)
Internet/Cable = $100 (internet of course required for school)
Professional licensure and fees = $200 (required)
Daycare = $1500
_____________
Grand total of $5350 per month (I guess I actually UNDERESTIMATED our expenses).
This doesn't even include any gifts, clothing, entertainment, or emergency/unforseen costs.
So, if anyone has any advice on how a family of four living in Florida can DECREASE this proposed budget, please let me know.
This is for a family of four. $1300 - $1900 per month just for day care. Remember, this is for a 2 and 3 year old and for all of you who have kids in day care, you know it is not cheap. We don't have the option of our family or friends watching our children full-time for free.
Private health insurance costs anywhere from $750 per month to over $1000 per month. Individual health plans are more expensive with younger children and get cheaper once they are school age. These policies also don't cover pre-existing conditions. So if you have asthma, htn, etc., none of those expenses of Rx's, dr.'s visits, etc. will be covered.
So, just day care and health insurance is $2000-$3000 a month. That leaves us with $1500-$2500 per month to live off of. If there is anyone who seriously thinks that this kind of money would allow a family of four to live like kings, I would like to know where you live and how you do it.
Our Estimated Budget
Housing PITI = $1000 per month (Hillsborough county Florida taxes are 2.4% of your purchase price, so a $250,000 house has taxes of $500 a month!)
Gas & Elec. = $200
water and sewer = $100
HOA = $50
Car ins. = $200
fuel = $350
Car Maint = $100
Food & toiletries = $600 (No, I don't think this is excessive for a family of four.)
Health ins = $750 (My husband is self-employed, so for those who have no idea what it costs to get individual insurance, $750 is actually cheap)
Life Ins = $100
Cell phones = $100 (no house phone)
Internet/Cable = $100 (internet of course required for school)
Professional licensure and fees = $200 (required)
Daycare = $1500
_____________
Grand total of $5350 per month (I guess I actually UNDERESTIMATED our expenses).
This doesn't even include any gifts, clothing, entertainment, or emergency/unforseen costs.
So, if anyone has any advice on how a family of four living in Florida can DECREASE this proposed budget, please let me know.
Here's my advice:
Shop around for different insurers. You are grossly overpaying on insurance of every type: homeowners, auto, health, and life. If you combine all of those lines with one insurer, you will qualify for substantial discounts.
Also, maybe you could lower your policy limits or raise deductibles. How about a catastrophic-only health policy?
See if you can get a reduced rate on internet by combining with an internet/cell phone provider
Definitely shop for cheaper insurance
Eat lots of beans and rice!
If it is possible (I don't know if FLA has this) you can sign up for reduced rate gas/electric for low-income families while you are in school
Hang your laundry on the line (this REALLY cuts down the gas bill)
Sell stuff.... I just got $50 for an old tent I put on craigslist (it's amazing what people will buy)
Gas prices.... here's what I did: I had an old Honda that was getting to the point of needing repairs, I sold it and the money I got completely covered the car payments for a new Hybrid car until I finish school. The new car is under warranty and I save $150/month on gas (I get 50 miles/gallon). Not only that, it feels good to have almost zero emissions. In the long run it is never cost effective to buy a new car, but I would have done it when I graduated anyhow..... so that's what I did.
Also, I get a discount for having my homeowners/auto insurance both through the same company (AAA). They also give certain professional groups discounts (teachers, engineers etc.) so it's worth looking into.
I don't think they have Kaiser hospitals in Florida, do they? I pay $196/month for my husband and son.
gator i have no problem with organ donation..before i was dx with ca i had a notation on my drivers license that i was a donor
but i have a problem with the charges that are levied against the donors family, at least in the one case that i know about
the main in his twenties was declared dead on sat afternoon but was kept on life support till harvest team and md could be rounded up...HIS family was charged for this time, in icu yet, his father was sent the bill, when his brother checked the dates he realized that donor had been in er only a couple of hours when the papers had been signed and the hospital was trying to tell the aged parents that this money was due for the time when all were 'doing everything that could be done to save his life.\'
i don't know what the final outcome was
Well first let me say that I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and that I hope and pray for your recovery.
As for the financial burden, the family is wasting their time talking to the hospital....they need to call the organ procurement organization(OPO), which should pay for everything after consent was signed. The OPO would gladly pay for the attempts to save the life, but by law we are not able to. It is law that organs cannot be bought or sold in this country...that includes monetary incentive, which paying for the medical care prior to death would fall under. Donation under current law has to be a gift.
If the consent forms were signed in the ER and the patient transferred to the ICU solely for donating organs, the OPO should pay for that. I don't know what state you live in, but I always give the family our contact info and tell them if they get a strange bill from the hospital to give us a call and we will handle it. Human error does occur and I want to ensure that the donor family doesn't suffer as a result. We also have a family liaison coordinator that keeps in touch with donor family after the donation to ensure that issues such as this are dealt with promptly. We also deal directly with the donor hospital and get a full bill that we itemize from the time of consent. I hope the family you speak of will call the OPO that they dealt with and get this straigtened out, because it sounds like the hospital has no clue what they are talking about. Unfortunately, even two hours of life-saving attempts in the OR will be very costly for that family if they don't have insurance.
I hope that eased your concern....if you know the family, please inform them.
We have already increased our deductibles on all of our insurances. Any advice on specific insurance companies?
Just curious, what do you pay for day care and where do you live? I have yet to find a full time day care for toddlers less than $650 per month each.
Well, we haven't had to pay for daycare, thanks to family. But,a coworker told me he's paying $700/month for his 3-year old. (I had no idea daycare was that high!) So, your daycare costs are probably okay. Maybe you could wait a few years until your kids are in school?
Regarding specific insurance companies, we found the best rates through State Farm. But, it pays to talk to different agents.
Yeah, for anyone who doesn't have kids or who doesn't have to use daycare, it is HUGE STICKER SHOCK!!
As far as holding off on school, NO WAY!! I am in and going. I won't leave it up to chance that I will get in two or three years from now. It's hard enough as it is and I got in on my first try :balloons: .
Like everything else in life, we will just suck it up and do what is needed to achieve our goals. Honestly, I think $200,000 in school loans is completely do-able and hope to have it paid off in 3 years. We already paid off $100,000 in school loans in 5 years and never made more than $100,000 a year combined.
Day care sucks but it is unfortunately, for us, a necessary evil.
Thanks.
Well, we haven't had to pay for daycare, thanks to family. But,a coworker told me he's paying $700/month for his 3-year old. (I had no idea daycare was that high!) So, your daycare costs are probably okay. Maybe you could wait a few years until your kids are in school?
Regarding specific insurance companies, we found the best rates through State Farm. But, it pays to talk to different agents.
Yeah, for anyone who doesn't have kids or who doesn't have to use daycare, it is HUGE STICKER SHOCK!!
As far as holding off on school, NO WAY!! I am in and going. I won't leave it up to chance that I will get in two or three years from now. It's hard enough as it is and I got in on my first try :balloons: .
Like everything else in life, we will just suck it up and do what is needed to achieve our goals. Honestly, I think $200,000 in school loans is completely do-able and hope to have it paid off in 3 years. We already paid off $100,000 in school loans in 5 years and never made more than $100,000 a year combined.
Day care sucks but it is unfortunately, for us, a necessary evil.
Thanks.
Yeah, that daycare is a chunk of change. Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!! Good luck Ella.
CHATSDALE
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gator i have no problem with organ donation..before i was dx with ca i had a notation on my drivers license that i was a donor
but i have a problem with the charges that are levied against the donors family, at least in the one case that i know about
the main in his twenties was declared dead on sat afternoon but was kept on life support till harvest team and md could be rounded up...HIS family was charged for this time, in icu yet, his father was sent the bill, when his brother checked the dates he realized that donor had been in er only a couple of hours when the papers had been signed and the hospital was trying to tell the aged parents that this money was due for the time when all were 'doing everything that could be done to save his life.\'
i don't know what the final outcome was