Look at His Monthly Bill

[Will]

The New York Times has a very interesting graphic comparing how Americans at different income levels spend their money. Note that people with the lowest income give a lot to charity.

[Xin Lu]

yeah..very cool graphic. That means the guy in the original post spends more than an average family of three earning a gross income of 149k then.

[Kathryn]

You can nickel and dime on the little expenses--a hundred bucks off the cell phone bill, drop to a cheaper cable package, eat out less often, Etc. But it's the "big rocks" that really make a difference, and it takes big ... I mean, a lot of courage ... to make the sort of major changes to make a difference there. Car payments, for example, or the house payment. Yeah, the guy needs a vehicle, but he doesn't need one that requires $900 payments an burns up $800 in gas. Yeah, her kids deserve a house in a safe neighborhood with good schools. They don't need 3 bathrooms or a swimming pool.

[purplefdu]

Lots of little changes and deciding what is really important. If they want to live in nice homes and drive nice cars and watch premium channels then they aren't going to be saving a whole lot. If on the other hand they are willing to live in a decent sized house, drive a reliable vehicle and watch network TV they can cut quite a few corners.

[farley2k]

$880, and $550 for car payments? Wow. I can't imagine spending anywhere near that on vehicles. We have two cars, only one of which we still owe on ($230 a month) and I can't wait until that is paid off.

[Miss Rosie]

My entire car cost only $100 more than the highest of these car payments! $550 for two cars isn't actually that bad, but it would probably be worth it to replace one of them with an older car paid for in cash, or at least paid for within a year or two.

The first cell phone bill makes me wonder. Usually, cell service is less than a land line, or at least comparable. He can do better there. He can do better on cable, too.

I'm also wondering how an "average guy" eats $1000/month. The two of us eat half that, and I have an adolescent in the house.

Otherwise, it's a hard call. If the family downgrades the house, they might end up paying tuition for a better school, or losing an income to homeschooling. That's not always the best solution. My housing costs + lawn care, snow removal, pool and maintenance services are under $800/month, but that's because I can homeschool and there are only two of us. If I had another kid, especially an opposite sex kid, we'd have a problem. Clothing can be cut if you buy second-hand, but that's time-consuming, too.

Housing and transportation are what's killing that family, not Starbucks. $4000/month to keep a roof over your head and utilities on, plus $1050 to drive! Ouch!

[tinkabell]

I don't have to pay over 2000 a month!

I purchased a cell phone from Cheapphones for $39.00 and down load minutes (25 min. cost $23.75) I was paying $48 dollars to T-mobile for 1500 min. of which I usually used less than 120 mins a month. Now I'm averaging $40 for 3 months.

[MSMomsmoney]

IF this person can AFFORD to live like that good for him (and still save, etc.)

I have a family of 4 (myself and 3 kids), and that is ALOT of money to me to spend on things you don't need.

[MSMomsmoney]

$400 a month on electricity??

Has this person heard of CFL, and turning the lights off when you are not in the room?

That seems outrageous to me. San Diego is a pretty mild climate (no heating bills, not too hot).

[MSMomsmoney]

Actually my suggestion would be for both of them, is track everything they spend for a month.

Then they can see where their money is really going.

And to list all their debts, the interest rates, minimium payments etc.

A phone call to the cable company, would most likely reduce that expense.