The Rent's Just Too Damn High! (shop, bill, housing)

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

What I'm saying is that the buck has to stop somewhere. I'm NOT considering places like Homewood or Larimer, for example, to be "habitable" due to the fact that neighbors there hear so many gunshots on a daily basis they don't even call the police anymore, as was just reported when police found yet another homicide victim the other day.

Okay, so that's 2 out of the 28 neighborhoods I listed. Not to mention that my list only included neighborhoods that are or could be walkable; there are many more affordable less walkable neighborhoods. And on top of that my list was only for city neighborhoods, there's also a few dozen low cost suburbs.

Don't forget that East Liberty, Garfield, and even Lawrenceville wouldn't have been considered livable neighborhoods to most people 10 or 15 years ago.

[Burghgirl17]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I don't know more details about my partner's finances, but my own current bills are here:

-
~$250/month for 1/2 Landline Phone, Cable, Internet, Gas, Electric, Water/Sewer

Holy crap. $500 a month for landline phone, cable, internet, gas, electric and water/sewer. Do you have super pimped-out cable service with all of the pay channels and lightening speed internet?

Comcast's Xfinity Triple Play is currently advertising $79/month. FIOS cable/internet/phone is running triple play bundles starting at $69.99. You don't even need a landline if you both have cells (though I realize the bundling sometimes makes having a landline cheaper than not...). Better yet, get rid of cable too and watch tv online. Get on budget payments for gas and electric (and scale back your usage) and you could save a ton and put that money to other things.

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by Burghgirl17

Holy crap. $500 a month for landline phone, cable, internet, gas, electric and water/sewer. Do you have super pimped-out cable service with all of the pay channels and lightening speed internet?

Comcast's Xfinity Triple Play is currently advertising $79/month. FIOS cable/internet/phone is running triple play bundles starting at $69.99. You don't even need a landline if you both have cells (though I realize the bundling sometimes makes having a landline cheaper than not...). Better yet, get rid of cable too and watch tv online. Get on budget payments for gas and electric (and scale back your usage) and you could save a ton and put that money to other things.

My family's bills:
FIOS internet
gas, electric and water/sewage for a house over 3000 sq ft
no cable tv or landline
2 iphones, data plans, etc
========

around $400 / month - total.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by Burghgirl17

Holy crap. $500 a month for landline phone, cable, internet, gas, electric and water/sewer. Do you have super pimped-out cable service with all of the pay channels and lightening speed internet?

Comcast's Xfinity Triple Play is currently advertising $79/month. FIOS cable/internet/phone is running triple play bundles starting at $69.99. You don't even need a landline if you both have cells (though I realize the bundling sometimes makes having a landline cheaper than not...). Better yet, get rid of cable too and watch tv online. Get on budget payments for gas and electric (and scale back your usage) and you could save a ton and put that money to other things.

If that cable bill is correct, it is more than my mortgage each month.

[fleetiebelle]

~$1,700/month + (Groceries, Clothing, Entertainment, Cell Phone, Car Maintenance, etc.)

While we're critiquing the budget, I feel like clothing and entertainment shouldn't be lumped in with necessities like car and food expenses. (And I hope SCR isn't still eating out almost every meal.) You don't need new clothes on a monthly basis, and when things are tight, entertainment is the first thing that can be cut.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

While we're critiquing the budget, I feel like clothing and entertainment shouldn't be lumped in with necessities like car and food expenses. (And I hope SCR isn't still eating out almost every meal.) You don't need new clothes on a monthly basis, and when things are tight, entertainment is the first thing that can be cut.

Even though clothing isn't purchased monthly, it should be included in the monthly budget so it's available when clothes need to be purchased. Say you spend $300/year on clothes. That's $25 that should be set aside in the monthly budget.

[_Buster]

Originally Posted by Hopes

You're forgetting that 1/3 of income rule pertains to all aspects of housing costs, including insurance, utilities, etc..

It doesn't include utilities; it came from a simple formula to quickly figure how much of a mortgage payment you might be able to afford. It includes property taxes and homeowners insurance + principle and interest. The equivalent for a renter would be just the rent payment, since they have no property tax or homeowner's insurance. They can opt to buy renter's insurance, but that is for their posessions, not their housing.

More conservative advice uses the 28% rule instead and became common after the housing crash. But they also have a more useful rule which is debt-to-income that should not exceed 36% total. That can be a lot more complicated but at least it takes into account your potential other large costs.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I don't know more details about my partner's finances, but my own current bills are here:

-$230/month for Student Loans
-$435/month for Car Payment (Didn't have stellar credit when I signed the dotted line)
-$145/month for Auto/Renter's Insurance
~$250/month for 1/2 Landline Phone, Cable, Internet, Gas, Electric, Water/Sewer
~$300/month for Gasoline (for work)
-$350/month for 1/2 Rent
-----------------------------------
~$1,700/month + (Groceries, Clothing, Entertainment, Cell Phone, Car Maintenance, etc.)

>$2,000/month in expenditures.

I tend to net just under $3,000/month. My partner nets under $2,000/month. I could probably afford to increase my 1/2 rent by $200/month without breaking the bank while still permitting me to save a bit each month towards my down payment; however, my partner/roommate makes less than I do, has more student debt than I do, and can't afford much higher rent, and I'm not willing to pay >50% of our rent/utility obligation, which means we're capped out at about $800/month in rent, plus utilities, for a 1-BR. Toss in how few landlords will rent to a pet owner, and we're feeling the pinch with how rapidly rents have risen just over the past several years here.

$3,000/month in take-home pay is probably what many, many local Pittsburghers earn, but when you factor in student-related debt, vehicle-related debt (including maintenance, gas, and depreciation), our expensive local utilities, expensive groceries, etc. it really dwindles. This is why I was so angry about the pothole damage back in January. An unexpected ~$700 repair bill took a huge chunk out of my savings towards my first home.

Looking at your bills, I think you really need to shop around cell phone and cable. Look into the low cost cell carriers and get a family plan. Also, switch from Comcast to FIOS or vice versa. With your insurance, can you get other quotes to see if you are getting screwed?

Maybe you can refinance your car? We get offers to do this all the time.

I don't think you should be looking to increase your rent but decrease it. Not really for your sake but your partners. Since he makes less and has a bigger student loan bill.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Looking at your bills, I think you really need to shop around cell phone and cable. Look into the low cost cell carriers and get a family plan. Also, switch from Comcast to FIOS or vice versa. With your insurance, can you get other quotes to see if you are getting screwed?

Maybe you can refinance your car? We get offers to do this all the time.

I don't think you should be looking to increase your rent but decrease it. Not really for your sake but your partners. Since he makes less and has a bigger student loan bill.

A lot of this seems obvious to us because we have time to shop around for good deals on our monthly bills. SCR says he works 6 or 7 days a week and 60+ hours each week, and it's not at a desk job with spare time for phone calls. That makes it tough to set aside time for optimizing your budget.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by ferraris

A lot of this seems obvious to us because we have time to shop around for good deals on our monthly bills. SCR says he works 6 or 7 days a week and 60+ hours each week, and it's not at a desk job with spare time for phone calls. That makes it tough to set aside time for optimizing your budget.

I don't use it myself, but I know a bunch of people who rave about Mint (https://www.mint.com/t/fy14025b/) Something like that might help.