Anyone in the US - an idea of monthly outgoings?

[nightkd]

We're looking at moving out of our apartment within the next few months and buying a house...

We're doing some rough calculations to make sure we can realistically afford the places we're looking at and I was wondering if people would mind giving an example of their regular outgoings each month (would be good to compare an average month in summer and an average month in winter, but anything would be helpful)?

We'd have a mortgage of about $150,000, gas fire/cooker/water heater and electricity obviously for lights, fridge and other appliances...We also haven't been paying water bills for where we are now (separately anyway) so we could do with an idea of how much we should expect to pay - it's just the two of us + LO when she arrives.

Let me know if there's anything else it would help to know to get a better idea of what WE would be paying...Again any idea would be helpful. Thanks!

xx

 

[nightkd]

Bump

 

[nataliecn]

I'd call some of the local utility companies. they may be able to give you information too. you just really have to learn how to conserve..
babies use lots of water - constant laundry, baths, etc. our water usage has gone waaaay up!
i know here in canada we have something called "equal billing" so a lot of utility places give you the option of paying a set fee each month, so that you're not slammed in the winter months, but you're paying "more" in the summer compared to what you use.. that being said, it's the perfect setup for a tighter budget that you have to watch, because there is no guessing what your bill will be! maybe call and see if they have options like that.. plus, i know here real estate agents usually have numbers because a lot of people do ask approximates for things like that when they are looking at houses.

Oh, and a tip - avoid baseboard heaters!! they'll screw you for heat!!

 

[nightkd]

Thanks!

DH asked the guy who lives in the same area - he said they budget for $200 a month for gas/electric/water/garbage removal etc and never hit that... Does that sound a bit too optimistic to you?

We're being offered a really good deal (they're offering to pay our apartment lease breaking fees amongst other things!) but I'm just worried that we're going to end up being tight for money....

The houses are meant to be pretty energy efficient! There's one big gas fire, which apparently heats up the place very well. We went and looked at some yesterday and it was FREEZING and windy...heating obviously wasn't on in the houses, but they were still warm enough!

x

 

[nataliecn]

I'd maybe ask to see bills... I duno, I've never bought, so I'm not 100% sure.. I've only had apartments where I've paid things on my own, and that's so much different.

But anyone would understand if you're worried and be willing to give you numbers, last thing you want to do is get a house and then end up unable to make payments.

 

[bky]

Going to vary regionally obviously but when we owned a house (in Oregon) we had a gas fire and central heat/air. I think top for all our bills (water garbage gas power) was maybe $350 tops--and that was in the summer with the air on too low. Generally power would go up in the summer and gas would go up in the winter. Usually not more than $200 for those two. We did pay garbage bi-monthly, and water/sewer/drain was pretty consistently around $50/mo. This was probably before I broke OH of the habit of sitting around without a shirt on in the winter and set thermostat limits. We did run the gas fire a lot as the dogs loved it, but when we ran that we didn't use the central heat. Our house was built in the 70's as well, so not as energy efficient as anything new.

 

[mummy3]

Im going to be watching this thread! We moved to San Diego last July, hubs is from here im from UK. Firstly after getting around the exchange differences, everything here is expensive!! As its hot here pretty much all year I can only talk about summer months
We rent at mo as well and are looking into buying and from asking around I would say around 400 is what we would spend per month on electric, water and garbage. I have 3 kids though so the washer is on ALL the time lol!

I see your from the UK too, how have you found life in the US?
Amyx

 

[nightkd]

Theoretically we should have plenty anyway, it's just realistically that seems to be the problem I think it's mostly food bills that murder our budget...

We have done some preliminary numbers, but we don't want to end up thinking we'll have more left than we will... We're paying about half the amount on rent at the moment, that we'll be paying on the mortgage...so it's going to be a big change, but we should have enough to live....it just might be a case of having a really nice house and all the basics, but not being able to go out/do anything EVER

Our apartment was built in the 60s so it OLD, there are drafts everywhere - balcony door, PLUG SOCKET The houses we're looking at are new builds and have added features so that they're more energy efficient... They also have added Tornado safety features

Thanks Amy! Life in the US is....okay...My main issue is homesickness! If my mum lived just down the road then I'd be a lot happier here...but the lifestyle itself isn't much different, apart from EVERYTHING having a drive-through! How about you?

We have car payments and bike payments (plus insurance) on top of our bills too... ARGH!

x

 

[mummy3]

You right, within a 1 mile radius of our house there are 7 places with drive thrus And generally they are all selling the same thing!!
I like it here though, I fell out with my parents ages ago so being across the pond is great for me
It is still confusing everything being in dollars but im getting there, everything seems so much but that said the wages seem so high compared to the uk.
The best thing tho for me was the hospital, I had my youngest in August a month after we got here and wow the hospital was like a hotel!!! What do you like the best?
Are you going to be a SAHM? Ive got my green card but we've decided im staying home
Off to Kmart now for chocolate which unfortunately is not as good as uk, not sweet enough!
xx

 

[nightkd]

You right, within a 1 mile radius of our house there are 7 places with drive thrus And generally they are all selling the same thing!!
I like it here though, I fell out with my parents ages ago so being across the pond is great for me
It is still confusing everything being in dollars but im getting there, everything seems so much but that said the wages seem so high compared to the uk.
The best thing tho for me was the hospital, I had my youngest in August a month after we got here and wow the hospital was like a hotel!!! What do you like the best?
Are you going to be a SAHM? Ive got my green card but we've decided im staying home
Off to Kmart now for chocolate which unfortunately is not as good as uk, not sweet enough!
xx

Lol, I know right! I am now shocked and appalled when a place doesn't have drive-thru

Ahh, it's nice having the independence, but I just feel bad leaving people behind, iykwim? Especially my mum!

Oh yeah, I dunno, I find there are some things that are a lot cheaper over here and other things which are stupidly expensive... It's fun going down the international isle in one of the stores around here, British things are about 10 times more expensive than I'd pay in the UK!

Hmm, we haven't got insurance, so the whole healthcare thing has been getting on my wick a bit. We're planning to do a homebirth atm, because I want to birth in water, but none of the hospitals around here support it! Urm, best...the cheap houses?! And the way the shops stay open until like 9pm, instead of everything being closed by 5!!!!

Yep! I'd like to start making and selling stuff though - I have so many ideas for home business, but it's just getting it all together and finding a good way to sell.

Nice! Lol! I know what you mean... I made DH a birthday cake last year from my fave British recipe, with LOADS of chocolate buttercream and it was too sweet...I was like...WTF? But Hershey's is rank because it's not sweet enough for me!! It tastes like curry!! Which reminds me, I have Cadburys in the fridge!!! I'd highly recommend Lindt Lindor to satisfy a sweet tooth too - the white chocolate bar with a melty centre is SO yummy too!!

xxx

 

[mummy3]

hahaaha I also have a fridge full of cadburys! I agree about hersheys,yuck!
I went down an international aisle the other day and the only british food I could find was birds custard,
The insurance thing, is there anyway you could get on your DHs plan? We spent the first day I was in hosp trying to sort ours out, there was all kinds of mishaps. Good job too as with me being in for 10 days then baby in nicu for 10 days it would have been extortionate!
Maybe theres some way you could be covered by NHS, not sure how that would work, like holiday insurance or something. Very confusing
Dont let me scare you though, my 3 have all been early so I was expecting this! Also maybe this medicare thing although again im not sure how it works
So yeah im really not helpful
Thinking about it there is some stuff I miss about the UK but its random, I miss everything being walkable or at least close by.
missing your family that must be hard.
Amyxx

 

[nightkd]

DH doesn't have insurance - no-one will cover him because I'm pregnant...I'm also not entitled to Medicaid/care/Sooner Care because I'm not a US Citizen (GC rules basically say that I can't take any form of government help and those things are included) Fun stuff. NHS won't cover over here either...there's a set up in Europe where I would be covered in certain places over there - eg when my dad was living in Spain my half-sis's birth was covered somehow but nope, not in the US.

We're planning on having something set up for Bean, so if she ends up needing emergency care etc, she'll have insurance, basically....It's just me.

Thanks Yeah, I miss being able to walk places - there were a lot of pathways/parks near my house in the UK...hopefully, with the houses we're looking at buying, there will be places to walk and a couple of parks nearby

The guy today (we were looking at the houses again) said he budgeted $90 every two weeks for bills - he doesn't hit that some months, and goes a little higher others, so it balances out... He said electricity was $56 for him last month (we'd be installing a programmable thermostat, so we could have it lower than that!) but we're just not sure about gas etc... =/

xxx

 

[mummy3]

Thats good that baby is covered, my DH managed to get me covered on his insurance and I was 30 weeks gone I know what you mean though its not the easiest thing to understand!
Does the house you are moving to have extra costs, a lot of the places we saw had all these extra community charges, which added up to an extra couple of hundred a month.
Id say we spend about 800 a month as well on grocerys, nappies, drs appointments, days out etc. Then is cable/ phonebill which is about 200 a month.
Totally of topic but have you noticed how all the sweets here have peanut butter in them
Amyxx

 

[nightkd]

Thats good that baby is covered, my DH managed to get me covered on his insurance and I was 30 weeks gone I know what you mean though its not the easiest thing to understand!
Does the house you are moving to have extra costs, a lot of the places we saw had all these extra community charges, which added up to an extra couple of hundred a month.
Id say we spend about 800 a month as well on grocerys, nappies, drs appointments, days out etc. Then is cable/ phonebill which is about 200 a month.
Totally of topic but have you noticed how all the sweets here have peanut butter in them
Amyxx

Yeah....I think I'm going to get DH to have another look around, he just told me basically that no-one will cover me (I know it is hard once you're pregnant as it's a pre-existing condition - most of the maternity coverage has to be had for a year BEFORE you conceive ) and no-one will cover him because of me (a lot of the insurance plans would automatically cover me as his wife, or something..)... Blargh. It's such a pain in the ass...Oh for the NHS - no matter how crap it can be sometimes!!!!

Yeah, I think it was only like $75 a year or something though - for community improvements, upkeep etc etc... Wow $800! Is that every month? We're trying to plan out how to keep our grocery bill down - buying in bulk (looked in at Sam's Club the other night - dunno if you have it/have heard of it over there...but you pay a fee for the year to 'join the club' then you can get a discount on things that you buy in bulk - eg these HUGE bags of pasta/rice, the giant tins of tomatoes etc etc) and making meals to freeze, which will make it a bit easier with Bean on the way anyway

Nappies...I'm debating - I was going all cloth, but then decided to start off with the handful of cloth nappies I have, but intend to use disposable and just try the cloth ones and see how we get on...I don't know if it would be saving much money when you compare water costs etc though for washing them? Our cable (we don't have a landline yet, we'd like to switch to AT&T from Cox - but can't currently) is actually relatively cheap, I don't remember how much in total atm...but it's a low set charge, the only time we've had an expensive one is when we've bought a lot of movies from the on demand service... We'll have a much better idea after the meeting tomorrow. It's frustrating not knowing, because we looked at a house plan we both like yesterday...and the plot is HUGE (comparatively) because it's a corner plot....

LOL! That was a random add-on!! Yeah I have, I was eating Reeses Peanut Butter Cups ALL the time when I first got here...then I switched to Yorks because I love mint chocolate A couple of times I've seen something I fancy and it's got peanut butter added and I'm like....really? WHY?! They're bloody obsessed!!!

xx

 

[mummy3]

Yeah Gavin my DH only started when we got here and I was automatically covered as his wife. We have a HMO whatever that means
I never thought Id say I missed the NHS either

I did cloth nappies with my first and I will say its hard work! Now I use disposables as I have 2 of them in nappies! Also bf lowers cost

The 800, yeah thats pretty much every month. its 100 just for nappies! then about 100 a week for food ( 5 of us) 100 for petrol then 200 for spending. It all adds up. We usually shop at stater bros, its pretty cheap.

Things are generally so expensive here in san diego, a small shack like house 1 bed goes for 250k easily!

How did you meet your oh? I met mine at uni,we lived in Lancashire for a while then he got a job back in san diego where hes from
And do you like oklahoma?xx

 

[nightkd]

Yeah Gavin my DH only started when we got here and I was automatically covered as his wife. We have a HMO whatever that means
I never thought Id say I missed the NHS either

I did cloth nappies with my first and I will say its hard work! Now I use disposables as I have 2 of them in nappies! Also bf lowers cost

The 800, yeah thats pretty much every month. its 100 just for nappies! then about 100 a week for food ( 5 of us) 100 for petrol then 200 for spending. It all adds up. We usually shop at stater bros, its pretty cheap.

Things are generally so expensive here in san diego, a small shack like house 1 bed goes for 250k easily!

How did you meet your oh? I met mine at uni,we lived in Lancashire for a while then he got a job back in san diego where hes from
And do you like oklahoma?xx

Yeah, I'm planning to BF if all goes to plan. The cloth nappies...I dunno, I was all for it, but DH wasn't sure...and as the pregnancy has gone on, I've just sort of relaxed into the idea of trying out disposables. We'll see how it goes anyway

Is that $100 for nappies for 2 kids? We saw a huge box at Sam's Club, of the kind we're going to try, don't want to get it if we don't get on with the nappies though (pampers swaddlers)...and not sure how long Bean will be in that size =/ Wow! That's not too bad for the food bill! We can easily spend $80 on the two of us for like 3 meals!! Petrol we've got separate on our budget too, $45(ish) for a full tank...so not sure how much we'll be using in this new place, per month.

Never heard of Stater Bros? We tend to go to Walmart or Buy For Less atm...

Yeah, DH said it was expensive over there! That's a pretty big difference!!! We're looking at 3 bed new builds for about $150,000!

We met on a roleplaying (basically storytelling) website in 2006 I was 15, he was 18... Talked on MSN etc for ages and then I decided to come over here in April last year - for a 6 day visit that turned into a permanent thing Got approved for a GC in September after putting the paperwork in in July!

Yeah...Oklahoma's okay. We're in a more built up area (in the City Limits) and I prefer countryside...if we can get one of the houses we're looking at, it'll be a nicer area and a bit more rural.

How's San Diego? My Uncle and Cousins live over there

xx

 

[nataliecn]

If you're worried about groceries and stuff - I definitely suggest reading up on ways to cut costs! If you go to Sam's Club, try your hardest to buy in bulk, plan meals ahead of time, don't buy more than you need - that's what used to kill myself and my OH.. Buy the bulk on sale too! It always helps.
Plus once you're not preggo your appetite will go down or atleast mine did for the most part! hahah!

Good luck!

 

[mummy3]

San Diego is ok, but very holidayish, constant sun and very very expensive. I miss having seasons
Whats oklahoma like?
Hubby says the nappies from stater bros were 60 for 15 dollars which is very cheap
I like walmart but I always come out with things I dont need, same with target
Ive never heard of these roleplaying games but it sounds fascinating, how does it work?!
I know what you mean about arriving on a whim though, we risked it on DH getting this job, we flew out for his interview and then just stayed!
Have you found very many other mums out there?
Its cool that you have relatives here, we have the MIL hahaha
xx

 

[bexxie]

Oh how I love the states!!!!

The Maybelline make up is soooo cheap where you are but agree the chocolate is ewww and as for a decent cup of coffee or Tea forget it

If you girls want me to send any chocolate or Tea bags let me know
xx

 

[mummy3]

bexxie I would do just about anything for a boost bar/ proper brew!!!!