I admire your generosity in the midst of your personal struggles. It speaks volumes of your perspective in life and selflessness towards what you receive and work towards. Your kiddo is super blessed to have you both as parents.
Eliminating the $18,000 in private school tuition and the $22,000 yearly tithing would go a very long way in helping save while they work towards moving to a lower cost area where the female of the household could use her certification.
The tithing amount really stood out to me as well. I’m no longer religious, but was growing up in the south. And I remember the general sense around tithing was that you gave what you could afford when you had the means to do so. Admittedly that was years ago and times have changed.
It feels to me the tithing amount is unnecessarily high right now when they have a few short- and mid-term goals that could be more easily achieved if this part of the budget were re-evaluated. The tithing budget could be reestablished in the future. But I realize we all have different priorities and this budget peek may lack important context around that particular decision.
Loving this series. Looking forward to some people in a more middle class or lower income bracket though. The two cases so far are in the 95 or so percentile for income in the USA.
Agreed! While this is interesting, it just isn’t relatable and perpetuates a feeling of being lesser than. While I am grateful for my life, it’s much harder to survive with a significantly smaller income. I want to know how others within my income bracket are making it work!
I also love this series. Thank you for sharing how you organize and think about money. I am in my 60s now and worry less about money, but my 30s were a constant worry. I hope you follow through on your dreams and take the time to appreciate the resiience you are building through this experience!
In our church tithing is a commandment. We pay it to show the Lord that we love Him. It is not about the money, it’s about the principle. The sacrifices we make paying it monthly have blessed us over the years, and it has taught us to live below our means.
Dope, that's great. Freedom of religion is one of the great things about this nation (assuming you're American). That kind of runs into a brick wall when you don't, in fact, live below your means and instead talk about how your material position in this world is hampered by an imbalance between income and outlays.
Unless that commandment is "though shalt give me $1,900 a month" it seems like maybe cutting back could be a decent compromise.
I think they’re paying on their gross pay. We pay on the net including our tax refund and money gifts.
For sure though, $22k adds up. Cutting private school and looking at great public charter schools or public schools in a new area could free up their money.
I was curious about that as well. Since she didn't address it further i have to assume it's annually. I think a typical amount would be 10% of income, so I doubt that's a monthly number.
Boy, do I feel this family. I’m also raising kids in a HCOL area with a chronic illness and I could’ve written parts of this myself. For real, the cost of summer childcare is a beast to be budgeted for waaay in advance. I’ve also made the mistake of thinking I could save big bucks on summer programming by keeping the kids at home and patching together activities in the margins of my work day, haha, 10/10 would not recommend. I’m also a mom with a master’s degree who has had to settle for the more flexible job that isn’t really in my field and doesn’t pay well.
Big kudos for soldiering on through these conditions. And I totally agree that your generosity in the midst of personal struggles is admirable. You’re clear on what your goals are and that’ll carry you a long way.
If this series is still going in a few years, please come back and update us on how things are going post-move!
i love this series so much. Even though the families have very different financial structures than mine, it makes me feel a lot better about what it takes to actually live and support a family in 2024.
I appreciate the transparency of this post so much. Super hard not having family help while also living in an expensive area + student loans + chronic illness. I fully respect the tithing—it is not at all like spending thousands of dollars on candles like another commenter suggested.
Not having help from family is really hard, as this story underscores. I think it's often worth sacrificing a LOT to be close to family and have support, but in this family's case it sounds like that is not possible at all. And with chronic illness to boot! My heart goes out to them, and I hope they can find their dream home in a low cost of living place. It is clear they are thoughtful and doing the best they can.
As a Bay Area escapee myself, I know the grind that that region entails, and it can be a great relief to leave it if you can.
I moved to SF 2 years ago and can't wait to leave. I knew it was expensive here, but when a $200 vet bill from Florida (where I moved from) was $800 here for the same services... it rocked me to my core. Can't wait to leave!
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. My bestie and I often chat about the precarity of middle class, what is actually happening with families’ financials behind closed doors so this series is excellent. It drops the veil on finances and gets really interesting when you’re going through the detail. You realise how differently we all live, what we choose to prioritize etc. Thanks so much. It would be great to read about multiple kid scenarios where things get trickier, more stretched and more expensive.
This series is giving me life. As a low-income earner since my divorce, I enjoy reading these and learning from them. My heart goes out to this family. It's easy to make recommendations until you've lived in those shoes.
I don't know if you (the person answering the survey) can see this, but I also admire and commend your giving. It's something that we also do with our limited income, and I do believe it has come with blessing. You can look at scripture and see that generosity is what's required, and that could mean giving more or even mean giving less in some cases (which was the case for us for a long time).
This was fascinating! This family is doing so much, and it’s impressive.
As someone who earns far less than this family, but still feels (financially) on easy street it really put things in perspective how much EXPENSES matter. It definitely made me feel gratitude for how little my expenses are. I think I would die in the Bay Area lol.
Love that they are a one car household. I really hope they can increase the 401k contribution to meet the employer match (sounds like that’s their goal! I agree with their goal of moving, not just for lower cost of living but being able to use that certification will be beneficial not just financially but it will be more fulfilling
Extremely relatable. My husband and I just moved back to Chicago from the Bay Area -- *everything* there is so incredibly expensive. Even with both of us making six figures (before we were both laid off), we were really just surviving, not planning for the future.
I admire your generosity in the midst of your personal struggles. It speaks volumes of your perspective in life and selflessness towards what you receive and work towards. Your kiddo is super blessed to have you both as parents.
Eliminating the $18,000 in private school tuition and the $22,000 yearly tithing would go a very long way in helping save while they work towards moving to a lower cost area where the female of the household could use her certification.
The tithing amount really stood out to me as well. I’m no longer religious, but was growing up in the south. And I remember the general sense around tithing was that you gave what you could afford when you had the means to do so. Admittedly that was years ago and times have changed.
It feels to me the tithing amount is unnecessarily high right now when they have a few short- and mid-term goals that could be more easily achieved if this part of the budget were re-evaluated. The tithing budget could be reestablished in the future. But I realize we all have different priorities and this budget peek may lack important context around that particular decision.
Loving this series. Looking forward to some people in a more middle class or lower income bracket though. The two cases so far are in the 95 or so percentile for income in the USA.
Yes. I’d like to see more average incomes and people with a lower cost of living represented
Agreed! While this is interesting, it just isn’t relatable and perpetuates a feeling of being lesser than. While I am grateful for my life, it’s much harder to survive with a significantly smaller income. I want to know how others within my income bracket are making it work!
I also love this series. Thank you for sharing how you organize and think about money. I am in my 60s now and worry less about money, but my 30s were a constant worry. I hope you follow through on your dreams and take the time to appreciate the resiience you are building through this experience!
What a beautiful perspective from another stage in life ❤️
I'm sorry, is that tithing number MONTHLY? >$22,000 per year can go a long, long, long way to solving a lot the issues the subject has talked about...
In our church tithing is a commandment. We pay it to show the Lord that we love Him. It is not about the money, it’s about the principle. The sacrifices we make paying it monthly have blessed us over the years, and it has taught us to live below our means.
Dope, that's great. Freedom of religion is one of the great things about this nation (assuming you're American). That kind of runs into a brick wall when you don't, in fact, live below your means and instead talk about how your material position in this world is hampered by an imbalance between income and outlays.
Unless that commandment is "though shalt give me $1,900 a month" it seems like maybe cutting back could be a decent compromise.
I think they’re paying on their gross pay. We pay on the net including our tax refund and money gifts.
For sure though, $22k adds up. Cutting private school and looking at great public charter schools or public schools in a new area could free up their money.
I was curious about that as well. Since she didn't address it further i have to assume it's annually. I think a typical amount would be 10% of income, so I doubt that's a monthly number.
It's monthly!
Respect to religious preferences, managing your own budgets, etc etc but this is literally a Dril post come to life
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/someone-who-is-good-at-the-economy-please-help-me
Whoa. 14% of overall monthly take-home, and nearly all of her monthly take-home pay.
Boy, do I feel this family. I’m also raising kids in a HCOL area with a chronic illness and I could’ve written parts of this myself. For real, the cost of summer childcare is a beast to be budgeted for waaay in advance. I’ve also made the mistake of thinking I could save big bucks on summer programming by keeping the kids at home and patching together activities in the margins of my work day, haha, 10/10 would not recommend. I’m also a mom with a master’s degree who has had to settle for the more flexible job that isn’t really in my field and doesn’t pay well.
Big kudos for soldiering on through these conditions. And I totally agree that your generosity in the midst of personal struggles is admirable. You’re clear on what your goals are and that’ll carry you a long way.
If this series is still going in a few years, please come back and update us on how things are going post-move!
.
Fingers crossed it's still going in a few years :)
Love the idea of doing an update
i love this series so much. Even though the families have very different financial structures than mine, it makes me feel a lot better about what it takes to actually live and support a family in 2024.
eager to read one from someone with multiple young children!
Yes! Definitely! Adding more kids to the mix definitely changes the numbers!
I appreciate the transparency of this post so much. Super hard not having family help while also living in an expensive area + student loans + chronic illness. I fully respect the tithing—it is not at all like spending thousands of dollars on candles like another commenter suggested.
Not having help from family is really hard, as this story underscores. I think it's often worth sacrificing a LOT to be close to family and have support, but in this family's case it sounds like that is not possible at all. And with chronic illness to boot! My heart goes out to them, and I hope they can find their dream home in a low cost of living place. It is clear they are thoughtful and doing the best they can.
As a Bay Area escapee myself, I know the grind that that region entails, and it can be a great relief to leave it if you can.
I moved to SF 2 years ago and can't wait to leave. I knew it was expensive here, but when a $200 vet bill from Florida (where I moved from) was $800 here for the same services... it rocked me to my core. Can't wait to leave!
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. My bestie and I often chat about the precarity of middle class, what is actually happening with families’ financials behind closed doors so this series is excellent. It drops the veil on finances and gets really interesting when you’re going through the detail. You realise how differently we all live, what we choose to prioritize etc. Thanks so much. It would be great to read about multiple kid scenarios where things get trickier, more stretched and more expensive.
This series is giving me life. As a low-income earner since my divorce, I enjoy reading these and learning from them. My heart goes out to this family. It's easy to make recommendations until you've lived in those shoes.
I don't know if you (the person answering the survey) can see this, but I also admire and commend your giving. It's something that we also do with our limited income, and I do believe it has come with blessing. You can look at scripture and see that generosity is what's required, and that could mean giving more or even mean giving less in some cases (which was the case for us for a long time).
This was fascinating! This family is doing so much, and it’s impressive.
As someone who earns far less than this family, but still feels (financially) on easy street it really put things in perspective how much EXPENSES matter. It definitely made me feel gratitude for how little my expenses are. I think I would die in the Bay Area lol.
Love this series, Lindsey! Thanks for sharing.
Love that they are a one car household. I really hope they can increase the 401k contribution to meet the employer match (sounds like that’s their goal! I agree with their goal of moving, not just for lower cost of living but being able to use that certification will be beneficial not just financially but it will be more fulfilling
I also appreciate the one car lifestyle choice there!
Extremely relatable. My husband and I just moved back to Chicago from the Bay Area -- *everything* there is so incredibly expensive. Even with both of us making six figures (before we were both laid off), we were really just surviving, not planning for the future.
Fellow Bay Area --> Chicago transplant here. Can't explain how much easier it is from a cost of living perspective
I moved to Chicago from Austin. So happy with our choice!