yes, exactly what I said
"Most people are budget hawks for what they think other people should spend"

12/12/2008 3:28:45 PM

i was being sarcastic.

my bills are over 2k a month as well.

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 3:30 PM. Reason : g]

12/12/2008 3:29:46 PM

Actually, now that I sit down and do the math, my bills are over $2k a month as well.

I'M RICH BITCH!

12/12/2008 3:31:10 PM

Now we have a $2k+ a month bills club!

12/12/2008 3:35:42 PM

It's kind of weird to think that I pay more in bills per month than I made in salary my first year out of college

12/12/2008 3:37:03 PM

I wouldn't want my bills to be much more than they are, however it can get out of hand quick. When I first started making significantly more money, I was probably spending an extra $1000/mo on going out.

12/12/2008 3:42:39 PM

how the hell do you have bills over 2k a month?

I mean I know how you could but living in NC I could see it being pretty easy to avoid that.

12/12/2008 3:45:48 PM

i dont live in nc

12/12/2008 3:46:16 PM

getting to the 2K+ a month bills ain't hard with residency ownership, or a really nice apartment. I mean why would you expect independent adults with good paying jobs to live like they are broke college students. I know i'd be f'd in the a if i lost my job. Not just on the lower incoming $$$ but also in the hit to benefit that you learn to factor into your budget

12/12/2008 3:49:38 PM

Figure that a $150k house = roughly $1000/mo. for mortgage payment, and that is the low end
Plus $375 car payment.
Plus $200 utilities (power, water, gas, cable, internet)
Plus $100 cell phone
Plus $200 student loan

That puts you at $1,875 a month right there. Throw in a little credit card and you are over 2 bills easy.

And I didn't even factor in property taxes, homeowners insurance, car insurance, etc etc etc.


[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 3:54 PM. Reason : a]

12/12/2008 3:52:06 PM

jeebus...i pay a mortgage and own my car (this payment stuff is for the birds)...i only carry a ~$10 balance on my CC to keep my credit score up, my phone/cable/intarweb is only ~$80/month, my utilities tend to run ~$100/month (water and power and trash...though this month something wonky is going on with my power so it was $160)...car insurance is ~$40/month...i paid off my student loan the first few months of my job, since i was already used to being poor

either way, my bills end up being ~$1100 before food and gas, but i ride a scooter or motorcycle to work to keep costs down (and for fun) and i eat at home, mostly

if i spend more than $1400/month, something's wrong

12/12/2008 3:57:10 PM

Yeah I mean its pretty easy when your mtg payment is almost $1500.

12/12/2008 4:02:28 PM

^^ you're quite the model citizen.
We should all aspire to reach such levels of financial responsibility. And those of us who do not deserve everything coming to us.

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 4:03 PM. Reason : .]

12/12/2008 4:02:59 PM

well this time next year I will have the car payment and the student loan payment taken out of the equation, so that will free up more play money!

12/12/2008 4:03:15 PM

Quote :

"how the hell do you have bills over 2k a month? I mean I know how you could but living in NC I could see it being pretty easy to avoid that."

$350K mortgage ftw.

12/12/2008 4:08:24 PM

Quote :

"However being someone that is used to working 65-80 hours per week...I am going INSANE at home."

I hope you really enjoy your job, because otherwise thats no way to spend your life! (unless like I said, you actually really enjoy the time that is spent there then more power to you).

On another note, my bills are about $2400 a month but I am also trying to pay a college loan down. I have no car payment, but my rent is fairly steep.

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 4:13 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2008 4:11:46 PM

I lost my job about a month ago. My unemployment benefits have been denied because of a couple of work related issues. I have made an appeal on it.

I got 3 leads right now. Two of them are long-term contract data entry positions. The other is working in the mailroom at a mortgage outsourcing company. That one is permanent. I'm hoping at least one comes through.

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 4:44 PM. Reason : ..]

12/12/2008 4:43:42 PM

I would be completely and totally fucked on only $500/wk

Utterly fucked

12/12/2008 4:57:45 PM

all my bills are under 1000 , by about 200$. Wtf are you guys doing?

I dont have car payments so I guess that helps.

12/12/2008 4:59:35 PM

let me put it this way...

my power bill alone last month was $250
as it is I already keep my thermostat @ 58~60


Those of you that are saying that anybody should be able to scratch by on unemployment are either completely naive or need to get your head out of the sand or something.

12/12/2008 5:02:51 PM

250$$$!?!?!?! Running a meth lab?


I guess I didn't factor in decent cell phone plans and cable bills. I dont pay for cable because my roomie works for them.

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 5:06 PM. Reason : that could probably make an extra 200 if you were a materialistic iphoner on demander]

12/12/2008 5:04:01 PM

Quote :

"My unemployment benefits have been denied because of a couple of work related issues. I have made an appeal on it. "

Don't get your hopes up on that appeal. The ESC hates to admit they are wrong. Make sure you follow up on those leads

12/12/2008 5:12:24 PM

i've seen lots of reversals (well maybe not lots, several). unfortunately though it is one of those things that depends on who is handling your case

there are some real a-holes over there

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 5:15 PM. Reason : .]

12/12/2008 5:14:57 PM

I am still unemployed but just got a job that starts Jan 15th, gonna ride esc on up til then though

12/12/2008 5:17:58 PM

Thank you college degree...Like 75% of the grads I know from various schools are all waitresses and the like now. 100k in education to be a waitress.

12/12/2008 6:20:56 PM

holla

12/12/2008 6:21:05 PM

850 rent, water, trash
125 tv and internetz
50 power
80 car insurance
15 renters insurance
400 student loans
150 gas
30 cell phone (would be more if I didnt just pay for my portion of a family plan heh)


~1700 before food and misc. purchases. so yea the 2400 number i threw out was my total spent per month

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 6:40 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2008 6:36:52 PM

damn, your car insurance is $80? get a radar detector

12/12/2008 6:46:02 PM

srsly i know

-all my lights that can be are CFL
-half my hot water heater is off
-my thermostat is set to 60
-my stove/oven are nat gas
-i dont have any computers that run 24/7


I have no debt other than my mortgage
and my bills each month before I put a crumb of food in my mouth
is easily $3000 when you factor in mortgage, hoa, property taxes, utilities and transportation.

12/12/2008 6:48:55 PM

^^ never gotten a ticket in my life and i have a cheap car to insure. i think i only pay that a few months out of the year but it was on this months bills and I didnt really think about it. I was just pulling the stuff over from last month that I paid


[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 7:16 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2008 7:08:58 PM

Rent is $545 (before split with roomie, So 272.50/month)
Car Payment is $188 (massive down payment)
Progress Energy is $60
Internet is $30
Cell is $24.24
Car/Rent Insurances ~$110
Food is $100-$120
--------------------------------------
Total is about 850/month

12/12/2008 7:36:35 PM

Quote :

"Rent is $545 (before split with roomie, So 272.50/month)"

is this for a 2-bedroom place? that's insane

12/12/2008 7:54:17 PM

My insurance is $90/month, and I have a clean record (well no points) and drive a 10 year old car. I thought that was normal, is that high? (for full coverage)

12/12/2008 8:48:51 PM

yea, thats extremely high. Not to mention it doesn't make a lot of sense to have full coverage on a 10 year old car.

I pay about 65/month for two drivers and two cars (2008 and 2004).

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 8:55 PM. Reason : ?]

12/12/2008 8:54:25 PM

its still worth $6k or $7k, I'll stick with full coverage

how old are you? I'm 24

I think i might be getting screwed for driving a bmw, looks like my payment is lower than a lot of drivers on the bmw board

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 9:05 PM. Reason : .]

12/12/2008 8:58:23 PM

i got a fortune cookie that said "you will soon have the opportunity to improve your finances"

so things are already looking up

12/12/2008 9:01:20 PM

I haven't been unemployed since 1998, when I was 14, and never made less than $15 an hour up to $22 in college, and around $40 now, havent really calculated my salary breakdown, you lazy fucks need to get on the ball.

12/12/2008 9:23:25 PM

^^^My wife and I pay $100 for liability/collision/other than collision on both of our cars, a 2 y/o civic and an 8 y/o chevy. 0 deductible otc and $500 collision

12/12/2008 9:27:34 PM

[Edited on December 12, 2008 at 9:35 PM. Reason : ]

12/12/2008 9:35:08 PM

Quote :

"Don't get your hopes up on that appeal. The ESC hates to admit they are wrong. Make sure you follow up on those leads"

I was very detailed in my appeal. I hope I get a job before my hearing so I won't have to deal with it.

As for my leads, I'm keeping in touch with the 2 agencies I'm working with on the data entry jobs. As for the perm job, I hope to hear something next week. I know they were interviewing all this week and won't make a decision til next week or possibly early Christmas week.
I had wrote 3 thank you notes to 3 people I talked with for the perm job. They include the HR person I that setup my interview, another HR who set me up with assessments tests I had to take, and the lady who interviewed me.

12/13/2008 12:36:08 AM

my mortgage is almost 2,000 a month. these numbers facinate me

12/13/2008 12:42:42 AM

^quarter million dollar house?

12/13/2008 1:52:34 AM

Quote :

"I haven't been unemployed since 1998, when I was 14"

things change.

I was employed straight from 7th grade (1993) until yesterday. You get out in the real world, then your company goes to shit in the middle of a recession, then you decide how smug you really want to be about it.

12/13/2008 9:29:11 AM

what the hell people my payment is 780/ month and i got a 170K house

but then again, i bought recently in the middle of this economic shit

12/13/2008 9:42:45 AM

Quote :

"My dad has been unemployed for the past 3 years. "

lazy shit

12/13/2008 11:40:54 AM

Quote :

"I haven't been unemployed since 1998, when I was 14, and never made less than $15 an hour up to $22 in college, and around $40 now, havent really calculated my salary breakdown, you lazy fucks need to get on the ball."

no matter how good of a worker you are, part of that has to do with luck once you get out into the real world. Sure if you are a good worker then you won't be first on the list to get cut when things start going downhill, but at the same time I have seen some important people and very hard working people lose their jobs simply because the company had to let them go during bad economic turndowns for their company

and those numbers aren't really anything to brag about...so i'm not sure why you brought those up here.

[Edited on December 13, 2008 at 1:14 PM. Reason : ]

12/13/2008 1:11:25 PM

Quote :

"You get out in the real world, then your company goes to shit in the middle of a recession, then you decide how smug you really want to be about it."

maybe you should reasearch a company and take a stable job, my industry is in the shitter right now, but my company is not only on top of the low cost producers, but is still planning on dropping $420 million at my location and possibly buying up some of our competitors that went under

12/13/2008 1:32:51 PM

my company is fine and has actually been getting pushed pretty hard as a great stock to buy right now.

I'm just talking in general. You are acting a little high and mighty considering that no matter how good of a worker someone is, there is ALWAYS a little bit of luck involved in landing a job that happens to remain stable throughout times like this. There are several companies that went under this year or had huge downsizing that all the research in the world that could have been done when someone was applying for a job there a few years ago would not have pointed to them having financial troubles in the near future.

12/13/2008 1:54:20 PM

monthly expenses

*this is AFTER my 401k contribution, roth ira contribution & health care premium, all these are paid automatically before i see a single dollar

roof over my head (mortgage, hoa, water, power, gas, taxes, insurance) = $1650

food = (this varies wildly based on my travel schedule for work) lets say $150

student loans = $250 (this is double what they require me to pay)

internet = $40 (cable is included in my hoa)

savings = $800

gym membership = $60

no car payment, no car insurance, no fuel bill and no cell phone bill

$2,950 total expenses i have every month no matter what. going out, travel and gifts are in addition to this

granted i'm putting $800 into savings every month but i see that as a non negotiable "bill" that has to be paid and i will cut back on going out and spending before i stopping paying into that

i dont feel like i lead a wasteful lifestyle. i unplug everything i'm not using i use cfls, i take short showers, wash all my clothes in cold water, use coupons and freebies whenever i can. i cant remember the last time i went to a mall. i get my hair done every 8 weeks instead of 6. my vice is travel and that is where i spend all my extra money.

thats great that some of you can live on $1000 a month but clearly the people who own homes are spending more money. i'd need $500 a week minimum if i ever had to go on unemployment just to cover my house, food and student loan payment. that would assume cutting off my internet and not paying into my savings.

but then i'd really be fucked since my transportation and cell phone are tied directly to my job. i'd have to find a car and get a prepaid phone or something.

12/13/2008 2:17:41 PM

life is expensive

12/13/2008 2:29:09 PM