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evrythng4areason
And then there were 4
Member since 1/10 5224 total posts
Name:
Kayla
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other than your mortage/taxes
what bills do you have? and approx. how much do you pay?
my boyfriend and i are really trying to figure out how much we'll need a month if we buy a house, but we both currently live at home so it's hard
we're looking a 3-4 bedroom houses, 2 stories in general for size ideas..nothing huge
i know the following:
car pay
gas
food
car ins.
cell phones
student loans
electric (how much???)
cable/tv/internet(we'll do a bundle..100/mo)
home insurance (???)
water(???)
oil (????)
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Posted 12/1/11 12:23 PM  |
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Katareen
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
My house is probably similar in size to what you're looking at. As far as monthly bills go:
Electric = $100/mo (Will be higher in the Summer)
Oil/Gas = $400/mo (we have oil and it is INSANELY expensive--look for houses with gas if possible)
Cable/Phone/Internet = $130/mo (keep in mind the bundle is $100 and then add on fees, taxes, and optional DVR/movie channels is not actually $100 anymore!)
Food = $300-$400/mo (just me and DH and we don't go out much and don't really drink alcohol)
Water = $30/quarter (or something negligible like this--not much at all)
Homeowner's insurance = $110/mo
Then there is the cost of furniture, things you need to keep the house going (ex. lawn mower, tools, ladder, broom, rake, shovel/snowblower), decor...plus any painting/carpeting/flooring you want to do before you move in.
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| Posted 12/1/11 12:41 PM |
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MrsS1976
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/11 534 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
....
Message edited 6/28/2012 12:40:11 AM.
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| Posted 12/1/11 12:44 PM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by MrsS1976
Mortgage/taxes/insurance and utilities are DH's responsibility so I don't really keep track..
Gas: ~$50/month (?? not even sure about that)
Water = ~$25/mo (just going by last months bill)
Electric= varies, anywhere from $30-50
Auto: None. All our cars are paid off.
Auto insurance: We have clean records (no points), and basic collision on all our 4 cars...with the multi car discount and employee discount, its $ 1,800/year (~$900 /6 months).
Student Loans: $ 275/month for me (DH has none), but I am throwing an extra $1500/month at them because I want to be done with them by 2013.
Cable TV: w/ Optimum comes to $ 145/month (we have the iO Silver package with internet access)
Phones: (a) Cell phones: We both have Verizon but maintain separate plans - I pay around $90/month since I have an iPhone and extra features like unlimited text/data, DH pays around $40/month for basic service.
(b) Land line = ~ $ 25/month for that...
so phones cost a total of $ 155.
Gas/Transportation : that changes month to month because I get reimbursed for mileage through my job. We both budget at least $ 150/month each for it though. We both work on LI and drive ~40-50 miles round trip for work.
Food: Depends on the month but we eat out at least 1x a week w/ family and friends. DH does the grocery shopping - but we each chip in equally to the costs. We figure around $ 500/month on food (including eating out, etc).
Adding it all up: $ 155 (phones), $ 145 (cable), $ 275 (loans), $ 150 (car insurance), $ 125 (utilities), $ 150 (gas) for a grand total of $ 1,500.
I am sure there are more expenses that I forgot about... 
Long Island??
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| Posted 12/1/11 1:12 PM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
The types of bills above are the ones you will see monthly and you really cannot compare someones electric or heat to yours cause it is really about lifestyle and heating is how warm you like your house, the size of house, style of house and how well it is insutlated. That is just 2 many variables to say ok I have a cape too so the heat will be about the same.
Also rememebr things break.. You will always be repairing soemthing. Even in a new house. You have to have a repair fund.
Also think about yard care. We do our own but still had to buy all the tools and snow removal.
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| Posted 12/1/11 1:27 PM |
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evrythng4areason
And then there were 4
Member since 1/10 5224 total posts
Name:
Kayla
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by alli3131
The types of bills above are the ones you will see monthly and you really cannot compare someones electric or heat to yours cause it is really about lifestyle and heating is how warm you like your house, the size of house, style of house and how well it is insutlated. That is just 2 many variables to say ok I have a cape too so the heat will be about the same.
Also rememebr things break.. You will always be repairing soemthing. Even in a new house. You have to have a repair fund.
Also think about yard care. We do our own but still had to buy all the tools and snow removal.
i know there's a lot of factors, but we're just trying to get a general idea-neither of us have lived on our own before, so we realize that there's things we need to budget for that we're not aware for, so we're looking for ball park figures..are we going to need 700 a month for bills or closer to 2k? there's a big difference
we don't even know what bills we are going to have to pay, so we're trying to figure this all out
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| Posted 12/1/11 2:07 PM |
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lovemyfamily88
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/10 641 total posts
Name:
????
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by evrythng4areason
Posted by alli3131
The types of bills above are the ones you will see monthly and you really cannot compare someones electric or heat to yours cause it is really about lifestyle and heating is how warm you like your house, the size of house, style of house and how well it is insutlated. That is just 2 many variables to say ok I have a cape too so the heat will be about the same.
Also rememebr things break.. You will always be repairing soemthing. Even in a new house. You have to have a repair fund.
Also think about yard care. We do our own but still had to buy all the tools and snow removal.
i know there's a lot of factors, but we're just trying to get a general idea-neither of us have lived on our own before, so we realize that there's things we need to budget for that we're not aware for, so we're looking for ball park figures..are we going to need 700 a month for bills or closer to 2k? there's a big difference
we don't even know what bills we are going to have to pay, so we're trying to figure this all out
Neither of you have lived on your own before? Do you mean neither of you have even rented an apartment on your own? If that is the case i would suggest you rent for a bit. By renting you will be figure out somewhat what your bills will be like. Everyones situation is diffrent. My cable bill is over $200 a month because of all the extras and movies we get. Our electic bill is very low because I moniter it like crazy.
Message edited 12/1/2011 2:42:13 PM.
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| Posted 12/1/11 2:35 PM |
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evrythng4areason
And then there were 4
Member since 1/10 5224 total posts
Name:
Kayla
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by lovemyfamily88
Posted by evrythng4areason
Posted by alli3131
The types of bills above are the ones you will see monthly and you really cannot compare someones electric or heat to yours cause it is really about lifestyle and heating is how warm you like your house, the size of house, style of house and how well it is insutlated. That is just 2 many variables to say ok I have a cape too so the heat will be about the same.
Also rememebr things break.. You will always be repairing soemthing. Even in a new house. You have to have a repair fund.
Also think about yard care. We do our own but still had to buy all the tools and snow removal.
i know there's a lot of factors, but we're just trying to get a general idea-neither of us have lived on our own before, so we realize that there's things we need to budget for that we're not aware for, so we're looking for ball park figures..are we going to need 700 a month for bills or closer to 2k? there's a big difference
we don't even know what bills we are going to have to pay, so we're trying to figure this all out
Neither of you have lived on your own before? Do you mean neither of you have even rented an apartment on your own? If that is the case i would suggest you rent for a bit. By renting you will be figure out somewhat what your bills will be like. Everyones situation is diffrent. My cable bill is over $200 a month because of all the extras and movies we get. Our electic bill is very low because I moniter it like crazy.
We both currently live at home with our families, and we did this to avoid paying rent and instead work on paying off something that we'll own..
Am I missing any bills though?
I know we'll get a basic cable package, so even with taxes I can't imagine it being more than 130 or so a month
Water?
Electric?
Homeowner's Insurance?
Oil?
We're also planning on still putting money in savings each month, whether it's for house repairs or for fun stuff..yearly bonuses/raises will also go into this account
Yard work/Snow removal will be done by my boyfriend, and he sticks to a lawnmower, edger, and shovel, all of which our families have extra of
Message edited 12/1/2011 2:59:02 PM.
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| Posted 12/1/11 2:57 PM |
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MrsS1976
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/11 534 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by Blu-ize
Posted by MrsS1976
...
I am sure there are more expenses that I forgot about...
Long Island??
Yes, oops sorry - forgot to add. South Shore, Nassau County. We live between Valley Stream and Merrick.
Our housing costs are low for 2 reasons: (1) DH bought with more than 50% down at closing (he had a windfall on 1 of his investments and also dipped into 401K) so the mortgage balance is ridulously low (under $150K).
(2) our house is tiny (2 bedroom Bungalow by the water w/ 1 car garage). We pay a fortune for FLOOD INSURANCE though.. 
Message edited 12/1/2011 3:03:42 PM.
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| Posted 12/1/11 2:59 PM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Bills related to house are:
Electric
gas/Oil
insurance
cable/internet/phone
alarm
landscaping/snow removal
maintenance
Do you have cars? Student loans? Credit cards?
Take any number you come up with and double it.
Interest rates are low and you can probably get a good deal now but also figure a 20% dp and closing costs while you are figuring your budget.
If you live at home, ask your parents what their bills are.
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| Posted 12/1/11 3:01 PM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by MrsS1976
Posted by Blu-ize
Posted by MrsS1976
...
I am sure there are more expenses that I forgot about...
Long Island??
Yes, oops sorry - forgot to add. South Shore, Nassau County. We live between Valley Stream and Merrick.
You pay $450 a year to insure each of your cars with collision? I need your car insurance.
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| Posted 12/1/11 3:02 PM |
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evrythng4areason
And then there were 4
Member since 1/10 5224 total posts
Name:
Kayla
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by Blu-ize
Take any number you come up with and double it.
for everything? why would i do this?
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| Posted 12/1/11 3:03 PM |
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MrsS1976
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/11 534 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
...
Message edited 6/28/2012 12:40:44 AM.
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| Posted 12/1/11 3:05 PM |
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gdubs
This baby is awesome!
Member since 11/10 2467 total posts
Name:
Gina
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by lovemyfamily88
Neither of you have lived on your own before? Do you mean neither of you have even rented an apartment on your own? If that is the case i would suggest you rent for a bit. By renting you will be figure out somewhat what your bills will be like. Everyones situation is diffrent. My cable bill is over $200 a month because of all the extras and movies we get. Our electic bill is very low because I moniter it like crazy.
I moved out of my parents house at 26 when I bought my first house, I don't think renting first would have helped me budget any better for the bills that come along with a house. IMO I don't think it makes sense to rent when they could use it towards a down payment or repairs/renovations on the house.
Once you're in the house for a while you'll be on balanced billing for LIPA and Keyspan or whatever the gas company is now. We just got our adjusted billing for 2012 and electric is $125, gas is $103 (we have gas heat, stove and dryer)
Our Cable "new customer" package was $150/month but it just went up to $190 so we're going to switch to Fios which would bring it down to $90 for 2 years.
Water is dirt cheap, $30 every 3 months. We get a sewage bill, $60 every quarter or six months maybe?
Our home owners insurance is $1200/year.
Groceries! You'll be eating out a lot less.
Factor in all of the bills you pay now.
The first year is alway an adjustment but after a while the things you used to spend money on, whether it be eating out, shopping, traveling... all find a way back into the budget.
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| Posted 12/1/11 3:40 PM |
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JennZ
MY LIFE!!
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
My only piece of advice, dont buy a house living oaycheck to paycheck. Not that you are. Leave an allowence for the oops that happen. We bought a house that did great during inspection. 2 months later thecwater heater blew up. 1000 to replace, 7 months later we needed a new fridge, then the new roof wasnt done right, $6000 to replace. You always need extra cash on hand for the surprises you get along the way.
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| Posted 12/1/11 3:55 PM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by evrythng4areason
Posted by Blu-ize
Take any number you come up with and double it.
for everything? why would i do this?
Because it is never as cheap as you think. Cable for 130 is great but it will never stay that way and you can;t budget for the short term with a house. You need to think long term because your bills will go up much quicker than your income.
You think your electricity will be $100 and then all of a sudden you get the bill and its 150 for rate increase or summer AC months or you were home a lot that month.
Thats why I say you can't look at someone elses rates and think that you can do the same or close to it. Each house is different and each owner is different. I had apts that used more electricity than my house so you will never know.
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| Posted 12/1/11 4:43 PM |
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MrsS1976
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/11 534 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
I second Alli's advice - always budget for MORE than you actually can afford. DH has a very good safety cushion in case things go south (job loss, medical emergency, etc) - which he saved up the entire time he lived at home with his parents (He didnt buy the house until he was in his mid 30s and had a good high paying job).
Hurricane Irene this past August completely ruined our finished basement - all the basements on our block got flooded and the remediation company alone charged us $ 2-3,000 just to dry it out, remove wet sheetrock, etc. Yes, we have insurance that covered PART of it through FEMA, but we had to pay out of pocket for that damage until the insurance check arrived.
In the summer, our electric bill was as high as $ 200 because we were home for a week on vacation. Last winter, we had a particularly cold month and our heating bill was also very high..Like Alli said- it varies month to month, and you just never know what will happen.
We are fortunate that we both have great paying jobs, decent amounts in our 401Ks/savings, and family to help us out - but as it stands, as much as DH and I want to buy a larger home (3-4 bedroom, 2 car garage in Oceanside, Garden City, Rockville Centre, Wantagh) - the idea of owing a mortgage exceeding $ 300K on top of $ 10K+/year property taxes is VERY SCARY for both of us! I can't stress enough how smart it is to live AT or BELOW your means because any future emergencies can really result in financial disaster.
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| Posted 12/1/11 5:31 PM |
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Katareen
5,000 Posts!
Member since 4/10 7180 total posts
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Katherine
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by MrsS1976
We are fortunate that we both have great paying jobs, decent amounts in our 401Ks/savings, and family to help us out - but as it stands, as much as DH and I want to buy a larger home (3-4 bedroom, 2 car garage in Oceanside, Garden City, Rockville Centre, Wantagh) - the idea of owing a mortgage exceeding $ 300K on top of $ 10K+/year property taxes is VERY SCARY for both of us! I can't stress enough how smart it is to live AT or BELOW your means because any future emergencies can really result in financial disaster.
I agree--plus property taxes will likely increase every year.
We bought a house WELL below our means, live very modestly, and have had to dip into our savings quite a few times for unexpected repairs.
And this is none of my business I know, but make sure BOTH names are on the mortgage/deed. My sister got herself into a very hairy situation. 
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| Posted 12/1/11 6:00 PM |
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evrythng4areason
And then there were 4
Member since 1/10 5224 total posts
Name:
Kayla
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
thanks everyone
we've been lucky to live with our parents, because it means we haven't "thrown away" money on an apartment or rent ever..we've been able to save
we both have stable, decent paying jobs with good retirement plans, and we've worked out our monthly finances..even with our "play" money we'll still be able to put away money into a savings account each month-we also didn't include bonuses or extra money (from coaching, clubs etc. since i'm a teach) into our income, so that money will be for savings as well..we do have some student loans, but not more than 40k between the 2 of us, and we only have 1 car payment that will be over next summer..no other debt...
we just wanted to estimate our finances for what we can afford..while we probably overestimated everything we didn't actually double it (it seems silly to double the value of every bill, when i know my cell phone will never be higher than x amount per month, ever)..we wanted to be conservative in our estimates though to accommodate things that may pop up..we're also not going to be depleting our savings account with our downpayment/closing costs, so we'll have that cushion as well
thank you again!
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| Posted 12/1/11 10:33 PM |
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lovemyfamily88
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/10 641 total posts
Name:
????
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by evrythng4areason
thanks everyone
we've been lucky to live with our parents, because it means we haven't "thrown away" money on an apartment or rent
How is renting throwing away money??? You are paying for a place to live! I rented for years and never felt that way. Some people don't have the luxury of living with their parents. I always felt proud that I was on my own and living without help from anyone.
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| Posted 12/2/11 6:56 AM |
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evrythng4areason
And then there were 4
Member since 1/10 5224 total posts
Name:
Kayla
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by lovemyfamily88
Posted by evrythng4areason
thanks everyone
we've been lucky to live with our parents, because it means we haven't "thrown away" money on an apartment or rent
How is renting throwing away money??? You are paying for a place to live! I rented for years and never felt that way. Some people don't have the luxury of living with their parents. I always felt proud that I was on my own and living without help from anyone.
i'm sorry it came across that way..we just don't see the purpose of renting an apartment when we can afford to own a home-it's the same reason we own cars, etc.
i realize that what's right for some isn't right for others, but a pp had suggested getting an apartment before a house, which didn't make any sense to me
i know that we've been lucky-it hasn't always been fun living at home, but it's allowed us to be in the position we are today, which is helpful
i'm sorry if i offended you
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| Posted 12/2/11 7:06 AM |
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CathyB
Member since 5/05 19403 total posts
Name:
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Everything will vary based on where your house is. For example, a few people here have said they pay about $30/quarter for water. We have AQUA as our water company, which charges the highest rates in the country for water. We pay over $100 per month in winter months, the summer bill with sprinklers going is really obnoxious.
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| Posted 12/2/11 8:11 AM |
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lovemyfamily88
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/10 641 total posts
Name:
????
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by evrythng4areason
Posted by lovemyfamily88
Posted by evrythng4areason
thanks everyone
we've been lucky to live with our parents, because it means we haven't "thrown away" money on an apartment or rent
How is renting throwing away money??? You are paying for a place to live! I rented for years and never felt that way. Some people don't have the luxury of living with their parents. I always felt proud that I was on my own and living without help from anyone.
i'm sorry it came across that way..we just don't see the purpose of renting an apartment when we can afford to own a home-it's the same reason we own cars, etc.
i realize that what's right for some isn't right for others, but a pp had suggested getting an apartment before a house, which didn't make any sense to me
i know that we've been lucky-it hasn't always been fun living at home, but it's allowed us to be in the position we are today, which is helpful
i'm sorry if i offended you
No worries, you didnt offend me. I just dont agree with you. It was me that suggested you rent first. Mostly because of the fact that you are asking about basic bills and I feel renting will allow you to see how many diffrent expenses you come across just renting let alone when you own a house. When people say you are throwing away money renting, i dont see it that way. You could say you are throwing away money evey month paying taxes. When i rented, my rent was less then my parents taxes! Also many people's houses are worth way less then what they paid for it. I have a friend who sold their house because of a move and lost a large amount of money. They had no choice they had to sell.
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| Posted 12/2/11 8:24 AM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by alli3131
Posted by evrythng4areason
Posted by Blu-ize
Take any number you come up with and double it.
for everything? why would i do this?
Because it is never as cheap as you think. Cable for 130 is great but it will never stay that way and you can;t budget for the short term with a house. You need to think long term because your bills will go up much quicker than your income.
You think your electricity will be $100 and then all of a sudden you get the bill and its 150 for rate increase or summer AC months or you were home a lot that month.
Thats why I say you can't look at someone elses rates and think that you can do the same or close to it. Each house is different and each owner is different. I had apts that used more electricity than my house so you will never know.
Agree 100%. I can look back at my worksheet before we bought our house and laugh.
In the 9 years we own our house our expenses have blown up. Our oil per gal was $1.29. The next year 2.29..now $3.59 and will be over $4 in Jan.
My taxes were 4200 when we bought and they are now $8300.
Nothing stays the same and you will be surprised how fast the expenses rise and your income will not.
Also unforseen circumstances like a roof leak, pipes burst, hot water tanks crap out. All big ticket items. Your home inspection may not catch the foundation crack. You can plan for everything but we plan and God laughs.
So your bills and household funds should be heavily padded or your savings will get eaten.
One job loss and you could really take a hit.
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| Posted 12/2/11 10:58 AM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: other than your mortage/taxes
Posted by MrsS1976
Posted by Blu-ize
Posted by MrsS1976
Posted by Blu-ize
Posted by MrsS1976
...
I am sure there are more expenses that I forgot about...
Long Island??
Yes, oops sorry - forgot to add. South Shore, Nassau County. We live between Valley Stream and Merrick.
You pay $450 a year to insure each of your cars with collision? I need your car insurance.
I work for an insurance company..plus I have other policies w/ them as well (homeowners). I think I get discounts for being a member of AAA, and the fact that our records are squeaky clean (no ticket/moving violations for past 3 years, knock on wood!).
I have all of my policies with multi discounts and clean record..new cars..full coverage collision. I pay double for each of my cars than you pay. How much is that employee discount?
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| Posted 12/2/11 11:02 AM |
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