Since we are planning to live on less than half of what we are used to, and since I figured replacing FT work stress with FT money stress would defeat most of the reason for leaving my job, and we are determined to have children regardless of the cost (though we are not going into debt), we decided to make some changes...
We'd probably have sold our house already if the market was better since we have so much tied up in it and we'd both rather live in the city, but instead we decided to refi (again). This made me kind of sad as it was just over a year ago that we finally pulled the trigger on moving to a 15 yr. from a 30 yr. mortgage (before me leaving my job was on our radar), since we were already paying extra and wanted to lock in a super low rate. We figured this was the best way to make staying put worthwhile and build even more equity faster, since property values certainly aren't appreciating any time soon. Just to show the power of this, we've paid off another 5% of our principle in the last year, the same as we had the previous four. Crazy, right? The 15 year would have saved us six figures in interest over the life of the loan (and a decent amt. in just the first yr.), but it also obviously ties up more money, so away it went. Since our property taxes have nearly doubled since we bought five years ago, the refi saved us less monthly than it could have, but it's significant none the less. We will pay extra when we can. We also saved by using the same company we refied with last time.
I have also paid ahead nearly two years on my new car payments, so I have the option of not making additional payments until then, if I choose. So I also have a lot of equity in my car if we decide to cash out and downsize. Or if we don't use our savings on treatments, I will just pay it off and drive it for a long time.
I also (sadly) lowered my contributions to my 401k from the max to the match level (6%) and have been squirreling away the rest. The money we have/will put in a Roth is also tax preferred, but it is easily accessible without penalty (the principle anyway) for worst case scenario, unlike 401k funds which will not be touched. I convinced myself this wasn't the end of the world, since we are already way ahead of the game on retirement savings in large part thanks to DH.
As you've probably noticed, we haven't been traveling or buying as much stuff as usual. These are all just negligible parts of the budget now. It's amazing how much money can be spent when it's there and all other bases are covered (and you have expensive taste). We've also held off on our remaining planned home improvements as they are big, but not emergent. Tying up more cash in a new kitchen and master bath will just have to wait. All the unexpected trips to India were mighty expensive, but that is why we live below our means as a general rule, so that the unexpected doesn't cause undue additional stress. DH has been instrumental in getting me to be even more conservative with my spending, as he is crazy disciplined.
I will have used up all of the $5K we put in my FSA by this week (on prepaid acu, RPL testing, FET, etc.), but we've discovered that since I am leaving my job that this makes DH eligible to set up one of his own after open enrollment. We have enough time to find out if this coming cycle works before setting aside another $5K in his FSA to help cover our next fresh cycle, if we need to do another this year.
Most importantly, DH's take on his job situation is that he would have to be involved in a work sex scandal to be at risk with the amount of new business he is bringing in. Did I mention that I married him because he's adorable and funny?
Oh and that "new" job of mine... Since my reputation apparently precedes me, they are already staffing me for a quick project before my FET, in Vegas! I'm not actually a huge fan (I'm lame, I know this), we went for DH's 30th, but there are worse things than getting paid for 40 hrs of work, when it's really only two days, and those are at Mandalay Bay. Extra bank for me! :)
We'd probably have sold our house already if the market was better since we have so much tied up in it and we'd both rather live in the city, but instead we decided to refi (again). This made me kind of sad as it was just over a year ago that we finally pulled the trigger on moving to a 15 yr. from a 30 yr. mortgage (before me leaving my job was on our radar), since we were already paying extra and wanted to lock in a super low rate. We figured this was the best way to make staying put worthwhile and build even more equity faster, since property values certainly aren't appreciating any time soon. Just to show the power of this, we've paid off another 5% of our principle in the last year, the same as we had the previous four. Crazy, right? The 15 year would have saved us six figures in interest over the life of the loan (and a decent amt. in just the first yr.), but it also obviously ties up more money, so away it went. Since our property taxes have nearly doubled since we bought five years ago, the refi saved us less monthly than it could have, but it's significant none the less. We will pay extra when we can. We also saved by using the same company we refied with last time.
I have also paid ahead nearly two years on my new car payments, so I have the option of not making additional payments until then, if I choose. So I also have a lot of equity in my car if we decide to cash out and downsize. Or if we don't use our savings on treatments, I will just pay it off and drive it for a long time.
I also (sadly) lowered my contributions to my 401k from the max to the match level (6%) and have been squirreling away the rest. The money we have/will put in a Roth is also tax preferred, but it is easily accessible without penalty (the principle anyway) for worst case scenario, unlike 401k funds which will not be touched. I convinced myself this wasn't the end of the world, since we are already way ahead of the game on retirement savings in large part thanks to DH.
As you've probably noticed, we haven't been traveling or buying as much stuff as usual. These are all just negligible parts of the budget now. It's amazing how much money can be spent when it's there and all other bases are covered (and you have expensive taste). We've also held off on our remaining planned home improvements as they are big, but not emergent. Tying up more cash in a new kitchen and master bath will just have to wait. All the unexpected trips to India were mighty expensive, but that is why we live below our means as a general rule, so that the unexpected doesn't cause undue additional stress. DH has been instrumental in getting me to be even more conservative with my spending, as he is crazy disciplined.
I will have used up all of the $5K we put in my FSA by this week (on prepaid acu, RPL testing, FET, etc.), but we've discovered that since I am leaving my job that this makes DH eligible to set up one of his own after open enrollment. We have enough time to find out if this coming cycle works before setting aside another $5K in his FSA to help cover our next fresh cycle, if we need to do another this year.
Most importantly, DH's take on his job situation is that he would have to be involved in a work sex scandal to be at risk with the amount of new business he is bringing in. Did I mention that I married him because he's adorable and funny?
Oh and that "new" job of mine... Since my reputation apparently precedes me, they are already staffing me for a quick project before my FET, in Vegas! I'm not actually a huge fan (I'm lame, I know this), we went for DH's 30th, but there are worse things than getting paid for 40 hrs of work, when it's really only two days, and those are at Mandalay Bay. Extra bank for me! :)
