It feels ridiculous to me that I'm struggling to maintain my lifestyle on 78K (gross) a year.

In My Humble Opinion
1

It feels ridiculous to be crying poor with a gross yearly income of 78k, but after paying payroll taxes of approximately 23k and health insurance of $19k, I just can’t seem to make ends meet.

My health insurance is going up another $200.00 a month in 2016.

It’s going from $1355.00 a month to $1556.00 a month for my husband and I. Last years deductible was $4000.00. I don’t know what the new deductible will be.

We do not qualify for any subsidy.

I keep hearing that health insurance is not supposed to cost more than 8% of your income, but I’m not finding this to be true, so I would love to understand this better, because with a premium of almost $19k a year, this is 3 times that.

Seriously, I’m living so close to the bone, I just don’t know how I’m going to pay this extra $2400.00 a year.

I can’t afford dental insurance or vision insurance. I can’t afford to save for retirement or maintain the home I own.

The only absolutely non essential things I have left to cut are cable tv, cell phone and internet.

My life is pretty boring as it is. It will be miserable without some TV choices and or internet. I live very rural and so I have to have some sort of cell phone to feel safe.

The ACA is not very A. :frowning: :mad: :frowning: I literally started crying when I got the new premium amount.

2

Have you tried keeping a log of your spending? If not, I recommend that you do. Sometimes we don’t realize how things can add up.

Another thing to try is checking other companies to see if you can save money on car insurance, cell phone, etc.

3

You have 33k after your stated expenses. That should be plenty to live off of.

4

Keep track of your $$ for at least a few months & see where it goes. Sometimes, the results can be interesting. Here are a few typical issues -

  • if you are paying more than 1/3 of your net income on housing costs
  • if you are making payments on more than 1 vehicle
  • if you are spending more than 1/3 of your net on recreation
  • any sort of “title” loan or “payday” loan.

If your spouse isn’t working, and is capable of doing so, you should consider changing that, at least for the short term.

5

I would look at scaling the health coverage way back. Is what you are getting now really worth >25% of your salary?

6

Have you looked for cheaper insurance? That sounds like a ridiculously high premium. I can get something similar to my own insurance for $300-$500/month on the open market.

What state you’re in makes a big difference, though. If you’re in a state that “rejected Obamacare”, people getting insurance through the open market pay through the nose.

7

What kind of health insurance plan do you have and what State do you live in? Is that the most affordable plan you could find on the market place?

8

What world do you live in?

It could be worse for sure, but 33K is very little for two people to live off of. That figures out to $2750 a month. Figure $1K for housing at a minimum, another $300-$400 for utilities/internet/cell phone, $500 for food, $500 for transportation (car payment/gas/insurance), and you’re left with a few hundred bucks a month. I don’t know about you, but for me, there is always SOMETHING that comes up that eats that few extra hundred bucks - a doctor visit (with the large deductible the OP states, that comes out of pocket), prescriptions, car/home repairs, credit card payments, etc.

Does the OP and spouse have two cars? If so, then there is no extra money every month. And given that they live in a rural area, I’m guessing public transportation is non-existent or so infrequent that counting on it to get you to a job every day is not an option.

9

Downsize your lifestyle to fit your income. All other choices seem madness to me.

If you can’t afford to live how you’re living, change how you’re living.
Smaller house or an apartment instead. Less cars, etc.

What do you think people surviving on $35k do? Or people who lose jobs? Or flat out poor people?

10

Well they end up deeper and deeper in debt, for one thing.

11

I don’t understand how you are paying so much for health insurance. Last time I shopped for it, there were lots of options for around $100 a month. Surely, even in the most expensive of states, you can find something for less than $500/month.

12

Actually, a friend in Florida found his cheapest option, for a single, 46-year-old man, was $500 a month. But Florida didn’t “accept Obamacare”, so prices are insane.

I do think that $1500 a month is really high, though, and agree that looking into another plan might be appropriate.

13

If they live in a rural area, the cost of living is much cheaper than in an urban area. If the OP is paying so much for health insurance, then the assumption that he/she is not covered in case of emergency is baseless.

For a household of 2 the income stated by the OP is greater that the median of almost any major city. Here is a map. Your cost estimates are just absurd, you’re pulling random nonsequetor numbers out of the air.

Even if you take health insurance off the income, it comes to 59k, which is still higher than the median household income in most places, especially rural areas. If the OP is self employed, expenses such as a car should be deductible if being used for business purposes.

There is just something missing from this story for it to really make any sense to me. At face value, unless there is some extraordinary situation which has not been mentioned I agree with posters who say the OP should take a closer look at all his/her expenses.

14

Two issues here. One, health insurance is generally too expensive. One reason I feel capitalism and healthcare is not an optimal combination, and why I favor single-payer. Your premiums ARE WAY above what my wife and I pay through my employer. Sure seems out of whack if basic care under the ACA were as pricey as you say - but I’m completely ignorant of such things.

The other issue is your expenditures. Kinda laughable off the top that have cable TV if you are having difficulty making ends meet. Look into alternative pastimes. What are your cell/internet plans? No idea what cars you drive, your mortgage, your food/clothing/entertainment budgets, any college debt, etc. I’d bet just about any 3d party would be able to identify significant economies, which you might consider “necessities.”

You should be able to maintain a healthy, comfortable lifestyle on $78k - especially if not in one of the highest priced markets. Whether you can comfortably maintain YOUR chosen lifestyle is an entirely different matter.

15

Ok, so let’s consider:

Property Taxes $3000.00
DMV Fees 650.00
Home Ins 1300.00
Car Ins 2000.00
PGE 2500.00
Water/Trash 1500.00

There’s how another 11k is spent. So now I have only a little over one thousand dollars a month left for everything else. And that just doesn’t stretch for gas for both my husband and I, food for us and our two cats, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene needs, just to name a few of the day to day things we all spend money on. Then there is the occasional dental visit or a pair of eyeglasses or an unexpected doctors co-pay or vet bill. Auto maintenance is costly too, especially when you’re driving an old car like my husband is.

I do shop my insurance almost every year. I hit a deer, or rather one hit me last year and that was the lowest rate I could get. I have one carrier available to me for my home, as this is a high fire risk area here in the mountains of dry California.

I’d sell this house tomorrow if my husband would let me, but he refuses.

16

Is your house paid for?
How much a month do ya’ll spend on gas?

17

What are “DMV Fees” and why are you paying them every year?

18

Some states have high annual registration fees. Before the law changed in Washington, I would pay over $1,000 each year for two cars.

19

There’s your problem. If you’re living beyond your income, something has to give. Currently you get to choose what. A lot of people don’t have many, if any choices to make, when it’s crunch time. You still do. Choose wisely.

If you moved into an apartment close enough, so one of you could commute on public transit, let go of one car, several items on the above list would either disappear entirely or be enormously reduced. Without a full mortgage payment monthly, you should suddenly be in a much better position.

Everybody has to make these kind of decisions at some point in their lives, some prefer no change in lifestyle/denial, till the wolves are literally at the door, the house is being foreclosed upon etc. Others make the changes/sacrifices required to stay in the black. Everybody is different. No one can choose for you, only you can know what’s right for your family.

It’s never easy though, in my experience. Wishing you Good Luck!

20

I agree that your health insurance costs are really high. Obviously look into whether you can pay less. Also, I think you can deduct the health insurance premiums and property taxes from your federal return, so you should be getting a decent income tax refund.