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How much do you/should you spend on food (US)?

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Replies

  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited July 2018
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    Also refuse to buy a home more than 2x household income(I realize that is nearly impossible in places like NY, MA, and CA)

    ...and WA, and a lot of urban areas in general. My house is 5x my household income and I have a dual professional income household and we were being frugal relative to most in our area. 2x is impossible unless you are making a huge income. 3x pretty much impossible as well, 4x would be a stretch. Not sure where you are from where houses go for only 2x of household income as an upper bound but if that rule was followed then almost no one would have a house in urban areas on the coasts at least unless their household income is $300k+

    I think more general advise would be don't purchase a house if you could rent an equivalent for less than the mortgage interest/home insurance/maintenance costs and don't purchase a house unless you have at least 2 years worth of mortgage payments in savings to provide a buffer for job loss or transitions.

    I had to giggle at this, as living in California having 2 years of mortgage in the bank doesn't really make sense to me. If I did have 2 years, that would be over 100k and better spent as a down payment on the actual morgage to avoid the costly PMI. If I did have to save 100k I'd never own a home.
    Here in Cali it's advised you have 3 to 4 months morgage on the bank, which is still a lot, as most mortgages are between 4k and 5k.

    Seattle is as expensive as Cali so I dont think that matters. If you are super confident there is no way you can lose your income for more than 3 months then okay but to me that is extremely risky. Having 1 year in mortgage saved might be enough but it isn't all that hard to have a major hit to income during tough economic times and 6-8 months without a job will wipe that out and that's assuming your mortgage is more than your other living expenses. If you default on a mortgage then say goodbye to your credit rating....is that worth getting out of rentals into a home a little earlier?

    I did have 100k in savings on top of my downpayment which was 20% to avoid PMI entirely which is why I felt it was okay to purchase at that point since 2 years mortgage for me was about 70k. Plus that level of solvency let me get an interest rate low enough that I was saving compared to rent on day one. Not sure why that is funny. If you dont have much liquidity then home ownership is a risky proposition...I'd rather rent for another couple years than risk my financial record and solvency.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    Also refuse to buy a home more than 2x household income(I realize that is nearly impossible in places like NY, MA, and CA)

    ...and WA, and a lot of urban areas in general. My house is 5x my household income and I have a dual professional income household and we were being frugal relative to most in our area. 2x is impossible unless you are making a huge income. 3x pretty much impossible as well, 4x would be a stretch. Not sure where you are from where houses go for only 2x of household income as an upper bound but if that rule was followed then almost no one would have a house in urban areas on the coasts at least unless their household income is $300k+

    I think more general advise would be don't purchase a house if you could rent an equivalent for less than the mortgage interest/home insurance/maintenance costs and don't purchase a house unless you have at least 2 years worth of mortgage payments in savings to provide a buffer for job loss or transitions.

    I had to giggle at this, as living in California having 2 years of mortgage in the bank doesn't really make sense to me. If I did have 2 years, that would be over 100k and better spent as a down payment on the actual morgage to avoid the costly PMI. If I did have to save 100k I'd never own a home.
    Here in Cali it's advised you have 3 to 4 months morgage on the bank, which is still a lot, as most mortgages are between 4k and 5k.

    Seattle is as expensive as Cali so I dont think that matters. If you are super confident there is no way you can lose your income for more than 3 months then okay but to me that is extremely risky. Having 1 year in mortgage saved might be enough but it isn't all that hard to have a major hit to income during tough economic times and 6-8 months without a job will wipe that out and that's assuming your mortgage is more than your other living expenses. If you default on a mortgage then say goodbye to your credit rating....is that worth getting out of rentals into a home a little earlier?

    I did have 100k in savings on top of my downpayment which was 20% to avoid PMI entirely which is why I felt it was okay to purchase at that point since 2 years mortgage for me was about 70k. Plus that level of solvency let me get an interest rate low enough that I was saving compared to rent on day one. Not sure why that is funny. If you dont have much liquidity then home ownership is a risky proposition...I'd rather rent for another couple years than risk my financial record and solvency.

    The trouble with renting is that you're paying out money every month that isn't ever going towards ownership!!
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    edited July 2018
    There was no way for me to save a year's mortgage plus down payment in California. They were taking too much tax when I had no write off and rent was sky high. I am grateful to be in a house now.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited July 2018
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    Also refuse to buy a home more than 2x household income(I realize that is nearly impossible in places like NY, MA, and CA)

    ...and WA, and a lot of urban areas in general. My house is 5x my household income and I have a dual professional income household and we were being frugal relative to most in our area. 2x is impossible unless you are making a huge income. 3x pretty much impossible as well, 4x would be a stretch. Not sure where you are from where houses go for only 2x of household income as an upper bound but if that rule was followed then almost no one would have a house in urban areas on the coasts at least unless their household income is $300k+

    I think more general advise would be don't purchase a house if you could rent an equivalent for less than the mortgage interest/home insurance/maintenance costs and don't purchase a house unless you have at least 2 years worth of mortgage payments in savings to provide a buffer for job loss or transitions.

    I had to giggle at this, as living in California having 2 years of mortgage in the bank doesn't really make sense to me. If I did have 2 years, that would be over 100k and better spent as a down payment on the actual morgage to avoid the costly PMI. If I did have to save 100k I'd never own a home.
    Here in Cali it's advised you have 3 to 4 months morgage on the bank, which is still a lot, as most mortgages are between 4k and 5k.

    Seattle is as expensive as Cali so I dont think that matters. If you are super confident there is no way you can lose your income for more than 3 months then okay but to me that is extremely risky. Having 1 year in mortgage saved might be enough but it isn't all that hard to have a major hit to income during tough economic times and 6-8 months without a job will wipe that out and that's assuming your mortgage is more than your other living expenses. If you default on a mortgage then say goodbye to your credit rating....is that worth getting out of rentals into a home a little earlier?

    I did have 100k in savings on top of my downpayment which was 20% to avoid PMI entirely which is why I felt it was okay to purchase at that point since 2 years mortgage for me was about 70k. Plus that level of solvency let me get an interest rate low enough that I was saving compared to rent on day one. Not sure why that is funny. If you dont have much liquidity then home ownership is a risky proposition...I'd rather rent for another couple years than risk my financial record and solvency.

    The trouble with renting is that you're paying out money every month that isn't ever going towards ownership!!

    I understand that, but if you pay less in rent than you do in interest, home insurance, property tax and home maintenance in a house then renting is still the better deal. Home ownership is not guaranteed to save you money over renting.

    For example. Assuming you are in a place like Los Angeles or Seattle lets say you are buying a $700k house which these days is a "cheap" house. Lets say you do the standard 20% downpayment to avoid PMI...so $140k. That is $140k you have now put into the equity of your home and is now frozen. If you were renting that is $140k you could have put in a zero risk bond dividend fund and yielded a good 3-4% annual for an extra ~$400 a month in income. You now have a $560k mortgage which we will assume is at 4.5% annual which is $2100 a month in interest payments. You also have property tax which is likely going to be something like 2% on the assessed value of your home so lets assume an extra $800 a month. You also have home insurance which lets assume $60 a month. So 2100+800+400+60 is $3360 a month in money you aren't getting back.

    One thing you do get from home ownership is a tax credit for your mortgage which might net you something like $6k a year back in taxes which is a net gain of about $500 a month which offsets that dividend investment you could get if you just kept your downpayment and continued renting or offset some of the property tax that you wouldn't even have if you were renting. So if your rent is less than around $2800 a month you might be better off continuing to rent for now and continuing to save until you have more of a safety net or downpayment or until rent gets more expensive. That doesn't even take into account the likely hundreds a month you will be spending in home maintenance and extra utilities that you wouldn't have been in a rental.

    Now you might point out that real estate itself is an investment that can often have high returns and that is true but unless you are planning on flipping your house immediately those aren't returns you are going to actually have available to you unlike something like a treasury bond dividend fund. Also unlike treasury bonds the real estate market is volatile there is no guarantee that the real estate market will payout for you so you are essentially gambling that money if your goal is just investment in real estate. Also even if your home value does go up that is great when you sell, but until you sell all that really means is that your expenses go up as your property tax increases. On top of that if it is the house you are living in and it has gone up in value and you sell it then all that means is that you will be buying another house which has also gone up in value and therefore it is sort of a wash unless you happen to move from a city where house prices went up to a city where they did not.

    It is actually not all that easy to hit the market at a time and with enough credit to get the money you lose in home ownership to actually be lower than the amount you lose in rent, at least until you have paid down a substantial portion of your mortgage. Personally I purchased a home at the point in which I had sufficient solvency and credit to put in a downpayment and acquire a mortgage interest rate where my (mortgage interest + property tax + home insurance) was equal to my rent and I had enough liquidity beyond that to cover two years of mortgage payments plus an austere cost of living if i were to lose my job. Until that moment happened I just continued to rent as it made more sense financially to me.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited July 2018
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    There was no way for me to save a year's mortgage plus down payment in California. They were taking too much tax when I had no write off and rent was sky high. I am grateful to be in a house now.

    If you were able to save up enough for a downpayment then wouldn't continuing to wait longer and continuing to save allow you to save up enough to have both a downpayment and a financial cushion in case of job loss? I'm not saying you can't buy a house as soon as you have enough for a downpayment, obviously you can. I'm also not saying that you couldn't save money with a home over rental, obviously you can although unlikely at least until the mortgage is paid down. I'm just saying it isn't that financially prudent to purchase a house if the result is to completely empty out your bank account because that is extremely risky. It is hard to recover from defaulting on a mortgage and job loss or economic crashes can come with little warning (2008 anyone?). Buying a house without a safety net is gambling, it is a gamble that very well might pay off...but it is gambling. I'm just an advocate for prudence over basically betting that you won't lose your job in order to save a few extra thousand a year in the short-term.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    @Aaron_K123 Thanks for the wonderful financial insights here. I'm glad to have reached this stage in life where my mortgage is all paid off.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited July 2018
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    @Aaron_K123 Thanks for the wonderful financial insights here. I'm glad to have reached this stage in life where my mortgage is all paid off.

    @TonyB0588 Yeah I'm looking forward to that myself, still a ways off. Apologies if my post came off as patronizing, wasn't my intent. For sure as one pays down their mortgage eventually home ownership becomes better than rent as more of ones payment goes to equity rather than interest.
  • maybebeccadough
    maybebeccadough Posts: 49 Member
    edited July 2018
    <10% of take home pay for a 2-person house with a dog. It's $600 max a month for everything, with a very occasional overage.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    edited July 2018
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    There was no way for me to save a year's mortgage plus down payment in California. They were taking too much tax when I had no write off and rent was sky high. I am grateful to be in a house now.

    If you were able to save up enough for a downpayment then wouldn't continuing to wait longer and continuing to save allow you to save up enough to have both a downpayment and a financial cushion in case of job loss? I'm not saying you can't buy a house as soon as you have enough for a downpayment, obviously you can. I'm also not saying that you couldn't save money with a home over rental, obviously you can although unlikely at least until the mortgage is paid down. I'm just saying it isn't that financially prudent to purchase a house if the result is to completely empty out your bank account because that is extremely risky. It is hard to recover from defaulting on a mortgage and job loss or economic crashes can come with little warning (2008 anyone?). Buying a house without a safety net is gambling, it is a gamble that very well might pay off...but it is gambling. I'm just an advocate for prudence over basically betting that you won't lose your job in order to save a few extra thousand a year in the short-term.

    I ended up taking out a loan on my 401K to get the money for the down payment. That was the only way I could do it. I was renting a modest 1 bedroom apartment and driving a paid off used car. Even now, with my write off I only see about 60% of my income in take home pay. That is how bad the tax situation is here. There was no way I could save up the money before.
  • cdsuek
    cdsuek Posts: 2 Member
    Central CA here, I budget $120 a week for food for a family of four with school aged kids. Dining out is extra- we try to keep that to once a week, and pet food runs around $100 a month. I buy budget to stay on track, so organic isn't really an option aside from a few staples but luckily we have some great affordable stores around (yay Winco!). I swear the farmers markets are more than the grocery stores here! But that's our sacrifice to keep our savings on track and keep to our 50-20-30, and the trade off works for my peace of mind. It's a lot easier to stay within costs when I'm not buying junk though.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited July 2018
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    fishgutzy wrote: »
    Also refuse to buy a home more than 2x household income(I realize that is nearly impossible in places like NY, MA, and CA)

    ...and WA, and a lot of urban areas in general. My house is 5x my household income and I have a dual professional income household and we were being frugal relative to most in our area. 2x is impossible unless you are making a huge income. 3x pretty much impossible as well, 4x would be a stretch. Not sure where you are from where houses go for only 2x of household income as an upper bound but if that rule was followed then almost no one would have a house in urban areas on the coasts at least unless their household income is $300k+

    I think more general advise would be don't purchase a house if you could rent an equivalent for less than the mortgage interest/home insurance/maintenance costs and don't purchase a house unless you have at least 2 years worth of mortgage payments in savings to provide a buffer for job loss or transitions.

    Crazy stuff. Had to do some research. My smaller mid-size city in the midwest, median income is 80% of Seattle and median home price is 20% of Seattle. I knew the housing prices were much higher but didn't realize the incomes were that close.
  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
    amandaeve wrote: »
    How much do you spend on food? Do feel like what you spend is reasonable? Do you feel like you are stuck spending more money than other people, or do you feel thrifty and like you get good food for the cost?

    Single guy in rural U.S. -> I budget for around $200/month and eat fairly well. I also budget $25 for restaurants, which means eating out 2 or 3 times depending on where I go.

    I think I spend a reasonable amount and probably spend less than many people. I don't feel as though it requires lots of effort for me to do this either.

  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,469 Member
    edited July 2018
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    There was no way for me to save a year's mortgage plus down payment in California. They were taking too much tax when I had no write off and rent was sky high. I am grateful to be in a house now.

    If you were able to save up enough for a downpayment then wouldn't continuing to wait longer and continuing to save allow you to save up enough to have both a downpayment and a financial cushion in case of job loss? I'm not saying you can't buy a house as soon as you have enough for a downpayment, obviously you can. I'm also not saying that you couldn't save money with a home over rental, obviously you can although unlikely at least until the mortgage is paid down. I'm just saying it isn't that financially prudent to purchase a house if the result is to completely empty out your bank account because that is extremely risky. It is hard to recover from defaulting on a mortgage and job loss or economic crashes can come with little warning (2008 anyone?). Buying a house without a safety net is gambling, it is a gamble that very well might pay off...but it is gambling. I'm just an advocate for prudence over basically betting that you won't lose your job in order to save a few extra thousand a year in the short-term.

    I ended up taking out a loan on my 401K to get the money for the down payment. That was the only way I could do it. I was renting a modest 1 bedroom apartment and driving a paid off used car. Even now, with my write off I only see about 60% of my income in take home pay. That is how bad the tax situation is here. There was no way I could save up the money before.

    wow, things have changed, I didn't know getting loans for a downpayment was even possible! I think you are doing very well to see 60% take home pay. well done!

    edit for spelling
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited July 2018
    Gamliela wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    There was no way for me to save a year's mortgage plus down payment in California. They were taking too much tax when I had no write off and rent was sky high. I am grateful to be in a house now.

    If you were able to save up enough for a downpayment then wouldn't continuing to wait longer and continuing to save allow you to save up enough to have both a downpayment and a financial cushion in case of job loss? I'm not saying you can't buy a house as soon as you have enough for a downpayment, obviously you can. I'm also not saying that you couldn't save money with a home over rental, obviously you can although unlikely at least until the mortgage is paid down. I'm just saying it isn't that financially prudent to purchase a house if the result is to completely empty out your bank account because that is extremely risky. It is hard to recover from defaulting on a mortgage and job loss or economic crashes can come with little warning (2008 anyone?). Buying a house without a safety net is gambling, it is a gamble that very well might pay off...but it is gambling. I'm just an advocate for prudence over basically betting that you won't lose your job in order to save a few extra thousand a year in the short-term.

    I ended up taking out a loan on my 401K to get the money for the down payment. That was the only way I could do it. I was renting a modest 1 bedroom apartment and driving a paid off used car. Even now, with my write off I only see about 60% of my income in take home pay. That is how bad the tax situation is here. There was no way I could save up the money before.

    wow, things have changed, I didn't know getting loans for a downpayment was even possible! I think you are doing very well to see 60% take home pay. well done!

    edit for spelling

    I don't think she meant she is saving 60% of her take home pay, I think she meant that her take home pay is only 60% of her total income due to the large amount of taxes being taken out in California. So it was meant as a negative not a positive.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Gamliela wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    There was no way for me to save a year's mortgage plus down payment in California. They were taking too much tax when I had no write off and rent was sky high. I am grateful to be in a house now.

    If you were able to save up enough for a downpayment then wouldn't continuing to wait longer and continuing to save allow you to save up enough to have both a downpayment and a financial cushion in case of job loss? I'm not saying you can't buy a house as soon as you have enough for a downpayment, obviously you can. I'm also not saying that you couldn't save money with a home over rental, obviously you can although unlikely at least until the mortgage is paid down. I'm just saying it isn't that financially prudent to purchase a house if the result is to completely empty out your bank account because that is extremely risky. It is hard to recover from defaulting on a mortgage and job loss or economic crashes can come with little warning (2008 anyone?). Buying a house without a safety net is gambling, it is a gamble that very well might pay off...but it is gambling. I'm just an advocate for prudence over basically betting that you won't lose your job in order to save a few extra thousand a year in the short-term.

    I ended up taking out a loan on my 401K to get the money for the down payment. That was the only way I could do it. I was renting a modest 1 bedroom apartment and driving a paid off used car. Even now, with my write off I only see about 60% of my income in take home pay. That is how bad the tax situation is here. There was no way I could save up the money before.

    wow, things have changed, I didn't know getting loans for a downpayment was even possible! I think you are doing very well to see 60% take home pay. well done!

    edit for spelling

    Thanks but I feel like as hard as I work that I deserve to take home more than 60% of what I earn.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Gamliela wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    There was no way for me to save a year's mortgage plus down payment in California. They were taking too much tax when I had no write off and rent was sky high. I am grateful to be in a house now.

    If you were able to save up enough for a downpayment then wouldn't continuing to wait longer and continuing to save allow you to save up enough to have both a downpayment and a financial cushion in case of job loss? I'm not saying you can't buy a house as soon as you have enough for a downpayment, obviously you can. I'm also not saying that you couldn't save money with a home over rental, obviously you can although unlikely at least until the mortgage is paid down. I'm just saying it isn't that financially prudent to purchase a house if the result is to completely empty out your bank account because that is extremely risky. It is hard to recover from defaulting on a mortgage and job loss or economic crashes can come with little warning (2008 anyone?). Buying a house without a safety net is gambling, it is a gamble that very well might pay off...but it is gambling. I'm just an advocate for prudence over basically betting that you won't lose your job in order to save a few extra thousand a year in the short-term.

    I ended up taking out a loan on my 401K to get the money for the down payment. That was the only way I could do it. I was renting a modest 1 bedroom apartment and driving a paid off used car. Even now, with my write off I only see about 60% of my income in take home pay. That is how bad the tax situation is here. There was no way I could save up the money before.

    wow, things have changed, I didn't know getting loans for a downpayment was even possible! I think you are doing very well to see 60% take home pay. well done!

    edit for spelling

    I don't think she meant she is saving 60% of her take home pay, I think she meant that her take home pay is only 60% of her total income due to the large amount of taxes being taken out in California. So it was meant as a negative not a positive.

    Yes exactly. Thank you.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    @Aaron_K123 Thanks for the wonderful financial insights here. I'm glad to have reached this stage in life where my mortgage is all paid off.

    @TonyB0588 Yeah I'm looking forward to that myself, still a ways off. Apologies if my post came off as patronizing, wasn't my intent. For sure as one pays down their mortgage eventually home ownership becomes better than rent as more of ones payment goes to equity rather than interest.

    I also think your analysis overlooks the benefits of home ownership as a hedge against inflation, if you're staying put for a while. Rents (and hopefully your income) go up, but your P+I (assuming a traditional mortgage) stay the same.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited July 2018
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    @Aaron_K123 Thanks for the wonderful financial insights here. I'm glad to have reached this stage in life where my mortgage is all paid off.

    @TonyB0588 Yeah I'm looking forward to that myself, still a ways off. Apologies if my post came off as patronizing, wasn't my intent. For sure as one pays down their mortgage eventually home ownership becomes better than rent as more of ones payment goes to equity rather than interest.

    I also think your analysis overlooks the benefits of home ownership as a hedge against inflation, if you're staying put for a while. Rents (and hopefully your income) go up, but your P+I (assuming a traditional mortgage) stay the same.

    You can invest the money you would have put into a home in the form of downpayment, insurance, mortgage interest and maintenance into a bond fund to hedge against inflation, could even do one that pays out dividends to bolster your income slightly.

    I am not saying home ownership is bad, I'm just saying jumping into it as soon as you have enough money to qualify for a loan but not enough to pay that back should you lose your job is a risky proposition...because it is. Some people are willing to take such a risk, but I think they should at least recognize it as being a risk in a way that a treasury bond fund would not be. That is all I am saying.
  • Laces918
    Laces918 Posts: 36 Member
    I need to learn from some people on here.. it’s just me and I spend a minimum of $700 a month for food and rarely eat out..
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    Gamliela wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    There was no way for me to save a year's mortgage plus down payment in California. They were taking too much tax when I had no write off and rent was sky high. I am grateful to be in a house now.

    If you were able to save up enough for a downpayment then wouldn't continuing to wait longer and continuing to save allow you to save up enough to have both a downpayment and a financial cushion in case of job loss? I'm not saying you can't buy a house as soon as you have enough for a downpayment, obviously you can. I'm also not saying that you couldn't save money with a home over rental, obviously you can although unlikely at least until the mortgage is paid down. I'm just saying it isn't that financially prudent to purchase a house if the result is to completely empty out your bank account because that is extremely risky. It is hard to recover from defaulting on a mortgage and job loss or economic crashes can come with little warning (2008 anyone?). Buying a house without a safety net is gambling, it is a gamble that very well might pay off...but it is gambling. I'm just an advocate for prudence over basically betting that you won't lose your job in order to save a few extra thousand a year in the short-term.

    I ended up taking out a loan on my 401K to get the money for the down payment. That was the only way I could do it. I was renting a modest 1 bedroom apartment and driving a paid off used car. Even now, with my write off I only see about 60% of my income in take home pay. That is how bad the tax situation is here. There was no way I could save up the money before.

    wow, things have changed, I didn't know getting loans for a downpayment was even possible! I think you are doing very well to see 60% take home pay. well done!

    edit for spelling

    Thanks but I feel like as hard as I work that I deserve to take home more than 60% of what I earn.

    Do you get state and federal tax refunds? If so, you have too much withheld from each paycheck. If you you're not getting a large refund you must have a very high income.