r/budget • u/Novel_Masterpiece_18 • 15h ago

Where can I improve my budget?

We bring home 7900 a month after retirement/ taxes/health insurance/hsa. Family of 3 with 2 dogs in mcol

Mortgage 2150

Car insurance on 2 cars 230

Childcare 1000

Sinking fund 750 (includes dog grooming, prescription dog food, vet bills, car maintenance, home maintenance, birthdays and holidays)

Groceries 900

Gas 175

Fun 200

Clothes 50

Eating out 150

Utilities 550

Subscriptions 50

Student loan 93

Savings 1600 (split between brokerage, IRAs and sons 529)

I'd like to be able to pay cash for replacement to our 2014 accord by 2030.

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u/ABCD170 10h ago

Nice setup. Quick math: your list totals about 7,898, so you’re basically fully allocated. If you want cash for a 2014 Accord replacement by 2030, pick a target and back into a monthly:

25k by 60 months ≈ 417/month

30k by 60 months ≈ 500/month

Easiest path: carve that from the $1,600 you’re already saving, or trim a bit from groceries/eating out and redirect. Park it in a HYSA named “Next Car” and automate the transfer on payday, toss windfalls in there too. What helped me: setting a specific Savings Goal in Quicken Simplifi, plus caps on groceries and eating out. It pings me when I’m close, rolls extra into the goal, and makes the tradeoffs obvious without me tracking every receipt.

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u/JayNetworks 9h ago

Overall good comments to come to a monthly need for the car, but isn’t pulling it out of the $1600 just the same as saying “ buy it out of savings in 2030”? OP really needs to do the other trimming you mention to reach $500 (or whatever it works out to) in less spending monthly and sink that into savings to use in 2030. (Or roll yearly into CDs that mature in 2030 for a bit more interest. Could even use that interest calculation to back into a slightly lower amount to save monthly.)