Brent's House
by Alexandra Miller
Budget
Monthly Salary: $4166.66
After tax: $2909.66
401k funds are tax-deductible.
My family spends ~$150/ week for four people. Less than $50 seems unreasonable based on food prices.
Car - $450.03/month
Gas - $100/month
A larger car, typical of a construction foreman, holds ~15 gallons. Construction foremen drive around a lot (my dad was one for years) and so refuel about 5 times a month. Gas has been hovering around $1.30 for a while, last I checked it was $1.33 at Costco.
Car Insurance - $60/month
Car insurance is ~$350/semester for a young man with a large car.
Utilities - $135/month
The average American household pays $40-50/month on water and $50-60/month on electricity as of 2014. AT&T used to provide internet.
http://www.attsavings.com/internet.html
Cell Phone - $43/month
AT&T
http://www.attsavings.com/wireless-phone
Entertainment - $80/month
DirecTV used to provide cable. Eating out for a family of four averages $50/night. For one person, once a week, that's $50/month. Brent reads in his downtime, the library is free.
http://www.attsavings.com/directv
401k - $100/month
Emergency - $500/month
If unused, added to savings.
Brent still has $1341.63/month.
Interest Rate
3.750%
Down Payment (10%) - $13,500
Minimum Monthly Payment - $562.69
If Monthly Payment were increased by 15% to $647.10, Brent could reduce his payment time from 30 to 23 years and 8 months. The total amount paid could be reduced from $202568.40 to $183776.40. Brent can afford to do this.