Chapter 10: Family Expenses

Below is a list of what I believe a family of four would use their money on expenses:
Food: $1680 (about $140 a month)
Clothing: $350
Health Insurance: $2688 ($224 per family member with Health Partners)
Housing: $10,200 (around $850 a month in a one level, two bedroom town home in White Bear Lake)
Electricity Bills: $1440 ($120 per month)
Car Insurance: $1200 (roughly about $300 a month for two cars)
Gas: $1620 (about $135 per month for both cars)
Day Care: $1892.04 ($157.67 per month around the metro area)
Cell Phones: $960 ($80 per month for prepaid phones)
Entertainment/Miscellaneous: $900 (around $75 a month for family time)
TOTAL FOR ONE YEAR: $22,930.04

My ideal calculations for a family of four is a bit over the governments official poverty line by $817.04. The first thing I would decrease is the car insurance for both cars. Next, since gas isn't cheap, I would drive less and/or coupon for cheaper gas for the family. Going along with couponing, I would coupon for my family so other necessity's would last longer meaning I would get more for less. The two pictures below are photos from a friend I know who coupons and saves money from buying food and/or home necessities such as detergent, medicine, diapers for baby needs and etc.

Moreover, for cell phone bills, I would get a lower phone plan that has a certain amount of minutes and text so it would be cheaper for both phones. In addition, rather than taking the 3 year old to day care, I would ask family members to help baby sit or if both parents had different shifts for their jobs then they would be able to switch off watching the toddler.

I believe from this family, you know when you're not officially poor is when you're still able to afford having family time rather than working all day and night. Also, knowing that your family is still able to shop comfortably without having to budget too much money is good because it means that you have a little extra cash to buy little things for the family and even yourself. However, they're not able to sustain such a comfortable life when they're not able to buy their own home but having to live in a town homes. Although town homes aren't bad, it would be better to own your own home so your kids would be able to play freely in their backyard. In addition, not being able to stay in one place would be hard if you have to constantly move from one house to another due to the price increase of homes or even job transfers. Depending on where you live, the poverty line may affect your child's education and growth if the society they are around is not an appropriate place to learn from. Lastly, as the child grows older, if you live in a neighborhood where the stores/jobs are running out of business then it would be harder for them to find a job around home if they want to stay around where they grew up.