Suze Orman on Oprah today... - Page 2

[pumpkinhead]

I saw it. It irked me.

[natty529]

as a favor to a friend i (begrudgingly) bought a case of formula and it was almost $50 she said one case lasts about a week- that means
$2600+ in formula costs

[itsrtimedownhere]

i am a sahm. we are a family of 3 (soon to be 4). we bf, cd, use family cloth, rags instead of papertowels, use homemade cleaners, etc.. but we also buy organic when available, go shopping when we feel like it, go (kind of) crazy holiday shopping, etc. etc.. we never ever don't have what we want or need. my husband makes about $20,000/year take home.

i honestly don't understand how people spend so much money.

[hollyvangogh]

Originally Posted by TearyCloud

And if you're not living beyond your means, then I really don't see how a family of four can't live off of almost 80k a year. Come on, give me a break!

80K?!?! If we EVER make that much I'll be thrilled! And we're planning on being a family of much more than four...

[honeybunch2k8]

Originally Posted by natty529

as a favor to a friend i (begrudgingly) bought a case of formula and it was almost $50 she said one case lasts about a week- that means
$2600+ in formula costs

I know low income moms who spend lots of $$$ on formula. I understand that they are (i suppose) buying the best formula they can. But I can't help but to think...

[KirstenMary]

Originally Posted by loitering

Is that based on the extremely expensive formulas for babies with allergies or digestive problems? Because at the absolute most, buying full price name brands, I could have only spent about $175/month.

Or did it factor in things like extra health care costs and bottles?

The article didn't specify.

[MrsAprilMay]

Originally Posted by Swan3

No she was expecting her next child!!! What I did find odd was that in the editing on the Oprah page, the written version left formula out!

HHhmmmmm.....

Maybe they realize that they shouldn't jump to such a silly conclusion.

[~Twighlight~]

Originally Posted by itsrtimedownhere

i am a sahm. we are a family of 3 (soon to be 4). we bf, cd, use family cloth, rags instead of papertowels, use homemade cleaners, etc.. but we also buy organic when available, go shopping when we feel like it, go (kind of) crazy holiday shopping, etc. etc.. we never ever don't have what we want or need. my husband makes about $20,000/year take home.

i honestly don't understand how people spend so much money.

holy crap! What's the cost of living where you are? For us, our very average rent is over 14K a year. That doesn't include utilities. I wonder did the show focus on things like this? Where you live makes a definite difference. we need $40K take home to break even and we don't even own cars, we don't eat out, buy second hand stuff, cloth diaper etc. and I am pretty darn frugal. We are a family of 5, so I guess that matters.

[russsk]

Originally Posted by TearyCloud

And if you're not living beyond your means, then I really don't see how a family of four can't live off of almost 80k a year. Come on, give me a break!

A lot of this really depends on where you live. My husband makes about that much or a little more, and I work from home, at the job I had before I got pregnant. I am really trying to find a way to quit completely, but it isn't looking possible at this point. FWIW, we only have one - modest, but newer - car, live in a modest, small home and I do most of our clothes shopping at second-hand stores. My husband walks to the train for work. I take care of ds full time, breastfeed and cloth diaper. Some places are just really expensive to live in. Could we live in an even smaller house and save some money? Absolutely, but no way could we sell our house in this market and even break even, so it is what it is.

[sparklefairy]

And how much does daycare cost? WHY do people not take that into account?

[Amylcd]

Originally Posted by hollyvangogh

80K?!?! If we EVER make that much I'll be thrilled! And we're planning on being a family of much more than four...

I know! We're a family of 5 and make much less than that.

[Draupadi]

Originally Posted by itsrtimedownhere

i am a sahm. we are a family of 3 (soon to be 4). we bf, cd, use family cloth, rags instead of papertowels, use homemade cleaners, etc.. but we also buy organic when available, go shopping when we feel like it, go (kind of) crazy holiday shopping, etc. etc.. we never ever don't have what we want or need. my husband makes about $20,000/year take home.

i honestly don't understand how people spend so much money.

In all fairness, it does depend on where you live, too.

[LinzluvsGJ]

Originally Posted by TearyCloud

I was waiting for someone to post about this. Just the assumption that there would be formula really irks me. Suze could have said something like, "Make sure you breastfeed and cloth diaper to save the money" but it wasn't even a thought in her head. Geez, the ignorance.

And if you're not living beyond your means, then I really don't see how a family of four can't live off of almost 80k a year. Come on, give me a break!

Off 80k a year? Holy geesh... wish we made that! I stay home with our family of 5 (soon to be 6) and my husband makes half that! And we have a mortgage in one state and rent in another right now. Money isn't free flowing, but with cloth diapers and breastfeeding (and reusing clothes not buying everything brand new full price), we still are fine.

Edit: Yes it totally depends on where you live. Things here in NM are much more expensive than they were in Ohio which is frustrating to us. We had a lot more spending money when we were in Ohio when we only had one house payment (for a house that would cost half as much as a tiny house here), DH was much closer to work so he didn't spend as much gas or could bike easily to work, etc.

[BethSLP]

Originally Posted by sparklefairy

And how much does daycare cost? WHY do people not take that into account?

I think they do, but it really depends on your salary. I work 3 days a week and DD goes to a montessori those days. I pay for her monthly tuition with a little over one day's pay. The other 11 days pay goes to the family. However, I know mamas who make 1/6 of what I make. For them, its a lot more complicated math to see if it makes sense financially. Esp. if more than one child is involved.

Unfortunately, I know many women who got married and bought their first house before having children and stretched themselves financially. They assumed they would want to work (and they would hate staying home) but it was prior to having children. After having kids, some of them decided that they would rather SAH after all, or at least work part time....but they were stuck with a huge mortgage/car payment/etc. and had no choice but to work. Very sad IMO.

DH and I bought our house almost 2 years ago. DD was 10 months old. We had prioritized my working part time, and bought a modest home. We also make big sacrifices during the first year of our child/children's life so that we can afford an in home care giver the first year. I will also only work 2 days a week next year for that reason. When the baby is old enough to attend DD's montessori, I will resume 3 days a week. I feel its important for DD to have her school still (which she enjoys and gives her lots of social interaction), so we'll be paying for the school as well for an in home caregiver. It will be tight the first year, but its important to us for them both to have a good environment that meets their needs while we are working.

All of this flexibility is a luxury many don't have (either because they are barely making it, or because they overspent initially and are stuck now). When I was looking for part time care for my DD, I was so incredibly sad touring some of the cheaper facilities. I can't imagine how single mamas must feel having to drop their child in a place they don't feel good about because its all they can afford.

Oh, and I have NO IDEA how the PP lives on $20,000 a year. In Houston, that does not go very far and we supposedly have a lower cost of living than much of the country.

XOXO
B

[Mokhwrar]

Originally Posted by fjernsyn

She said something like, "You know why I approved you? Because this is about the human element. It's not just about money. You need to be safe, and so you need that new car."

Oh. My. So the pregnant mother has to work, work, work and send her kiddos to daycare but the lady who drives home from work should buy her new car because of the Human Element. Ugh.

:

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by limabean

We use disposable diapers, and we probably spend $650-$700/year on diapers. (Holy cow! I never realized that until I just did the math!!) I BF, but if a large can of formula costs $20 and lasts for 2 weeks (I'm totally guessing here), you'd be spending about $520/year.

LOLOL, a large can of formula last 1 week for a baby in my daycare.....they still go home at the end of the day and all weekend to drink more formula.....So I'd say it's more like 1 1/2 large cans per week......at a bit over $25 per can....so $150 a month times 13 months (your supposed to start weaning off AFTER 12 months...slowly) = $1950