Ballpark Amount of How Much A Newly-Wed Couple Needs to Live Well

[Antigone]

Any idea?

Like how much monthly income?

No house yet. Will rent.

Kahit hindi marangya. Yung sakto lang.

Let's say pang middle-class na lifestyle.

[ReservoirDogs]

^

My husband and I are renting at a condo, so a big chunk of our income goes to rent.  But yung rent pwede naman bumaba kung ok lang sa inyo na apartment lang magrent.  We have no kids yet.

Siguro for you to live comfortably, your combined income should around 50K or more. I'm just basing this on our monthly expenses, which are around 35K.  Hindi pa kasama yung savings dun.

[Antigone]

^Thank you sis. I am renting a studio unit now, pero gusto ko din sana mag rent sa either mas malaki, or mag rent to own pag mag asawa na kami.

No kids yet. Siguro one year or more pa.

[ReservoirDogs]

^

Yeah, kami ni husband are renting a loft-style condo in Manila (where he works) kaya medyo malaki talaga ang bayad namin sa rent.  But you can always find a townhouse for rent / house for rent in Makati or nearby areas. Mas mura sya.

Nakakatipid kami sa laundry kasi sa katulong ng parents in law kami nagpapalaba.   Our expenses consist of rent, food, internet (homebased kasi ako), water, electricity, and gas.  We don't usually go out - nood lang ng sine once a month or dine out twice a month.  So if you and your fiance earn a combined salary of 50K a month, you can live comfortably na.

[ishopnowfeelguiltylater]

uy, ganda ng topic 

I think 50k is a safe figure. Pero depende pa rin sa couple.

I suggest listing down magkano ang ceiling price niyo for rent (yung ok sainyo both na bayaran every month-like samin di na kami comfortable kung more than 10k na ang rent per month, manghihinayang na kami nun sa pera), then add other expenses (syempre kasama na diyan ang budget para sa mga date at shopping allowance per month), then saka kayo magdecide if kakasya nga ang 50k

ako rin mahilig mag-save kaya mababa lang expenses namin talaga.

[Priceless]

50K Net of Tax ba yan? So dapat ang take home pay is 50K?

I'm not sure whether that's enough or kulang kasi you need to factor not just you + hubby's expenses living together, pero your own (pati ni hubby) personal habits and lifestyle. For example, kung dati ma-Starbucks ka everyday, kaya bang suportahan ng budget nyo ang habit mo? Same goes for your family obligations - are you or your hubby still expected to contribute to the household expenses or monthly allowance of your/his family? If so, bawas din yun sa joint income nyo.

Don't say na okay ka na sa "sakto lang" kasi you need to be prepared for unexpected expenses arising from living together. It's not about luxuries like being able to eat out, buy stuff or travel. For example, if one of you gets sick beyond your allowed personal leave days, or pag may nasira sa condo nyo, where will you get the money? You need to think about little things and having money for unexpected things. Don't put yourself in a situation where you will resent your partner for the "sakto lang" lifestyle that he/she can provide you.

[Antigone]

^Sis, sakto lang, I mean yung lifestyle. Syempre yung ipon, etc idadagdag pa yun. Gusto ko lang malaman kung kaya namin ng mapapangasawa ko.

[princessrio]

^sis, parang ang hirap sagutin ng tanong mo. everything boils down kasi between you and your husband's needs, your priorities. marami na rin kayo icoconsider like kung naghehelp din kayo sa families nyo and how will you save or cut down expense. the first few months/years will be the adjustment period so dyan mo lang talaga malalaman yung kung magkano need nyo to live well.

[Antigone]

Sabagay sis! Siguro tama nga sila, combined at least 50k. Basic needs lang muna. I don't help out naman sa family, my boyfriend does but gusto ko i-compute ballpark how much a newly-wed couple has to have every month to get by, extras aside.

Essentials - food, rent, etc

Extra - tulong sa family, savings, emergencies, etc

[melmedrano]

sabi ng prof ko dati sa MBA, a household should have an income of 40 thousand para daw di na considered poor and live a decent life... that was around 2007 pa, so siguro nga 50 thousand na ngayon. Hehe

[ikaela]

This is an interesting topic. It would be good if we first define what the "sakto lang" or middle class lifestyle is.

Matagal na usapan 'to -- these articles at PinoyMoneyTalk try to define the Filipino poor, middle class and rich and the A,B,C,D,E socioneoconomic classes but still nothing very concrete.

Merong definition na to be middle class, you have to be earning an average of P36,934 per month. Meron another definition of middle class is to be spending 34.8% of your income on food, 13.9% on house/shelter, 9.8% on transportation and communication. Meron pa na your car shouldn't be over 5 years old, you have one AC unit, your kids go to so-and-so school and so on.

Me personally, I would define a "sakto lang" lifestyle for a newly married couple, no kids, living in MANILA ('pag province, ibang usapan na) as:
- Having your own place to stay, away from all in-laws, paid for or rented
- Having at least one car, well-maintained and preferably not over 8-9 years old (kung maganda lang public transpo in Manila, hindi sana necessity 'to)
- Being able to spend on dining out, small coffee/snack dates, movies and other forms of entertainment at least 2x a month
- Having at least one hired help (laundry man lang if not cooking and house cleaning), especially if both husband and wife are working and are planning to have kids in the future
- Being able to save and invest at least 10% of income
- Having an emergency fund, the amount of which is dependent on the life you lead (ex. if one of you is prone to getting sick, higher ang "sudden trip to the hospital" category, if one likes to engage in risky sports/activities like motorcycle racing, higher ang "accident" category, or if the place you stay in is a little old, higher ang "sudden house repairs" category, etc.)

Not to mention dapat may insurance. As for food, I like to say that you're getting enough of it to the point that you can afford to diet. Thread starter also said that she also gives to relatives, so that's a factor for her.

Kasya na ba 50,000 for my definition of a sakto lang lifestyle? Parang kinulang pa ata. Haha.

[ishopnowfeelguiltylater]

sis ikaela, napaisip naman ako sa mga point na niraise mo. by choice hindi kami bibili ng car (kasi kung bibili ng car, gusto ko rin may kasamang driver dahil uhmmm bad temper kami pareho).

30% of our money goes to savings, meron ding emergency fund na separate. pero we prefer it that way, kaya kung titingnan ko lifestyle namin from an observer's view, mukha kaming walang pera. hahahaha! I think yung 50k depende pa rin talaga sa paghawak.

I read a post dati sa kabilang forum na 100k combined monthly income nila and they still consider themselves as middle class, kasi wala silang naiipon, ubos lahat. 

[Priceless]

Aside from the usual "basic" necessities, you have to factor in your plans for the future. How much of the 50k do you intend to put into savings? And when you mean savings, ano yung pinaglalaanan nyo - kids, house, car, etc? In that case, how much in terms of % do you need to save every month?

Also you need to take into consideration your bf's spending habits and life goals. Are you both aligned? Paano ang hatian nyo sa 50K? Who's going to budget? Aside from this joint 50K, meron ba kayong personal savings na hiwalay?

And, finally, gano katagal yung phase na "newly-weds" and "getting-by"? Three months? Six months? One year of 50K a month? Pagkatapos nun what's your financial plan?

These are some of the things that I considered when I was at the same stage as you.

[clueless]

Ang hirap ng tanong kasi it's very relative. To live well, sakto lang - iba iba.

Maybe we can list down how much we spend monthly for 2 people (you and your spouse) so you have an idea of monthly expenses?

Even when we were newly-weds malaki ang overhead namin. Hindi na apt magbigay ng amount ngayon kasi di nako newly-wed at may anak nako. Pero nung nagiisip ako, ang hirap magbigay ng sagot. pero ang sakto lang para sakin, halos pareho ng kay ikaela.

[Antigone]

Hi girls!

Thank you for the inputs.

I've been thinking about this - actually I've been getting cold feet becauae of this.

Ako kasi, I'm going to start a job that'll be better for my resume and will open doors in the future. However, it will slash my salary (professional fee from consultancy) by as much as 50%.

My boyfriend actually encourages me to do this. Investment for the future, since according to him, you can't put a price on experience.

Now my problem is, because of this, I cannot contribute to the expenses. Sabi naman niya, okay lang, he will provide for the necessities - food, rent, bills, cellphone bills, etc. Yung money ko, allowance ko daw.

Sweet set-up no? If only he doesn't give a big chunk of his income to his family. Siguro mga 30% sa ngayon napupunta sa family niya.  He earns well actually, kaso lagi siya hinihiraman ng daddy niya, and he supports his mom/brother financially.

The past few days iniisip ko, pano yun? Ang importante naman, kung ano ang natitira sa sweldo, hindi yung kung gaano ang sinusuweldo.

Yung magiging gastos namin, di ko pa alam. Pero hula ko ganito:

Rent - around 10-12k (I wanna transfer kasi to a bigger place, my studio unit now na rented for 7k maliit na for both of us)

Electricity - 4k usually

Water/Assoc dues - 1k

Phone - 2k x 2 = 4k

Internet - 1k

Grocery - maybe around 12k? Di ko ma-estimate kasi medyo malakas to kasi mapili sa pagkain yung mapapangasawa ko. Mahilig sa soshal na food kasi he grew up eating those. Ako naman, pinalaki sa pechay

Eating Out - maybe 5k? Reasonable na ba yun? We will try to limit this. Kasi as bf/gf malakas kami gumastos sa ganito. Halos every weekend, we eat out, minsan twice pa, and madalas sa mahal. He loves treating me to expensive restaurants kasi according to him, tatlo lang daw bisyo niya (food, technology, and me) pero usapan na namin na pag mag-asawa na kami babawasan na namin.

Gas - hindi ko alam magkano to, pero since Makati lang naman kami, mas madalas kami mag-commute kesa gamitin koche niya.

Allowance - 12k? I don't know how much he spends in a day, siguro around 500 pesos. Mahilig kasi siya magwork sa Starbucks/CBTL, and hindi siya kumakain sa mga Jollijeep although ok siya sa fastfood. Madalas ko siya ipagluto pero siguro mga 500 or so pa din gastos niya.

My allowance, ewan ko, magsisimula pa lang ako magtipid. Galing kasi ako sa ok naman na income at walang ibang iniintindi kundi sarili ko. Pero ngayon na mag-aasawa na ako, things will change. Kelangan matuto magstick sa daily budget. Tama na din ang taxi. Dati, pamasahe ko pa lang isang buwan 6k or more na.

Kailangan i-cut down pa. Masyado malaki pala!

Tapos, I'm sure naman na may allowance pa din pamilya niya. Ok lang naman yun. Basta reasonable.

[quinone]

in my humble opinion, baka mas maiging mag cut down sa 'allowance' kesa sa eating out, assuming that you eat out together, kasi time well spent yun lalu na you're newly married that time. when you go out together 1-3 times a week, di ba nakaka relax lalu na nagta-trabaho. o kaya gawin mo na lang 80K ang target mo

[Priceless]

Let's say for the sake of this discussion, you both currently have a lot of savings, wala kayong magiging utang (as part of the wedding/honeymoon celebration) and that nakabayad na kayo ng 2 months deposit, 1 month advance sa rentals nyo. So ang 50K a month nyo is "clean" and you don't have to pay outstanding loans or credit card bills.

- 12,000 Rent (excluding car park)
-   2,000 Car Park Rental (including parking fees when goingout)
-   5,000 Electricity
-   2,000 Water/Association Dues/Garbage Disposal/etc
-   4,000 Phone bills (no extra long distance calls, etc)
-   1,000 Internet
-   1,500 Other Household Bills (LPG, Laundry essentials, etc)
- 10,000 Grocery (Food items and basic personal stuff)
- 10,000 Personal Allowance ni Hubby (approx 330 a day)
-   8,000 Eating out and other entertainment (movies, etc)
-   8,000 Your Personal Allowance (approx 260 a day)
-   6,000 Monthly Gas/Toll Fees
-   8,000 Emergency Fund/Savings
-   8,000 Sustento ni Hubby sa Family

TOTAL: 85,500

So yung mention ni 9uinone is probably more a ballpark figure of the kind of middle class lifestyle that you are describing.

By the way, in theory, cooking and eating at home is way cheaper than dining out. Pero based on my experience, there will be days talaga when you are both too tired from work that you can't or don't have the energy to cook. Plus of course, economies of scale - yung effort mo, ingredients, time, LPG, etc might probably turn out to be more expensive than dining out (of course hindi naman 5* dining all the time kasi that will definitely burn a hole in your pockets!)

[peenitokss]

newly wed din kami ng husband ko. Pero hindi kami magkasama. Nasa province sya and nasa manila ako. Our combined monthly net pay is roughly around 45k. We have car loans to pay and utility bills din. Plus transpo pa going to province 2x a month. Nag aabot din sya ke MIL ng 2k a month para sa food. Kahit hindi kalakihan ang net pay namin ni hubby,  we still manage naman to save 40% of it. Tipid tipiran kasi kami 

[CaraLuisa]

samin ni hubby. We've been married 3 years, and been together sa house 3 years na rin. we have 2 kids now. one is 5yrs old, and other is 1yr old.
gastos namin sa house is more or less 35k (pero tipid tipid na yan ha). minsan kumakain kami sa mom ko, kasi wala na kami food haha!
35k lang din sweldo ni hubby, ako wala work kasi nagaalaga ako kids. wala yaya.

10k rent sa house namin
2k cellphone bills
2k phone/internet
1k water
3k milk/diapers
5k meralco
6k grocery

yung ibang tira, allowance ni hubby pang gas niya, parking (nakamotor hubby)
and money for me pang commute to son's school.

[KVsWahmmy]

very interesting basahin yung mga computations. i remember when hubby and I were newlyweds pa lang, and I miscarried, so hindi pa natuloy si baby... we were earning about 50k then (combined) , renting a house here in Cavite (about 4k. that's a single-detached house na ha. mura dito eh.hehe), hubby has a car, pero we usually commute (mahal ng gas around those years eh, 2007-2008). Paid our own bills, and sa food nag-aabot na lang kami sa mommy nya who cooks for us. Hassle din kasi magluto pag kaming dalawa lang kakain. Hirap magtantya ng serving for two lang.

We got to eat out often, whenever we feel like it actually. Though di naman kami masyadong mahilig sa mga mahal na kainan. We get to go on 'gimiks' when we want to. Got to buy new clothes and stuff like that when we want to (but not the super expensive branded ones ha).

I'd say early on, if you really plan to have kids, don't forget to save. And make a conscious effort na din to somehow 'alter' your 'singlehood' lifestyle. Para early 'training' na din. Hehe. Iba kasi talaga ang costing pag may anak na, it takes some 'warming up' to, so better to be prepared for it din as newlyweds.

Enjoy it though, this phase. Iba din pag wala pang anak na ifigure sa expenses. You can spend more, and still save some money. Pag may anak na kasi, medyo mahirap mag-save (although dapat meron pa din).