need advice on husband

[alienlovechild 75]

Rent - $725 (and this is very inexpensive for a 1 bedroom in Chicago...and a safe area to boot)

Electricty - approx $40

Gas - approx $20

Cable/Internet - $65

Cell phones - $115

Food/Cleaning Supplies/laundry - $150 - $200

Transport (no car...I rely on public transport) - $75

Credit Cards - $400

This was a personal example but beware of credit cards. A lot of Americans are tempted with credit and buy things but get stuck with high interest rates on monthly payments. It's best not to have credit cards. If you must, just get a debit card or pay off your entire monthly debt on time.

[Nutty 2]

Why don't you ask your brothers?

[NickyMcMillan 0]

Rent - $725 (and this is very inexpensive for a 1 bedroom in Chicago...and a safe area to boot)

Electricty - approx $40

Gas - approx $20

Cable/Internet - $65

Cell phones - $115

Food/Cleaning Supplies/laundry - $150 - $200

Transport (no car...I rely on public transport) - $75

Credit Cards - $400

This was a personal example but beware of credit cards. A lot of Americans are tempted with credit and buy things but get stuck with high interest rates on monthly payments. It's best not to have credit cards. If you must, just get a debit card or pay off your entire monthly debt on time.

Just as an FYI...I actually pay much more over the minimum payment to get it paid off as soon as I can. I have a goal of being free of credit card debt by the end of next year...that's just my personal financial strategy ;-)

At some point a credit card will be needed. If she and her husband would ever want to make a major purchase such as a car/home it will be necessary. Unfortunately the nature of the beast is you need credit cards to help establish a credit rating...and loan companies use these ratings to figure out if they qualify for a loan, much less the interest rate applied. Until she gets all her other bills figured out she shouldn't have one...but once she has that under control she should get one and pay off the monthly balance as you mentioned.

As a side note, bank debit cards DO NOT build credit. However, there are certain credit cards where you can apply money on and spend only said amount (for example she deposited $500...so she would have only $500 limit to spend).

I highly recommend a book by Suzie Orman called Young, Fabulous and Broke. It's geared towards twentysomethings, but I think she gives sound financial advice no matter the age. I especially like her style of writing...she is not condenscending in the manner some financial advisors can be.

[ginger1981 0]

Rent - $725 (and this is very inexpensive for a 1 bedroom in Chicago...and a safe area to boot)

Electricty - approx $40

Gas - approx $20

Cable/Internet - $65

Cell phones - $115

Food/Cleaning Supplies/laundry - $150 - $200

Transport (no car...I rely on public transport) - $75

Credit Cards - $400

This was a personal example but beware of credit cards. A lot of Americans are tempted with credit and buy things but get stuck with high interest rates on monthly payments. It's best not to have credit cards. If you must, just get a debit card or pay off your entire monthly debt on time.

Just as an FYI...I actually pay much more over the minimum payment to get it paid off as soon as I can. I have a goal of being free of credit card debt by the end of next year...that's just my personal financial strategy ;-)

At some point a credit card will be needed. If she and her husband would ever want to make a major purchase such as a car/home it will be necessary. Unfortunately the nature of the beast is you need credit cards to help establish a credit rating...and loan companies use these ratings to figure out if they qualify for a loan, much less the interest rate applied. Until she gets all her other bills figured out she shouldn't have one...but once she has that under control she should get one and pay off the monthly balance as you mentioned.

As a side note, bank debit cards DO NOT build credit. However, there are certain credit cards where you can apply money on and spend only said amount (for example she deposited $500...so she would have only $500 limit to spend).

I highly recommend a book by Suzie Orman called Young, Fabulous and Broke. It's geared towards twentysomethings, but I think she gives sound financial advice no matter the age. I especially like her style of writing...she is not condenscending in the manner some financial advisors can be.

Sorry....I accidently posted using my husband's account. Just wanted to clarify...

[Peikko 1,575]

Yes, people can be rude, but honestly, this is ridiculous. Who plans on getting married without having considered some of the practicalities, like how much it would cost to live as a married person and how would one go about ensuring they can provide enough to maintan a household until the non USC spouse can contribute to the household budget? Also IF this person isn't already working, how did they convince USICS that they can support a husband? If they co-sponsered, didn't the co sponser discuss some of the finer points of household management?

Either the OP is extremely niave or this isn't a real question. If they are niave, it might be better to convince the brothers to allow the two of them to live with them for a while because she sure isn't ready to tackle the real world just yet.

[TracyTN 237]

Yes, people can be rude, but honestly, this is ridiculous. Who plans on getting married without having considered some of the practicalities, like how much it would cost to live as a married person and how would one go about ensuring they can provide enough to maintan a household until the non USC spouse can contribute to the household budget? Also IF this person isn't already working, how did they convince USICS that they can support a husband? If they co-sponsered, didn't the co sponser discuss some of the finer points of household management?

Either the OP is extremely niave or this isn't a real question. If they are niave, it might be better to convince the brothers to allow the two of them to live with them for a while because she sure isn't ready to tackle the real world just yet.

That's the exact point(s) broma and I were trying to make. If that's rude, then fine, I'm rude! Life will go on, LOL.

[ginger1981 0]

Yes, people can be rude, but honestly, this is ridiculous. Who plans on getting married without having considered some of the practicalities, like how much it would cost to live as a married person and how would one go about ensuring they can provide enough to maintan a household until the non USC spouse can contribute to the household budget? Also IF this person isn't already working, how did they convince USICS that they can support a husband? If they co-sponsered, didn't the co sponser discuss some of the finer points of household management?

Either the OP is extremely niave or this isn't a real question. If they are niave, it might be better to convince the brothers to allow the two of them to live with them for a while because she sure isn't ready to tackle the real world just yet.

That's the exact point(s) broma and I were trying to make. If that's rude, then fine, I'm rude! Life will go on, LOL.

I don't think it was totally rude but it wasn't exactly very helpful thing to say either. Whats done is done in this USC's case...yes she should have had more forethought but she needs good advice now. She sounds young and who hasn't done stupid things when they are young? I'm just saying we should just hold our tongues a little bit...and if you want to state something at least give some advice that will actually help to go along with it.

[*julez* 124]

I don't think broma, tracy or purple hibiscus were rude at all. This chick needs a serious reality check, and more than advice on a husband. She seems to lack life skills. Sorry, but before anyone marries you need to sort out financial matters, living arrangements, etc., and even more preparation is required with a foreign spouse as they most likely will be out of work for several months.

Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Sorry, but sometimes love just is not enough. You need to plan, plan, plan and save, save, save. This is something that you need to be going into with eyes wide open. And even with all of that, many mariages still fail.

You're not always going to get hearts, flowers and rainbows on VJ. I have no problem with people here passing out reality checks. So many people are desperately in need of this type of handout!

[Jeraly 4]

Can I just say I am really jealous of the $40 a month electricity bill Ours is in excess of $100 and that is with only one AC unit running...

[StillThePrettiest 3]

I have some serious doubts the original post was serious anyway... check the OP's profile; previous posts don't seem to fit into the timeframe at all... and she hasn't been back to this thread, from what I can see; I wonder if it was just a bit of s***-stirring

[Peikko 1,575]

I tend to agree, I thought it was #### stirring, but if it's not, man, she's in for one tough ride. I just can't see how anyone contemplates marriage while unemployed. I suppose again, if this is a real person, they are a student which is fine, but a student would have figured out how much it would take in their area to set up and maintain a household so again, the question seems very strange.

Still, there are all sorts in this world and good luck to them if they are real.

[ginger1981 0]

Can I just say I am really jealous of the $40 a month electricity bill Ours is in excess of $100 and that is with only one AC unit running...

Ah see we don't have AC. Nicky basically has the fan blow on him all day

In all honesty the summer here has been fairly mild, and we are lucky as we a) live only a few blocks from Lake Michigan which means we get nice breezes off the lake and B) our apartment faces north/south so we don't have direct sunlight.

However, we shall see how winter goes! Your electric bill will likely go down but my gas will probably skyrocket!

[Jeraly 4]

Can I just say I am really jealous of the $40 a month electricity bill Ours is in excess of $100 and that is with only one AC unit running...

Ah see we don't have AC. Nicky basically has the fan blow on him all day

In all honesty the summer here has been fairly mild, and we are lucky as we a) live only a few blocks from Lake Michigan which means we get nice breezes off the lake and B) our apartment faces north/south so we don't have direct sunlight.

However, we shall see how winter goes! Your electric bill will likely go down but my gas will probably skyrocket!

Totally - winter is going to be like winning the lottery - we're hoping to save the extra money we would normally spend on gas!!! Even a fan here is not enough though - right now I am sat in front of the bedroom AC with the ceiling fan and a table fan on!!! And it is a pretty mild day today as well!! I think it has barely hit 100f which is pretty impressive for here!

[Koakland 0]

Can I just say I am really jealous of the $40 a month electricity bill Ours is in excess of $100 and that is with only one AC unit running...

Ah see we don't have AC. Nicky basically has the fan blow on him all day

In all honesty the summer here has been fairly mild, and we are lucky as we a) live only a few blocks from Lake Michigan which means we get nice breezes off the lake and B) our apartment faces north/south so we don't have direct sunlight.

However, we shall see how winter goes! Your electric bill will likely go down but my gas will probably skyrocket!

Totally - winter is going to be like winning the lottery - we're hoping to save the extra money we would normally spend on gas!!! Even a fan here is not enough though - right now I am sat in front of the bedroom AC with the ceiling fan and a table fan on!!! And it is a pretty mild day today as well!! I think it has barely hit 100f which is pretty impressive for here!

I am jealous of the $700-something a month rent. My fiance and I are going to live in San Francisco when he moves here and I'm budgeting $1500 a month for a one bedroom apartment --- and I'm definitely low-balling it.

[KitEEgirl 0]

Our bills come to about $2500/month......Granted our house payment is $1050 of it..and the rest is cars, car insurance, student loans, etc.........

AND we live in an area with an extremely low Cost of Living......