Ok, Colorado is gorgeous and I love it here, but seriously why is everything is so darn expensive?? I realized that housing was more but I didn't know that everything would be twice as much! So far we have discovered that in addition to housing being at least $100K more for any given house than it would be in Texas, that electricity, groceries, gas, water, and now car insurance is about TWICE as much as it is in TX!
We called the insurance company today to take the Lexus off our policy and realized that they still had us being insured under Texas rates. They adjusted it for us living in Colorado and our rates doubled!! WTH? This is ridiculous! I seriously don't know if we are going to be able to make it, our monthly expenses are WAY more than we anticpated. Even doing all grocery shopping at Costco, we are still spending a lot more each month than we did in SA. Unfortunately these are things you really can't know till you actually live in a place. Seriously, every single one of our monthly bills is TWICE what it was in SA.
I've even considered selling our house and trying to find something cheaper but the really frustrating part is that even if we move down into the city, you can't get anything halfway decent for less than what we already paid for this place. Do we move into a crappy, tiny place w/ 2 kids and 1 on the way? This is just nuts, Kevin has a good paying job but everything is just so insanely expensive here. Oh and we haven't even figured out what we will have to pay in STATE income tax this year - that's another new expense. I'm starting to think maybe we should have stayed in TX where prices are at least reasonable. All I know is that I am sick of spending more each month than we are bringing in and it can only go on this way for a limited time and then all our savings will be gone. I have been trying to think of ways to bring in money from home, but I seriously don't even have time to take a shower with all the things I have going on at home, let alone do some kind of business. I just want to cry because it's so frustrating and I have no idea how to fix this. We just didn't expect the huge increased cost of living when we moved here and now we are kind of stuck in a situation I'm not sure how to fix. After spending the morning looking at houses online down in Denver, I decided to check out Austin and San Antonio and almost fell out of my chair when I saw how much more you can get there for the same price or less, it's insane. I can see why S. Texas is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. You can basically have a lot more and pay a lot less, leaving you more money to save and eventually retire earlier. Sigh. It doesn't help that I have really been missing my family a LOT lately and then all this stress. I'm just starting to think we may have made a huge mistake moving here. I do love the beauty of this place, but I HATE the cost of it!
If you made it this far, sorry! I just had to get this out before I have a breakdown!
4 comments:
I'm sorry - I feel to blame.
wouldn't that suck if we ended up in CO just as you guys were moving back to TX!!
Like I said earlier, please call me if you ever need anything. I know we are so far away, but I'd love to help in any way we can.
Good luck and keep in touch as to what you guys decide to do.
I am so sorry you are feeling this way. We sometimes feel the exact same way. We thought CA was so expensive, and although the housing is somewhat cheaper here in IL, the property taxes are OUTRAGEOUS!! Somethings are more expensive and somethings are cheaper. Are gas and electric bills are triple due to the extreme weather. But now that we've been here almost 2 years we have managed to come up with a budget and stick with it. Yes, there are times when we blow the budget but for the most part, just eating at home consistently instead of going out (even if it means hot dogs and mac n chz for dinner one night) has saved us thousands of dollars. You'd be surprised how not eating out and buying ONLY what is on your grocery list can save tons of money.
With winter approaching we go through the "We made a HUGE mistake by moving here" cycle of depression that comes and goes. But after a few weeks of bitter cold we get over it and look forward to spring/summer. So HUGS to you...I know exactly how you feel. Just think positive!!! It can make a big difference =)
I feel your pain! Lee has a great job, but we always almost break out even after paying off our student loans, other bills, car payments, private school and grad school. I started tutoring high school kids this month and surprising I am raking in the dough, lol! I charge $25 an hour which is the going rate around here, and I probably bring in an extra $300 a week. It adds up! Maybe it is something you can look into doing after Kevin gets off work???
Jess
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