What percentage of your income do you spend on housing?

[gophins72]

8%

it was 19% when i first started my career/moved in

 

[TheSlamma]

Our mortgage is 7% of our income but we have been paying about 60% for the last 15 months to have it paid off by May 2010.

We don't buy huge like most Americans then struggle to pay for it, we buy well within our means, pay it off then use that equity to move up.

 

[spidey07]

I'm pretty anal about it. I never want more than 25%, ideally less of my take home to go to mortgage.

 

[Adam8281]

$50k/year, we spend 26% of NET on housing

 

[zoiks]

I rent and pay about 25% of my net income on housing.
Wish I made more

 

[zoiks]

$50k/year, we spend 26% of NET on housing

Is that just yours or does that include your wife/gf also?

 

[JoPh]

50%

 

[PricklyPete]

It used to be lower, but my wife is not working at the moment (and likely will not be going forward). Right now my mortgage payment is 14% of my take home.

 

[Tea Bag]

~20%

 

[waffleironhead]

of my income? Including both homes? ~100%
or ~50% of household.

 

[Specop 007]

I'm at around 18% for rent+utilities but I'm pretty frugal too. When I had a house payment I was pushing 50% or more for mortgage and utilities. But I also had no other payments either so I wasnt too put off by it.

 

[slackerinabox]

Yikes, you guys are lucky. As a New Yorker, when I was single and had roommates I was looking at 30% for rent. Now that I'm married and own, we're looking at 45%. We do, however, have a meth lab in our basement to help cover our mortgage.

(The last line was a joke).

 

[esun]

Living in Los Angeles, CA, I spend 16 % of gross on housing (includes rent, utilities, everything). Parking adds another 1 %, so about 17 % of gross. However, that's about 25 % of net.

 

[Xcobra]

~30% of net income monthly even though gf pays her half, I tend to pay utilities since she has a part time job. Seems like ATOTers are millionaires.

 

[Elbryn]

we pay about 16% of gross in mortage, tax, insurance. utilities is roughly 2.5-3% more. this is about 35% of net income.

 

[vshah]

50% for rent/utilities. nyc.

 

[krunchykrome]

About 15%

 

[vi edit]

~30% of net income monthly even though gf pays her half, I tend to pay utilities since she has a part time job. Seems like ATOTers are millionaires.

Not millionares. You just need to live in an affordable area and have a job that pays you a little more than what is average for the area.

They you can get into a very nice home for a reasonable amount of your income.

 

[Nitemare]

17% of gross, single & live in an apartment

 

[SnipeMasterJ13]

Strictly mortgage is 25%, and that is with one person renting. My income fluctuates so it can be a little tough, but a 4 BR 2BA house with paid off cars at 23 isn't so bad. Hoping to start making more soon which would make everything easier. Goal is to live on my own. Roommates suck.

 

[Eli]

We combine our incomes. Looks like we're spending about 25% of our net income, 21% of our gross. We live in a house.

 

[KentState]

GF and I rent a home in the Atlanta area. It's about 12% of gross income. I'm not sure about net, but I guess around 15%. She's a teacher, so I'm sure it would be much less if she goes into administration.

 

[vi edit]

What I find surprising is the relatively small amounts between peoples net & gross income. 3% differences? Really?

I lose that in state taxes alone.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

What I find surprising is the relatively small amounts between peoples net & gross income. 3% differences? Really?

I lose that in state taxes alone.

I'm assuming KentState's guess is way wrong. I pay about 14% of my gross, which turns into almost 25% of my net after 401k and IRA deductions.

 

[Xcobra]

Not millionares. You just need to live in an affordable area and have a job that pays you a little more than what is average for the area.

They you can get into a very nice home for a reasonable amount of your income.

Sounds nice and easy but living in SF or even areas around it expensive. Our one bedroom apartment is around $1,200. I work in SF and cannot afford to live far from it due to transportation, etc. So in the end, it all depends where work/live. Bleh...