Both Zhu, aged 26, and his 27-year-old wife are young people working in the construction industry. In everyone's eyes, they are an enviable couple. Mr. Zhu, as a construction electrical designer, earns about 4000 yuan per month, while his wife, also in the same field, earns around 5000 yuan monthly. Given the relatively hot real estate market, they receive bonuses of approximately 12,000 yuan at the beginning of each year.
They have been married for almost two years and purchased a commercial property. However, since the community where this house is located is not yet fully developed, it is far from the city center with inconvenient transportation. Therefore, they currently live in an old apartment owned by Mr. Zhu’s parents in the city center. The new house is rented out for only 1000 yuan per month, which is given to his parents as rent for the old apartment. Their daily basic living expenses on clothing, food, housing, travel, and entertainment amount to about 5000 yuan, and they have to pay the bank 3600 yuan per month for their mortgage. They also spend 5000 yuan annually on insurance premiums.
Although they are still enjoying a happy life as a couple, they are considering adding a cute baby to their family within the next one to two years.
Unstable income in the construction industry
The construction industry is a sector with relatively large market fluctuations. Both Mr. Zhu and his wife work in the construction industry, inevitably causing instability in their incomes. When the real estate market is hot, both of their incomes are high; however, when the real estate market is sluggish, their incomes drop drastically. This embarrassing situation of being in the same industry has become a major concern for them.
Large living expense expenditures
With a combined monthly income of 10,000 yuan, their lives should be quite comfortable. However, after accounting for monthly living and mortgage expenses, they only save about 400 yuan per month, which is somewhat surprising. According to Mr. Zhu, their high standards in eating, dressing, and traveling contribute significantly to their living expenses. They often take taxis, eat out frequently, and prefer expensive shopping options, leading to their expenses far exceeding those of an average household. Additionally, they purchased a 430,000-yuan commercial property two years ago, making a down payment of 90,000 yuan and opting for a 10-year mortgage. Currently, their monthly mortgage payment is 3600 yuan, preventing them from saving more.
Not much debt, few investments
Besides their property, Mr. Zhu and his wife currently have 30,000 yuan in cash and demand deposits, along with gold and collectibles worth about 30,000 yuan. On the debt side, after prepaying 150,000 yuan of their housing mortgage loan a few months ago, they still owe 170,000 yuan, which is relatively low compared to their peers.
In terms of investment, the value of the matrimonial home they bought then has now soared to 780,000 yuan, but they plan to continue holding it for rental purposes until the surrounding area's facilities are complete and they have a child, at which point they will move in themselves.
Disagreement on financial management
Mr. Zhu believes that his family could increase some suitable investments for them, but he is somewhat confused about specific investment content and methods, hoping to get expert guidance. His wife, however, thinks that their current income is unstable and will decrease by half when they have a child, leading to increased expenses. Therefore, she advocates prioritizing savings. There is a significant disagreement between them regarding specific steps in investment and financial management. They urgently seek experts' advice and hope experts can recommend some suitable daily investment options for their small family.
Monthly income and expenditure status (unit/yuan)
Income
Expenditure
Personal Income
4000
Household Basic Living Expenses
5000
Spouse's Income
5000
Rent
1000
Rental Income
1000
Housing Loan
3600
Total
10000
Total
9600
Monthly Savings
400