Booze! How much do you spend a month?

[bbbamI]

Though Canine is right, too. The numbers I cited were for healthy average risk folks. For example, if you have significant breast cancer risk factors, I'd keep it to 1 oz per day or less.

Hmm...thanks Rich, that's good to know. Thankfully no risk factors for me, but I still have 'em checked on a regular basis.

 

[kowski]

$80 here vodka, peperment schnaps, ldl whiskey, shiraz and beer

 

[heyduke]

I drank a lot more when I lived in Houston, too. Nothing to do with entertaining, just trying to remain sane...

I drink a lot just thinking about how close I came to moving to Houston...even now within less than 100 miles still makes me drink every now and then...

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I like Houston. Traffic sucks but otherwise not bad. This thread got me in the mood for a Sam Adams.

 

[KB]

I buy a couple of boxes of wine a year and a bottle or champagne.

For 2008, I spent $34.00 and for 2009, I just bought the same 3 items. I think it came to $24 this time. Should last me until next year.

 

[caninelover]

I like Houston. Traffic sucks but otherwise not bad. This thread got me in the mood for a Sam Adams.

Mmmmm...Sam Adams...I really like their Winter Brew...

 

[kumquat]

Not much, but it could be more than anyone else has admitted to. Check this thread and post.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/hobby-income-46020.html#post850529
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/showpost.php?p=850512&postcount=9

 

[RunningBum]

Beer money is mixed in with grocery bills, and drinks with dinner out are mixed in with "dining out" expenses, so the only one I really know is booze from the ABC store. Even that needs to be averaged out for longer than I've been tracking because I'll buy booze when it's on sale rather than when I run out.

I'm guessing around $50-60/month.

 

[Radiophilejapan]

I also share a bottle of wine with DW during most dinners - in or out. Booze is generally expensive here, but I found a liquor store that provides me with a decent 10US$ Cabernet, so I spend about $200/mo in wine. Beer is ungodly expensive here, about $14 a six pack, and I drink about 2 of them a week, so it adds about $120 a month. I'll need to cut down when I ER. And exercise more.

 

[W2R]

Beer money is mixed in with grocery bills, and drinks with dinner out are mixed in with "dining out" expenses, so the only one I really know is booze from the ABC store. Even that needs to be averaged out for longer than I've been tracking because I'll buy booze when it's on sale rather than when I run out.

I'm guessing around $50-60/month.

Not to highjack the thread, but what I'd find interesting is whether most people on the forum include booze in their grocery bills or dining out bills like you do. Some of them spend a lot more on booze than they probably do on electricity or gasoline. I know I spend a lot on groceries, but if their groceries include several hundred a month for booze, then I guess I am spending even more in comparison.

 

[caninelover]

Not to highjack the thread, but what I'd find interesting is whether most people on the forum include booze in their grocery bills or dining out bills like you do. Some of them spend a lot more on booze than they probably do on electricity or gasoline. I know I spend a lot on groceries, but if their groceries include several hundred a month for booze, then I guess I am spending even more in comparison.

Yeah, I noticed everyone tracks it differently, or not at all. I track it in a "food" category but have subcategories for groceries, alcohol, and dining out. I usually keep tabs on it seperately because I know I could skip it if I need to cut back on expenses - so I want to know by how much for purposes of keeping an adequate emergency fund.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Not to highjack the thread, but what I'd find interesting is whether most people on the forum include booze in their grocery bills or dining out bills like you do. Some of them spend a lot more on booze than they probably do on electricity or gasoline. I know I spend a lot on groceries, but if their groceries include several hundred a month for booze, then I guess I am spending even more in comparison.

I include booze into groceries. Last year we spent over 14k in groceries. I also include cleaning supplies. I suppose we could break it all down. But then when do you get to the point of being too precise about keeping track of particular expenses.

 

[caninelover]

I include booze into groceries. Last year we spent over 14k in groceries. I also include cleaning supplies. I suppose we could break it all down. But then when do you get to the point of being too precise about keeping track of particular expenses.

For me, I keep track of sub-categories of expenses when I think they are really discretionary and thus subject to budget cuts if times get tough. That is why I sub-categorize my food spending into groceries, alcohol and eating out. To me, groceries are the bare-bones, "this is what I need to eat to live, so I better have enough in my e-fund to cover this" category, but the other two - fair game to cut or eliminate in lean times. That's my philosophy, anyway...

 

[aaronc879]

Since I only drink alcohol when I go out to a bar or club, I include it in my entertainment expenses.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

For me, I keep track of sub-categories of expenses when I think they are really discretionary and thus subject to budget cuts if times get tough. That is why I sub-categorize my food spending into groceries, alcohol and eating out. To me, groceries are the bare-bones, "this is what I need to eat to live, so I better have enough in my e-fund to cover this" category, but the other two - fair game to cut or eliminate in lean times. That's my philosophy, anyway...

To me a fine bottle of wine once or twice a week is what I need to eat to live Why retire if there isn't that amount to cover that. Obviously we dont need 14k a year to make it on groceries. However, I particularly don't want to live under 10.

 

[FIREd]

I include booze into groceries. Last year we spent over 14k in groceries. I also include cleaning supplies. I suppose we could break it all down. But then when do you get to the point of being too precise about keeping track of particular expenses.

Same here. Anything I buy at the grocery store goes into the "groceries" category. I don't have the patience to break it down further.

 

[W2R]

If most of the people here include their booze in their grocery totals, then we are an even more frugal bunch than I had thought! Kudos to those who are spending $50/week on booze and still manage to keep grocery bills for two under $250 or so. My hat is off to you.

 

[caninelover]

To me a fine bottle of wine once or twice a week is what I need to eat to live Why retire if there isn't that amount to cover that. Obviously we dont need 14k a year to make it on groceries. However, I particularly don't want to live under 10.

I wouldn't RETIRE if there wasn't enough to cover that...I'm saying I would eliminate temporarily if I lost my j*b and was looking for another one, to stretch my emergency fund further...

No, I certainly would want to leave room in my FIRE calculations to allow for some good wine consumption!

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I wouldn't RETIRE if there wasn't enough to cover that...I'm saying I would eliminate temporarily if I lost my j*b and was looking for another one, to stretch my emergency fund further...

No, I certainly would want to leave room in my FIRE calculations to allow for some good wine consumption!

Just imagine how far you can twiddle that grocery budget down by living off 50lb bags of rice and beans.

 

[Shawn]

Zero. Heavy drinking for me is grape soda.

 

[caninelover]

Just imagine how far you can twiddle that grocery budget down by living off 50lb bags of rice and beans.

Don't laugh, I did a 2 month experiment...so here's the breakdown:
Current:
Groceries: $200 / mo (incl. cleaning supplies, etc.)
Booze: $100 / mo
Eating out: $100 / mo
Total: $400 / mo

In case of emergency, this is what I think it would look like:
Groceries: $100 / mo (not quite beans & rice, but a vegetarian diet)
Booze: $25 /mo
Eating out: $25 / mo
Total: $150 / mo

I count the full $400 / mo in my emergency fund calculations, but I also know that in reality I would cut that by about half if I did lose my job.

Call me anal but I like to run scenarios like these.

 

[Amethyst]

For the 2 of us:
Groceries (includes vittles, candy, cooking spices - which we buy in quantity every 18 months or so - cleaning supplies, and bathroom/drugstore/toiletries): $425/Month - too hard to break into sub-categories. I also buy fancy toiletries and cosmetics through an on-line retailer, which costs ~ $150 more per year. [P.S.: Caninelover: I wouldn't call it "anal" to break expenses out further. You simply have a more efficient tracking system than I do ]

Liquor store: $200/month for booze, wine, liqueurs, and beer. The beer and hard liquor are for husband's consumption, and he has made a hobby of seeking out good wines under $10 per bottle so has a modest "cellar" of ~100 bottles. We buy box-o-wine to make our weekly sangria or mulled wine (depending on season).

I have the opposite of the alcoholic gene, for alcohol in any quantity gives me a headache. I consume wine in modest quantities on weekends, and love a thimbleful of a fancy cordial or liqueur with dessert. Grand Marnier or Chartreuse = mmmm! However, when I was on my own, my alcohol consumption was nil, and would go back to nil if I were on my own again.
Eating Out: Nil. We don't enjoy it any more. The food is seldom all that good, wine is outrageously expensive, and we cringe at the extra 25% for tax and tip. We will surely spend some serious bucks on eating out when we stay with husband's old friends next month, because they don't do much cooking. But that is counted as a "social" expense, unavoidable if one is to have friends. Also, I bring my lunch to work and always have.

 

[caninelover]

For the 2 of us:
[P.S.: Caninelover: I wouldn't call it "anal" to break expenses out further. You simply have a more efficient tracking system than I do ]

Thanks for making me feel better about my compulsive data-tracking

Eating Out: Nil. We don't enjoy it any more. The food is seldom all that good, wine is outrageously expensive, and we cringe at the extra 25% for tax and tip. We will surely spend some serious bucks on eating out when we stay with husband's old friends next month, because they don't do much cooking. But that is counted as a "social" expense, unavoidable if one is to have friends. Also, I bring my lunch to work and always have.

+ 1...I eat lunch out with friends about once a week. Dinner out with friends is more of a rarity...maybe once a month or so. Otherwise I cook at home and bring leftovers or a PB&J for lunch to w*rk.

 

[bbbamI]

Same here. Anything I buy at the grocery store goes into the "groceries" category. I don't have the patience to break it down further.

Yeah I understand your point, it can be a PITA. However I keep the booze separate. To me it's a discretionary expense that I can eliminate if I had to in a worst case scenario.

That scenario would have to be pretty pitiful...let me tell ya...

I've got 31 categories...

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Rich is a doctor... But I suppose opinions can vary. However for me, I'll toast to the advice from Rich.

Here's the study that CL was referring too...I remember hearing about this study as well a few months ago and it got me worried about my SIL who can polish off a bottle of wine all by herself in one evening. She probably drinks about 2 to 3 bottles of wine a week

http://www.canada.com/health/Alcohol+increases+risk+cancer+women+Study/1324598/story.html