View Poll Results: How much do you live on?
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20-30K per year
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37 |
13.03% |
30-40K per year
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52 |
18.31% |
40-60K per year
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78 |
27.46% |
60-80K per year
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48 |
16.90% |
> 80K per year
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69 |
24.30% |
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11-11-2010, 07:26 PM
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#21
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,293
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There's a difference between 'living' and 'living it up'.....
Right now, by budget is in dah middle of dah road.
(...oh...and this is under FIRE Related Political Topics? )
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There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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11-11-2010, 07:28 PM
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#22
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: LaLa Land
Posts: 4,693
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Just hit 60K spent so far this year. Not including 17K for a new car.
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11-11-2010, 07:36 PM
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#23
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Boise
Posts: 7,863
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I could make arguments for any number from about $12K to about $64K, but actual expenses this year are running towards the latter figure; that is everything - taxes, child support, mortgage interest, utilities, etc.
Although it doesn't include mortgage principal payments because Quicken treats those as a transfer to reduce the mortgage balance. I suppose if you want to add those in add about another $7K per year.
So I voted for the $60-$80K option.
My alleged retirement budget is about $19K per year in a few years, but even that excludes college expenses for my kids, because I segregate those.
It really all depends on how you count.
2Cor521
__________________
"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact be the first steps of a journey." Violet Baudelaire.
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11-11-2010, 07:41 PM
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#24
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,890
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$60-80K a year for the two of us seems to be the norm.
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11-11-2010, 07:51 PM
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#25
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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I would say that for $60K, most people would not feel deprived, except for the big spenders.
Can we talk about 4% SWR or 2.1% SWR now? That's the real bogeyman to me. Oh well, I think I can still afford the RV-in-the-NM-mountain lifestyle in the worst case. I am covered.
Wait... I forgot about the medical bogeyman. It is sad when one just wishes to get old quicker to qualify for Medicare.
Nah, medical care is overrated anyway. We all die sooner or later, and sooner may not be bad with some diseases I have seen.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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11-11-2010, 11:08 PM
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#26
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,773
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbamI
There's a difference between 'living' and 'living it up'.....
Right now, by budget is in dah middle of dah road.
(...oh...and this is under FIRE Related Political Topics? )
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Good point--moved to FIRE and Money board.
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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11-12-2010, 12:13 AM
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#27
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 1,563
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We live on 14k but it is tight at that level.
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11-12-2010, 03:36 AM
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#28
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,798
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NW-Bound
I would say that for $60K, most people would not feel deprived, except for the big spenders.
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At 60k per year I'd feel like I'm living high on the hog. Even with extra money going to the mortgage I don't spend that much per year.
__________________
You don't want to work. You want to live like a king, but the big bad world don't owe you a thing. Get over it--The Eagles
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11-12-2010, 03:48 AM
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#29
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: midwestern city
Posts: 4,061
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Agree. I guess $40-60k for a single person with zero debt, or $60-80k for a couple with zero debt also is perfect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FD
$60-80K a year for the two of us seems to be the norm.
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__________________
Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
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11-12-2010, 03:59 AM
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#30
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,487
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My parents live on about $22k. They have only dipped into savings twice since dad retired 8 years ago at 67, once to buy a new car when their car was totaled, and once for mom's hearing aids. They are now mid 70s and don't travel much. Their house is mortgage free.
I am not FIREd yet, and the company pays some of our expat expenses (housing in JP, plane fares for home leave, etc) and we maintain our home in the states, so it's not an apples to apples comparison. Adjusted for these anomalies, I think we could do fine (cover the necessities, healthcare, capex accruals, and a reasonable amount of hobby and travel money) if we had 80-90 after taxes and tithes. Hoping to be able to have more though...
R
__________________
Find Joy in the Journey...
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11-12-2010, 04:37 AM
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#31
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 2,155
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wanaberetiree
I am getting criticized and disbelieved when I say that for my family - 2 people, with no mortgage on house and health care by my employer (~400$ mo excluded) we spend ~30-35K.
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You will be "criticized and disbelieved" regardless of your actual annual budget, be it 30-35K, 12-29K or 36-100K. There are too many involved factors. Here are the few critical ones I can think of:
1) Lifestyle
2) Location
3) Lifestyle
4) Location
5) Lifestyle
Did I mention location and lifestyle?
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11-12-2010, 04:40 AM
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#32
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NW-Bound
I would say that for $60K, most people would not feel deprived, except for the big spenders.
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Actually, in almost any large west coast city it might be hard to qualify for a mortgage on a single family home with that income, even at today's BernankeRates (And by west coast I do not mean Fresno. )
I went to a Redfin seminar a few nights ago for people interested in buying a home. Most of us were 1st time home buyers, and as one guy in the group said, most of us seem to be "just off the boat". The buy points most discussed were $650,000 to $1,000,000. I am not saying that there are not cheaper places because there are. But many of them are old houses that would sell for <$100k in other cities, and are not near high paid employment, or not safe, or not otherwise suitable for the usual high earning couples, even if said couples might be just off the boat.
Many of the "what it costs to live" pronouncements on this board are straight out of fantasyland for many of us, especially the ones who do not want to put down their roots in a trailer park.
Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
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11-12-2010, 05:06 AM
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#33
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: May 2010
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 360
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I take this to mean the absolute basics for the region you live in. The rest is a function of the options you chose for your lifestyle. My big ticket basics are 1/2 mortgage, car/home insurance, propane, gasoline, 1/2 r.e taxes, and water/garbage. DW and I split all basic expenses. It currently costs me $1580/month to live where I do. I assume about the same for DW. The mortgage goes away in 5 years, but I expect r.e taxes to replace most of that.
I have $300/week additional in the budget for travel/entertainment. Since March, I have hung close to the homestead for 1-2 months and then take 2 week roadtrips.
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11-12-2010, 05:50 AM
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#34
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Alberta/Ontario/ Arizona
Posts: 3,393
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Boy am I an outlier on this one.
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11-12-2010, 06:30 AM
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#35
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 11,314
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Quote:
Originally Posted by haha
Many of the "what it costs to live" pronouncements on this board are straight out of fantasyland for many of us, especially the ones who do not want to put down their roots in a trailer park.
Ha
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+1 If you don't already own your home outright in my neck of the woods, mortgage payments alone will add up to the low end of the spending reports we see here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayc
I take this to mean the absolute basics for the region you live in. The rest is a function of the options you chose for your lifestyle.
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Maybe, but I think focusing on absolute basics may encourage people to aim short of their needs. I would not wish to ER with an income stream that was anywhere near "absolute basics." I think that is something that happens to you if you don't/can't plan, not something to aim for.
__________________
Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre -- Albert Camus
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11-12-2010, 07:01 AM
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#36
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,149
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Quote:
Originally Posted by obgyn65
Agree. I guess $40-60k for a single person with zero debt, or $60-80k for a couple with zero debt also is perfect.
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Can't agree. DW and I definitely spend double what either would spend alone. How are you getting by on less than 2X your single budget as a couple?
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"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
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11-12-2010, 07:33 AM
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#37
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
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My recurring bills add up to around $24k, including PITI on my POS house. Not very good at tracking the "incidentals" though...
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Have Funds, Will Retire
...not doing anything of true substance...
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11-12-2010, 07:51 AM
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#38
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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Quote:
Originally Posted by haha
Actually, in almost any large west coast city it might be hard to qualify for a mortgage on a single family home with that income, even at today's BernankeRates (And by west coast I do not mean Fresno. )
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Ah, I forgot to put qualifiers on the $60K that I thought would be OK for most people.
With most people here already ER'ed or close to it, I meant for that $60K to not include the mortgage on the house, which should be paid for already.
Come to think of it, by the time we consider taxes of various kinds, and medicare costs, there may be so many different scenarios that the comparison between people's spending levels becomes impossible.
For me, the $60K will be OK, I think. It should be enough for a comfortable but not luxurious life, and also includes some travel expenses. I said "think" because it fluctuated wildly in years past. However, I cannot yet afford that $60K on a 2.1% SWR and without SS. I also do not know my expenses will stay there as my medical insurance premium keeps creeping up alarmingly.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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11-12-2010, 08:19 AM
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#39
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gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 3,851
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NW-Bound
For me, the $60K will be OK...
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Me also - but I don't know what DW would live on ...
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11-12-2010, 08:32 AM
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#40
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Pasadena CA
Posts: 3,339
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Someone mentioned taxes, is the the after tax amount? Virtually all our income is taxable from a pension, IRA, some capital gains, not raiding the cash & Roth. After taxes we spent $85K over $100K gross but that includes younger son in college. House is paid off, no other debt and live really modestly except for travel.
__________________
T.S. Eliot:
Old men ought to be explorers
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