Poll: How much do you actually spend each year?

[Lakedog]

Being single and living in a low cost part of the country, I'm typically in the under $50k group but did go over $100k for 2012 (bought an RV).

[gerntz]

All of our expenses go thru the checking account (except stock gifts) since retiring as there are no payroll tax deductions, so I just added up the checking account monthly statements.

[JustCurious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerntz All of our expenses go thru the checking account (except stock gifts) since retiring as there are no payroll tax deductions, so I just added up the checking account monthly statements.

That should work fine, but if you use credit cards, remember that the January payments to your credit card probably includes spending that was done in December of the previous year.

[gerntz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustCurious That should work fine, but if you use credit cards, remember that the January payments to your credit card probably includes spending that was done in December of the previous year.

True. So my year is Dec-Nov. Or I add up the Feb-Jan checking account payouts.

[JustCurious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerntz True. So my year is Dec-Nov. Or I add up the Feb-Jan checking account payouts.

No, that won't work either. No matter what 12 months you use, your checking account total debits will not equal your total spending if you use credit cards because the credit card payments in the first month will include spending from previous months, and some of the credit card spending in the last month will not be accounted for.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustCurious No, that won't work either. No matter what 12 months you use, your checking account total debits will not equal your total spending if you use credit cards because the credit card payments in the first month will include spending from previous months, and some of the credit card spending in the last month will not be accounted for.

But it averages out if you use a consistent 12 months.

Download your cc statements and use the transactions dates if it is important to you, but I can't imagine why it would be.

-ERD50

[Bikerdude]

Seems like too many variables to obtain any useful data. Single vs married, old vs young, living in Keokuk, IA vs NYC, living in a Sear's cardboard box vs a 6 bedroom home.

[ls99]

More than I want to, less than what I can afford. Life is good.

[mickeyd]

We spend as much as we need to spend. Income streams from SS and DB plans more than cover our expenses so we actually save a bunch of cash each month.

Still don't know how we will spend our IRA/Roth stash in the future.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 More than I want to, less than what I can afford. Life is good.

I spend less than I want to, only as much as I dare, and hopefully not more than I can afford. Life is also good here.

[BTravlin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 But it averages out if you use a consistent 12 months. Download your cc statements and use the transactions dates if it is important to you, but I can't imagine why it would be. -ERD50

Yes, there comes a point where the extra work and stress required to get it exactly right outweigh the benefits of actually doing so.

I can see making adjustments for large purchases that occasionally occur at year end but otherwise, like you, I believe it will all average out over time.

[freebird5825]

I spend enough but not too much, so I have some left over for a big ticket item without touching my long term retirement portfolio.

[truenorth418]

I will spend $36k this year, my first full year of retirement. I wanted to see how little I could spend while still having some extra fun and traveling. Next year I will increase to about $50k, which is closer to 2.5% of my portfolio. I am 48 years old so this feels right for now.

[grasshopper]

about $40K less than I could.

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Do you want a simple answer? Over the last decade, most of the responses have been in a narrow range around $25K/year and $50K/year. But it's a double-humped bell curve with fat tails.[/url]

So, what sound does such a bell make??

Something like...

"Bweeeng-de-Booong-and-let's-skew".

[NW-Bound]

If there is any surprise to me from the poll, it is that the percentage of big spenders over $100K/yr is high, at 18.44% as I type this.

Nothing wrong with that of course. One has more, so he spends more. Spending down one's wealth is the best and voluntary way to distribute wealth. I hope to be invested in the right businesses that will receive this wealth redistribution.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound One has more, so he spends more.

They have more, so they spend more.

The problem with the survey is that it is showing both single and married/committed folks together.

Like it or not, the old saying that "two can live as cheaply as one" is a lie, especially if each have their own "passions" in life ...

For instance, we've spent $30k on travel in the last 12 months. That does not include the taxes paid for TIRA withdrawls to fund my DW's passion.

If if was just me? My travel expenses would be $0, and I could probably get by on what we spend on our biggest expense item (and it has been, for a couple of decades). It's not the cost of living, but the cost of loving that can drive up expenses in a most unusual fashion.

[NW-Bound]

Well, I do not care how people spend so much, whether they are single or married.

The more important thing is that these rich retirees do spend and redistribute their wealth.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound The more important thing is that these rich retirees do spend and redistribute their wealth.

Well, since we're not rich, I would like to hear some of those stories from the board, if anybody's willing to share...

[NW-Bound]

Eh, rich or poor is always a relative term. From your past posts, I'd say that you are pretty rich to me. You definitely spend more...