Total Spending in 2009

[unclemick]

Mick, you seem to get a really nice lifestyle for your money. Congratulations.

Ha

Thanks. Midwest. I suspect if I went back to New Orleans as new comer bare bones bones would be low 30's before the extras. Just observing from my many recent trips back to visit - versus established like W2R.

heh heh heh - housing and medical are very competitive here compared to some other posts I've seen on this forum. .

 

[NW-Bound]

AFAIK Larry is not retired

Yes, pity the poor guy who has to w*rk and cannot enjoy his stash. Let's see, what is 4% SWR of his $22 billion stash?

Actually, I cannot see Larry w*rking very hard. A job like his might be just a break from all the sailing and what else he's doing.

Among all billionaires, I mentioned Larry because he appeared to know how to enjoy his money more than others, such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. I believe Paul Allen is also a good spender.

Heh heh heh... Some people do realize that they cannot take it with them.

 

[W2R]

Thanks. Midwest. I suspect if I went back to New Orleans as new comer bare bones bones would be low 30's before the extras. Just observing from my many recent trips back to visit - versus established like W2R.

heh heh heh - housing and medical are very competitive here compared to some other posts I've seen on this forum. .

I think you're right. It seems to be a lot more expensive in New Orleans than in Springfield, anyway (especially since the storm).

 

[Nords]

Here's a different perspective.

I dug up the old threads...
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/how-much-did-you-spend-in-2005-a-19096.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/how-much-did-you-spend-in-2006-a-24833.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/how-much-did-you-spend-in-2007-a-32212.html
(No 2008. I guess we didn't want to relive our 2008 spending numbers?)
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/total-spending-in-2009-a-48408.html

... and consolidated most of the info into this table. Although not every single expense is listed here, and I consolidated a few subcategories, this covers at least 90% of our recurring expenses.

Category/Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Kid's allowance	500	825	956	1265	1485
Kid's school	2750	1500	2055	2735	1140
Kid's sports	1150	1925	1338	1730	2062
Adult clothing	200	225	514	302	257
Computer (incl DSL)	1000	875	2570	1274	1871
Dining	1500	2000	2113	2019	2026
Entertainment	525	425	1387	762	727
Nords taekwondo	2000	3200	1445	1808	1778
Gifts given	200	500	1109	327	544
Groceries	6000	5800	6016	6685	7381
Furniture	1100	0	2073	1613	995
Pets	170	250	315	194	159
Tchotchkes	100	275	121	42	114
Home repair/imp	7800	2200	3236	5177	1945
Car insurance	775	750	744	851	727
Home insurance	900	900	354	817	946
Liability insurance	600	650	706	669	844
Investment expenses	250	250	211	61	271
IRAs	8000	3872	2605	3364	2000
Medical & dental	750	1200	1020	1939	1359
Mortgage interest	18800	18300	18052	18093	15594
Mortgage principal	4300	4800	5130	5413	4396
Federal taxes	6000	6200	1063	2670	1852
Property taxes	3800	4425	4598	4562	4551
Gas	1100	1400	1262	1215	847
Car repairs & service	650	2600	2826	1694	1435
Electricity	750	425	304	404	353
HOA dues	300	350	360	378	384
Phone	325	350	507	335	427
CATV	425	525	565	595	624
Water & sewer	800	850	944	997	1058
Vacations	5600	5800	13813	3114	9448
Total	$79,120	$73,647	$80,312	$73,104	$69,600

One interesting aspect is how little can be seen of the effects of inflation. Over 20-30 years it'd be very clear, even if the CPI was "just" 3.5%, but over five years our other spending variations are far more significant. The clearest trends are our homeowner's association dues, which have managed to climb at an annual rate of 5.1%, our CATV bill at 4.4%, and our water/sewer bill at 5.7%. Another clear trend is a growing teen, but we'll take care of that problem in just 171 more days.

Mortgage rates have had a big impact too. We refinanced our mortgage in late 2004, just before this data started, and then refinanced again in early 2009. Over the last decade we've refinanced our home and our rental several times and dramatically lowered our payments. Over 30 years, this effect will be more significant to portfolio survivability than a COLA pension and probably more significant than any other spending reduction.

And now that I've figured out the table formatting I should be able to just add a new column each year.

 

[walkinwood]

Category/Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Property taxes	3800	4425	4598	4562	2448

Thanks for sharing a great data point.

Did you sell property or did property taxes go down over the past two years?

 

[Nords]

Thanks for sharing a great data point.
Did you sell property or did property taxes go down over the past two years?

Dang, good catch. I forgot to add in the rental property's taxes. That $2448 should be $4551, bringing the total to $69,600.

Oahu property sales have been slowly declining in value so the city council has been muttering about raising the rate, but in an election year they're having trouble finding political support for higher property taxes. At least for the incumbents who are up for re-election.

I corrected my spreadsheet but I'm past my editing window, so I guess I'll fix the table on next year's thread...

 

[W2R]

I corrected my spreadsheet but I'm past my editing window, so I guess I'll fix the table on next year's thread...

The table is now changed (hopefully correctly).

 

[skyvue]

Divorced, one child in Ohio.

2006 - $48,859
2007 - $48,414
2008 - $67,136 (bought a condo but didn't include downpayment in this figure)
2009 - $68,098.

This shows that owning and living in my condo is costing my $19K more per year than when I was renting. Definately a decision I deeply regret. I knew my mortgage payment was going to be $4K more than my rent, but was very naive about the other hidden cost of owning such as much higher utilities, maint fees, property taxes, repairs, etc...

 

[Nords]

The table is now changed (hopefully correctly).

Looks good, thanks!

 

[Gone4Good]

And now that I've figured out the table formatting I should be able to just add a new column each year.

That	Is	Beautiful!

I always wondered how to make the tables work. All I needed was an example. Sweet.

 

[caninelover]

A little late in joining, but for me (single, SoCal) $52K last year, including mortgage, prop taxes, but not income taxes. Includes about $9K in travel for last year as the main big ticket item.