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Old 02-01-2010, 06:36 PM   #61
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Outlier numbers

$326,402 total spending. Family of four with two high-schoolers. Biggest categories:

Primary House Interest $35,116
Car (needed a 3rd, got a deal on a certified used Lexus RX350) $30,884
Children (school, activities) $30,291
Travel $22,968
Primary House Utilities and Landscaping Maintenance $22,639
Second House Expenses $19,434
Medical $17,642
Primary House Taxes $15,688
Food (not including restaurants) $15,233
Second House Interest (paid off part way through year) $14,084
Charity (most giving is done through separate foundation) $12,782
Primary House Expenses $11,426
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Old 02-02-2010, 08:53 AM   #62
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15K two people in the Midwest.

45 Birthday may have just upped my medical because of a heart attack LOL. But I guess I am giving him one too.
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Old 02-03-2010, 04:55 AM   #63
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Haven't finalized DW's stuff yet, but looks like around $89k excluding income taxes and DW's discretionary spending. Main categories are:

Auto expense $8,300
Condo expenses $7,500
Groceries $4,800
Home maint / landscaping $12,200
Utilities $6,000
New truck, toys $30,000
Travel, dining $13,000
Real estate taxes $7,100
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Old 02-03-2010, 05:21 AM   #64
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65k for 2 people in St. Augustine Florida 2 Cars, 1 Saturn SUV and a Porsche Turbo

Some Expenses not all:

House (Paid For) Taxes = 8k
Utilities = 2.5k
HOA & Gardening = 4k
Maintenance (Roof) = 3k
New Appliances = 10k and change
Insurance = $5k

SWR
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Old 02-03-2010, 12:38 PM   #65
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Today is the Seventh Anniversary of my Retirement!

We spent 53K in 2009 excluding all Fed & State Income Taxes - had estimated 55K last year. Married, no debt, 2 vehicles. Paid cash for a new car this year that is not included in the 53K spending.

Retirement is Great!

JohnP
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Old 02-03-2010, 01:48 PM   #66
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42K (single) in Silicon Valley. It will be higher this year. Planning to spend more this year.
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Old 02-03-2010, 06:08 PM   #67
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Spent: ~$25K (working on details)
Gave Away: ~$8K
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Old 02-03-2010, 08:02 PM   #68
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Today is the Seventh Anniversary of my Retirement!

We spent 53K in 2009 excluding all Fed & State Income Taxes - had estimated 55K last year. Married, no debt, 2 vehicles. Paid cash for a new car this year that is not included in the 53K spending.

Retirement is Great!

JohnP
Congratulations John!
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Old 02-04-2010, 12:33 PM   #69
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Thanks, bbbamI!

JohnP
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Old 02-04-2010, 01:46 PM   #70
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$713k (not including taxes obviously)-over budget by $51k. Budget was a real tight one due to the state of the markets in early 2009. decided late in ythe year to loosen the purse a bit.
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Old 02-04-2010, 01:50 PM   #71
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Danmar I think you win on the high end. You make 45 Birthday look like a cheapskate LOL.
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Old 02-04-2010, 02:08 PM   #72
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Oh man! All we need is for Larry Ellison to discover this forum and scare us plebes.
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Old 02-04-2010, 05:18 PM   #73
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Oh man! All we need is for Larry Ellison to discover this forum and scare us plebes.

AFAIK Larry is not retired
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Old 02-04-2010, 05:55 PM   #74
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Don't really know - ballpark under 40k everything included. Two people. 16th year of ER - ORP says I need to up it to 60-90k/yr to get it all spent if I croak at 91 or under depending on where I set the long term returns on the portfolio (between 6 to 9% for a 60/40).

Haven't really tracked spending super close post Katrina but two comments:

1. Being a really cheap SOB early on and the decade of the 90's - ER'd jan 93 really helped.

2. My 'core' food, shelter, transport, medical is low 20's so I have a lot of 'wiggle room' in retirement when Mr Market gives out those heart stopping, sphincter tightening drops.

heh heh heh - even with a historical faith in the long term - my brain 'hates' to spend in 'down' markets. .
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Old 02-04-2010, 05:58 PM   #75
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Don't really know - ballpark under 40k everything included. Two people.
Mick, you seem to get a really nice lifestyle for your money. Congratulations.

Ha
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Old 02-04-2010, 06:22 PM   #76
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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. .
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Old 02-05-2010, 05:15 PM   #77
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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.
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Old 02-05-2010, 05:38 PM   #78
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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).
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Old 02-17-2010, 12:12 PM   #79
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Here's a different perspective.

I dug up the old threads...
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...5-a-19096.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...6-a-24833.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...7-a-32212.html
(No 2008. I guess we didn't want to relive our 2008 spending numbers?)
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...9-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/Year20052006200720082009
Kid's allowance50082595612651485
Kid's school27501500205527351140
Kid's sports11501925133817302062
Adult clothing200225514302257
Computer (incl DSL)1000875257012741871
Dining15002000211320192026
Entertainment5254251387762727
Nords taekwondo 20003200144518081778
Gifts given2005001109327544
Groceries60005800601666857381
Furniture1100020731613995
Pets 170250315194159
Tchotchkes10027512142114
Home repair/imp 78002200323651771945
Car insurance775750744851727
Home insurance900900354817946
Liability insurance600650706669844
Investment expenses25025021161271
IRAs80003872260533642000
Medical & dental7501200102019391359
Mortgage interest1880018300180521809315594
Mortgage principal43004800513054134396
Federal taxes60006200106326701852
Property taxes38004425459845624551
Gas1100140012621215847
Car repairs & service6502600282616941435
Electricity750425304404353
HOA dues300350360378384
Phone325350507335427
CATV425525565595624
Water & sewer8008509449971058
Vacations560058001381331149448
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.
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Old 02-17-2010, 05:35 PM   #80
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Category/Year20052006200720082009
Property taxes38004425459845622448
Thanks for sharing a great data point.

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