What are you spending on?

Lsbcal said:
.....
Sometimes it's a job just to plan spending. If hiring to do a job one has to do the due diligence and make the decisions about exactly what should be done. If going on a vacation, generally plenty of planning to get what you want. ....
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+ 1

I had this thought yesterday, as I was looking at a cruise to Europe, so much planning, house, mail, grass, bills, .... etc.....

In some ways I'd like to just go to Europe for 6 months, see a ton, and come back, but having a house here is an issue..

As for our splurges, can't really say , as only now tracking spending.
So far it's Fed Taxes :facepalm:
 
W2R said:
Gambling? Did you subtract your winnings from what you lost? Hope that balanced it at least somewhat. Then it doesn't count. :D
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Yes and sometimes it gets close but it always seems to be negative. :( The only time I can say that I've made money at the end of the year with casinos, is when I buy their stock. :LOL: Almost seems like I'm betting against myself when I do that. I've had better luck with sports betting but that's not nearly as much fun.
 
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Car-Guy said:
Yes and sometimes it gets close but it always seems to be negative. :( The only time I can say that I've made money at the end of the year with casinos, is when I buy their stock. :LOL: Almost seems like I'm betting against myself when I do that. I've had better luck with sports betting but that's not nearly as much fun.
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The casinos are great entertainment, I agree!

We used to have a good one that we thought gave us great odds on the quarter slot machines, and we went there every week or two. But it was completely destroyed after Katrina, vanished really, and was never rebuilt. Odds at other casinos were higher, and we don't like losing nearly as much. So we have only gone to casinos once or twice since 2005.
 
I usually win a little (poker) but not enough to cover the room and the food.
 
Our sinking fund is fully funded, and we have excess funds above what it takes to pay the billa. We spend on what ever suits our fancy. I like having a new car. I figure I have between 10 to 20 years left, and I plan on buying a new car when ever I want, most likely every two to three years. We travel when we want, and next year we calibrate our 50th wedding anniversary and we will through a three day party for our friends and family. I tell the kids we are "spending their money" and we are!
 
College for boys is the big ticket item that dwarfs all others.

FAFSA says my EFC is six figures. One son in college this year,two next year.
 
W2R said:
The casinos are great entertainment, I agree!

We used to have a good one that we thought gave us great odds on the quarter slot machines, and we went there every week or two. But it was completely destroyed after Katrina, vanished really, and was never rebuilt. Odds at other casinos were higher, and we don't like losing nearly as much. So we have only gone to casinos once or twice since 2005.
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Sounds like it was either in Gulfport or Biloxi. I seem to recall about 15 casinos along the Gulf Coast were either badly damaged or totally destroyed by Katrina. I saw some of the pictures from Biloxi shortly after the storm passed where some of the casinos on the Gulf shore (barge type) were picked up and deposited across Hwy 90.
 
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Last year DH and I spent about $16K in travel. This year it will be about 1/3 that because he's seriously ill and we had to cancel our major trip. DH is not expected to survive the year and next year the budget will go up again; I want to get to Australia and NZ and DH, bless him, is happy to see me thinking of my future.

Hobbies: negligible. Same with restaurants and clothes. Our charity budget is actually bigger than our travel budget and that will continue. I can't swill Champagne in the Business Class section of a transatlantic (or transpacific) without sharing some of what I have. If things got tight I'd cut back on both, except travel to see the grandchild, who's only a 3-hour drive away.
 
Car-Guy said:
Sounds like it was either in Gulfport or Biloxi.
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Nope, it was in the eastern part of New Orleans, on the southern shores of Lake Ponchartrain.
Car-Guy said:
I seem to recall about 15 casinos along the Gulf Coast were either badly damaged or totally destroyed by Katrina. I saw some of the pictures from Biloxi shortly after the storm passed where some of the casinos on the Gulf shore (barge type) were picked up and deposited across Hwy 90.
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Yes, there was a lot of casino damage on the Gulf shore. I remember seeing the news about Casino Magic, which I had been to the same month as Katrina (for a work conference, believe it or not! LOL). I don't know if they were able to rebuild it either.
 
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I don't spend anything like $100K, but FWIW, travel is my biggest spending category.
 
Not yet retired (come on April 2017!) but our planned budget has about $2500/mnth that I have classified as "discretionary" in our budget ($30K/yr) which is about 36% of our planned budget. This includes such things as travel, eating out etc.
 
While still working, most of my discretionary income is going towards paying for biweekly house cleaning and yard maintenance, cable TV, quality walking shoes, helping my brother financially until he sells his house, and about $3-4K on vacations this year. Once I retire in 2017, I plan to relocate and downsize but will be renting for at least the first year. The rent will eat up a good chunk of my income and I will also increase my spending on travel. I'll have to spend extra on clothing too as the new climate will be colder with more precipitation and I want to transition from office worker to a more active, outdoorsy lifestyle.
 
We have two small inexpensive homes and no kids so it leaves us some extra $$ to spend on ourselves:

Remodeling
European travel x 2/yr
High end auto, purchased used
Airplane hobby
 
Cap_Scarlet said:
So here is my question - there seem to be quite a few people on here who expect to spend $100k + in retirement. Assuming we all have different "base" expenses (utilities, taxes, etc) lets ignore those for now. What I am interested in is understanding the discretionary expenses e.g.

- Cars and motorbikes
- Holidays
- Expensive hobbies
- Eating out

So for the spendthrifts out there - what's your money weakness?
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Our biggest discretionary expense is our winter condo (previously renting a winter condo)... next is golf... membership at our local club and greens fees elsewhere and then travel, but we have not traveled much lately.

Our cars are new but modest ($30k SUV and $35k truck), no motorcycles, don't spend a lot on holidays or eating out.

For the last 12 months, our recreation and entertainment have been about $22k... $11k for the winter condo and a trip with our kids, $6k for golf, $3k dining out, $1k for DW's sewing habit and other dribs and drabs.
 
Last year of private high school for one son, travel, summer cabin on lake, sprucing up home to sell, boat expenses, exercise expenses, college visits
 
The things I spend money on
Grandchildren
Charity
House stuff
Clothes
Travel ( even just traveling a couple times a year to visit my grandchildren and my Mom added up to over $5,000.)
Daughter
 
Our two largest expenses:

Travel: RV ing in US, 4-5 months in Poland almost every summer combined with road trips to european countries and cruises. All of that is done on budget but it is our biggest expense. We plan to continue to do that for the next 9-10 year.

Food: we eat healthy and we like fine dining.
 
Spendthrift is a bit of a misnomer in that we can well afford our spend. Living within your means doesn't fall off the table just because the spend is over $100,000 if one's assets support it.

Travel - $20,000 a year currently, sixth year straight since ER'ing, and we've enjoyed every dollar spent.
Home improvements - Replaced all our flooring this year with hardwood and marble flooring, plus redid all our landscaping, and added a new patio.
Entertainment, dining out and hobbies - @ $10,000 a year.

Otherwise, we are pretty darn frugal believe it or not - no cable, no landline, cook from scratch when eating in, lots of free outdoor activities, low electrical, gas and water usage, high insurance deductibles. Keeping the lid on our other expenses is what, in large pary, allows for the above.
 
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Just retired a couple months ago, but travel -by far - has been our largest discretionary spend (25% of total annual spend in the past year). I expect that percentage will be reduced in the coming years, not because we will travel less, but because we will travel in a more "frugal" manner now that we will be truly "traveling" rather than "vacationing".

Golf and wine are our other "weaknesses"; another 10% of our total spend went for those two items in the past year.
 
Since I retired (28 months now) I've purchased three "toys" - a Jeep ($36K), a diesel pickup ($36K), and a travel trailer ($12K). The travel trailer wasn't very expensive and isn't very fancy but since its purchase earlier this year I've logged almost 40 nights in it, saving over $5K in benchmark hotel costs after campsite fees. A boat is still on my toy list but I'm going to wait for that market to cool down as they can easily be half the current asking prices when the economy slows.
 
Travel - leaving work tomorrow (no, dn tell them -- got layoff just sinonara)

Starbucks or Peets every morning

Concerts w/ dinner out

Looking for a hobby
 
Gifts - charitable and family
Good Life - wine with meals and eating out
Travel - one month in Europe and 5 months in Mexico, plus PNW travel
 
- Cars and motorbikes
I plan on getting a 2017 F350 platinum 6.7 crew cab 4x4. $75K. And a 5th wheel, $30K.

- Holidays
Probably $15K-$20K a year.

- Expensive hobbies
Not much.

- Eating out
I assume you mean restaurants. It's typically $50 a week, we go out 1-2x a week at cheap places where we have coupons and discounts.
 
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