A pick up on living on $30,000 a year.

[Ronstar]

table generated by StG's vB Code v.0.1.7.1

Interesting - thanks!

 

[Ronnieboy]

Oh Mod, that's not the case. You can have liability only and still get umbrella. They are both liability coverages. The other coverage, called comprehensive and collision, is for your car only, and I have never carried it. But I've had umbrella coverage for years.

+2

We have umbrella but only liability on two vehicles.

 

[splitwdw]

I'm always amazed at the difference in auto insurance across the U.S. The OP was paying $240 a month for 2 older cars. I pay $212 a month for full coverage for 3 vehicles, 2010 F150 Platinum, 2014 F250 Platinum and a 2014 Corvette

 

[Andy2]

I'm always amazed at the difference in auto insurance across the U.S. The OP was paying $240 a month for 2 older cars. I pay $212 a month for full coverage for 3 vehicles, 2010 F150 Platinum, 2014 F250 Platinum and a 2014 Corvette

I also noticed that - we pay about $600 per year for two older cars. Having said that, I change insurers virtually every year. All the insurance companies l have dealt with bait you with a lowball initial premium, then pile on the increases at the end of the first year.

 

[modhatter]

+2

We have umbrella but only liability on two vehicles.

Well I will have to check again. But while I was in Florida and I wanted to add an additional umbrella on cars, I was told I had to first add max coverage on cars.( $500,000.) When I moved to Nevada, they told me the same thing. This is with Nationwide who we have been with for a long time.

We have a 2007 Toyota Prius, and a 2002 Toyota Tundra (both with very low miles)

I will shop again next renewal. I'm wondering if it is my age, as I'm 73, though I haven't had an accident for over 23 years, and that was while at a stop light and someone rammed me from behind.

 

[REWahoo]

Well I will have to check again. But while I was in Florida and I wanted to add an additional umbrella on cars, I was told I had to first add max coverage on cars.( $500,000.)

I believe they were referring to liability coverage (pays others), not collision and comprehensive (pays you). USAA allowed me to drop my collision and comp coverage on older cars and maintain my umbrella policy.

 

[W2R]

That's what I was thinking until I did a quote on Flyboy5's post just to see what it looked like, and it doesn't look like what I thought a pdf would look like.

Here's a post in a "stickied" thread here on our forum that describes how to make tables, so hopefully that will help too.

Oh, and yeah! I can see now that groceries were just omitted and that it adds up to the correct total now, thanks. That's a great budget and looks do-able.

I agree about clothes. I probably have enough to last me for a very long time, too. Plus, since my retirement I have averaged $29/month on clothing+shoes, so these items don't add up to a big expenditure.

 

[Ronstar]

Thanks for the info, W2R. I spend about the same as you on clothes. Apart of running shoes, hiking shoes, a T-shirt, and hiking hat, I can't think of any clothes I've bought in more than a year. I like the retiree dress code.


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[W2R]

]I like the retiree dress code.

Me too!!

I'm wearing my sloppy at-home retiree clothes right now. Stretchy/comfy gym shorts, a very oversized men's cotton t-shirt, barefoot.... and I purposely picked clothes that don't even match; the shorts are blue and the t-shirt is red. This is the life.

 

[Hermit]

...
I agree about clothes. I probably have enough to last me for a very long time, too. Plus, since my retirement I have averaged $29/month on clothing+shoes, so these items don't add up to a big expenditure.

Some articles of clothing are absolutely mandatory!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Ok, I give up - How are these people putting the formatted tables in their posts?

I'll admit it, I cheated. I quoted someone else's table (then cut the applicable portions) and just changed the values and then pasted it into a new message. Probably not the easiest way, but it was the easiest for me! ☺

Sent via mobile device. Please excuse any grammatical errors.

 

[Dreamer]

I believe they were referring to liability coverage (pays others), not collision and comprehensive (pays you). USAA allowed me to drop my collision and comp coverage on older cars and maintain my umbrella policy.

I have State Farm and they let me have liability only on my car and have umbrella insurance. The liability coverage amounts were the ones OP quoted, I believe. (I am agreeing with REWahoo, but responding to OP)

 

[Walt34]

I like the retiree dress code.

So do I, although DW has much, much higher standards than I do. I just threw out a flannel shirt that had to be 15 years old if not more. But she insisted that I buy new jeans even though the holes in the old ones were only little. Oh well, if it keeps her happy....

 

[target2019]

I think we could do it with $40K.
There are a few categories missing from this table.

Electric	$1,737.24
Comcast	$898.23
Auto, Travel	$5,034.80
Entertainment	$1,272.85
Insurance	$3,971.72
Heating	$1,763.11
Lowes	$333.13
ATM Cash	$600.00
Checks	$759.50
Water	$691.00
Pest	$226.84
County	$342.00
RE Taxes	$10,649.08
Charitable	$200.00
Fed Tax Est	$1,865.00
State Tax Est	$498.00
Clothes	$2,024.00
Food	?
TOTAL	$32,866.50

 

[target2019]

There are several ways to get the table. I found Excel macron and other stuff to automate the process, but it is really simple this way:
- Get your data into Excel columns and rows
- Format numbers, etc.
- Insert an empty column between each column with data.
- Fill the empty column with | character
- Copy the block of data
- Paste into Notepad
- Copy from Notepad
- Paste here
- Select all the text and click on the table icon
- Change TABLE to TABLE=HEAD if you have a header

If you copy Excel and paste into this form, you get some kind of HTML table that seems to be difficult to control.

I also find that

should begin on same line as your first row of data.

Electric | $1,737.24
Comcast | $898.23
Auto, Travel | $5,034.80
Entertainment | $1,272.85
TOTAL | $33,866.50

 

[NW-Bound]

I've changed my habits to spend on groceries like you do, but I had to start a price book, learn to shop at the stores with specials or regularly low prices, and also cook more from scratch. My main grocery shopping trip this month was under $100 for 2 and that included a significant amount of wine and beer.

I have a lot of cookbooks from thrift shops and library book sales with some interesting ethnic and whole foods recipes to try. A healthy wok meal we had recently with quinoa and sprouted brown rice, organic eggs and veggies was inspired by a thrift shop Buddhist cookbook. It is nice to have the time these days to pick up interesting cookbooks and then try out the different recipes.

$100/month for 2, with booze? Is that sustainable even without booze, meaning, is it the monthly average for the entire year?

I thought we were frugal, but Quicken said my grocery bills were $5665.16 for 2015. Now, that also includes sundries household items like laundry detergent and toiletries, etc..., but I am sure we eat and drink much more than $100/month. The above amount was the total that we spent in grocery stores. I do not break out non-food items because it would take too much manual work.

 

[jazz4cash]

I think the biggest difference in where you live goes beyond price to how acceptable the place is. I've tried Aldis, but the ones near me are dirty, gross, the food is often near spoiled or spoiled and most of the meat is frost bitten.. so it may be cheap, but I'm not that desperate to eat it.



I found the same in Chicago until about 2008 when food at Aldis started to improve. While I can go shopping with my parents in Appleton/Green Bay Wi and their Aldis are wonderful and I'd totally shop there all the time if I lived there.

When I first started shopping at Aldi's they were all located in 'working class' neighborhoods in the stores that the major chains outgrew. No fresh meat. No credit cards. Clean and well run. Now I can't believe how fancy the new Aldi's stores are. Purpose built with fresh meat prepackaged offsite. Excellent store brands and fresh produce. Aldi's was my goto when we had crumbsnatchers to feed and will be again if I gotta make it on 30k.


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[target2019]

When I first started shopping at Aldi's they were all located in 'working class' neighborhoods in the stores that the major chains outgrew. No fresh meat. No credit cards. Clean and well run. Now I can't believe how fancy the new Aldi's stores are. Purpose built with fresh meat prepackaged offsite. Excellent store brands and fresh produce. Aldi's was my goto when we had crumbsnatchers to feed and will be again if I gotta make it on 30k.

Nice observation. We walked out of a local boutique grocer on Valentines day. Very small cart was half empty. Cost was $150. My remark on the way out was that we could fill two full-size carts at Aldi.

 

[hnzw_rui]

No food? No clothing? Now that's what I call skimping! :2funy:

I don't actually have a clothing budget. As long as I just maintain my weight, my current clothes work just fine. Food, however, is a fairly big line item in the budget.

 

[kgtest]

No way I could live on 30k right now with the Mortgage, 2 Auto Loans and a kid.

My mortgage and auto loans alone cost me 36,926.76 add gas and insurance and we are at 43,417.04!

I am really trying to lower my COL but its tough. I fight with the city, I fight with Comcast, I fight with State Farm...all to save some money...then I repeat this for every other company I deal with. I stopped eating out, no restaurants except for 2 nights out for dinner a month. That's our date night heh.

I realize one way I can save money is on Fees. I got a speeding ticket, a parking ticket, I paid for a lot of parking and I had some CC interest and bank fees as I plugged through a period of unemployment.

I figure I need to cut back in like 10 categories for it to make an actual difference. 1. Vacations 2. Food 3. Gas 4. Fees 5. Utilities(use less) 6. Clothes 7. Gifts 8. Discretionary 9. Diapers 10. Running out of categories to cut.


I ran the numbers if I didn't have mtg, auto loan and kids...and it looks like it would be around 31,485.22. My insurance would drop too as I wouldn't need full coverage.

 

[NW-Bound]

Trying to figure how low one can drop the expenses should be a common thought exercise among early retirees who live entirely on investment returns. Even when one has started SS or a pension, he may still rely on individual savings for a substantial portion of his expenses.

Instead of adding different categories up to see how much one needs, I go the other way. I subtract. I have been using Quicken with its auto-download to track my expenses, so I can easily get an estimate of what changes in lifestyle I can make when the going gets tough.

Looking at the Quicken summary table, I see that I spent $98,023 in 2015, and that does not include income taxes that I still have to figure out. The biggest category is Housing, followed by Gifts & Charity, then Healthcare, Travel, Food, Auto, etc..., in that order.

I had large expenses last year on home repair/remodel. So, what if I subtract that out from the total? And also the cost of carrying the 2nd home? No more Gifts & Charity. Out goes Travel. Wow, it's down to $32,682.

Now, at this point I still live in my main home, and become homebound as there's no travel nor the 2nd home to escape to. But I still have Internet access to BS here on this forum, still have satellite TV (I only watch it up in the high-country 2nd home, but now without travel I will need to be an armchair traveler) for entertainment. I still eat and drink the same food, drive the same cars, have the same healthcare.

Oh, speaking of cars, I have not subtracted out the savings from not having to register and insure the RV, but I think that does not help much. Also, my umbrella insurance may go down a bit without the RV and 2nd home, but again that is minimal.

So, what am I missing with the budget of $33K/year? Obviously, every so often I will need to incur some home maintenance costs. My cars will need some repairs, or even replacement.

Oh wait! I spent $1309 on clothing, shoes, etc..., last year. This outrageous expense was due to my daughter's wedding last year. That money can be used for something else, like paint for the home, a car trip, etc...

Anyway, the point is that I certainly can live on $33K a year, and would not be hurting at all. And as SS will bring in more than that when I claim, it certainly brings me a warm and fuzzy feeling to know I will always have the same roof over my head, despite my often saying that I need to keep the RV as housing of last resort. I keep mentioning living in the RV on New Mexico state land in hard times because it sounds more dramatic.

 

[haha]

I finished working for our favorite Uncle when I was a bit less than 30. A friend from high school invited me to stay with him in LA. I was always wanting to buy some cheap food and cook at his house, while he wanted to get Chinese or barbecue or Mexican. I told him I need to budget, and he replied that what kills is big purchases, not piss-ant stuff like a couple of burritos.

I finally understood that he was correct. Unless you have debt that you must get paid off, hobbies, cars, houses and expensive travel is what kills, not the stuff that costs<$100. In 13 years on this board I still believe that he was closer to being right than the extreme frugalista approach of squeezing every dime until it bleeds.

Also I believe that not getting over your head with volatile investments, or downright stupid investments is also very important. Of course first and foremost is to realize that marriage can blow a bigger hole in your finances that anything else. Some choose to go with love, and of course love never lets us down does it? Some trust in technicalities like lawyers' papers. And we know these have never failed to work perfectly right?

A choose to say, "woman si, wedding, no". And keep a careful eye on sleepovers, and your relevant laws regarding what is marriage, how children can become your responsibility etc.etc.

And then go hog-wild in whatever grocery store turns you on, it really won't matter.

Ha

 

[jollystomper]

Our average livings expenses over the last 10 years (after subtracting all taxes, charitable contributions, and kids college expenses) are around $77K. I don't know if we could easily get to $33K. Beyond the above expenses, the top categories:

Medical - this would be the wild card
Food - probably scrimp some and cut that in half. Also some of that cost wa buying food for others.
Auto - share a single car if forced to, would cut costs down 40%.
Home supplies/repairs/improvements: maybe cut that by half, repairs only and minimal improvements.
Gifts to others - we tend to be generous now because we can, so could cut this by 90%.
Mortgage - would be tough to get it any lower, we have a 2.875% interest rate.
Utilities - this has been on a downward trend, so likely by payng more attention we could reduce another 10%.
Vacation - stick to day or non-plane trips and use bargain hotels/points programs to cut by 50%.

Hmmm... that would knock things down to $55K. Drop spending on computers, electronics, golf only at the $8 course , etc... I think we could squeeze down to $45K. Tough to go beyond that, but if we had no choice, we could figure out a way. Medical, of course, would be the biggest uncontrollable expense that would impact us.

 

[hnzw_rui]

Medical, of course, would be the biggest uncontrollable expense that would impact us.

As long as ACA stays more or less intact, engineer MAGI to at most 250% of FPL. Not only will that lower your share of the insurance premium, it also gets you cost-sharing reduction for out-of-pocket costs.

 

[jollystomper]

As long as ACA stays more or less intact, engineer MAGI to at most 250% of FPL. Not only will that lower your share of the insurance premium, it also gets you cost-sharing reduction for out-of-pocket costs.

Tangent - not sure if we can "engineer" our MAGI when pension income by itself will put us well over 250% of FPL, before even considering other sources of income. Something else to study. If we can work it out it will certainly help, but for now we are planning for the "worst case".