My guess is that many of us are adding up our spending for 2018 right now and want to tell someone about it. How was your spending compared with last year? Are you happy with the amount you spent? This is a thread for saying as much as you WANT to say and feel comfortable sharing. If you do not feel comfortable even reading this type of thread, please stop now! There are lots of other threads to read.
The purpose of this thread is....
fun.
We have a wide range of income and spending on the board, so I'd suggest you don't compare yourself to others on the forum; no matter how much or how little you spent, there are others just like you. It's more productive to compare your spending to that of your 2017 self, or to your goals. Do you want to report it as all inclusive, or in categories? Either way, here's your thread so have at it.
These are my totals for every category except estimated income tax payments. I am 70 years old, and live alone in a 1500 sf house in an inner/urban suburb of New Orleans.
Category | Total for 2018| Comments
Groceries | $2,433.76 | Includes toiletries, detergent, etc.
Restaurants | $2,986.25 | lunch every day plus some dinners
Gasoline | $357.26 | Everything is close by.
Car | $1,773.73 | insurance, maintenance, registration
House | $5,734.38 | insurance (homeowners', wind-and-hail, and flood), prop. tax, mowing, maint.+upgrades
Utilities | $2,817.58 | internet, nat. gas, electricity, water, trash, sewage, cell
Fitness | $504.00 | gym fees
Clothes | $560.76 | casual "retiree wear", underwear, shoes
Miscellaneous | $2,456.55 | Gifts, laptop, printer, InstantPot, etc
Video Games, apps | $707.34 | Gamecube, Nintendo Switch, games, accessories
Medical | $5,319.19 | insurance, Medicare, prescriptions, dentist, HR monitor, etc
Total | $25,650.80 | plus income tax
(BTW,
here's the forum explanation of how to set up a table like this one for those who might want to).
COMPARISON WITH 2017: My 2017 numbers are available
here. This year I did not have all those dental implants and other dental work to pay for like I did last year, so I spent $9656 less on medical(dental) than last year. Overall, including everything but income tax for both years, I spent about $11,296 less this year than I spent in 2017.
AM I HAPPY WITH HOW IT ALL WORKED OUT? Yes, this year I was really lucky because I didn't have a lot of unexpected big expenses. I will put any excess aside for years when I am clobbered by the expense of a roof replacement, dental implants, new SUV, or whatever. I am happy with what I spent, especially since this year I started my age 70 SS so I have more to spend now.
AM I SOMEHOW TO BE REGARDED AS ADMIRABLE OR VIRTUOUS FOR SPENDING THIS MUCH OR THIS LITTLE? I don't think that I spent a lot more than, or a lot less than, the rest of our members. And if I did, I don't really give a hoot because that is not where I get my feelings of self worth (and I imagine the same is true for you, too).
OTHER COMMENTS: The above 2018 numbers are not the final numbers but hopefully very close (done on 12/28). I added in my average restaurant lunch cost for the three lunches I have yet to buy and eat this year. I don't foresee buying anything else before January 1st.