What is your monthly budget?

[mcdevin1970]

Very interesting responses. The trend thus far seems to be a paid off home and lots of money saved as well as a budget around 4-5k. I'm 1 for 3 as my budget is right at $3800...0-2 on the huge savings and paid off mortgage.

My military pension is $3000... All expenses are accounted for in the $3800 to include $500 in goof off money. I feel I need a little more cushion and therefore will work part time to earn maybe $1000-$1500 a month.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Apparently, we are not ready for me to stop working yet.

We should spend no more than $4k/month, $3k ideally, because that is all we can afford. We spend more than that and we are having issues planning for after my retirement. If we cannot sort this out, I will just drink myself to death.

 

[Options]

...

EDITED to add category break-down of annual expenses, copied from previous thread "2013 Expenses":

Groceries	$2,488.66	Includes toiletries, detergent, etc.
Restaurants	$2,665.23	lunch every day plus some dinners
Gasoline	$965.24	I live in an inner suburb, and everything is close by.
Car	$1,443.91	insurance, maintenance, registration, safety inspection, driver's license renewal
House	$4,904.48	insurance (homeowners' and flood), property tax, lawn care (no other maintenance/upgrades)
Utilities	$4,947.11	Cable TV,internet, nat. gas, electricity, water, trash, sewage, cell, landline
Fitness	$1,140.43	gym fees, weight watchers
Clothes	$527.37	casual "retiree wear" and shoes
Miscellaneous	$4,039.32	Gifts, books, new 55" TV & stand, router, laptop, financial software, furniture, etc.
Video Games, apps	$904.19	also includes yet another two video game consoles
Medical	$4,968.25	dentist, implant & crown, optometrist, prescription sunglasses & eyeglasses, prescriptions
Health insurance	$2,967.26	federal retiree health insurance + 7 months of Medicare Part B
Total	$31,961.45	plus income tax

.

W2R, thanks for the link. I missed it the first time. This thread and that one made me go back and review my spending estimates for retirement beginning early next year. I've probably estimated too much, but it provides me with a sense of security (if there is such a thing).

Well, don't be too impressed, as I achieved it by being comfortable with a low material standard of living. Although I withdrew $15,600 from my portfolio last year, the income from interest and dividends in the taxable portion of my account was only ~$8,000, qualifying me for Medi-Cal (the CA version of Medicaid). Under the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, there are no resource (asset) limits for Medicaid - only an income requirement. My doctor and surgery co-pays are $0. Not only that, but I actually like my doctor and can get an appointment within a day or two if it's an issue for which I don't want to wait a few weeks.

When I was working and living in Los Angeles, expenses were higher but not a whole lot, as I rented a 1 bedroom apartment for ~$750 and lived close to work, using a bicycle for transport. Healthcare was on a group policy with my employer, so it came with very low out of pocket expenses.

It's easier to live this way when you're single.

I'm single, too. I plan to leave an expensive area of (LA) for a not quite as an expensive area (Palm Springs). Projected additions to current costs will be significantly increased utility bills. I've calculated projected healthcare under the ACA on the CoveredCa site, and my costs come out to around $5K/yr (with subsidy). Still, I think I'll investigate how to reduce my budget based on your post and others.

 

[JacqJolie]

I'm budgeting for $10k/quarter or $40k for the year. I prefer estimating by quarter since Q1 usually has some travel (ski weekends usually), Q2 is a historically low spend quarter, Q3 is higher summer/motorhome travel (and annual vehicle insurance payment) and eats up the savings from Q2, and Q4 is Christmas and possible travel. Estimating by quarter also allows for a bit of smoothing.
~$10k annually is for the mortgage which has a low rate, so no intention of paying off any time soon.
One adult, one 13 y.o., one dog, one cat, one 25 y.o. (pretty much self sufficient but I do like cooking for him) - and about 3-5 weeks until I'm done working for (I hope/expect) the remainder of 2014.

 

[NanoSour]

$5,800/month for family of 5

$150 Insurance (Home/Auto/Life)
$158 Medical Insurance
$260 Property Tax
$1100 Mortgage
$355 Utilities
$3800 Household (all other spending; food/entertainment/clothes/Gas/etc)

We are typically ~$1000/month under budget and use that money for a nice family summer vacation and a nice Christmas holiday for the kids.

 

[HillCountry]

Family of 4, 2 kids in elementary school.

500 Utility
500 Household
1400 Property Tax
400 Gas
300 Car Maintenance
130 Car Insurance & Reg
1200 Food
400 Dine out
450 Clothes
1350 Travel
950 Kids' Class
25 Books
200 Med Out of Pocket
320 Med Insurance
100 Gift
800 Other

9025 Total

And expecting 10% property tax increase again this year.

 

[ggbutcher]

No primary mortgage, single income, kids on their own: ~$2,300/mo.

This is the 'mandatory' part of our expenses. I like to distinguish between that and 'discretionary', mandatory being what it takes to wake up in a warm, lighted house, make a few meals, take a bath, watch over-the-air TV, basically, to exist comfortably. Discretionary would be travel, hobbies, the sort of thing you could do away with in a pinch. I feel that it's important to first cover mandatory, and discretionary is 'lagniappe', a Cajun phrase for 'something extra.'

For discussion, some of what we consider mandatory is dictated by where and how we live. One example: In the US, most communities are organized such that you need a car to do most errands. THAT can be a major part of your mandatory expenses, but could be altered by moving to a home where the things you need can be reached by walking or biking. Okay, or golf-cartting.

I firmly believe that FI is first about controlling your expenses, then rounding up income to meet them. And I came to that even before I found out about Mr. MoneyMoustache. And I'm not talking about dryer-sheet-counting frugality, just the simple realization regarding what you need to live, and doing what it takes to meed that need. My RE planning plots two lines: total monthly mandatory expenses (inflated by 3%/yr), and the total of all monthly income streams. I just work and plan to keep the income line well above the expense line.

 

[Ronstar]

DW and I keep our money separate and it would be difficult for me to budget her $. My budget is around $4k per month to include all expenses except insurance, electric, her personal expenses and half of the groceries

 

[dm]

We don't budget either, but we spend around $8,000 a month. No mortgage or other loans, and that's for the two of us.

We could cut back if need be, but as long as the net worth is going up we are not too worried. And we hope firecalc is correct.

 

[aja8888]

Family of 4, 2 kids in elementary school.

500 Utility
500 Household
1400 Property Tax
400 Gas
300 Car Maintenance
130 Car Insurance & Reg
1200 Food
400 Dine out
450 Clothes
1350 Travel
950 Kids' Class
25 Books
200 Med Out of Pocket
320 Med Insurance
100 Gift
800 Other

9025 Total

And expecting 10% property tax increase again this year.

If this is for a month, it seems high (especially the property tax). If it's for a year you must be living in a small house in the country with the low utilities.

 

[Tailgate]

$6k for 2, just retired, no debt. Includes set asides for travel, prop tax, fed tax etc.

Income includes my SS, 2 fixed pensions and withdrawal from portfolio.

OT- I use YNAB software because it allows me to expense everything down to last penny of income and keeps exp on track.

 

[imoldernu]

Reading the thread, and thinking back to 1958, don't ever remember having a monthly budget. Because DW and I think alike, we never question what is being spent, though we mutually decide before taking on a big expense. After the decision is made, the only thing we look at, is the amount in the checking account... replenishing, like Bonnie and Clyde... taking more money from the bank.
so far, so good

 

[iam21177]

I live in the Intermountain West (Utah).
I am married, no kids or even plans for kids.
We have a mortgage.

Here is our average expenditures (over a 2 year period). I don't say budget because I don't really try to keep the numbers under a certain amount. I do track every penny though!

These averages include several large purchases:
1) Invisalign braces for the both of us $5k - 2012
2) a private destination wedding/honeymoon to Canada for us for $7k! - 2012
3) a new $10k deck we added - early 2012
4) $6k in landscaping - 2013
5) several trips here and there - 2012, 2013

Housing/Taxes/Ins.	$1,301	6 bd/3ba house, mountain views, a lot of house but great when we have guests visiting
Utils	$382	gas, electric, cable, internet, water, garbage, etc
Grocery store food	$508	includes some sundries if I don't parse out my receipts
Eating Out	$290	I feel like we don't eat out that much, but this is kind of significant! We have leftovers for lunch, maybe buy lunch 0-2 a month for each of us.
Alcohol	$118	Is that a lot?
Entertainment	$275	Vacations, flights, hotels, camping, park fees, concerts, etc
Medical	$274	No monthly premiums (HDHP)
Auto	$448	Gas, insurance, oil changes, repairs; both cars are paid for
Clothing	$146	Mostly clothes for me, I should taper off here soon, wanted to revamp my waredrobe
Misc	$1,397	All pet related stuff (10 year old dog), any new outdoor gear, house improvement, etc.
Retirement Savings	$4,383	Maxing two Roth, two 457b, two HSA, plus $1780 our work gives us
Leftover Savings	$1,080	This varies greatly per month, but our 2 year average after everything is saved/paid

 

[Sue J]

Ours is $2440/mo and that includes Fed and State taxes and Health Care insurance (HDHP via ACA w/ subsidy).

We are 2 adults with grown kids who are out of the house and independent. No home mortgage, no debt. Fairly low cost of living area (northeast Ohio). We think we are living quite well but to others we may look frugal. Our main splurge is DirecTV at $103/mo.

Vacations are not important to us so we don't budget for big expenses there. DHs Mom is 85 and lives in Denver so we make sure he or both of us travel to see her periodically.

DH's monthly pension is larger than the $2440 that it costs us to live every month, so that makes it all VERY SWEEET!

 

[noelm]

We try to fit everything in $4000, family of 3.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Ours is $2440/mo and that includes Fed and State taxes and Health Care insurance (HDHP via ACA w/ subsidy).

We are 2 adults with grown kids who are out of the house and independent. No home mortgage, no debt. Fairly low cost of living area (northeast Ohio). We think we are living quite well but to others we may look frugal. Our main splurge is DirecTV at $103/mo.

Vacations are not important to us so we don't budget for big expenses there. DHs Mom is 85 and lives in Denver so we make sure he or both of us travel to see her periodically.

DH's monthly pension is larger than the $2440 that it costs us to live every month, so that makes it all VERY SWEEET!

That is great. I would love to have our post kids expenses for two so low. I think even if we lived in an Earthship in the desert we would spend more than that in a year.

 

[rodi]

Ours is $2440/mo and that includes Fed and State taxes and Health Care insurance (HDHP via ACA w/ subsidy).

We are 2 adults with grown kids who are out of the house and independent. No home mortgage, no debt. Fairly low cost of living area (northeast Ohio). We think we are living quite well but to others we may look frugal. Our main splurge is DirecTV at $103/mo.

Vacations are not important to us so we don't budget for big expenses there. DHs Mom is 85 and lives in Denver so we make sure he or both of us travel to see her periodically.

DH's monthly pension is larger than the $2440 that it costs us to live every month, so that makes it all VERY SWEEET!

Does this include your travel as well? You mention you like to travel - but I'm not clear if that's included.

 

[dvalley]

My fixed monthly expenses (for 1 adult and 1 kid in socal) are approx. $5k

Mortgage/taxes/insurance: $2000
Utilities/internet/gardener: $250
Car/dmv/aaa/gas: $775
Groceries/eating out: $700
Pets: $170
Childsupport/school: $780
Misc: $300

 

[truenorth418]

Budget is $4,500 per month average including taxes but have been spending less than $4,000 since retiring in 2011.

I am single, no kids, live in a small co-op apartment in NYC.

 

[Sue J]

Does this include your travel as well? You mention you like to travel - but I'm not clear if that's included.

Nope, we don't travel much at all. Just an occasional trip to Denver, but we stay with DHs mother so it's just flight costs. This is once a year or every other year. In 2013 she came to visit us, so we didn't have to travel.

We save excess funds every month (my most rewarding hobby) so accommodating something like a flight to Denver is not an issue.

 

[Dash man]

We don't follow a budget, but we do check our net worth quarterly. If we gave two down quarters we'll begin scrutinizing our spending versus income to make sure we stay on track. We had met with a CFP a little over a year ago and our expenses are significantly lower than our retirement income.

 

[Alan]

We don't have a budget but I do track what we spend. Last year we averaged $7,100/month.

 

[martyb]

Wife & I. All kids grown, gone & self-sufficient. The two of us live on approximately $3500 per month. I am 56 and retiring in the next 3 - 4 months. Wife is 53, working a couple more years (her choice).

$1223 - mortgage, ins. & taxes
$500 - all utilities (elec, water, gas, sewerage, garbage, phone, cable/internet)
$400 - groceries
$300 - dining out
$300 - paying off new furniture at 0% for new retirement house
$375 - gas, insurance, maintenance (2 Toyotas)
$100 - med co-pays, prescriptions etc.
$300 - miscellaneous

Health insurance is figured outside this budget. It's deducted from my pay (and will be from my pension) before I get it, and therefore I'm not counting it as a budgeted item here. It's already been accounted for.

We won't have to begin portfolio withdrawals when I retire & start receiving my pension, because with her continuing to work, our monthly income will be $400 more per month than while I'm working. By the time she does stop working, it will be just about time for my military reserves pension to kick in, essentially replacing her working income. Portfolio will be in addition. There will probably be a one-time expense for a boat for my fishing hobby.

Once the new furniture ($300 per month) is paid off, that amount will drop from the list above. Of course, there's always someplace to take it's place. We are going to do our level best not to incur any debt, though. However, I don't have a problem with zero-interest debt if it makes sense at the time.

 

[Mulligan]

Once the new furniture ($300 per month) is paid off, that amount will drop from the list above. Of course, there's always someplace to take it's place. We are going to do our level best not to incur any debt, though. However, I don't have a problem with zero-interest debt if it makes sense at the time.

Marty I agree completely with the "always something to take it's place". I didn't retire until I had a $2000 monthly cushion in budget. In theory I should be able to save that each month, but in reality it is never more than $1000. Roof, dishwasher, water heater, car repairs, presents....Seems like always something every month. I am glad I didn't cut my retirement budget close to the bone, or there would always be problems, or part time work to compensate for shortfall.


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[Rustic23]

6.000