2015 Expenses

[Danmar]

About 10% over plan including my daughter's wedding that was way over plan, lots of real estate related overages including FX effect on USD expenses in Arizona (we use CAD as our base currency as we are Canadians). No worries though-plenty more where that came from.

 

[rodi]

I had hoped to spend $25k on our trip of a lifetime... but set aside $30k. We spent $30k. (not bad for Europe for 9 weeks for 4 people including flights to/from and all transpo, spending, food, lodging, etc.) But that was off budget - since I'd set aside that money for this trip, prior to retiring in 2014.

Excluding the trip we budgeted $84k. Again, for 4 people - which includes 2 teenagers.
We spent just under $80k. That includes the expensive medical OOP due to one son with a broken left elbow followed by a broken right wrist, and the other son with a broken face (baseball to the orbital socket) and a short hospitalization. I'd thought I was conservative budgeting $5k for OOP medical... we spent 8980 for medical/dental OOP.

Also - my first pass on taxes indicate I'm getting a HUGE tax refund... I wasn't sure how to handle the ACA tax credits - since due to a glitch in CoveredCA I had to pay full price for the insurance... so that money is somewhat found money - to be allocated for future "trip of a lifetime" travel funds. (We budget for travel - but not for trips that 10's of thousands.)

Midyear I would have guessed we'd be way over budget - so I'm happy to be 4.7% below budget.

 

[Theseus]

How did you do last year? Stuck to the budget? Any surprises?

Was impressed with myself for tracking about 25% under planned budget for much of the year, but between higher out-of-pocket (anticipated) medical costs and buying a new car in the last days of December we ended up pretty much right on budget. Not bad for our February 10 days in the sun and fun already bought and paid for. Best news is Firecalc says we could be spending more yet. Right now I'm working on methods for keeping our MAGI in a sweet spot for ACA subsidies the next couple of years without scrimping on living too much.

 

[Moemg]

I came in just under budget despite a lot of giving , a few major repairs & prepaying our Europe 2016 trip .I only contributed $1,000 to my surplus fund which has grown to $30,000 from several way under budget years.

 

[FIREd]

We came in just under budget; we had a couple of large unexpected expenses early in the year but we were able to absorb them by cutting other expenses (cut cable, sold the second car).

We are preparing for a lean year in 2016 as we need to save money for our move back east in 2017.

 

[Sue J]

Despite some unexpected medical and dental we came in under budget.

We spent $26,284 on our normal monthly expenses.

In addition to that we had $7,773 in other stuff-
Medical - $3060 ($2655 of this was for diagnostic tests including a CAT scan for a urology work-up due to a cancer scare, it was worth it)
Car repairs - $2196 (2001 and 2003 Toyotas, includes a set of tires)
Dental - $1606 (regular cleanings for both and we each needed a crown)
Kitchen project - $600 (just patching and painting)
Travel - $311 DH trip to Denver

Total expenses for the year - $34,057
Savings for the year - $3,318 (8.87% of after tax income of $37,375)

We expect a Fed tax refund of about $1200 mostly due to our ACA subsidy adjustment because we contributed to an HSA. That will go into savings for 2016.

 

[Scubamax]

Came in at about 4% under our run rate we forecasted for the year, which was based on 2014, the first year without a regular paycheck for me, so am happy with where we landed.

 

[jabbahop]

Over by about 10% on several unanticipated maintenance items and some retirement startup costs (needed to replace company owned computer, phone, and tablet).

We had a bit more rental income than planned so that partially offset the spending.


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[Ronstar]

$978 over budget. I budget $2500 a year for an emergency house repair, but spent $5k on a backup generator, so I'm somewhat pleased.

 

[Calico]

Proportionally speaking, Calico, you will be "rich" when that happens. And that is all that really matters!


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I agree completely. It's the only kind of "rich" I'll ever be - the kind that comes with peace of mind - and it's the only kind I'm shooting for!

 

[Shawn]

My expenses were consistent with expectations. Single, living alone, San Francisco Bay Area, 56, not yet retired ...

$11,380 Mortgage
$08,500 College Costs (for friend's niece in Philippines)
$07,329 Veterinary Bills (for another friend's cat)
$04,659 Charity
$03,305 Property Taxes
$02,220 Utilities (Gas/Elec, Water, Phone, Trash, TV, Internet)
$01,435 Water Heater and Related Work
$00,930 Medical Issue
$00,495 Auto Insurance
$00,434 Homeowners Insurance
$00,263 Bicycle Repair and Supplies
$00,228 Auto Maintenance
$00,226 Auto Gas
$05,660 Misc (food, clothes, entertainment, recreation, doctor/dentist, subscriptions, ...)

Total: $31,234.52 (plus $7329 veterinary bills and $8500 college costs for friends)

Previous Years:
1999 (30,915)
2000 (33,454)
2001 (27,325)
2002 (31,751)
2003 (29,757)
2004 (25,510) [plus 18K in veterinary bills]
2005 (29,424) [plus 5K in veterinary bills]
2006 (30,735)
2007 (29,703)
2008 (31,846)
2009 (23,878)
2010 (26,108) [plus 17K for a new car]
2011 (28,845)
2012 (27,539) [plus 15K in veterinary bills]
2013 (26,860) [plus 20K in veterinary bills]
2014 (29,854) [plus 15K in veterinary bills for friend's pets]
2015 (31,235) [plus 7K veterinary bills and 8K college costs for friends]

 

[Sue J]

Shawn, how wonderful that you can do things like help friends with huge expenses like college costs and veterinary costs.

 

[34rlsa]

My dog wants you to adopt him.

My expenses were consistent with expectations. Single, living alone, San Francisco Bay Area, 56, not yet retired ...

$11,380 Mortgage
$08,500 College Costs (for friend's niece in Philippines)
$07,329 Veterinary Bills (for another friend's cat)
$04,659 Charity
$03,305 Property Taxes
$02,220 Utilities (Gas/Elec, Water, Phone, Trash, TV, Internet)
$01,435 Water Heater and Related Work
$00,930 Medical Issue
$00,495 Auto Insurance
$00,434 Homeowners Insurance
$00,263 Bicycle Repair and Supplies
$00,228 Auto Maintenance
$00,226 Auto Gas
$05,660 Misc (food, clothes, entertainment, recreation, doctor/dentist, subscriptions, ...)

Total: $31,234.52 (plus $7329 veterinary bills and $8500 college costs for friends)

Previous Years:
1999 (30,915)
2000 (33,454)
2001 (27,325)
2002 (31,751)
2003 (29,757)
2004 (25,510) [plus 18K in veterinary bills]
2005 (29,424) [plus 5K in veterinary bills]
2006 (30,735)
2007 (29,703)
2008 (31,846)
2009 (23,878)
2010 (26,108) [plus 17K for a new car]
2011 (28,845)
2012 (27,539) [plus 15K in veterinary bills]
2013 (26,860) [plus 20K in veterinary bills]
2014 (29,854) [plus 15K in veterinary bills for friend's pets]
2015 (31,235) [plus 7K veterinary bills and 8K college costs for friends]

 

[slowsaver]

I can't believe how many of you have spending below $30k. Really impressive. My DH and I have been spending $60k (combined) each of the last 3 years.

 

[kcowan]

I can't believe how many of you have spending below $30k. Really impressive. My DH and I have been spending $60k (combined) each of the last 3 years.

It is highly a function of where you live "norcal". Also all capital expenses need to be accounted for differently. We keep a separate line on the spreadsheet for such expenses: cars, appliances, home maintenance...

 

[papadad111]

It is highly a function of where you live "norcal". ...

Family size is a major factor too. Perhaps more so than location.
Consumables such as healthcare premiums and OOP, Groceries and utilities usage, number of vehicles and insurance to maintain. Those modulate significantly depending on family size - kids at home etc.

 

[Mulligan]

I can't believe how many of you have spending below $30k. Really impressive. My DH and I have been spending $60k (combined) each of the last 3 years.

I think a big driver for that occurring would seem to be if mortgage is paid off and healthcare costs are under control. I live in a low cost area and live a modest lifestyle and cannot get to that 30k level myself. Now, if my mortgage was paid off, I could come in right near that number, though.


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[rodi]

Family size is a major factor too. Perhaps more so than location.
Consumables such as healthcare premiums and OOP, Groceries and utilities usage, number of vehicles and insurance to maintain. Those modulate significantly depending on family size - kids at home etc.

I agree with this. I'm proud of our less than $80k spend considering we have 2 kids at home. Especially when you look at over $13k of that was health insurance premiums and another $8k+ in medical OOP. It helps that our mortgage is paid for.

 

[audreyh1]

i set a generous spending budget about 10 years ago, and haven't increased it in all that time - no inflation adjustments, nothing. Well - I said it was generous. Also a pretty good chunk of it (20%) is charity and gifting and we have been maxing that portion out recently.

We'll see if we finally match it this year.

 

[aaronc879]

I can't believe how many of you have spending below $30k. Really impressive. My DH and I have been spending $60k (combined) each of the last 3 years.

My income is well below $30K. That makes it easy to spend less than that $30K. I've only had 9 years where my income topped $30K and it likely never will again.

 

[tmm99]

If it weren't for the moving cost, I spent $36.3K. 30K or below is something to aspire to, but I don't want to cut my travel budget and such. 30K below can however happen in years where there are no special expenses..

 

[RunningBum]

4th year in a row of a major non-regular expense, but I did include a reasonable amount in my budget for capital and maintenance expenses when I set it up to see if I could ER. I no longer keep the budget items up to date but track outflow to my WR target, and I came about 10% under.

 

[jkern]

Essential expenses and monthly spending (recreation, entertainment, travel. etc..) came in pretty much on target. Only exception is auto maintenance/repairs which came in higher than budgeted.

The plan is to average $12,000 per year on irregular spending (cars, roof, furniture, appliances, new toys, weddings, etc...) so it's not always easy to determine if I'm on budget looking at just one year. Given that, I spent $12,500 in discretionary irregular spending last year.

 

[W2R]

I can't believe how many of you have spending below $30k. Really impressive. My DH and I have been spending $60k (combined) each of the last 3 years.

But you are a couple, and also probably in a stage in your life in which spending $60K makes more sense.

When I was saving for retirement, like some others here I spent less than $30K every year and put most of my income towards retirement objectives that included both building my nestegg ASAP and paying off my house. To me it made sense to do that, mathematically. Besides, I was working and didn't have much spare time to devote to spending money. Also I was pessimistic about the economy and wanted to over-prepare for retirement as much as I could.

After retiring in 2009, I no longer have had to save for retirement and the booming market has been wonderful; not at all the pessimistic scenarios I had envisioned. I have been spending more than $30K every year and I am still ramping up my spending since apparently I can afford to do so.

I could still cut back to below $30K if necessary by simply cutting back on discretionary expenses, but I neither want to do that nor have to at present. But I always try to be prepared! We never know what future market conditions could be.

Meanwhile, at present "all systems are go" for cautiously spending more in the future. I am doing a lot of introspection and thought about what I could spend more on that would genuinely add quality to my life. I bought a house this year that is a dream come true for me. It isn't the kind of house that everybody would want. In fact some of our members would probably say "Ewww" if they saw it, because it's small and old (1500 sq ft and built around 1960), but it's just perfect for me and exactly what I have always wanted. I am so glad that I did this.

 

[Sue J]

I can't believe how many of you have spending below $30k. Really impressive. My DH and I have been spending $60k (combined) each of the last 3 years.

A big factor in this is probably housing costs and property taxes. We have no mortgage and our property taxes run just $200/mo. A relative of ours, also retired, has property taxes of $750/mo. To some at ER.org $750/mo probably sounds cheap, but in our area (NE Ohio) that's a large amount.

Living at $30K feels quite comfortable. We have a large grocery budget every month, still get satellite TV (which is our luxury item) eat out a couple of times a month and have a generous monthly amount for miscellaneous. Personally, I feel like we spend plenty.

I've always had a need to be a saver. Anything extra goes into savings. I need to be saving every month because I've learned, stuff breaks and sh!t happens.