2017 Spending Summary and Analysis

[cranberryjoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LRDave I find the range of values under the category "groceries" fascinating. Thanks to all that have shared.

In addition to the usual household supplies one buys at a grocery store, my groceries category includes wine and liquor. I'm buying more expensive wines than I used to, and I'm afraid to separate it into its own category.

[UtahSkier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cranberryjoe In addition to the usual household supplies one buys at a grocery store, my groceries category includes wine and liquor. I'm buying more expensive wines than I used to, and I'm afraid to separate it into its own category.

I had similar concerns, but I faced my fears and broke wine and liquor into a sub category.

In Utah, it is easy to track as all good alcohol comes from the state liquor store.

[Gumby]

I broke mine out. It's amazing that my liver has survived this long.

[NW-Bound]

All this talk about booze expenses makes me curious how I treat mine. Can't remember if I separate it out or not.

So, I looked just now, and what the heck is this $3.45 on booze paid with Paypal? And this $8.53? Since when did I pay for any booze or drink with Paypal?

Turned out that Quicken misclassified the expenses on little electronic parts that I bought on eBay, when it downloaded the transactions from my credit card.

It didn't matter, but seeing these errors I now have to go in to edit them.

[Winemaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LRDave I find the range of values under the category "groceries" fascinating. Thanks to all that have shared.

I agree. There must be a lot of hungry retirees out there.
I spent at least $3000 on wine grapes from California to here in SW PA.

[Independent]

Tracking expenses is somehow satisfying to some of us -- I'm one of those people.
Then, comparing them is also interesting.
Like a number of other people here, I like to compare to the hundreds of couples who fill out amazingly detailed diaries for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here are the mean numbers for 2015, for married couples, with no kids at home, where both spouses are 60 or older, who own their homes:

Food at home	4,568
Food away from home	2,723
Property taxes	3,338
Homeowners insurance	931
House maint, repairs, flooring	2,297
Electricity	1,826
Heating fuels	750
Water, sewer, trash, ...	740
Major appliances	429
Housekeeping services	905
Cleaning Supplies	365
Other housekeeping supplies	684
Furniture	467
Smal appl, misc HH eq & textiles.....	1,282
Other lodging	840
Telephone services	1,440
Computer information services	468
Clothing	1,399
Cars, net purchase + lease	4,597
Vehicle finance charges	153
Car insurance	1,387
Gasoline and motor oil	1,955
Car maint & repairs	1,077
Car rental, prkng, tolls	268
Health insurance	5,739
LTC insurance	329
Dental, Eyecare, Hring Aids	1,039
Other medical	1,504
Day Care aka Personal services	145
Fees and admissions	832
Cable/Satellite services	995
Other AV equip & services	271
Pets, toys, hobbies, ...	798
Other Ent supp, eqp, services	866
Personal care products	400
Personal care services	427
Reading	198
Alcohol	530
Tobacco	193
Gifts to f & f, educational	376
Other gifts to f & f	1,827
Tax deductible contributions	2,190
Life and other pers insurance	558
Travel	2,812
Other	1,242
Total	58,159

Note that this is "mean" not "median". I'm sure median would be lower.

Also, the numbers above include people who have mortgages and those who don't. But I didn't show the mean mortgage payments because that's kind of confusing.

About 30% of these couples have mortgages, and those that do pay about $13,400 per year in combined principal and interest.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtahSkier I had similar concerns, but I faced my fears and broke wine and liquor into a sub category. In Utah, it is easy to track as all good alcohol comes from the state liquor store.

When we started buying wines by the case, we addded wine as a subcategory for groceries.

We had a 72 bottle wine cellar to fill up after all.

[Winemaker]

2015 1.33%
2016 1.52%
2017 1.74%
2018 projected 2.08%


Although not full yet, there is 1,100 bottles in my cellar, about 25 have been purchased.
I do share a lot with friends and family.

[Cpadave]

Family of 4 with 2 young kids:

Auto 1,100
Groceries 5,000
Dinning 3,300
Mortgage 86,172
R/E Tax 14,500
Clothing 1,000
Household 4,600
Insurance 3,000
Kids Exp 6,000
Health Ins 17,000
Other Med 4,000
Utilities 5,000
Travel 8,900
Misc 4,000

Both of us retired at 40. The one expense that worries me the most is healthcare. The cost has gone up 100% in less than 3 years for the most basic hsa (bronze) plan.

[NYEXPAT]

Woke up this morning and young Wife was lying next to me, 15 cigarettes in the pack and $34.00 in my wallet, I would have to say, I came in slightly under budget!

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cpadave Family of 4 with 2 young kids: Auto 1,100 Groceries 5,000 Dinning 3,300 Mortgage 86,172 R/E Tax 14,500 Clothing 1,000 Household 4,600 Insurance 3,000 Kids Exp 6,000 Health Ins 17,000 Other Med 4,000 Utilities 5,000 Travel 8,900 Misc 4,000 Both of us retired at 40. The one expense that worries me the most is healthcare. The cost has gone up 100% in less than 3 years for the most basic hsa (bronze) plan.

Do you really have a 7000 dollar a month mortgage payment or is that a typo?

[Cpadave]

Not typo. 15yrs mortgage. 10 more years to go

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cpadave Not typo. 15yrs mortgage. 10 more years to go

I see your concern with the HI costs..after you take the away the 100K you need for mort and taxes, there isn't a lot left to trim to cover increasing health costs. Your spend will most likely have to rise to cover the HI..

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grasshopper Quicken has a lot more detail, I am sharing only my top 10 expenses 1) Medical $19,500.00 2) Travel $14,600.00 2016 $30,000.00 3) Groceries $6,400.00 4) Pets $5,600.00 5) Auto $2,300.00 6) Dining $1,600.00 7) Household $1,500.00 8) Liquor $1.400.00 9)Recreation $1,300.00 10) Electric $1,000.00 all other categories are less than 1% of spending each.

No taxes?

[socca]

Mid-50’s single male. Some random tidbits from my 2017 QuickBooks P&L report:

• $2,400 for medical insurance premiums (if include the Obamacare Tax I’ll pay on my 2017 tax return, double this )

• $300 for dental: 2 cleanings and 1 x-ray

• $4,300 for food (eat out once per week on average; whole-foods plant-based diet; not much organic; lots of fruits, veggies, nuts, grains, etc.; no alcohol, no soda)

• $130 for toiletries

• $1,900 for recreation (need to start having more fun )

• $2,600 for utilities (electric, cable, water/sewer, cell)

• $900 for garden

• $700 for furniture (mostly a new 49” TV)

• $1,700 for auto (registration, insurance, maintenance, fuel, hired trips; I insured two cars for awhile, which is why the number is high)

• income taxes are huge; property and HOA taxes are reasonable

2018 should be interesting.

[sakowitzm]

2017 was a crazy expensive year for us - many items 2X or 3X normal - way over the top vacations, and more. We are 59 yo retired couple with two recent college grads living nearby, one with boyfriend. So we still have groceries and restaurants and entertainment often for four or five people, not just two. Despite what you see, we are not extravagant. We eat at home most days, I cook dinners - chicken, ground beef, etc. not high-end things. OTOH, we don't deny ourselves much; my wife has cancer and so to the extent she is able, we like to do nice things.

(sorry about the formatting)

HOME EXPENSES
Real Estate Tax 8,700
Electric 2,400
Gas 800
Water 1,200
Cell Phones 2,100
Cable - TV, Internet, Phone 2,800
HOA 500
Furnishings/Appliances 900
Lawn 2,700
Home Supplies, Repair, Maintenance 6,400
Other 600

DAILY LIVING
ATM 8,000
Groceries 11,400
Costco-Target-WalMart 3,100
Personal Supplies / CVS 1,000
Clothing 6,300
Restaurants 7,000
Dry Cleaning 200
Salon/Barber 800
Massage/Pedicure 200
Other 11,400

TRANSPORTATION
Fuel 1,400
Repairs/Maintenance 4,600
Registration/License 200
Personal Property Tax 300
Other (including local Uber and EZPass) 1,100

HEALTH
Travel 700
Doctor - not cancer 2,700
Doctor - cancer 4,300
Prescriptions 1,100
Dentist 700
Labwork 300
Exercise, Yoga, PT 900
Other 600

INSURANCE
Auto 1,300
Health 21,000
Homeowner's 1,800
Umbrella 600
Life 1,100
LTC 3,500

RELIGION/CHARITY/GIFTS
Dues 3,300
Charitable Donations 3,200
Other 200

ENTERTAINMENT
Netflix 100
Movies 800
Concerts 5,300
Theater 4,700
Books 1,300
iTunes 200
Other 500

PETS
Pets 2,500
Other 600

SUBSCRIPTIONS
Newspaper 1,100
Magazines 100

VACATION
Playa del Carmen 9,900
Cruise Spring Break 10,400
Pittsburgh 400
Coeur d'Alene 8,800
Other 6,700

MISCELLANEOUS
Postage 100

Total: 186,900


Additional, not included (one time expenses)
Funeral Prepaid: $10.800
Perpetual Care: $11,700
Cemetary Plots: $7,000
New car graduation gift: $27,500
Apple Mac laptop graduation gift: $2,300
Earrings: $8,300
MIL hearing aid: $3,550

[grasshopper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 No taxes?

Household includes property tax, no federal or state income tax. Property tax would have been the under 1% line but I included it with household.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sakowitzm 2017 was a crazy expensive year for us - many items 2X or 3X normal - way over the top vacations, and more. We are 59 yo retired couple with two recent college grads living nearby, one with boyfriend. So we still have groceries and restaurants and entertainment often for four or five people, not just two. Despite what you see, we are not extravagant. We eat at home most days, I cook dinners - chicken, ground beef, etc. not high-end things. OTOH, we don't deny ourselves much; my wife has cancer and so to the extent she is able, we like to do nice things. (sorry about the formatting) HOME EXPENSES Real Estate Tax 8,700 Electric 2,400 Gas 800 Water 1,200 Cell Phones 2,100 Cable - TV, Internet, Phone 2,800 HOA 500 Furnishings/Appliances 900 Lawn 2,700 Home Supplies, Repair, Maintenance 6,400 Other 600 DAILY LIVING ATM 8,000 Groceries 11,400 Costco-Target-WalMart 3,100 Personal Supplies / CVS 1,000 Clothing 6,300 Restaurants 7,000 Dry Cleaning 200 Salon/Barber 800 Massage/Pedicure 200 Other 11,400 TRANSPORTATION Fuel 1,400 Repairs/Maintenance 4,600 Registration/License 200 Personal Property Tax 300 Other (including local Uber and EZPass) 1,100 HEALTH Travel 700 Doctor - not cancer 2,700 Doctor - cancer 4,300 Prescriptions 1,100 Dentist 700 Labwork 300 Exercise, Yoga, PT 900 Other 600 INSURANCE Auto 1,300 Health 21,000 Homeowner's 1,800 Umbrella 600 Life 1,100 LTC 3,500 RELIGION/CHARITY/GIFTS Dues 3,300 Charitable Donations 3,200 Other 200 ENTERTAINMENT Netflix 100 Movies 800 Concerts 5,300 Theater 4,700 Books 1,300 iTunes 200 Other 500 PETS Pets 2,500 Other 600 SUBSCRIPTIONS Newspaper 1,100 Magazines 100 VACATION Playa del Carmen 9,900 Cruise Spring Break 10,400 Pittsburgh 400 Coeur d'Alene 8,800 Other 6,700 MISCELLANEOUS Postage 100 Total: 186,900 Additional, not included (one time expenses) Funeral Prepaid: $10.800 Perpetual Care: $11,700 Cemetary Plots: $7,000 New car graduation gift: $27,500 Apple Mac laptop graduation gift: $2,300 Earrings: $8,300 MIL hearing aid: $3,550

Well, you could have fooled me. Whenever I see large “Other” categories, I wonder where that money went. Another red flag is “ATM”. You took $8000 out of the ATM and you have no accounting for where it went.

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh ... You took $8000 out of the ATM and you have no accounting for where it went.

I have the same problem, but only to the $6k level. For me, it's time consuming to account for cash out. In the past, I've split the expenditures evenly between misc and restaurants (I use cash for fast food), making about 2 entries each into quicken per month. Just a rough guess of where the $ goes.

I'm going to try to account for the cash this year as well as minimize "misc". I think I'll keep daily notes of cash expenditures in 2018 and see where that goes.

[Meadbh]

In 2017, I withdrew exactly $200 from the ATM, to pay for small weekly fees of my Golf group. Everything else is documented as credit card payments or electronic withdrawals. I have no “other” category.

I recently spent an entire week in Europe without using any cash at all.