2018 Spending Summary and Analysis

[mountainsoft]

I haven't had the time to calculate our total expenses for the year, but I'm willing to bet we spent more this year. My wife had a couple of medical emergencies so we had some unplanned medical bills. Then she was in a car accident in October so we had to buy her a new (used) car.

Several of our bills increased slightly compared to last year, such as my Comcast cable internet which constantly goes up.

Ironically, we have saved a lot more in 2018 than previous years. We're not earning any more so we must be cutting back in other areas not immediately apparent. Probably less wasteful spending, a little less recreation, and certainly a lot less driving than last year (less gas costs).

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 After several years of keeping track, I stopped this year. I am consistantly under $20K/yr in total spending. I decided there is really no reason to continue keeping track. I know I spend very little so there is no danger of spending too much. I just need to make more money so I can save more. I still have never hit $50K in gross income in a year.

I am sure you live a lot better than the woman in the following video who sleeps in her minivan in Santa Ana while spending $24K/year, her income from part-time work.

Her budget is at 2:26. Because she does not have a home, it drives up some other costs such as food as she does not have a kitchen to cook. And instead of paying for utility, she pays for a storage locker for stuff she needs but cannot fit in her car. Once you get yourself into such a hole, it seems tough to climb out of it.

Anyway, I am not sure if I can spend a lot less than I do now, but I can be sure that I can spend twice as much and that will not change my happiness level any.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wCHtOTxQak

[MarieIG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by corn18 Negative. We started saving very late because we were idiots. Got the laddered term 5 years ago to cover the gap while we save. I need it to cover the survivor side of the house. My pension is 55% and my SS would be 50%. 2 years after I got it all in place at great rates (great health) I had 2 heart attacks, so it can stay for a while. While we spend a lot, we save a lot as well. Saving $250k / year, which is about 50% of gross pay.

That insurance looks to me to be dirt cheap. I have a piddly policy through my job and pay 1/2 that. I'm uninsurable otherwise.

Saving half your gross is very impressive.

[DEC-1982]

I think we will be within 1% of "budget". I'll do the proper report on Jan 1 2019.

[Dtail]

Will report my numbers on Jan 1. Still 3 days of spending left....

[DrRoy]

$25,650?? I wish! We spent more than that on travel. Including an allowance for car replacement, we were at $113K this year vs. $102K last year, including all taxes. The travel included a guided photo tour of Patagonia, trips to NC/WVa and NV/CA, plus prepayment of a Caribbean cruise early next year and air to London.

[Ronstar]

I'm afraid to look, but I'll probably tally it all up early Jan. The house remodel probably ran 40-50k. Other than that, I probably had a normal spending year.

[FIREd]

By June 2018 (the last time I checked), we were on track to spend $75K this year, which was right on budget. But then we divorced and I stopped tracking my spending. My regular expenses seemed to drop post separation (less time for hobbies and entertainment) but one-time expenses blew up (lawyers, movers, taxes, car purchase, etc...). I really don't want to add it all up...

Things should settle down from here on, although I still need to buy a condo and some furnishings in the new year (I already segregated the funds for those purchases from the rest of my retirement savings). I will start tracking my spending again on January 1st. I will try to keep my budget for 2019 around 29K euros (~$33K) - excluding the condo and furnishings purchases. This represents a conservative withdrawal rate, while I get used to my new life in Europe and as a bachelor.

[NW-Bound]

Our expenses have been down quite a bit since the children got out of college, moved out, and we got past our daughter's wedding. Now, they gift me XO Cognac instead of my wife buying it for me, so that saves a couple hundred bucks.

The most important thing is our WR stays below 3%, unless the market tanks further. Other than that, I do not care about the category breakdowns that much, except out of curiosity to see what I spent more on one year against the next.

[SmallCityDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R 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.

That's great thanks for sharing.


A couple of questions, do you have a set budget for these categories or do you spend and record the numbers? The other part of the question is do you have a set amount that you withdraw every month and spend within that amount or do you spend as needed?


This is very encouraging to me and it seems it's very scalable.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtail Will report my numbers on Jan 1. Still 3 days of spending left....

We need to start a poll... If you're at a bar on new year's eve, do you pay your bar tab before midnight and open a new tab to segregate those 2019 drinks into the appropriate year?



I won't be doing the numbers until February, or so. I don't see how you can do it properly until after the credit card statements get reconciled. I suppose someone could pull transactions off of a web interface before the statement end date, but that's doubling the work.

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational We need to start a poll... If you're at a bar on new year's eve, do you pay your bar tab before midnight and open a new tab to segregate those 2019 drinks into the appropriate year? I won't be doing the numbers until February, or so. I don't see how you can do it properly until after the credit card statements get reconciled. I suppose someone could pull transactions off of a web interface before the statement end date, but that's doubling the work.

Like W2R and some others, I actually record all my expenses on a daily basis.
Might be crazy to some folks, but I am willing to put in the time of........ 5 minutes a day to do it. Vacation/Travel is the one exception, coz all those expenses go into travel, so doesn't matter daily.

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtail Like W2R and some others, I actually record all my expenses on a daily basis. Might be crazy to some folks, but I am willing to put in the time of........ 5 minutes a day to do it. Vacation/Travel is the one exception, coz all those expenses go into travel, so doesn't matter daily.

Not so crazy. I make almost all payments by credit card, put the receipts in my wallet, enter into Quicken if they’re not already there as recurring transactions. The paper receipts don’t build up so fast that they can’t wait till the weekend (or longer) to clear out.

If you categorize you can get useful spending and budgeting information. I do categorize a lot of things in a catch-all “misc” category. Withdrawals from ATMs (not often) go into “cash”.

But I spent way too much in 2018, that’s all I’ll contribute to the thread. I’ll be better in the new year!

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelyman Not so crazy. I make almost all payments by credit card, put the receipts in my wallet, enter into Quicken if they’re not already there as recurring transactions. The paper receipts don’t build up so fast that they can’t wait till the weekend (or longer) to clear out. If you categorize you can get useful spending and budgeting information. I do categorize a lot of things in a catch-all “misc” category. Withdrawals from ATMs (not often) go into “cash”. But I spent way too much in 2018, that’s all I’ll contribute to the thread. I’ll be better in the new year!

Interesting. My ATM withdrawals are recorded in the cash category. Then if we use it for food, I add to the food category and subtract it from the cash category. Try not to use cash much in order to maximize CC rewards.
A little harder to keep track of, but get it within $40 monthly.

[FANOFJESUS]

For two in the Midwest

Category Total for 2018 Comments
Groceries $8,400 Includes toiletries, detergent, miscellaneous etc.
Restaurants $960
Gasoline $720 Everything is close by.
Car $490 insurance, maintenance, registration
House $2,950 insurance (homeowners), prop. tax, mowing, maint.
Utilities $2,400 internet, nat. gas, electricity, water, trash, sewage, cell
Clothes $200 casual "retiree wear", underwear
Medical $1440 insurance, Medicare, prescriptions, dentist, etc
Total $17560 plus income tax

[RetireAge50]

We spent $92,140. Travel was the biggest item at $31,727 (136 days all over the world). Also spent about $21,000 for mortgage and home upgrades. Taxes and giving were about $6,500 each. The rest was for just regular life (which I do not track by categories).

[PatrickA5]

We spent $205K. Waaay over budget. But, eliminating one time expenses and DS's college we came in right around $100K. Our hope is that once DS is off the payroll in a couple of years we should settle down in the $80K range during retirement. Still too high, but affordable.

This doesn't include income taxes. No mortgage, MCOL.

[RobbieB]

A hundred grand on a new car, wedding, home improvements and moving.

About half that on food, drink, utilities, insurance and "other"

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FANOFJESUS For two in the Midwest Category Total for 2018 Comments Groceries $8,400 Includes toiletries, detergent, miscellaneous etc. Restaurants $960 Gasoline $720 Everything is close by. Car $490 insurance, maintenance, registration House $2,950 insurance (homeowners), prop. tax, mowing, maint. Utilities $2,400 internet, nat. gas, electricity, water, trash, sewage, cell Clothes $200 casual "retiree wear", underwear Medical $1440 insurance, Medicare, prescriptions, dentist, etc Total $17560 plus income tax

Here I thought W2R was the LBYM queen (King).
Nothing on entertainment or travel?

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtail Interesting. My ATM withdrawals are recorded in the cash category. Then if we use it for food, I add to the food category and subtract it from the cash category. Try not to use cash much in order to maximize CC rewards. A little harder to keep track of, but get it within $40 monthly.

I just record what I spend the money on, so I don't record if I take out $$ from bank, or cash a check. When I spend it, is when I record it.
I like it simple.

Our main spending categories for 2 in midwest, some not shown, but total is the real total.

We don't have a budget, we just track what we spend, so if it got crazy, we would fix it somehow.

Groceries	$3,096.32
Restaurant	$1,090.52
Fuel	$865.34
House & Utilities	$2,874.76
Travel	$17,571.61
Technology	$1,244.30
Booze	$350.82
Clothes	$571.72
Medical & Dental	$5,428.59
Insurance Auto House Umbrella	$2,668.83
Total without Taxes	$42,700