2018 Spending Summary and Analysis

[steelyman]

.Just another opinion all in good fun.

My opinion is that this opinion is a good opinion (say what?). I see no harm in keeping detailed records and taking the time to post/share in a thread like this.

 

[Midpack]

Interesting how some are very detailed....like down to toiletries, toothpaste etc.

I don’t see the point or any need to keep track of that level of minutia. If I ever do...shoot me.

All the major expenses to really be concerned about like property taxes, auto and home insurance, utilities, cell phone-internet-cable, auto, health insurance and groceries are all pretty much fixed expenses. No surprises there.

Sure, there will be the occasional outlier expense pop up. That’s why we have a checkbook.

That’s just me. Life is to short to be thinking...”Honey, why was our toiletries expense $3.87 higher than last month? Did you buy an extra tube of toothpaste? You need to clear that with me first.” Lol.

I’m to busy living life!!! Grandkids, Tennis, guitars, church, good wines.......

Who’s trying to convince you to track your spending differently? That’s your business, no one here is criticizing your approach. And I missed the post where someone was worried about spending minutiae.

Some of us can live a very full life and keep a budget too. One has nothing to do with the other...

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Who said someone was trying to convince me?

No one. Geez

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

I was only making the observation that some people go into extreme detail and other people like me do not no one said it was bad or good

 

[aja8888]

THis is what I visualized after attempting (unsuccessfully) to tally up last years spending, which contained DD's wedding (I paid for it), two newer cars, helping DW's daughter move and paying for her rent for 6 months, and some very expensive medical stuff Medicare wouldn't cover:





Budgets were blown and new stuff was not previously budgeted for.

 

[ivinsfan]

I was only making the observation that some people go into extreme detail and other people like me do not no one said it was bad or good

FTP you were golden until you made fun of people with the toothpaste comment and said you have better things to do with your time...threw in all the stuff you do instead of tracking bills. Some people think it's worthwhile and I think they can all find time to play with their grandkids too.

 

[ivinsfan]

THis is what I visualized after attempting (unsuccessfully) to tally up last years spending, which contained DD's wedding (I paid for it), two newer cars, helping DW's daughter move and paying for her rent for 6 months, and some very expensive medical stuff Medicare wouldn't cover:

View attachment 30426



Budgets were blown and new stuff was not previously budgeted for.

Some years are just like that aren't they. Hopefully not too many in a row...

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

THis is what I visualized after attempting (unsuccessfully) to tally up last years spending, which contained DD's wedding (I paid for it), two newer cars, helping DW's daughter move and paying for her rent for 6 months, and some very expensive medical stuff Medicare wouldn't cover:

View attachment 30426



Budgets were blown and new stuff was not previously budgeted for.

Well, at least I don’t see a can of gasoline near by!!!!!!!!! Lol

 

[SecondCor521]

no one said it was bad or good

I took the following portion of another post of yours to be saying that tracking in detail was bad:

Life is to short to be thinking...”Honey, why was our toiletries expense $3.87 higher than last month? Did you buy an extra tube of toothpaste? You need to clear that with me first.” Lol.

I'd also point out that tracking in detail and have spouses or partners clear spending with each other are two distinct things.

Honestly, I don't care either way - I'll do me and you can certainly do you. But I do think your post was critical of others and to claim otherwise seems either incongruous or modestly obtuse.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Yikes! I was trying to make light and have some fun with the super trackers and the non trackers like myself. Was not my intention at all to offend. Thus the
LOL.

I’m out

 

[Midpack]

Who said someone was trying to convince me?

No one. Geez

I was only making the observation that some people go into extreme detail and other people like me do not no one said it was bad or good

I guess I misunderstood what these statements meant.

I don’t see the point or any need to keep track of that level of minutia. If I ever do...shoot me.

That’s just me. Life is to short to be thinking...”Honey, why was our toiletries expense $3.87 higher than last month? Did you buy an extra tube of toothpaste? You need to clear that with me first.” Lol.

I’m to busy living life!!! Grandkids, Tennis, guitars, church, good wines.......

 

[Moemg]

.

That’s just me. Life is to short to be thinking...”Honey, why was our toiletries expense $3.87 higher than last month? Did you buy an extra tube of toothpaste? You need to clear that with me first.” Lol.

I’m to busy living life!!! Grandkids, Tennis, guitars, church, good wines.......

This was seriously funny !

 

[grasshopper]

I have been tracking expenses for along time, mostly because Ms G will ask where did I buy my last running shoes, or how much was the cats medicine, or maybe even what did we spend on travel in 2013?

She knows Mr Quicken has the answer in just a minute. YMMV

 

[street]

My dad kept track of every penny and knew where, what, when and why. LOL He loved to do it and track expenses and money data. I hate it . LOL

 

[Morricol61]

Tracking expenses works for me because my income has always been modest and it helps me to know if I am over/under spending in any category consistently and therefore may need to tweak next year's budget or change my behaviour.

When I worked part of my job was budgeting annual income and expenses for particular projects. I tracked income and expenses and reported quarterly to stakeholders. I enjoyed it and found it a useful tool for our domestic financial planning.

Tracking expenses and income these days helps me to identify potential problem areas or opportunities to save and now that I don't work anymore I can happily tweak the annual budget as much as I want. I am not hurting anyone, I am not bored by it and I still think there is value in the exercise.

As a recently retired person, I still need a financial plan - I would hate to realise too late that I frittered away too much money on toothpaste and now we can't afford new tyres or the annual holiday.

Comparisons with others satisfies my voyeuristic tendencies, that is all.

 

[aja8888]

.

As a recently retired person, I still need a financial plan - I would hate to realise too late that I frittered away too much money on toothpaste and now we can't afford new tyres or the annual holiday.

Everything previously spent is a sunk cost. It's all about spending going forward. Planning and executing that plan is the key.

 

[Cpadave]

Family of 4 in Northeast excluding income taxes :

Mortgage 86K
RE taxes: 15K
Kids/School: 5K
Travel:6.3K
Utilities: 5K
Food: 8K
Auto:1.5K
Internet/TV/phone: 2K
House maintenance/repair: 15K
House items: 4K
Medical: 19.5K
Total 2018 expenditures about 165K

 

[RobbieB]

I still have no plan and do not plan to have a plan anytime soon. I'm planless.

I guess I don't have a key either. That's why I put that key lockbox up near the door.

 

[NW-Bound]

Downloading expenses into Quicken takes no time at all. I still do not subdivide the categories that fine. It's only enough so I can look back and see how much my 2nd home costs me in utility, insurance, maintenance, taxes, etc... Or how much I spent in fuel in my RV trek to Alaska (the biggest cost), or what I spent on a European trip.

Knowing how much I spent on a trip is enough; I do not look at how much was for transportation, lodging, food, etc..., although it's all there. And I only care to know the number to the nearest $1K, although Quicken keeps track down to the pennies.

And in the end, all it comes down to is this: what my WR is in terms of percentage of my stash. Only when it is high that I would need to see what I have to cut back. The detailed numbers are there, just in case.

 

[UtahSkier]

Yikes! I was trying to make light and have some fun with the super trackers and the non trackers like myself. Was not my intention at all to offend. Thus the
LOL.

I’m out

Wow! I finally have a label. I'm a SUPERTRACKER. No offense taken

I'm retired and work out 3 hours most days. Or, I'm skiing or mountain biking 3+ days a week. Now, I am also studying chess 6 hours a day. Fussing with my expenses and investments an hour or 2 a week is a break from the rigors of my retirement. Quicken does all the heavy lifting.

Seriously though. I am a data nerd and my spending plan exceeds the usual SWR. Knowing what I am doing and why helps me be confident with my plan.

 

[rodi]

Ok.... Spent more than planned due to unforseen medical expenses for older son.

Family of 4, spent about $99k.
Biggest expenses were: $11k in medical and dental (after insurance....) older son had a short hospitalization resulting in us hitting his deductable and OOP expense. And at the end of the year younger son had his wisdom teeth out - since we don't have dental (and most dental insurance doesn't cover anyway) $3k in wisdom teeth surgury.
Groceries were just under $12k... which was our budget.

WR (from our investments) was 3.15% from our beginning of year nest egg. 3.31% from the original, at retirement, budget, no inflation adjustment. But we have additional income from rental, DH's ss, and my micro pensions. We did withdrawal more this year, for the first time. We haven't increased for inflation in previous years.

Next year will be a bigger withdrawal because we are planning a big Italy trip for the summer. Every 4 years (while we have kids under roof and on our travel budget) we do a europe big trip - about 4x our annual travel budget.

Older son starts college (hopefully) in the fall. But we have 529 funds, that I don't count in our nest egg, that will hopefully cover his expenses.

 

[caninelover]

Below is my 2018 breakdown. I am in the final few accumulation years, so am going back to tracking expenses in detail (I haven't done that for the past few years). This is for 2 people in Southern California, and I own a 2200 SF townhouse.

Home: $30,112.80 (Mortgage, HOA, Prop Insurance, Furnishings)
Food & Dining: $12,330.96 (Groceries, Eating Out, Booze)
Auto & Transport: $7,344.40 (gas, insurance, registration, parking, service/repairs)
Shopping: $5,613.64 (new laptop, new phone, clothing, books, sporting goods, hobbies, kitchenware)
Bills & Utilities: $4,123.54 (Gas, electric, trash, water/sewer, cable/internet, mobile phone)
Taxes: $3,925.62 (Property taxes. Prepaid a portion in 2017)
Health & Fitness: $3,907.20 (dental work, new peloton + monthly fees)
Travel: $2,146.27 (2 domestic trips, 1 ski trip, and 1 camping trip)
Gifts & Donations: $1,840.11 (Higher than typical year - bought gifts for extended family for holiday trip)
Financial: $1,786.53 (Umbrella insurance, vanguard personal advisor fees)
Personal Care: $842.70 (hair, toiletries/makeup, dry cleaning)
Entertainment: $615.55 (movies, concerts/shows, streaming services)
Fees & Charges: $139.65 (credit card annual fees)
Misc Expenses: $99.50 (petty cash)
Business Services: $17.50 (postage/shipping)
Total $74,846.98

For 2019, I expect spending to be a bit higher due to a planned vacation, and some spending may shift categories, but I expect to be in the $75K range again. My share of these expenses (since this is for 2 cohabitating people) is about $52K, and that is the basic expense number I am planning on for ER (modified to include health insurance, income taxes, etc).

 

[W2R]

Ok.... Spent more than planned due to unforseen medical expenses for older son.

Family of 4, spent about $99k.
Biggest expenses were: $11k in medical and dental (after insurance....) older son had a short hospitalization resulting in us hitting his deductable and OOP expense. And at the end of the year younger son had his wisdom teeth out - since we don't have dental (and most dental insurance doesn't cover anyway) $3k in wisdom teeth surgury.

These unforeseen expenses can be pretty rugged! I hope your older son is doing well. And as for your younger son's wisdom teeth, believe it or not, I had one break through for the first time last fall, at age 70!! Maybe now I'll become wiser?

My dentist said I should wait to have it extracted, until it begins to cause problems but I don't expect that to be long. Thanks for revealing the cost; I can tell from your numbers that it is going to make a dent in my budget too.

Groceries were just under $12k... which was our budget.

With two teenaged boys, that seems pretty good. Most boys that age eat a lot IIRC.

WR (from our investments) was 3.15% from our beginning of year nest egg. 3.31% from the original, at retirement, budget, no inflation adjustment. But we have additional income from rental, DH's ss, and my micro pensions. We did withdrawal more this year, for the first time. We haven't increased for inflation in previous years.

Since we officially had inflation, I think a lot of us will be spending a bit more this year.

Next year will be a bigger withdrawal because we are planning a big Italy trip for the summer. Every 4 years (while we have kids under roof and on our travel budget) we do a europe big trip - about 4x our annual travel budget.

Older son starts college (hopefully) in the fall. But we have 529 funds, that I don't count in our nest egg, that will hopefully cover his expenses.

The Italy trip will be fun and so educational for the boys at that age. It's hard to believe that your oldest is college age already! They grow up so fast.

 

[ivinsfan]

Ok.... Spent more than planned due to unforseen medical expenses for older son.

Family of 4, spent about $99k.
Biggest expenses were: $11k in medical and dental (after insurance....) older son had a short hospitalization resulting in us hitting his deductable and OOP expense. And at the end of the year younger son had his wisdom teeth out - since we don't have dental (and most dental insurance doesn't cover anyway) $3k in wisdom teeth surgury.
Groceries were just under $12k... which was our budget.

WR (from our investments) was 3.15% from our beginning of year nest egg. 3.31% from the original, at retirement, budget, no inflation adjustment. But we have additional income from rental, DH's ss, and my micro pensions. We did withdrawal more this year, for the first time. We haven't increased for inflation in previous years.

Next year will be a bigger withdrawal because we are planning a big Italy trip for the summer. Every 4 years (while we have kids under roof and on our travel budget) we do a europe big trip - about 4x our annual travel budget.

Older son starts college (hopefully) in the fall. But we have 529 funds, that I don't count in our nest egg, that will hopefully cover his expenses.

Hit yet again with more medical. For those of you with HD policies I want to point out this hasn't worked too well for the Rodi family. It can quickly take a big hunk out of your budget. Hopefully 2019 will be better for your family in the OOP area. Not saying you shouldn't a HD policy Rodi just saying you haven't had good luck in that area.

 

[zippy2020]

Can't post any #s because honestly, I never tally them. Once in a while - maybe annually - I figure out what our current overhead for necessities totals, and figure we spend the rest.

The budget has a small second mortgage, utilities/garbage/water, cable, car payment (we got offered 0% loan so took it), cell phone, and insurance.

We have a lot of the last: property, umbrella, level term life (which will be canceled later this year), earthquake, retiree medical/Medicare, and LTCi (separate policies).

Total base expenditures: 6.7%/annual income

We keep a "mad money" cushion of $10-20K in checking at all times, separate from a small on-line savings account which receives monthly ACH transfers from the main checking acct. Bank safety deposit box has roughly $12K in old EE savings bonds that will mature over the next 10 yrs; I cashed in $8K of matured ones a few years ago.

In our wall safe we keep about $3K in actual cash. ATMs don't work after an earthquake, LOL!

Everything else we spend. No kids, no one else to consider unless we choose to. DH inherited his mom's portfolio so our investible assets doubled. We take a 3.5% distribution but could eliminate it entirely if necessary.

Our biggest expenditure is food/dining out. It's my hobby and we do a lot of it. I love to cook, but not 365/days/yr. We dine out roughly 200-275x/yr, everything from our local taqueria to Michelin-starred upscale restaurants. Note the dining out fluctuates depending on how many trips we take, since we eat out 2x/day when traveling. Most of our trips run 3-5 days.

Est. total food/dining out: $20K/yr, or about 6% of annual income.